Contents

Review

"In memory of Clare Middlemiss, for creating the record." This simple dedication introduces the reader to the story behind the publication of David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism. For thirty-five years, Middlemiss spent her days serving as secretary to McKay, following him through his ascent in the hierarchy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Dedicated to preserving the history of McKay's life, Middlemiss spent much of her time outside the office compiling diaries, discourses, and scrapbooks totaling roughly 130,000 pages. She had intended to write McKay's biography after her retirement, but health problems interfered. She had discussed her efforts and desires with her nephew, Wm. Robert Wright, an attorney. Through her influence, Wright also "had the privilege and blessing of knowing President McKay personally ... as a prophet and even as a friend." Wright promised Middlemiss that he "would take the greatest care of all her work and," if she were unable to do so herself, "eventually publish books based on her records." With the assistance of Gregory A. Prince, Wright has kept that promise (ix). 

With training in medical research and an avid interest in LDS literature, Prince had amassed a collection of 10,000 books about the Church and begun writing a book on the history of the priesthood within that organization. Through a series of events with "unintended consequences," Prince and Wright became neighbors and, finally, collaborators on a biography of McKay's administration in the Church (xiii). Prince explains that "with no training in either historiography or biography, I chose to follow my instincts and use the only tools at my disposal, those of scientific methodology" (xv). To the already massive amount of information from the Middlemiss records, he added published records that dealt with McKay and a variety of unpublished material from the official archives of the Church and the Marriott Library of the University of Utah. Wright and Prince also conducted over two hundred interviews, recording an additional 5,000 pages of memories which had not previously been recorded. The authors then spent eight years creating a "master database" which they sorted into over a hundred subject files (xvi).  Guided by the results of this data analysis, they determined that a topical approach would work best, selected the topics to address, and finally began the two-year process of writing the biography, with Prince as author and Wright "critiquing" (xvii).   

The result is an unflinching look at a pivotal period in the administrative history of the LDS Church. While the first two chapters describe McKay as a man and as a prophet, the text then focuses on changes in Church policy and practices related to free agency and tolerance, extension of the priesthood to all worthy men, ecumenical outreach, use of media, correlation of instructional materials and administrative programs, the Church education system, building of meetinghouses and temples outside the United States, the missionary program, confrontation with state and national politics and with communism, and the expansion of the Church into a truly international organization. Readers, like the authors, come to see McKay as "a great, complex, three-dimensional man whose imprint on Mormonism was indelible" (xviii). The material allows us to view him and also the Church as great, if imperfect.

Prince and Wright acknowledge that by tackling a multitude of controversial subjects head-on, they present material that may be "jolting" to many of the LDS faith. They "have taken pains to tell the story of David O. McKay," however, "with sufficient care and context to take what we hope will be a broad spectrum of readers to a position of comfort with 'things as they were'" during his administration (xviii). To make the book more approachable to those not familiar with unique LDS terminology, the authors have minimized its use and carefully explained those terms they have included. While scholarly in nature, this book is quite readable and an excellent resource for anyone seeking to research any aspect of Church history from 1950 to 1970. The authors do not claim to have written a "definitive" biography, but there is ample material to improve the reader's understanding of both McKay and the Church to which he dedicated his life. This would be a suitable and valuable addition to any library serving adolescents and adults.

Several pages of photographs, of McKay and other people mentioned in the book, are included in the center of the volume. An appendix provides background information about Clare Middlemiss, the records she compiled, and the dedication with which she sought to protect McKay's time and his health. It serves as a brief biography of a woman who wielded an astounding amount of power within the Church for an extended period of time. A thorough section of notes identifies the source for all material used in the text and provides additional explanation on some topics. The extensive bibliography and index will be useful to those using the book for research or for scholarly or personal motives. An excerpt of the book can be read online at Amazon.com's Web site.