"A]fascinating story. . . . For Latter-day Saints who revere Church authorities as inspired prophets, the book will undoubtedly read a little like an exposé. . . . Far from demeaning the authorities, this illuminating history can reassure readers that difficult problems are sensitively handled in the upper councils of the Church."--BYU Studies
"Especially interesting and informative in the personal insights brought to the volume by Eldred G. Smith--the last of the Presiding Patriarchs, who was able to add his first-hand knowledge to the materials in the book, rather than merely a documentary collection of papers to be perused and gleaned."--Latter-Day Saint History