Product Description
Mormons embrace the term "peculiar people" as a badge of honor. To Latter-day Saints it represents their status as God's people, with reference to the pride of their ancestors in being different the persecution early Mormons endured for defending polygamy, new prophecy, and the political Kingdom. The ironic reference to individuality and group consciousness is equally applicable to gay and lesbian Mormons who experience misunderstanding, guilt, and derision, often at the hands of fellow Mormons for whom discrimination is now a distant memory.In Peculiar People, a wealth of resources chronicles the successes and failures of contemporary LDS homosexuals. Those who have chosen celibacy are occasionally admitted into full church fellowship. Others, fearing censure and humiliation, conceal their orientation. But many, perhaps a majority, have decided that they "will not go where they are not welcome" and drift away from the Mormon community that once nurtured them.The church calls same-sex intimacy sin and recommends repentence and a thorough change of heart, though stops short of advising homosexuals to marry heterosexuals. For some time now church clerics, social workers, theologians, and sociologists have been engaged in debate about what place such people should occupy in the church community and what remedies or consolations should be offered them. To this discussion, Ron and Wayne Schow and Marybeth Raynes contribute their wide professional experience and bring a range of resources, gearing this volume toward helping people become informed and toward providing a variety of perspectives and options. These include the findings of biologists, therapists, and religious scholars. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

This book saved my life
As a gay Mormon man in my early twenties, I was on the edge of suicide for many years (as many gay Mormons are).Reading this book was a major turning point in my life.I know it sounds dramatic to say that this book saved my life, but I honestly do not think I would be here today had a friend not had the courage to give me this book.

This book is a must read for anyone, especially anyone in the Mormon faith, that is seeking understanding of the often difficult subject of homosexuality.

Help for Gay Mormons is Finally Here.
A comprehensive and wonderful book detailing the pain, suffering, joys, and blessings of being a gay mormon.Through personal stories, sceintific studies, and offical policies, the myths and mystery surrounding this issueis brought out of the closet.A must read for anyone who knows a gaymormon or is dealing with the issues of homosexuality.I have personallyfound great peace and comfort in my own life from this book.As a gaymormon myself I know and understand the pain of not having the answers. Some of the answers are to be found in this book.

Incredible, heartbreaking, and ultimately inspiring.
This book is must read for anyone struggling with sexual identity whilestill trying to maintain a love of God and church. Whether you are Mormonor belong to another faith this book is equally as powerful. Through theessays of gay people, their families, spouses, and clergy members, PeculiarPeople portrays the painful choices sometimes chosen by, and sometimesforced upon, those whose only sin is loving the "wrong" people.

A powerfully inspiring book.
Peculiar People is very empowering to those who struggle with sexual orientation, self-acceptance and self-esteem issues in the Church.It shares, through powerful, personal accounts, the struggles, strength and hope of those who have lived through the challenges brought forth in such conflict.This book shares wisdom and insight for the families of those struggling with self-acceptance.I have recommended it to many individuals.

A wonderful help to struggling gay-mormons
This is the book that every person who is struggling with being both gay and mormon. It gives a history of the church's policies on homosexuals, and accounts of some of the members of the church who are same sex oriented. A wonderful read. I recommend it to all those having problems balancing spirituality and homosexuality. ... Read more

Product Description
The year 2003 marked the twenty-fifth anniversary of the lifting of the ban excluding black members from the priesthood of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Now available in paperback, the essays collected in Newell G. Bringhurst and Darron T. Smith's "Black and Mormon" look at the mechanisms used to keep blacks from full participation in the church, the motives behind the ban, and the kinds of changes that have - and have not - taken place within the church since the revelation responsible for its end. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Insightful discussion
These articles were so insightful on being African American in a society that runs everything by white standards and then it delves deeper into how that affects African Americans in the Mormon church. How do they deal with the racist policies of the Church before the Priesthood ban was lifted in June of 1978? Many talk about how hurt they were, but how through their own personal experience with God they've been able to work through it.

Other articles talk about how since most of the LDS church in America is white, how they don't want to talk about race, but how it really needs to be addressed and that a lot of people in answer to why there was a priesthood ban continue to spread false folklore like "they weren't valiant enough in the preexistence or they are descended from Cain and thus cursed." These are completely false and yet are still used as reasons, which truly impact negatively African American members.

Black Americans have huge insights and ideas and culture to bring to the Church...I would really love to see more active hymns in the church, saying a few amens in agreement during sacrament meeting would be great!

I think it's very important to be aware about who we are and how we relate to others. Let's embrace all cultures over the world and incorporate their beautiful traditions into ours as well and truly become a worldwide church.

I really recommend this book for all members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or for those interested in African American studies. It helps us see ourselves in a new light and to change what we didn't know was ignorant or insensitive before.

LDS' stormy relationship with black people.....
Black and Mormon proves to be a highly interesting book that relates directly with the LDS and their relationship with the black people of the United States throughout their history. The key element of this book lies around then President Kimball's revelation that blacks who have been denied priesthood rites by their church due to their ethnic heritage, was finally granted that right on 8 June 1978. This book is collection of essays that deals with the priesthood ban imposed by the LDS leadership during the late 1840s, its effects on the black members and after the banning have been removed, how that racist past still affected the church today.

All essays written here proves to be well written, well research and highly informative to the subject at hand. Some of the authors are black LDS members and their words and perceptions may surprise many of the white LDS members who may read this book. Many of the essays overlapped each other due to the narrow subject matter and sometimes, that helped to reinforced the information. The book is only 172 pages and that includes the index and footnotes pages.

It is no great secret that LDS practiced overt racism toward their black members before the ban was lifted and relied on old near-mythological doctrines to denied many of their black membership, the full fellowship into their ranks. The book explained these doctrines very clearly and how they became part of the accepted practice of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints until that fateful day in June 1978.

The book also sadly reflects on LDS refusal to confront their own racist history and how such attitude hampered their efforts to deal with these problems they have with their non-white members - especially blacks. Adjustment of white Mormons in accepting blacks as full members have not been easy and its no small wonder that many blacks still feel alienated in their own church. Ironically, the book pointed out that like polygamy, racist anti-black doctrines still lies within the framework of the LDS church. LDS' refusal to deal or remove these doctrines may trouble many. This means that only their policies that has changed, not their doctrines. This means that LDS could easily restore polygamy or ban blacks from priesthood anytime in the future if the political and social situation allow them so.

Overall, a very informative book that provides a lot of information about the racial relationship between LDS and the black people, especially those within their own ranks. Book come highly recommended as an introduction to this subject matter for further reading. ... Read more

Product Description
An exposé of Joseph Smith's fraud which spawned the Mormon Church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints). Conclusive evidence that every aspect of Smith's Church was a hoax and that the modern Mormon (LDS) Church continues in a conspiracy to deceive rank and file Mormons with lies and suppression of the real historical truth. Visit http://themormondelusion.com for more information on this and other work. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Interesting read
A well written and informative book. Concrete examples and analysis of church writings make it hard to deny, if you can get a follower to read it.

