I had a chance to glance at this new volume over the weekend while visiting my sister (her husband the bishop persuaded the RS president to let him have a copy to look at). My sister in law (former stake RS president in her midwestern stake) and my wife were also very insterested to see it.

My sister in law observed whatever the book is (and she was very positive), it is not a history. For that, she said, she’d turn to Women of the Covenant (as cited by others above). But both she and my wife (who is in the stake RS presidency in our stake) both agreed it’s quite a good thing for a wide swath of sisters in their respective stakes.

Looking forward to your post-review review…

Keepa is a blog for believing Latter-day Saints, or at least for those who can be civil toward the Church and the beliefs of its members. This post is not an invitation to mock what you call “chicken patriarchy” nor to express every angry opinion you have about anything related to women and the Church.

Nor am I an arrogant apostate bent on destroying the work of God. Really, I’m not. Take it for granted that I believe as firmly as you do in the inspiration of Church leaders. Daughters in My Kingdom, however, is not a gospel ordinance. If you have daughters (or even an average imagination), you must admit that they have individual needs and preferences, and that one size doesn’t necessarily fit all. What right do you have to demand that I humble myself and pretend that your preferences are the only ones that matter?

Really, if your comment tends to either extreme, you haven’t read carefully enough. You’re reading what you would have written, not what I actually wrote. Extremist comment in any direction are not apt to make it out of the moderation queue and into public view.

The largest Mormon publisher have explicit policies that they don’t work with agents.

I’m amazed. Deseret Book won’t deal with agents? So all the “one off” books that they publish and all the commissioned biographies are all done without agents, just editors dealing directly with writers?

Obviously I am seriously illiterate about how that part of the world works.

Kent, thanks for the update.

First, among Mormon publishers, agents are simply not accepted. The largest Mormon publisher have explicit policies that they don’t work with agents. And I’m afraid that most of the books about Mormonism published by non-Mormon publishers are from academic presses, which usually don’t involve agents either.

I’m afraid that the option of finding and agent for this kind of book is an extremely remote possibility. Someone like Deseret Book is the only current publisher that could take the risk on selling enough copies to offer an advance — and they don’t seem to do that for unproven authors.

I also think Women of Covenant should have been used as the book.what a gem

Ardis’s comments remind me of a story from David O McKay’s life, as told through Prince’s bio: McKay wanted one of Nibley’s book as curriculum for the next year’s church meetings. The Sunday School board then took the book, gutted it, and made it “approachable” for the average member. Nibley complained about it to McKay, who in turn complained about it to the Board. The Board then said, “But Pres McKay, it will be over everyone’s head!” McKay responded, “Well, then let them reach for it!” I fear we’ve lost that spirit.

My wife and I have decided to re-read Women of Covenant in our area’s reading group next year.