Bushman paints a portrait of a man unquestionably human, sometimes painfully so; a man who was broke or in debt most of his life, who was constantly being thrown out of his home and beaten up not only by his enemies, but one time by his little brother William.

Establishing a worldwide religion and publishing what would become a perennial best-seller ("The Book of Mormon") was anything but easy.

It is the same story that is told in the new LDS Church-approved movie playing at the Legacy Theater, "Joseph Smith: The Prophet of the Restoration," but with several thousand additional unsanitized details. Bushman opens the doors and closets for a refreshing blast of fresh air.

"Rough Stone Rolling" brought Joseph Smith to life for me in the year he would have turned 200. If you liked the movie, you're going to love the book.

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Lee Benson's column runs Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Please send e-mail to benson@desnews.com and faxes to 801-237-2527.