Downright Amazing Work on Mormonism
Jim Whitefield has a writing style that is clear, accurate and easy to read.This book: The Mormon Delusion II is convincing; I cannot say enough good things about it.It surpasses every work I have read so far on Mormonism.

In the PREFACE Jim spells out:

"If you are new to Mormonism, this book will explain the truth behind the hoax and expose falsehoods, lies and the systematic cover-up of the underlying reality from the beginning, in such a manner that it is completely indisputable."

Jim makes good on his promise:

In the FIRST CHAPTER Jim deals with Joseph Smith's money digging and stone peeping history.
In the SECOND CHAPTER Jim deals with Joseph Smith's First Vision; adding more detail to the subject than most people are probably aware is available.One major theme that Jim covers is how the Mormon Church has rewritten their history, and he documents this subject very well.

The added detail and thorough documentation on the subjects Jim covers makes The Mormon Delusion II special.Also, instead of Jim's detailed accounts of Joseph Smith's ever changing stories clouding the subject matter; Jim is able to keep the subjects in focus.That is an extremely difficult task for an author to accomplish.

In conclusion: I really enjoyed reading this book and wholeheartedly recommend it to everyone interested in learning the truth about Mormonism.Get out your knife and fork out and enjoy the feast Jim has prepared for you!

... Read more

Product Description
This is the third in a series of books exposing the truth behind Mormonism. In this volume, we review doctrines that have been discarded. To early Mormons, Adam was God and blood atonement was a stark reality. These were accepted doctrines which survived for several decades throughout the leadership of several successive prophets. Today, the Church denies they even existed. The origin of the Mormon temple ceremony is established and explained. An analysis of changes over the years shows that the rites now enacted bear no resemblance to the original ceremonies Joseph Smith lifted from late eighteenth century Masonic ritual, claiming they were restored from the time of Solomon. The psychology of a Mormon testimony is explored and explained. Sections of the Doctrine and Covenants are exposed as completely unfulfilled nonsense that Mormons simply cannot see through as long as blind faith precludes rational thinking. Visit www.themormondelusion.com for further information on this and other volumes. ... Read more

Product Description

President Joseph F. Smith was so long in the public service of the Church that his published sermons and writings would fill many volumes. The difficult problem of the compilers of this volume has been to make a collection of extracts that would do full justice to the man and that, at the same time, could be contained in a volume of moderate size. Every reader who knows Church literature will note the shortcomings of the work; and none more than the compilers. However, incomplete as it may be, this collection is well worth while, for it contains a wealth of gospel wisdom, to instruct, comfort, and inspire the Saints.

Product Description
This book reads on a 8th to 9th grade level, making it a useful tool for students of all ages. It was created to bridge the gap between the text of The Book of Mormon and the reading and/or word comprehension and/or signing skills of many people. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

helpful for people like me
I have a hard time reading the Book of Mormon in general, I usually get through the Nephis, and then my mind wonders off in the difficult language.I like that this still sticks to the story, but just changes words and phrases to what we commonly know.It makes concentration for me easier.

BOM Plain English GUIDE
This is a wonderful plain English guide for LDS and others who have difficulty studying the archaic prose of the standard text. I don't always agree with Mr. Wilson's interpretation, but he markets the book as a reference, and does not claim this to be an official Church product.

The language is easy to follow. Mr. Wilson goes through by chapter, so it is easy to follow along in the Standard Book of Mormon. Which I would always recommend doing.

Overall this product is a good resource for anyone looking to understand the Book of Mormon better.

Afraid at first
I was afraid to read this at first, because I don't like the idea of messing around with scripture.That's why we still use the King James Version.HOWEVER... I love this book.I never felt like anything was lost.Only clarified.I won't let this book replace my scriptures, but it will never be far away.GREAT Job Tim.Thank you sooo sooo much.I bought it in a used book store, and I feel very fortunate to have found it.I was unaware of it before that moment.My teenager is reading it now.Thanks again.

A MUST have for religionists
This book is basically a rewritten version of The Book Of Mormon in contemporary English and reads at about a middle school level of difficulty.It eliminate the archaic prose of words like the "thee", "thou", "verily", "hast" and other KJV biblical text.A comparison could be the KING JAMES BIBLE rewritten into the easier to understand NEW LIVING TRANSLATION.

I'll admit there are places in the Book of Mormon where I have struggled to comprehend its contents (Jacob chapter 5 and the Isaiah quotes come to mind).Timothy Wilson's work has made a world of difference in understanding it.This is like a rewrite of the Book of Mormon in modern English.It also includes some extra references for explaining certain themes and events. Read this alongside the original - it has helped me to read it much more effectively.

If you are interested in this, you might also want to check out the EASY-TO-READ BOOK OF MORMON by Lynn Matthews Anderson (ISBN: 0-9644957-0-8).That version (young children being the target audience) is written in even more simple English than is Timothy Wilson's work here.Both are useful for comprehension of the original text.

Every Mormon Home Should Have
As a former seminary teacher and now gospel doctorine teacher, this "guide" makes reading the Book of Mormon much easier and understandable. It's like have a scriptorian next to you explaining what you just read, and yet, it is written with flow, like a novel, so you don't want to put it down.I finished the whole Book of Mormon in one week.I have a more vivid understanding and mental references now.I completed the prophets challenge. I can't wait to read this 2-3 times a year. It is not like other scriptures "re-written" losing translation, this is "right on", and has the same spirit of revelation attending you as it is when you are reading from the Book of Mormon. ... Read more

Product Description
This book an EXACT reproduction of the original book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
Using unique personal experiences, trusted quotes from Church leaders, and other compelling stories that touch hearts and enlighten minds, Jack Christiansen and K. Douglas Bassett have created an indispensable guidebook to life that will leave a long and lasting impression. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Powerful stuff
This is an amazing book!!!I love the portion that is by Jack Christianson, the chapters done by the other author are good but not as powerful.So worth buying!!!

Guaranteed To Inspire You!
This book is brimming with thought-provoking messages that inspire the reader to build their testimony by going straight to the scriptures. Jack Christianson and Doug Bassett are a winning combination as they join forces to remind readers to be 'believing and behaving' Latter-day Saints, not just those who go through the motions.It's a wake-up call of why we're here, and what this life is all about.A sure-fire read for anyone who has gotten a little too comfortable with their testimony, and needs a fresh charge of their spiritual batteries. Excellent reading!The authors use scripture, counsel from prophets, and motivating stories to bring home the message of the power of the Book of Mormon, and how to use that power in our lives.Two thumbs up! ... Read more

Product Description
At the age of nineteen, Jacob Young left his family's Idaho wheat farm for Samara, Russia, where he had been assigned to serve as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

He quickly learned how to approach strangers in thick fur coats and deliver a thirty minute message about God. He learned how to knock on door after dreary door and testify with a conviction he did not always feel. He learned to love the Russian language, the Russian people, and the inside of a Russian jail.

But the most important lessons may have been the things he never learned. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A fascinating read
How desperate do you have to be to eat a chunk of raw pork you placed behind a couch to rot for several days hoping to contract trichinosis or some other non-fatal but serious disease? Pretty darn desperate, I'd say. And what kind of predicament could induce so much desperation in a healthy, intelligent and strong 19 year-old with a full life ahead of him?

