David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism

By Gregory A Prince, Wm Robert Wright

Ordained as an apostle in 1906, David O. McKay served as president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1951 until his death in 1970. Under his leadership, the church experienced unparalleled growth—nearly tripling in total membership—and becoming a significant presence throughout the world.

The first book to draw upon the David O. McKay Papers at the J. Willard Marriott Library at the University of Utah, in addition to some two hundred interviews conducted by the authors, David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism focuses primarily on the years of McKay's presidency. During some of the most turbulent times in American and world history, McKay navigated the church through uncharted waters as it faced the challenges of worldwide growth in an age of communism, the civil rights movement, and ecumenism. Gregory Prince and Robert Wright have compiled a thorough history of the presidency of a much-loved prophet who left a lasting legacy within the LDS Church.

Winner of the Evans Handcart Award.
Winner of the Mormon History Association Turner-Bergera Best Biography Award.

Gregory A. Prince is the author of Power from On High: The Development of Mormon Priesthood. He is president and CEO of Virion Systems, Inc. and he is a board member of Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought and The Journal of Mormon History.

Wm. Robert Wright is a retired attorney who practiced law in Salt Lake City and Washington, D.C. His varied public service includes serving as the chairman of the University of Utah's Institutional Council and as chairman of the Utah State School Board.

Table of Contents:

Preface
Introduction
1. Prophet and Man
2. Revelation and Prophecy
3. Free Agent and Tolerance
4. Blacks, Civil Rights, and the Priesthood
5. Ecumenical Outreach
6. Radio and Television Broadcasting
7. Correlation and Church Administration
8. The Education System
9. The Building Program
10. The Missionary Program
11. Temple Building
12. Confrontation with Communism
13. Policies and the Church
14. An International Church
15. Final Years
16. Epilogue
Appendix
Notes
Bibliography
Index

Praise and Reviews:

"This phenomenal work is much more than the life story of David O. McKay, a much-beloved president/prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Based on a wide array of sources heretofore unavailable to scholars, it is a remarkable combination of biographical narrative and historical analysis that is destined to function as a scaffolding on which to hang the still virtually untold story of the Latter-day Saints in the middle of the twentieth century. Bravo to the authors and to the University of Utah Press for making it available to everyone interested in modern Mormonism."—Jan Shipps, professor emerita of history and religious studies at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis and author of Sojourner in the Promised Land: Forty Years among the Mormons

"This book is important because it casts an honest and loving light on the workings of the LDS Church and most importantly on one of the church’s most beloved leaders."—Chase Peterson, president emeritus, University of Utah

"This book will be invaluable to any student of LDS Church history wanting to know the factors behind the great changes that took place in the church over the past half-century."—J. Alan Blodget, former CFO, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints