The Development of Temple Doctrine by Jennifer Ann Mackley

This amazing book was a real eye-opener. I usually have to fight to stay with a history book, but this one was fascinating to read. I don't think it would hold much interest for a non-LDS person, but perhaps it would. Most of it focuses on temple worship and the context for how that developed in the early days of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

The author exhaustively researched and documented her sources. Most of it comes from Wilford Woodruff's journals. He was a thorough journaler, and his early work in the St. George Temple is recorded in detail. There are other sources as well, and the notes section of the book gives even more background.

This book was recommended to me by Lolly Osguthorpe, who is a good friend and served as a Temple Matron. I trust her judgment, and her recommendations. It helped me understand that our temple work and ordinances have developed and changed over time, and will continue to. President Woodruff was pretty clear that this would be an on-going development. He was able to focus on gathering his own family history and doing his family's work while serving in the St. George temple for 13 (?) years. When he became president of the church, he had all of this experience to inform his leadership. A VERY worthwhile read!

The Undaunted by Gerald Lund

Sierra's great friend Megan recommended I read this book as we were preparing for a trip to Lake Powell. We didn't end up going, but I still read the book. Megan told me that some of her family's ancestors appear in the story. It's historical fiction, and has many of the real pioneers featured in the account of this amazing blaze through hard rock.

It's a wonderful account of a complex history as these Mormon pioneers built a route through impassable country. Their faith and courage are remarkable. They knew it was impossible, and they knew it had to be done. They did it!

I really enjoyed Lund's footnotes and detailed explanations of the geography and the hardships these hardy people encountered. He referenced several comprehensive histories that probably would have served me better than this story, but I like to get history in light story-form! What is consistent with Lund's fictional characters though, is that they don't have a lot of depth or reality to them. They are pretty predictable and have sweet senses of humor and only understandable, superficial flaws. It gets a little frustrating to have such flat characters. However, they are "good" and have real struggles and even though they feel contrived and shallow, they do move the story ahead.

Lund does a good job describing the struggles of the faithful and the struggles of the unbelieving. But again, they are not in depth or very authentic-feeling. Still, the stories are always uplifting and optimistic. The part that moved me the most was the part when they were near the end of their journey. The pioneers had to whip and force their animals up a steep incline that ended up maiming and killing some of their loyal animals who had brought them so far. This was heart-breaking, as Lund helped us witness the pain of the owners who felt they had no choice but to move onward this way. This part was, like many parts of the book, historically accurate. This part moved me to tears.