Try taking him away from his quaint but free Idaho lifestyle and placing him in a land as foreign as post-Soviet Russia next to another 19 year-old he'd never before met but was now required to spend every waking second with, and entrust him with a single task for the next two years: to bring the gospel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to as many lost souls as possible--a task which can be accomplished only if the message-bearer is worthy of it, which is to say, if his mind and body are utterly pure and his intentions true. Now, expose this young man to a more or less constant daily rejection (and not just your tame, apologetic Anglo-Saxon rejection, but the very particular hard-headed, sharp-tongued Slavic variety), take away his contact with everything familiar (family, books, music, language, sport), and push him onto a crowded bus where long, nyloned legs and exposed cleavages press against him while he recites his proselytizing verses in his head (his only line of defense in keeping his mind pure), and see what happens.

What happened to Elder Young, the author's younger self, are confusion, doubt, guilt, and an occasional moment of desperation. All of these excruciating emotions, however, ultimately led to something rather positive--growing up. The Mormon mission experience, as painful, challenging, and controversial as it might be, is one of the few true rites of passage left in our society, and as such it is utterly fascinating.

Harvest: Memoir of a Mormon Missionary is unusual in one respect. It neither vilifies the Mormon Church nor does it really applaud it. What it does instead is to show us with heart-wrenching honesty what it is like to serve a Mormon mission. To see someone so wholesome and intent on doing the right thing try so hard, and yet always fall short of feeling "worthy," is at times viscerally painful. But we keep reading because we want to see this young man find peace, because we know he deserves it. In not taking "sides," Harvest runs the risk of upsetting everybody and pleasing nobody, but this fact is more a reflection of our society's ingrained need for a simplified, black-and-white representation of complex problems than a flaw of this book.

In the words of one of Young's Russian "investigators," Mormonism is a uniquely American religion. There is more to Elder Young's journey than a coming-of-age of an American teenager. Doesn't our entire country put on a neat uniform and travel abroad to convince those less enlightened than ourselves to take up our worldview? Our intentions are at once noble and flawed. We might truly trust that our way of life is superior and that those less fortunate could benefit from accepting it, and because we are Americans and determined to do good, we get off our couch and go on converting. What we fail to take into account in our youthful earnestness, however, are the complex history of the world outside our shores and a universal human aversion to being subjugated and told you got it wrong. Our go-getter attitude and "If it's broke fix it" approach often get lost in translation, and we are perceived as cultural and political imperialists. But all is not lost. By wrestling with our conscience, the way we see young Elder Young do in this book, we can grow and change and come to understand both the world and ourselves more fully.

Harvest: Memoir of a Mormon Missionary is an engaging, fascinating read. It deals with theology, sexuality, duty, obedience, and all the other building blocks of identity. The growing pains of change can be felt on each page, yet there is something redemptive to the experience--the sense that the world and self are not stagnant, and that as humans we are here to learn before we can teach.


... Read more

Product Description
Children's Book of Mormon Picture Book If you think children ages three and up should help more around the house, complain less while doing it, and have the courage to always choose the right, then this book is a must-have! Who’s Your Hero? teaches young children about heroic examples from the Book of Mormon, but even more: At the end of each scripture story, children will learn a timely, heroic lesson for today. For example, Ammon loves to do chores around the house (just like he loved helping King Lamoni with his horses), and Nephi doesn’t complain when it’s time to go to bed (just like he didn’t complain when his father Lehi asked him to do hard things). Family home evening ideas and activities are also featured. Who’s Your Hero? is ideal for starting children early on to love the Book of Mormon! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Wonderful!
My 2-1/2 year old daughter loves these books. We bought all 4 volumes. It's a great way for young kids to learn the Book of Mormon stories and learn how to be a modern day hero. Wonderful.

The first in a great set of Book of Mormon story books.
This is the first of three (so far but maybe only three) of a series of Book of Mormon based caricature books giving a small overview of the origional stories. These however are more visual then the Book of Mormon and give kids a testimony (without their even knowing it) and getting them excited and knowlagable of the stories contained therin.

Great series and I would recomend them to any religious parent looking to get their kids excited about religion, God, and their own Salvation.

Includes FHE idea for your family to use on Monday nights.

Great book!
We have the first three volumes of these books and my 4 year old LOVES them and I love the Home Evening ideas at the end of each story.

Love it!
I love these books! I own both volumes, and I actually really enjoy the illustrations.I know they are "busy", but I have "serious" LDS books for my kids, it's nice to have fun ones that they are totally excited about.I love to look in detail at the pictures, because there are so many interesting things in the illustrations (for adults).I love how he keeps characters looking the same in different stories.For example, he shows Alma, as a young man, being converted by the words of Abinadi, and in a different story, he shows Alma praying for his son, Alma the Younger.This time, Alma is an old man, but he wears the same outfit he wore when he was young, and he looks like the same character,but older.This makes it easier for kids to understand how the stories and characters in the Book of Mormon intertwine.This happens with a few other characters too.Overall, I would absolutely recommend these books!

Great story-- bizzare illustrations
OK- we LOVE this book- we love how it gives the scriptural account and then truly applies it to our children.It is great!BUT.... the illustrations are so over the top, and so out of control, it really DISTRACTS from the book :(The author is a caracacture artist, and so it seems weird to recommend that on the next book in the series, he use a different illustrator-- but that is what I am reccomending!I would much prefer to see illustrations that weren't so busy- so visually assaulting-- and illustations that reflected the beauty of the message in this book (and yes, I understand that this is supposed to be a "fun" book for kids-- but it was so busy for my children, and the eyes were drawn SO big on the people, that my kids kept thinking that all the people were either MAD or SCARED!).I am so glad that my children havea book that teaches them that ancient prophet's teachings truly do apply to them, and they can make choices in their lives that show that they follow the prophets!...But I will still be hoping that the illustrations are calmer in the next volume! ... Read more

Product Description
The Essential Mormon Cookbook was a runaway bestseller! Now you can find more secret combinations for your favorite foods in a new collection of home-style recipes. Essential Mormon Celebrations contains recipes for traditional holiday meals with sections like "The Night Before Christmas", "Easter Dinner", and "New Year's Brunch".

This volume also includes recipes and ideas for the nontraditional parties and celebrations that are so much a part of our culture: tailgate picnics, wedding and baby showers, homecomings, Pioneer Day commemorations, family reunions, and much, much more.

More than 200 recipes are divided by seasons and events in this second volume of irresistible Mormon comfort food. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A good Addition to anyones Recipe collection
The only thing I would like to say about this book is that the recipes are good well tested recipes.I appreciate the time and energy that went into the making of this cookbook.It is well laid out and easy to follow and use.Thank You for putting this and your other book together. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

great help in understanding the BofM
I needed help in not overlooking the small things.There is a lot of thoughts and understandings back when the prophets were writing the BofM that I had overlooked in previous readings.Ludlow assisted me in seeing these small things.

