This book focuses specifically on the role of the family in communal life. Communal groups are one type of nontraditional families, some communes are predisposed to families while others are not and some communal families can be replacements or substitutes for nuclear families. Historic communal groups such as Shakers, Oneida, Amana, and the Mormons are investigated as are contemporary rural and urban communal groups such as Twin Oaks, Jesus People USA, and the Hutterites.

Introduction
Communes
Conceptual, Definitional, Theoretical and Typological Issues
Families in Historic Communal Utopias
Part One
Families in Historic Communal Utopias
Part Two
Urban and Rural Communes of the 1960s and 1970s
Urban and Rural Communes of the 1980s and 1990s
What Have We Learned about Families and Communities?

William Smith was a leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He was a younger brother to the Prophet Joseph Smith, as well as an apostle, patriarch, and self proclaimed President of the church. Though in Joseph's life, he and William didn't always get along, William fiercely defended Joseph after his death. William Smith denounced Brigham Young as the leader of the church, also known as the Mormons. William's account of the first vision differs greatly from Joseph Smith's 1838 canonized version.