In 1939, Fisher's "Children of God" won the Harper Prize, which included a cash prize. The book was his most popular, outselling all his previous books combined, and was still in print in 1989. Frederick M. Smith, president of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, strongly repudiated the book in the "Kansas City Times". Mormon literary critic Michael Austin called "Children of God" "one of the most influential novels about Mormonism ever published." Carl Van Doren, one of the Harper prize judges, said that the book was neither anti-Mormon invective nor pro-Mormon hagiography. Terryl Givens called "Children of God" an "immense success". Givens sees Fisher as presenting Joseph Smith as a simple but likable man, and Brigham Young as "pragmatic and decisive;" a successful portrayal of the way adversity solidified bonds between early Saints. The book ends after the practice of polygamy is officially ended, with members who want to still practice polygamy moving to Canada or Mexico.