Richard Bushman was born on June 20th, 1931 into an American family, who lived in Salt Lake City, Utah. He attended Harvard College from 1949 to 1955. It took him 6 years to finish his bachelor's degree as he took time away from school to serve in an LDS (Latter Day Saints) mission to the New England States and Eastern Canada. He then continued his education and went to Harvard University and received both his Masters and Ph.D. in History in American Civilization. From 1960 to 1963 and also from 1965 to 1966 he was an assistant professor and later from 1966 to 1968 he became an Associate professor at Brigham Young University. After he finished his work at Brigham he went to work as a Professor at Boston University from 1968 to 1977. From 1977 to 1985 he worked as a Professor at the University of Delaware and then from 1989 to 1991 he worked at Columbia University as a …show more content…
to be presumptuous, arrogant and blasphemous. Smith did not force his convictions onto anyone but his visions of Zion, the promise of return to more pure times, close knit communities, and society governed by strict covenants appealed to many faithful Americans. Despite the fact that, “Joseph lacks ‘Sobriety, prudence, and stability,’ frequently showing ‘a spirit of lightness and levity, a temper easily irritated, and an habitual proneness to jesting and joking.” (Location, 3838) He told his followers to not expect perfection out of him as he called himself “a rough stone”, referring to himself as someone who does things quickly and without care. According to Bushman, Smith saw himself as an unpolished person. The title of the biography, “Rough Stone Rolling” implies, that Bushman though of Smith as a work in progress and someone who would eventually reach perfection. Joseph Smith Jr., had once said, “You never knew my heart.” Bushman explains that “perhaps he cannot be entirely known, but my aim has been to imagine him as fully as the records allow.” (Location,