My Thoughts
This book has a wealth of information, but it seems that all the jewels of this book have been implemented into the church's institute or home study manuals.It is good if you want to find out more of the commentary taht Mr. Ludlow has on the Book of Mormon. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

Brave and Influential, Yet Problematic
First of all, let me say that I am sorely disappointed that this volume has not been peer-reviewed. Potential readers would be much better off reading the assessment of Sorenson's peers rather than the musings of anonymous internet reviewers. Ah, but therein lies the rub. As much as Sorenson conveys an academic tone, this book is not a product of "mainstream" academia. Take that for what you will--some people will undoubtedly see that as a positive, while others will see it as a negative.

In order to give a fair review, I need to address three potential audiences. Decide which one you are a part of and skip to that paragraph: Mormon apologists, casual readers, and students/academics.

For the Mormon apologist, this book is absolutely indispensable. While Sorenson goes out of his way to assure the reader that he is not "proving" anything, he has compiled a great deal of supporting evidence and data for Mormons who wish to set the BoM in Ancient America. Here in this book is where you will find the most convincing and helpful theories about how to "fit" the narratives of the BoM to archaeological and historical reality. If you are a Mormon and are interested in apologetics, buy it and consider it a valuable amalgamation of ammunition.

For the casual reader, the book will still prove to be valuable. Sorenson tries to shift the burden of proof to those claiming that the BoM is not historically accurate, and any reasonable person who holds those views should accept the challenge. For those wishing to imagine how BoM events could have plausibly happened in an Ancient American context, this book will not disappoint. It is, to use a trite phrase, "a fun read".

For the scholar, however, Sorenson's book is of limited value. It is not peer-reviewed, and its method is suspect. Rather than start with the evidence and try to reach a conclusion, Sorenson starts with a conclusion and selects the evidence that supports it. Though this method may be acceptable for some people, academics will likely find it reprehensible.

Overall, I give it a 3. It is not Hugh Nibley and Jan Shipps material, but it is a great deal more carefully thought out and systematically approached than most books in this vein.

An anchient American setting for the Book of Mormon
The book is in like new condition an much cheaper than new - an excellent value.Very good service from the seller.I plan to vacation in the western Caribbean and vist some of the Book of Mormon era ruins.

Gary Lehnhausen

A Good Start on the Path to an Answer
I personally enjoyed this book immensely.I have heard all of the various theories about potential settings for the Book of Mormon.This book by Dr. Sorrenson makes a plausible setting relying heavily upon deductive reasoning based upon what the text actually says, such as distances traveled to produce a limited geographic setting for the Book of Mormon.

Sorrenson does not pretend that this is the end to the discussion on the setting for the Book of Mormon, but rather a possible beginning.There are still many questions that need definitive answers which future research and scholarship will have to uncover.

One reviewer complained that this book flies in the face of Mormon prophetic understanding of Native Americans, which I disagree with completely.At worst it only refines what we already know, which is actually a good thing.Lehites were not the only people living on the American continent.The Book of Mormon tells us so by repeatedly hinting and openly discussing the existence of non-Lehite neighbors such as the Mulekites, surviving Jaredites, and others.What does the DNA of a Jaredite look like, or a Mulekite?What did the DNA of a "Lamanite" look like around 400AD when it was more of a title than a pure heritage?Wouldn't we expect to see diffusionism in the DNA?Wouldn't we expect to see a similar diffusionism in today's native American DNA?Absolutely, and we do!

Anybody interested in the best scholarship to date on a potential and plausible setting for the Book of Mormon needs to read this book.

A strained attempt to force the Book of Mormon into reality
This book is such an incredibly strained attempt to force Book of Mormon geography into a real world setting that I found it to be of very limited value.Sorenson wasn't the first, nor will he be the last, LDS apologist/researcher to attempt to find a setting for the Book of Mormon (BoM).

Up front, I must state the effect this book had on me when I first read it 15 years ago (previous edition).Since I had grown up in the LDS church, I had read many books by church authors that at the time seemed quite impressive.They really seemed to know what they were talking about and there arguments seemed unassailable.Of course, part of the reason for that was my limited experience with counter-arguments.Occasionally I ran across claims that seemed over the top, unsupported, or even flat wrong, but I didn't know enough to feel comfortable in asserting that.In my late twenties, I started reading a lot of Hugh Nibley books.Again, I had the same experiences until I read a book wherein he was arguing in support of the hemispheric model.He argued that the (pardon if my facts are a little off, since it has been a while) descendants of Lehi could have spread out across the entire continent.To support the idea he compared the Lehites to ancient Mongolians nomadic tribes who wandered over vast areas of Asian.It was at that point I suddenly realized that Hugh Nibley was comparing apples to oranges....nomadic Mongolians to sedentary Lehites fixed on a specific area of the continent.

Before I read the book now under review, I found a similar book that argued the BoM story took place in Peru.The author had many seemingly strong arguments, but overall I was certain the book should not be taken seriously.

So when I read Sorenson's book, I was already prepped for weird, unofficial, obviously bogus claims to BoM geography.What I wasn't prepared for, was the degree to which a BYU professor and apologist would summarily dismiss the church's consistent history of claiming Lamanites were to be found all over the American continent and Pacific islands.He utterly ignored any references that contradicted his thesis, despite the vast quantity of them.

To make matters worse, he developed the Two Hill Cumorah Theory in a vain attempt to cover over his glaring omission that the Hill Cumorah was officially claimed by the church to be in New York, not Central America.Not only had the church claimed the plates were found by Joseph Smith in New York, but the church has officially and directly stated at least two times that the New York hill was the same place where the BoM end wars took place.Joseph Fielding Smith even officially stated the Limited Geography Theories were false, partly because he knew the official stance of the church placed the BoM end wars in New York State.

And Sorenson glaringly omits any reference to BoM statements in Moroni 1:1 and 1:4 that conclusively show Moroni had buried the plates in the Hill Cumorah because he thought he would be killed.The whole premise of the BoM is that prophets would bury the plates to be later found by another prophet for publishing to the remnants of his people.But Moroni then says, he was not killed, so he came back and wrote some more.Here are the direct quotes that put the whole, false, two-Cumorah claim to rest:

Moroni 1:1 - "Now I, Moroni, after having made an end of abridging the account of the people of Jared, I had supposed not to have written more, but I have not as yet perished; and I make not myself known to the Lamanites lest they should destroy me. "

Moroni 1:4 - "Wherefore, I write a few more things, contrary to that which I had supposed; for I had supposed not to have written any more; but I write a few more things..."

So, thanks to Sorenson, my eyes have been officially opened wide to the bold-faced dishonesty of many Mormon apologists.Now, when I read Mormon apologetics, I can see the glaring distortions and outright lies that make about their own doctrines and history.

Every attempt to fit the BoM story anywhere is hindered by the fact that the church has, for most of its existence, officially claimed BoM descendants to be all over the continent and pacific islands (I won't delve into support for this because tons of references are available on the Internet, such as revelations in Doctrine & Covenants, Lamanite programs, official statements by Joseph Smith, Joseph Fielding Smith, official statements by Spencer W. Kiimball, etc), while at the same time the book internally seems to describe both a hemispheric model and a limited geography model.

