What is a martyr for the Lord’s cause? What prompts his or her firm resolve? Is martyrdom confined to any particular era? Whose names are honored today both on earth and in heaven for their ultimate display of faith and courage?
This well-documented book provides accounts of men and women who gave their lives for the cause of Christ, from Old Testament times to the present. Recounting the background circumstances of persecution and martyrdom in each case, the author portrays the martyr’s chief characteristic: not so much a willingness to die as a steadfastness of commitment to the Savior and His gospel regardless of cost. A separate chapter focuses on the martyrdom of Jesus Christ, whose example of commitment and willing submission set the pattern for many of His martyred followers. Another absorbing chapter depicts the trials and murder of the Prophet Joseph Smith and illustrates that, indeed, the rich blessings of the Restoration that have come to millions “cost the best blood of the nineteenth century.” And it would seem that the best blood of many generations, from righteous Abel to the pioneers of the latter days, is represented by the stalwarts in this book.
“The purpose of this work,” the author writes, “is not to evoke sorrow, and certainly not to spark retribution, but rather to honor those who have sacrificed their all in the cause of Christ.” The stirring accounts contained herein will not only move, comfort, and evoke admiration in readers but will also encourage them in their resolve to endure in their usually lesser tribulations to the end.
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