Book Notes & Review

A closer look at this book, including key ideas, highlights, and personal observations, along with an overall rating and topic tags.

Like a Fiery Meteor: The Life of Joseph F. Smith

Stephen C. Taysom

Book Rating: 2.5

Tags: Gospel - Church - Biography

A good biography of Joseph F. Smith by an author who does not share the same religion as the subject. This does not normally matter in terms of historical biography, but the author did seem to enjoy pointing out flaws and mistakes and sins of the subject. A biography should work to show proper context for a subject's life, their decisions, and their outcomes. It seemed a little like the author had a framework he wanted to lay over Smith's life, and went looking for the evidence to support it. This particular author wanted to show how the violence and traumatic experiences that Joseph F. Smith experienced from a young age — his father and uncle were murdered, and his family had to move west with the pioneers — tainted his character and attitudes his whole life. While that's an interesting lens, and anyone would be motivated by such traumatic experiences, it seems like the author tries so hard to explain his entire life, and everything he ever did, through this trauma. The subject of the biography led his church for decades and taught on the life of Jesus Christ in powerful ways. It seems like while his early experiences certainly influenced his later life, those experiences did not define him. There are some interesting stories in the book that I had never heard before, and I enjoyed reading it. I wish the author had not tried so hard to fit Smith's life into the framework he brought with him to the project.