B.H. Roberts stated it well in his A Book of Mormon Study, wherein he says something to the effect that the author of the BoM clearly exhibits a juvenile conception of time and distances.

To make matters worse, the various sciences that come to bear on this issue all disagree with the claim of Israelites inhabiting the Americans anciently (except perhaps only in such a limited scope as to be invisible to discovery).They simply find no evidence for any Israelite traces here.Now, the DNA evidence has compounded the problem for the BoM claims.

So we're left with books like the one under review that attempt to do the equivalent of finding an actual, ancient setting for the peoples of The Lord of the Rings trilogy.One could say for both books that we can't actually prove either false because we'd have to do an exhausted search of the continent to prove a negative.However, in both cases, we can be sure neither occurred because there is no evidence found so far of Elves, Dwarves, Orcs, Israelites or any other fairy tale creatures on this continent (and in the case of Lord of the Rings, any continent).

Having said all that, the book has some value because:

1) it actually does get some claims right.For example, Sorenson does well at proving that the movements of people in the BoM describe a limited geography. This fact forces many Mormons to acknowledge that the traditional and "prophetically" supported hemispheric model cannot be held based on the travel distances described in the BoM.

2) it inadvertently proves that LDS leaders have had no clue what they were claiming with regards to BoM geography and who the "Lamanites" were.This book is actually a crushing blow to LDS prophetic claims.

3) it inadvertently proves to LDS and non-LDS the statement in 2 above.

4) it inadvertently shows just how glaringly dishonest Mormon apologists can be.

This book should be read by all interested in Mormonism.Why?Because it makes it so easy to see Mormonism for the fake it is.Read this book, then read other apologetic works on the LDS sites, then read critical articles and books on this subject.Go back and forth between the various pro-con articles/books and you soon realize that Mormons are in a real mess and they are scurrying to cover over the hole in BoM claims.

Probable explanations for Book of Mormon Geography & Anthropology
Sorenson attempts to give geographic ruins in north-central America the place names from the book of mormon text, and attempts to explain ancient culture, linguistics and genetic heritage in context of the book of mormon text.He makes no excuses for his pro-Mormon point of view, in advocating the book of mormon as real history of a lost-people.

Interestingly, he claims the culture and language of a group of north-central aboriginal americans has left remnants of their existence, but only a whisper of these alleged lost-people can be seen today.From the POV of modern-day fragments of archeology, anthropology, linguistics and genetics he attempts to construct a "probable" explanation of book of mormon events.

This is a book about WHAT Mormons could or can believe, and NOT about WHY you should believe it, and definitely NOT an official Mormon church stance on the matter.Sorenson asks so many questions that cannot currently be answered, I'm amazed more books haven't been published to counter or support this work, since it was first published in 1985!I was desperate to read a counter to Sorenson's ideas but all that I could find were whiner-babies on internet forums opposing the Mormon church or Mormonism as a religion.

Let's have a real "counter-Sorenson" scholarly treatise to this book and see what it turns up!?!

In the meantime, this book is very compelling FOR the legitimacy of the Book of Bormon.

... Read more

Product Description
dark blue leatherette or vinal covers, ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Another Testament of Jesus Christ
By far the best book I ever read. A great history of the native American people. Full of moral examble. Changed my life took only 2 months to finish but worth reading over and over.

The standard works of Mormonism
This volume contains the three standard works of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, otherwise known as the LDS Church or the Mormon Church.

Most people have heard about the Book of Mormon, published in 1830 by Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormon Church. It's supposedly a translation of an ancient document engraved on golden plates, a document which Smith claimed to have found at Hill Cumorah in Upstate New York. Nobody has seen the original, except eleven supporters of Smith known as the Three Witnesses and the Eight Witnesses. The story of how the Book of Mormon was found and translated has overt supernatural elements, and must be considered bogus. In reality, Smith wrote the book all by himself. Still, it's a relatively interesting read.

The Book of Mormon is a kind of "alternative Bible". The plot is set in pre-Columbian America, and the main protagonists are the White, fair and godly Nephites and the dark-skinned, sinful and cursed Lamanites. Both are of Israelite stock. Eventually, Jesus Christ himself appears in America and creates a church, uniting both Nephites and Lamanites. However, the people eventually split again, and in a final battle the Lamanites exterminate the Nephites. The last Nephite, Moroni, hides the gold plates at Cumorah, where Joseph Smith finds them centuries later.

Of course, there is absolutely no evidence of this story. The Lamanites are supposedly the ancestors of the American Indians, but genetic tests reveal no Semitic genes among them. Nor have archaeologists discovered an advanced White Israelite civilization anywhere in America. Joseph Smith simply reworked the Biblical stories and gave them a more intriguing American setting. Indeed, that's probably the entire point: to claim that modern United States is somehow God's chosen nation, and has a "Biblical" prehistory similar to that of ancient Israel. The Book of Mormon also "clarifies" the Bible on many obscure points, "solving" various theological conflicts between Protestant denominations current during Joseph Smith's own lifetime. And yet, he wanted his readers to believe that this was an ancient document, written in "reformed Egyptian", no less!

Had Mormonism simply been a religion centred on the Book of Mormon, it would probably have been just one out of many Protestant denominations. However, Mormonism continued evolving after Smith had published the book, becoming more and more exotic and deviant in the process. This can be seen in the two additional scriptures included in this volume, "Doctrine and Covenants" and "The Pearl of Great Price".

"Doctrine and Covenants" is tedious and boring, and contains divine revelations supposedly given to Joseph Smith and some of his successors. Most of these deal with administrative issues concerning the organization of various priesthoods. However, there is also a revelation allowing polygamy. Ironically, the Book of Mormon explicitly prohibits polygamy, but when Smith got other ideas about it, he simply overruled the supposed sacred writ by a new revelation! (Later, the LDS Church stopped practicing polygamy, after decades of persecution by the US authorities.)

But the most sensational of the standard works is surely "The Pearl of Great Price". It contains two main items, known as the Book of Moses and the Book of Abraham. Of these, the Book of Abraham is the most controversial. For starters, it's polytheist! The scripture claims that the world was created by the gods (in plural). It also claims that the otherwise unknown planet Kolob is the centre of the universe, and that the gods who created Earth reside and assemble on this planet. This strange blend of paganism and science fiction is enough to drive main-line Christians quite mad, while atheists presumably use it to ridicule the Mormon true believers. (And yes, there is an actual science fiction series based on these notions.)

Joseph Smith claimed that the Book of Abraham was an actual Egyptian document. Apparently, Smith *did* have a genuine papyrus document at his disposal, probably bought from a travelling party. Unfortunately, this time he made the mistake of publishing the document. At the time, nobody could read Egyptian hieroglyphs. Today, we know that the document is simply a part of the Egyptian Book of the Dead! It doesn't mention Abraham, Kolob or the Mormon gods.

The Book of Moses, curiously, say that God (in the singular) created heavens and the earth. However, it also claims that God created an infinity of inhabited planets, a notion unacceptable to Protestant fundamentalists. Otherwise, the Book of Moses contains innovative stories about Adam, Cain and Enoch. The text is also included in "The Inspired Version of the Bible", a new Bible "translation" written by Joseph Smith, where he simply revised those portions he saw fit, claiming divine inspiration. While "The Inspired Version" has never been officially canonized by the LDS Church, some other portions of it are also included in the Pearl of Great Price.

