Presidents and Prophets: The Story of America's Presidents and the Lds Church

A good introduction (pretty thorough - but not comprehensive) to LDS public relations. It does not reveal all the differences between prophets and presidents - mainly it focuses on the positive aspects (which is a good approach). VOlumes could be written on the tensions and problems with politicians who have disappointed church leaders (eg ignoring the saints plea for help from mobs etc) but why catalogue the faults of the politicians...do unto others (speak kindly and build positive relationships). I'm glad this author was not preoccupied with the dark side of history and has written an uplifting book. Beautiful book - a chunky resource for any library. Well worth buying and having on hand. If you want a frank view of what prophets think of US politicians - read "Latter day prophets and the US Constitution" (BYU publication - about 120 pages) wherein prophets are exhaustively quoted as a) endorsing the divinely inspired US Constitution and Founders thoughts and encouraging loyalty and patriotism and b) condemning the betrayal of those principles by corrupt administrators and self-serving politicians. Prophets are true patriots.

This book showcases the very interesting role of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints ("LDS") with the various Presidents of the United States of America. If only from a purely political standpoint, this book highlights the genesis of the LDS Church as one that was highly criticized socially and politically to one that, in 2007, has become the fourth largest church in America. The dichotemy between the Presidents of the LDS Church and the U.S. Presidents shows a gradual understanding of the ideals and viewpoints of the LDS Church. From a time when the LDS Church was persecuted and driven from state to state (with little or no Executive branch involvement) to the long-lasting and very admirable relationships between the LDS Church Presidents with examples such as Presidents Teddy Roosevelt and LBJ. Anyone that has a desire to understand the complex relationship between a national government and an influential religious institution will find this book very enlightening. This book takes the reader along a path from religious indifference and even persecution to one filled with hope and acceptance for beneficial religious bodies. Highly recommended for any student of American history.

My husband and I saw a presentation of some of this book on TV. My husband is a history buff and I am not. My husband isn't usually interested in religious shows of this type, but he was fascinated. I don't usually like history shows--I find them boring. But, I was also fascinated and think it must have been a lot of fun for the author to conduct his research for this book. I had no idea the LDS prophets had, had such contact with the different presidents of the USA. I recommend this to anyone who is a history buff or who is interested in starting to understand how the LDS church went from being persecuted by the government to being a friend to all the latest presidents of this country.

"The relationship between the LDS Church and the White House is a fascinating story that is finally being told by Mike Winder. This book is a must for all of us patriotic Latter-day Saints who marvel at how the Restored Church has interacted with the highest office in the land." -United States Senator Orrin G. Hatch (R-UT) "Both a very important and very entertaining book. Easy to navigate, a joy to read, yet substantive in tracing the Church's relationship with the most powerful office in the world." -Richard B. Wirthlin, Reagan's Director of Planning and Strategy; Emeritus Member of the Second Quorum of the Seventy "A significant contribution to LDS and presidential history. Those who read Winder's book will be delighted with each unexpected anecdote." -William W. Slaughter, Author of Joseph Smith's America: His Life and Times; Executive Committee, Journal of Mormon History "As someone who thought he knew a fair amount about the political involvement of the Mormon Church, I was truly amazed to learn how much more lay beneath the surface. An extremely useful book to Latter-Day Saints and to those outside the Mormon tradition." -Dr. Kenneth D. Wald, Author of Religion and Politics in the United States; Distinguished Professor of Political Science, University of Florida. "Four stars! As a lover of history I greatly appreciate this respectful, yet accurate and unvarnished, exploration of the beliefs of our country's presidents and how they dealt with the LDS Church. I loved it!" -Doug Wright, Host of radio's Doug Wright Show