“The Best of the St. Louis Luminary,” edited by Susan Easton Black, BYU Studies, 186 pages, $21.95
“The Best of the St. Louis Luminary,” edited by Susan Easton Black, is the most recent release by BYU Studies and is part of its series “Documents in Latter-day Saint History.”
The book's title takes its name from the St. Louis Luminary newspaper, an early Mormon newspaper started by Erastus Snow and printed in St. Louis under the direction of Brigham Young.
With only a few pages of commentary, the bulk of the book’s text is taken directly from the pages of the St. Louis Luminary.
The Luminary was used as a tool by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to not only share the gospel, but also to help strengthen and defend LDS Church policies of the time.
For this reason “The Best of the St. Louis Luminary,” gives the reader many historical insights into the dealings of the church from November 1854 to December 1855.
The book contains counsel given by the First Presidency, poetry, marriage and death notices and even has a section dedicated to humor.
“The Best of the St. Louis Luminary” comes with a companion DVD that contains digital copies of every issue of the St. Louis Luminary and is available at Deseret Book.
Kevin McGrath studied Journalism at Brigham Young University.
e-mail: kpmjournalism@gmail.com
