Based on the first volume of the book series by Gerald N. Lund, THE WORK AND THE GLORY presents a dramatized account of the founding of the Mormon church, as seen through the eyes of the fictional Steed family. Benjamin Steed, the family patriarch, hires Joseph Smith and his brother as farmhands, unaware that Joseph holds a controversial reputation in town. Steed's son Joshua befriends Joseph, and learns that the other man has been contacted by God on numerous occasions, which some of the townspeople doubt. Joshua has faith in his friend, however, and must prove it by defending him against his brother Nathan, who has fallen in with a rough crowd that plans a bad fate for Joseph. THE WORK AND THE GLORY represents a significant step forward for the small but dedicated Mormon film industry, with production vales comparable to a Hollywood film.