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by Devery S. Anderson (Author)
Although he served as an apostle in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for only twelve and a half years, Bruce R. McConkie's twenty-six years' service in the First Council of Seventy had already made him a household name within the church. Called to full-time church service at age thirty-one, McConkie quickly gained a reputation as a theologian and doctrinal teacher. He became a prolific writer, and his controversial book, Mormon Doctrine, remained a bestseller for decades. His writing style, dogmatic approach, and quickness to reprimand others he believed in error made him many enemies, while others endeared themselves to him because of those very traits.
McConkie the man was far more complex than the serious and focused general authority most church members saw and heard at the pulpit. Those who knew him best experienced his profound sense of humor. His passion for jogging, rock hounding, and jewelry making occupied much of his free time. Those who witnessed his final address delivered days before his death felt compassion toward him, no matter how they had always viewed him as a writer, speaker, or leader. Truly, to understand Bruce R. McConkie one must look closely at the entire picture.
Author Biography
Devery S. Anderson earned degrees from the University of Utah and George Washington University. He has written two books on racial history: Emmett Till: The Murder That Shocked the World and Propelled the Civil Rights Movement (2015), and A Slow, Calculated Lynching: The Story of Clyde Kennard (2023), both from the University Press of Mississippi. He is also co-editor with Gary James Bergera of Joseph Smith's Quorum of the Anointed, 1842-1845 and The Nauvoo Endowment Companies, 1845-1846: A Documentary History, recipients of the Mormon History Association's Best Documentary History award in 2006. He is also editor of The Development of LDS Temple Worship, 1846-2000: A Documentary History, and The Salt Lake School of the Prophets, 1867-1883.
