Review
Title: The Other Martyr: Insights from the Life of Hyrum Smith
Author: Susan Easton Black
Publisher: Covenant Communications, Inc.
Genre: 19th Century, LDS History & Biography
Year Published: 2020
Number of Pages: 112
Binding: Soft cover
ISBN-13:978-1524413286
Price: $9.99
Reviewed by Melvin C. Johnson for the Association for Mormon Letters
The martyrdom of comrade brothers Joseph and Hyrum Smith cements the bedrock of the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Like many others interested in Mormon Studies, I know not much about Hyrum Smith and wanted to learn more. That saga began with a tale of a young man being visited by angelic visitors and given ancient records of peoples who came to the Americas 600 years before the birth of Jesus Christ. Mormons believe that the brothers sacrificed their lives as witnesses for the restored and revealed gospel of Jesus Christ in this age preparatory to the end times and the coming again of Jesus Christ. Susan Easton Black, a well-known LDS historian, has written The Other Martyr: Insights from the Life of Hyrum Smith to develop the narrative of the older but lesser-known brother Hyrum Smith.
The Other Martyr, unfortunately, saps one’s interest in that it is limited in length and scope (slightly more than 100 pages), and Black restricted the sources and footnotes to only sympathetic LDS documents, ecclesiastical records, and memoirs. The effort produces a sketchy, non-contextualized script, supposedly accentuating Hyrum’s steadfast, never-wavering support for Joseph, and thus magnifying the suffering and oppressions they consequently endured. The narrative remains incomplete thus inaccurate, lacking depth and leaving this reviewer wanting more ‘meat’ and less ‘milk stripping.’
A history of Hyrum Smith this is not. Some will believe Black’s effort is nothing but a few recallings of stories or comments that mention Hyrum. The first part of the book mostly recounts the Smith family history, relying heavily on Mother Lucy Mack Smith’s History of Joseph Smith by His Mother. [1] This section of the book appears as a meandering travelogue of the desperately strapped-for-cash Smith family from Vermont to Palmyra, New York. Hyrum Smith with other family members appear from time to time. The second half was more entertaining, but overall, it was not anywhere as good as I had hoped. The effort does make me curious to find a good biography on Hyrum though.
In general, The Other Martyr might be a useful tool for introducing 9th graders in LDS seminary as a quick study on the early Church and life of Hyrum Smith. The telling will need to be enhanced to correct the failure in that it does not capture the importance of D&C 124: 91-96. Hyrum became The Second Witness in place of Oliver Cowdery. Hyrum was the Assistant President and Patriarch to the entire Church. Hyrum by his offices and his sincere actions to the Restoration sealed his witness with the shedding of his blood at Carthage jail.
[1] The book was at first titled Biographical Sketches Of Joseph Smith The Prophet And His Progenitors For Many Generations. The book, first published in Liverpool (1853) by Orson Pratt, displeased Brigham Young. He supposedly wanted it suppressed and all copies destroyed