Finally, it should be noted that many other aspects of the Mormon religion aren't mentioned in the standard works. For instance, the Mormon "endowment" is a secret ritual (consult any anti-Mormon pamphlet for a detailed description). Mormonism has continued changing since Joseph Smith's untimely death, and it's not always clear which teachings are official.

Still, everyone interested in the religious message of the LDS Church must start with the standard scriptures. Personally, I'm convinced that Joseph Smith was a conscious fraud, but one cannot deny that his religious imagination was quite outstanding!

The Book of Mormon
The is good for a reference - it does give the Watchtower view of the bible, which I disagree with. ... Read more

Product Description
The Mormon church today is led by an elite group of older men, nearly three-quarters of whom are related to current or past general church authorities. This dynastic hierarchy meets in private; neither its minutes nor the church's finances are available for public review. Members are reassured by public relations spokesmen that all is well and that harmony prevails among these brethren.But by interviewing former church aides, examining hundreds of diaries, and drawing from his own past experience as an insider within the Latter-day Saint historical department, D. Michael Quinn presents a fuller view. His extensive research documents how the governing apostles, seventies, and presiding bishops are likely to be at loggerheads, as much as united. These strong-willed, independent men--like directors of a large corporation or supreme court justices--lobby among their colleagues, forge alliances, out-maneuver opponents, and broker compromises.There is more: clandestine political activities, investigative and punitive actions by church security forces, personal "loans" from church coffers (later written off as bad debts), and other privileged power-vested activities. Quinn considers the changing role and attitude of the leadership toward visionary experiences, the momentous events which have shaped quorum protocol and doctrine, and day-to-day bureaucratic intrigue from the time of Brigham Young to the dawn of the twenty-first century.The hierarchy seems at root well-intentioned and even at times aggressive in fulfilling its stated responsibility, which is to expedite the Second Coming. Where they have become convinced that God has spoken, they have set aside personal differences, offered unqualified support, and spoken with a unified voice. This potential for change, when coupled with the tempering effect of competing viewpoints, is something Quinn finds encouraging about Mormonism. But one should not assume that these men are infallibile or work in anything approaching uninterrupted unanimity. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (28)

I bet you didn't learn this in Sunday School
D. Michael Quinn is a dissident Mormon who has authored or edited several books on the history of the Mormon (LDS) Church. Naturally, they stray quite extensively from official Mormon hagiography. Quinn's best known work is probably "Early Mormonism and the Magic World View", but his other books are equally worth delving into.

"The Mormon Hierarchy: Extensions of Power" is the second volume of a two-volume series. The first is subtitled "Origins of Power".

The book is really a collection of essays on various controversial topics of Mormon history. Half of the book consists of appendices, footnotes and references. One of the essays deals with the controversies surrounding Ezra Taft Benson and his support for the extremist John Birch Society. Another essay describes the successful Mormon campaign to stop ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA).

Quinn has also included an extensive discussion of 19th century Mormonism in Utah. He reaches the surprising conclusion that the secretive, theocratic Council of Fifty played only a minor role. Despite this, Mormon Utah clearly was a theocracy. Not without some irony, the author describes how LDS-approved candidates in Utah elections would get 99% of the votes, and never less than 95%. For a period, the Mormon-controlled "People's Party" didn't even have a central committee, but was controlled directly by Church authorities! Please note the names "people's party" and "central committee" and the 99% election results. Are we talking Utah or Estonia in 1940?

Appendix 5 is easily the most interesting part of the entire volume, a veritable treasure trove of downright bizarre information on Mormonism you won't learn from those clean-cut LDS missionaries. The "elders" probably don't even know about it! Thus, we learn that the famous Miracle of the Seagulls wasn't considered particularly miraculous when it first happened. Brigham Young prohibited Mormons from digging gold in Utah only to send a Mormon group to California to do precisely that. Sodomy was legal in Utah from 1852 to 1876. Young prohibited Blacks from entering the priesthood, but nevertheless invited Elijah Abel to a social event in Salt Lake City. Abel was an African-American who had been ordained by Joseph Smith! Young also denied the virgin birth, claiming that God had a physical body and had a carnal relation with Mary. In 1857, Young allowed a polyandrous relationship and preached in favour of marriage between siblings. One of his apostles said that Muhammad might have been a true prophet! And so on...

More shocking is the trail of violence, murder and mayhem that characterized Utah during the rule of Mormon theocrats. The Mountain Meadows Massacre is the most well known instance, but it seems that "blood atonements", decapitations and castrations were the order of the day, Brigham Young not being wholly innocent of stirring things up. Of course, the Wild West was a brutal place in those days, and the problem isn't so much that this or that horse thief was summarily dealt with. The problem, of course, is the religious-theocratic dimension, as when the Mormons and the federal authorities together attacked the Morrisites, or when Mormon dissidents were attacked, or when "loose" women were found decapitated, etc.

"The Mormon Hierarchy" is more forthright than Leonard Arrington's bland work "Brigham Young: American Moses". Arrington, of course, is The Living Prophet's Loyal Opposition. Quinn, it seems, is something else again.

The only criticism I have of this book is that Quinn's style of writing frequently gets dry, tedious and over-detailed. Still, I cannot recommend this volume high enough.

Five stars.

Quinn reigns in research
D. Michael Quinn is considered the authority when it comes to LDS history and the research behind it.This book is number two in his Hierarchy series. It is great to go behind the scenes of mormonism and see that 'men of god' are still MEN.Also, it makes apparent who exactly was the Prophet of the Restoration: Joseph Smith.Nobody after him was, and nobody after him can compare.
Yet, the men that did come after Joseph did what they could to lead a fast growing church.Things didn't come easy, and Quinn keeps things in perspective.Read this and book one only if you realize certain things and have a good foundation of faith in Jesus Christ, not anything else.

Great Book
Again Quinn has provided an insightful book on Mormon History.He documents everything he says, often from multiple Mormon sources.Leaders of the Mormon Church have said that history should always be uplifting and leaders should never be criticised. Below are three quotes that illustrate this point.

"My duty as a member of the Council of the Twelve is to protect what is most unique about the LDS church, namely the authority of priesthood, testimony regarding the restoration of the gospel, and the divine mission of the Savior. Everything may be sacrificed in order to maintain the integrity of those essential facts. Thus, if Mormon Enigma reveals information that is detrimental to the reputation of Joseph Smith, then it is necessary to try to limit its influence and that of its authors."
- Apostle Dallin Oaks, footnote 28, Inside the Mind of Joseph Smith: Psychobiography and the Book of Mormon, Introduction p. xliii

"You seminary teachers and some of you institute and BYU men will be teaching the history of the Church this school year. This is an unparalleled opportunity in the lives of your students to increase their faith and testimony of the divinity of this work. Your objective should be that they will see the hand of the Lord in every hour and every moment of the Church from its beginning till now."

