The Progress of Man - 1936 First Edition LDS

An important early doctrinal and historical work by Joseph Fielding Smith, then a member of the Council of the Twelve Apostles, Church Historian, and president of the Genealogical Society of Utah. Conceived as a course of study for the Society, The Progress of Man attempts nothing less than a history of humanity interpreted through Latter-day Saint theology - from preexistence and the Creation through ancient civilizations, Christianity, the Reformation, American history and constitutional government, ultimately arriving at resurrection and the destiny of mankind. Modern scholarship describes the book as part of a distinctive LDS tradition of "historical theology," adapting the framework of Protestant church histories to the Restoration narrative. There is a particularly useful piece of historical context hiding in the preface. Smith dated it October 24, 1936, and explains that the Genealogical Society commissioned the course because of contemporary political instability - "tyranny," governmental upheaval, and anticipated "blood and carnage." A modern BYU Studies examination points out just how specific that context was: 1936 was the year Hitler remilitarized the Rhineland, and Smith interpreted such international developments through an explicitly millennial LDS framework. Thus, despite its sweeping title, The Progress of Man is also a revealing Depression-era, pre-World War II document showing how an influential American religious leader interpreted the political crisis of the 1930s. This is the original 1936 edition, published by the Genealogical Society of Utah and printed by the Deseret News Press; the bibliographic record at the New York Public Library independently confirms the 1936 Salt Lake City issue. The date and imprint shown on this copy's title page correspond to the recognized first edition, and a later second edition is known from 1940. The volume is bound in publisher's burgundy textured cloth, ruled in blind, with gilt Gothic lettering to the front board and spine and gilt rules at the spine ends. No dust jacket is present. Condition: Near Fine. An unusually attractive copy for a 1936 religious study volume: binding square and firm, burgundy cloth retaining strong color, gilt bright and legible, with only light rubbing/scuffing and minor corner/edge wear. Text block is clean and sound with mild uniform age-toning. There is a small white handwritten notation at the upper-right corner of the front board. Front free endpaper bears an attractive contemporary Christmas presentation inscription, "Daddy - From Marie - Christmas (1938)," together with the later ownership name "Leonard N. Burton." No other substantial markings. Dust jacket absent. Interestingly, the original jacket does exist and is sufficiently uncommon that specialist LDS bookseller Eborn describes it as a "Rare Dust Jacket." Leonard Nelson Burton (1937-2024), longtime Utah resident and active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Burton served as a missionary in Denmark, counselor in the Winder 8th Ward bishopric, bishop of the Moab 1st Ward, and later for more than twenty years as a temple worker. Joseph Fielding Smith (1876-1972) was a prominent LDS historian, theologian and apostle who ultimately became the tenth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, serving from 1970 until his death. Long before reaching the church presidency, Smith was a prolific doctrinal writer and served for decades as Church Historian. His works - including Essentials in Church History, The Way to Perfection, The Progress of Man, and the later Doctrines of Salvation - became influential expressions of twentieth-century conservative LDS theology. The Progress of Man is especially revealing because it combines Smith's roles as historian and theologian rather than treating history as a purely secular discipline. …