many historians and other scholars have noticed the social and political fervor observed in France between 1830 and 1870. This is also the period when Mormonism first arrived in the nation. Yet while the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints only achieved limited success in France, its doctrine and practices generated unusual interest, raising a number of important questions. What were the forces at work during this pivotal period? How can we reconcile the large cultural interest with the faith's mediocre success? This essay offers several avenues of research.
When Apostle John Taylor and his missionary companions, Edwin C. Bolton and William Pack, arrived in Paris in September 1850, they thought they were reaching the heart of a republic contrasting with all the surrounding monarchies of Europe. The nation had recently gone through a series of political transformations that began with the French Revolution and included the several reigns...
