The Giant Joshua


 It is the 24th of July, known as pioneer day in Utah, as it was the day that the first saints entered the Salt Lake valley. To celebrate this momentous occasion, I wanted to talk about a novel about the pioneers. The Great Joshua is often hailed as the great Mormon novel. Written in 1941 by Maurine Whipple over a three-year period, it is considered to be one of the great tales of Mormonism. 

Here is the Blurb of the Giant Joshua:

Set in the 1860s at Utah’s Dixie Mission, The Giant Joshua is the deeply moving story of a far-flung outpost in the desert where a band of Mormons, like the giant Joshua, fight to survive in an arid land. A young Mormon girl―innocent, tender, courageous―finds herself torn between fear of her older husband and love for his son; between her passionate faith in the stern tenets of Mormonism and her equally passionate desire for beauty and gaiety. 

Considered a classic in historical fiction, The Giant Joshua was first published by Houghton Mifflin in 1941.

I have read over 100 pages of these 600 pages in the book, and I wanted to share my thoughts. For me, it was not easy for me to read, but I blame that more on it being an older book with a different purpose in mind. The book is less focused on plot and more on character, drawing attention to the daily struggles of the people in the story. Unfortunately, there felt there was no real plot in those first few pages I read. Some reviews of the book I have read states the book gets better as it goes on, so I might return to the Giant Joshua in the future.

Overall, I give it 4 out of 5 stars. I would imagine some people liking this book, but it was not for me personally. 

If you have read this book I would love to read your thoughts down below.


Topical Guide:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Truth

Image
          The poem below was included in the first edition of the Pearl of Great Price, published in 1851 along aside texts like the book of Abraham and Joseph Smith History. It was written by John Jaques, a convert to the church in England. He wrote it in response to Pilate's question to Jesus in John 18. While not officially canonized, it was put to music and made into a hymn titled " Oh Say, What is truth?" which is still in the hymnbook today.           The most interesting part of the poem is the last stanza, as it answers the question posed at the beginning. Truth is the sum of existence, always existing, never changing. Something as true then as it is now. Truth John Jaques Oh say, what is truth? 'Tis the fairest gem That the riches of worlds can produce, And priceless the value of truth will be when The proud monarch's costliest diadem Is counted but dross and refuse. Yes, say, what is truth? 'Tis the brightest prize...
Read more

Diligence in Preaching to the World—Providences of God Around the Saints—Charity—God’s Spirit Distributed Among All Mankind—Trials, &c

Image
Brigham Young, the second prophet of the restoration, was the largest contributor to the Journal of Discourses, with a total of 90 sermons. He had a fierier form of teaching, using strong language to get the point across, sometimes causing controversy in the Modern day. Some words in this very sermon might cause one to feel uncomfortable. This sermon was located in the seventh volume and was transcribed by George D. Watts. In the talk, he talks about the importance of Charity, his desire not to be rich himself or anyone to be rich, and the horrors of war. This was an interesting one. In this one, I try to something different. While reading it, some sections stood out to me, and I underlined them to add a personal touch. If it is too distracting or you think I should try something, leave a comment below.  A Discourse by President Brigham Young, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, December 18, 1859. My greatest desire to my Father and God is that I may so speak that my...
Read more

Reed Smoot April 1933

Image
       General Conferences in the LDS Church have been going on since the church was founded almost 200 years ago. The people who spoke in these conferences were prophets and apostles, people, teachers of God's will. Imperfect people chosen by God to lead his church in the modern era. Despite being decades old, these talks may still have things to teach us. Repurposed below is an interesting conference talk given by Reed Smoot, an apostle and former U.S. senator, in April 1933 about the nature of God, of Christ, and of his church. Elder Reed Smoot Of the Council of the Twelve Apostles I am thankful for the privilege of attending this General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ, and I know it will result in blessings to the people and be profitable to all those present and the thousands that are making use of the radio to hear all that may be said during the three days of this Annual Conference. At this conference, like all that have been held in the past, w...
Read more