"Church history can be so interesting and so inspiring as to be a very powerful tool indeed for building faith. If not properly written or properly taught, it may be a faith destroyer."

"There is a temptation for the writer or the teacher of Church history to want to tell everything, whether it is worthy or faith promoting or not."

"Some things that are true are not very useful."
- Boyd K. Packer, "The Mantle is Far, Far Greater Than the Intellect", 1981, BYU Studies, Vol. 21, No. 3, pp. 259-271

"It is one thing to depreciate a person who exercises corporate power or even government power. It is quite another thing to criticize or depreciate a person for the performance of an office to which he or she has been called of God. It does not matter that the criticism is true."
- Dallin H. Oaks, "Reading Church History," CES Doctrine and Covenants Symposium, Brigham Young University, 16 Aug. 1985, page 25. also see Dallin H. Oaks, "Elder Decries Criticism of LDS Leaders," quoted in The Salt Lake Tribune, Sunday August 18, 1985, p. 2B

Quinn puts things in the proper perspective showing the disagreements and differences between leaders.He shows the parts of Mormon History that are not faith promoting.If the reader wants to really understand this portion of Mormon History, there is not another book that comes close.

Quinn has not missed the mark...
It's true, there is enough in footnoted references to sustain you in your basement along with all your food storage from the local Stake cannery till dooms day.

Knowing Dr. Quinn's writing style, the footnotes should not come as a surprise but only presents exhaustive validity to what he is bold enough to say. Having worked for the Church in the Family and Church History Department, I can say that people still talk about when Quinn worked there years ago. The difference between us and Quinn is we are in the business of being Spiritual Dermatologists: burning off history's warts, creating a pot marked but clean historical image. Quinn does not need to explain him self to those who find his work incorrect, I feel and believe he is not in this for any type of vanity, even historical. Quinn has not missed the mark, LDS historical scholarly works will show, in time, that he has, in fact, defined it!

Personal Agenda?
I am not a Mormon, but it is obvious that Mr. Quinn's personal agenda distorts the truth. ... Read more

Product Description
"The Mormon Conspiracy is a very comprehensive volume dealing withissues that most others, who have written about the Mormon Church,have left untouched, namely the political ambitions of the Church ofJesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and how they have become successfulin this goal unnoticed by the majority of Americans. He has capturedthe "spirit of Mormonism" and understood the internal structureamazingly well without ever having been a Mormon. Dr. Wood's researchand conclusions show originality and give helpful conclusions whichopen the reader's mind to see the true nature and plan of the MormonChurch for America-and the world. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (58)

Faulty Premise
The problem with this book is not that nothing bad can be said about the "Mormons" and the Church they espouse, for indeed much can be. The problem is not even the author's myriad misrepresentations of Latter-day Saint doctrine, though one need not even read past the first page to come across several examples of this. The problem is that the entire basis for the author's theories comes back to a single, erroneous statement found on page 2 of the actual text:

"Mormons regard the President (or Prophet) of the church to be infallible, and they believe that... he can do no wrong or make a mistake."

This belief, though perhaps espoused by a small minority of "Mormons," has been repeatedly and emphatically denied by the Church and its president on several occasions. Among the most famous, a 1945 statement from then-Church President George Albert Smith:

"[The claim that the prophet be infallible] does not express the true position of the Church. Even to imply that members of the Church are not to do their own thinking is grossly to misrepresent the true ideal of the Church, which is that every individual must obtain for himself a testimony of the truth of the Gospel, must, through the redemption of Jesus Christ, work out his own salvation, and is personally responsible to His Maker for his individual acts. The Lord Himself does not attempt coercion in His desire and effort to give peace and salvation to His children. He gives the principles of life and true progress, but leaves every person free to choose or to reject His teachings. This plan the Authorities of the Church try to follow.

"The Prophet Joseph Smith once said: `I want liberty of thinking and believing as I please.' This liberty he and his successors in the leadership of the Church have granted to every other member thereof." (George Albert Smith, letter to Dr. J. Raymond Cope, 7 December 1945).

Without this erroneous belief as its basis, the entire premise of the book collapses under its own weight. If you want to learn about the Church from an outsider's point of view, there are much better options than this ridiculous treatment.

Poorly written
It amazes me that a PhD would publish a book that could not get a passing grade in a freshman English class.Page after page is loaded with unsupported opinions and conjectures. The opening sentence in the Preface says "The author first became interested in researching the Mormon Church when...", but there is not even one book or article by a Mormon author cited in the bibliography.

While leading the reader to believe that the author is providing accurate information about Mormon beliefs, the author fails to mention that the official doctrines of the Mormon Church are only found in their cannon of scripture (The Bible (KJV), Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and The Pearl of Great Price).These books alone are the sources of absolute appeal for Church doctrine.And yet the author does not recourse any of his conjectures to these books.In addition, of the 373 endnotes, only 29 refer to works by Mormon authors.

If you like fiction, this is a good read.If you are interested in accurate, scholarly, and critical information about Mormon beliefs I suggest How Wide the Divide?: A Mormon & an Evangelical in Conversation and [...].

THE MORMON CONSPIRACY
This book is full of trash talk, The author just hates the mormon church, Who knows why?.

A complete joke
This book can be proven wrong in so many ways I don't even know where to begin. The protestant author has an obvious bias against the LDS church. There are many religions with much more power and political pull than mormons. This is just one more conspiracy book not worth reading.

waste of time
If this book takes you a full day to read, then in the same time, an average of 150 Christians will have been killed (somewhere in the world) for their beliefs. Approximately 137,000 babies will have been aborted. You can't tell me that while Christianity is under threat globally, attacking Mormons is the best use of our energy. Even if they don't accept the Nicene creed, they are not the biggest threat. This book's strategy is to straighten deck chairs as the Titanic sinks. Here's a better use of time: how about writing to someone in Congress to stop legislating away our freedom of worship? ... Read more

Product Description
In October 1985, three pipe bombs shattered the suburban calm of Salt Lake City, Utah. Two people, a young businessman and a grandmother, were killed and one young man wounded. All three were Mormons, and when investigators began sifting through the evidence, an amazing story emerged that shocked the world and shook the foundations of the Mormon Church! A complex tale of God and greed that has been sold to CBS-TV as a four-hour miniseries. (Nonfiction) ... Read more

Customer Reviews (27)

True crime at its best
This story is about greed and a person who has no conscience but who is clever and innovative and skillful..to a point. The LDS involvement is only at the edges but the book is not anti LDS..it's just not very complimentary. The LDS had nothing to do with the commission of the crimes...directly that is. Great reading..compliments to local police, many of whom no doubt were LDS.

Buy it quick before the Mormons buy all of the copies!!
Probably one of the best non-fiction accounts of not only a couple of interesting murder plots, but it throws in many of the totally wierd Mormon historical accounts of their religon. Fantastic reading, even if you are a Mormon.

Attack? On who?
This book is no more an attack on the Mormon church than a history of slavery in the South is an attack on America. It's just a well-written book about facts.

The book is not pro or anti-mormon. The reader is left to make his/her own decisions.

It is all too easy to spot those who have not read the book by the way they word their criticism and use Amazon as a forum to promote thier religious beliefs.

