The Work and the Glory is a nine-part novel series by Gerald N. Lund. It chronicles the birth and early growth of Mormonism through the fictional Steed family. The Steeds, throughout the series, meet and come to know many of the prominent early Church members well. The series covers 20 years and opens in 1827, when the Steeds move from Vermont to western New York state. It ends in 1847, when they settle in the Salt Lake Valley. The storyline also includes both fictional and historical events.
Summary
The main characters of the series include both fictional and non-fictional people. The Steed family includes the father, Benjamin; his wife, Mary Ann; and their children. From eldest to youngest, the children include Joshua, Nathan, Melissa, Rebecca, and Matthew. Benjamin and Mary Ann had additional children, but four died soon after birth or were stillborn and one lived only to the age of four. Joshua marries Jessica Roundy and has a daughter, Rachel, with her. They are eventually divorced, and he then marries Caroline Mendenhall, whom he meets in Savannah, Georgia. She brings two children to the marriage, William Donovan and Olivia, and together, she and Joshua have three more children: Savannah, Charles Benjamin, and Livvy Caroline. The youngest, Livvy, is named for her older sister, Olivia, after she is killed; Livvy was Olivia's nickname. Joshua eventually is baptized into the Mormon religion, but it takes more than 19 years after the Church first came into his life for that to happen. Nathan marries Lydia McBride, the only daughter of a storekeeper in Palmyra, and they have several children, including one named after Nathan's older brother Joshua Benjamin. They also have a daughter, Emily, who becomes best friends with Jessica's oldest daughter, Rachel. The other children do not figure prominently in the novels. They are Nathan Joseph, Elizabeth Mary, Josiah, Nathan Joseph, and Patricia Ann. One stillborn baby born after Emily is Nathan Morgan. Melissa marries Carlton Rogers, and they also have several children, who do not appear frequently in the books. Carl is the only member of the family who never joins the church. Their oldest son young Carlton Hezikiah saves his mother in Volume 9 from a group of evil men. Their other children are David Benjamin, Caleb John, Sarah, and Mary Melissa, who dies after she falls into a frozen river after she is sick. Rebecca marries Derek Ingalls from England, and they have three children: Christopher Joseph, Benjamin Derek, and Leah Rebecca. Matthew marries Jennifer Jo McIntre from Ireland, and they have two children, Betsy Jo, and Emmaline. Jennifer Jo informs Matthew in Volume 9 that she is pregnant again. Jennifer's sister, Kathryn, and Derek's brother, Peter, marry as well. They have a daughter named Nicole that was born at Fort Pueblo. Peter is a fictional member of the ill-fated Donner party but survives. Caroline's son, Will, marries Alice Samuelson, and by the end of the series, they have a young boy named Jared Will. Will and Alice came to the west by a ship bound for California. Jessica Roundy, Joshua Steed's divorced wife, later marries John Griffith. They have one son together, John Benjamin, who is added to her daughter, Rachel, and his two sons: Mark and Luke. John is soon killed at the Haun's Mill Massacre. Several years later, she marries Solomon Garrett, and they have a daughter, Miriam Jessica, and a son, Solomon Clinton together.
Books
The Work & the Glory vol. 1: Pillar of Light,
The Work & the Glory vol. 2: Like a Fire is Burning,
In the preface to volume 9, Lund mentioned that he felt the need to work on other projects, so the Work and the Glory series would temporarily come to an end. He said that it seemed to him like the family was saying that it had shared enough of with the readers and that it was time for them to be left alone. However, he also said that at some future point, he would like to come back to it and officially end the series with a 10th volume, which would tell the story of the Steed family descendants in modern times. Lund has since decided not to write the 10th volume and has said that his future book, The Undaunted, released in August 2009, would be like another volume.
