Review: “Foundational Texts of Mormonism: Examining Major Early Sources”

Foundational Texts of Mormonism: Examining Major Early Sources, edited by Mark Ashurst-McGee, Robin Scott Jensen and Sharalyn D. Howcroft (Oxford University Press, 2018) reviewed by Clair Barrus. In determining the scope of their book, the editors of this collection of essays defined "foundational" in two senses, the foundational period of Mormonism through the life of Joseph Smith, and the major sources that inform historians when studying this period. The goal of the editors of Foundational Texts was "to provide a deeper level of understanding of these sources so historians and other scholars can use them more critically." (p.2) I believe the editors succeeded in their objective. Symbols included with the text of a vision recorded in Wilford Woodruff's journal