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The Prophet Joseph Smith and the Church he restored have big-time play in Newsweek magazine's Oct. 17, 2005, issue.
Besides the week's cover featuring a stained-glass image of the First Vision from the Museum of Church History and Art in Salt Lake City, the article itself is eight colorful pages of text, photos and graphics. A big share of one page is given to a question/answer piece with President Gordon B. Hinckley.
The article was written by Elise Soukup, described as "a lifelong member of the Mormon Church" by editor Mark Whitaker in his "Top of the Week" column at the beginning of the magazine. He added, "Indeed, Elise didn't flinch from asking tough questions" in the article that, while quite sympathetic overall to the Prophet and the Church, did cover some sensitive issues such as polygamy and whether or not the Church is Christian.
In a "Live Talk" online at Newsweek.com, the writer responded to a question about conflict of interest in writing the article. She said that many people worked on the article and that it was reviewed by "several senior editors — none of them Mormon."
Topics in the article include a brief history of Joseph Smith, the growth of the Church, its stands on family and moral values and its ability to care for the needs of its members.
