A Family of Faith: An Intimate View of Church History From Three Generations of Apostles

Since the early days of the Restoration, the Richards family has played a prominent role in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In fact, between 1840 and 1950, there was only a short time, 1899 to 1906, when there was not at least one Richards serving as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

"And yet this story," writes editor Elder Kent F. Richards, "belongs not to the Richards family alone but to families everywhere who are striving to live after the manner of happiness and to pass their legacy of faith to the next generation."

Arranged chronologically, excerpts from the journals of these three faithful men—Willard, Franklin D., and George F. Richards—offer us a privileged view of their day-to-day lives. We see their service in the Church, marriage and family concerns, and opportunities for growth as each worked to build up the kingdom of God on the earth.

We see their faith and the commitment to the gospel expressed in the details of their lives—Willard's grief at the death of the Prophet Joseph Smith, whose murder he witnessed in 1844; Franklin's pain at being apart from his wife Jane, who was then journeying west across the plains and whose companionship would have been a strength to him as he served in the presidency of the British Mission; and decades later, George's joy in being reunited with his wife and children after his own service in presiding over the British Mission during World War I.

A Family of Faith offers us a uniquely personal view of more than a century of Church history as those events were witnessed and recorded by three generations of faithful Saints. Their lives of humility, faith, and commitment to the Lord and His kingdom continue to inspire us today.