Less Than A Star, Really....
To be quite honest, this book stinks.At first, the book does grasp you and you feel like "This is a really good book, nothing bad about it."But then, as each chapter goes further into a "momon bashing fit", the story deteriorates into what read as a "I Hate Mormons" campaign/manifesto.It feels as though the writers started not caring about what they wrote, as long as it was seen that mormons "are bad people, becuase they are human...shame on them, shame!....".

All told, I wasted $2.50 for a used copy of this book and increased my stupidity for it.

The tales of Hoffman
This book details the history of Mark Hoffman, one of the most controversial figures in modern day Mormonism.This was the first book that I had read on Hoffman.I read it as a young man (about 16 years of age), and it prompted me to do further study on certain questions regarding Mormonism that I found troubling.In a sense, I owe the authors of this book a debt of gratitude, as it was through them that I eventually learned of Fawn Brodie and the Tanners.I've been out of Mormonism for nearly 13 years now.I am deeply grateful to be out of Mormonism.

I re-read this book again recently.It is a fascinating tale, certainly.However, it does seem to be too sensationalistic in points (not that the Hoffman story isn't sensational!).For a more balanced version of the Tales of Hoffman, I would reccommend Robert Lindsay's A Gathering of Saints. ... Read more

Product Description
THE MORMON PIONEER TRAIL guide is provided for modern-day travelers who are making their own rediscovery of the Mormon Pioneer Trail and the wagon trains and handcart companies that journeyed along that trail. The guide is dedicated to the thousands who followed the pioneer trail west into the Valley of the Great Salt Lake and their Zion in the wilderness--and to those who were laid to rest along the way. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Most informative little guide!
In 2001 my husband and I traveled from Nauvoo IL to Salt Lake City, using this book as our guide. We followed the actual Mormon Pioneer trail as closely as is possible today, gaining a much greater appreciation of what the Pioneers experienced. There are still horrible infestations of mosquitoes along the Platte. Gravesites along the trail are stark reminders of the difficulties. Spending a night at Mt Pisgah where the farmer's dog joined us is a special memory. We recommend this book to anyone interested in following the Mormon Trail. Because of our experiences we returned to Sixth Crossing in Wyoming two different summers to serve as missionaries for the handcart treks taken by the youth of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Shopping etc
stupid book ordered by mistake by not paying attention to clicking order button goofed and paid for junk. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

EXCELLENT BOOK....NO PROPAGANDA HERE!!!
Don't know what the reviewer who only gave this book 1 star read, but this book is full of extremely accurate information.I have read a few of Shupe's other books and have researched much of his information to find him extremely credible and honest with his details.
The Mormon church is very involved in some highly questionable, if not outright illegal, activity when it comes to their handling of church finances.

Financial Workings of a Church
Anyone interested in the financial workings of a large "mega" church will probably find this book interesting.This book is not your typical "anti-mormon" literature.Also, it isn't exactly "faith promoting" either.The problem Mormons have with this book is that it exposes a part of the LDS church which the "faithful" would rather us "gentiles" not see.

not meant as a Prosetylizing tool of the Church
This book was not meant to be a Church Propaganda tool. So seeing that this book is not "Faith Promoting" it will not please the Saints. It is just a study on some Interesting issues that have to do with the church.

More uninformed and biased garbage
A review of this poor piece of work can be found on the SHIELDS web site

The work is a highlyprejudiced and uninformed effort.It will not lead the reader to correctlyunderstand the LDS Church. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Easy to Read Book Of Mormon
Love this book! It is great to have for the younger kids and other persons who have a difficult time reading and understanding the "Book Of Mormon" It arrived in a timely manner and was just as discribed. Thank You

Anderson's Wearisome Yet Successful Labours Make Joseph Smith's Book of Mormon Accessible to Readers
Few books of similar notoriety are so utterly tedious to read. Joseph Smith Junior's Book of Mormon (BoM), which purports to be scripture and is considered as such by Mormons (L.D.S., Community of Christ, various other factions of Mormonism), makes for singularly tiresome and bland reading matter. Mark Twain, in chapter 16 of his "Roughing It", describes this work as "cloroform in print" and so it is! To quote Mark Twain in the context wherein that memorably apt phrase appears:

"All men have heard of the Mormon 'Bible', but few except the 'elect' have seen it, or, at least, taken the trouble to read it. I brought away a copy from Salt Lake. The book is a curiosity to me, it is such a pretentious affair, and yet so slow, so sleepy; such an insipid mess of inspiration. It is chloroform in print. If Joseph Smith composed this book, the act was a miracle keeping awake while he did it was, at any rate. If he, according to tradition, merely translated it from certain ancient and mysteriously-engraved plates of copper, which he declares he found under a stone, in an out-of-the-way locality, the work of translating was equally a miracle, for the same reason. The book seems to be merely a prosy detail of imaginary history, with the Old Testament for a model; followed by a tedious plagiarism of the New Testament. The author labored to give his words and phrases the quaint, old-fashioned sound and structure of our King James translation of the Scriptures; and the result is a mongrel, half modern glibness, and half ancient simplicity and gravity. The latter is awkward and constrained; the former natural, but grotesque by the contrast. Whenever he found his speech growing too modern, which was about every sentence or two, he ladled in a few such Scriptural phrases as 'exceeding sore', 'and it came to pass', etc., and made things satisfactory again. And 'it came to pass' was his pet [phrase, one among such others]. If he had left that out, his 'Bible' would have been only a pamphlet."

Ah, how sweet it is to savour that prestigious and cogent description of the putative Mormon prophet Smith's wearisome and clumsy forgery! Yet, because of the impact that the BoM has had on folk religion, right down to current times, one feels an obligation to read this literary monstrosity in order to understand the phenomenom of Mormonism.

What to do to make the onerous task less disagreeable and quicker? One can read the BoM in translation; there have been several into various languages, of which this commentator has two translations into Spanish, one put out by the L.D.S. Mormons (of the "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints"), copyrighted 1992, and another distributed by the R.L.D.S. Community of Christ (of the formerly named Reorganized Church of Jesus of Latter Day Saints), 3rd ed., 1979. These Spanish translations, especially the first mentioned, read more fluently, dissolving some of Smith's crudely archaic English, than does the work's English original.

Nonethess, the excessive length at which Smith recounts his tales, and places long-winded speeches and accounts of visions into the mouths of his ancient cast of characters, still tries one's patience sorely. For a book which Joseph Smith supposedly translated from a vanished original (if ever such ancient gold and metal plates existed, which is more than doubtful!) that had abridged, in a process itself under "inspiration", earlier writings by the supposed prophets and others to whom Smith attributed the separately named parts of the BoM, it is astonishing how much dross and excessive length remains in such a putative abridgement! Does one really have to cope with such lengthy and flaccid verbosity just to complete the chore of reading through Smith's fakery?

Well, actually, no! One can read an abridgement of Joseph Smith Junior's tiresome narratives and pseudo-prophetical speeches and get through the unwelcome chore with welcome rapidity! There have been a few such abridgements over the years. Currently available is Lynn Matthews Anderson's simplified version of the BoM. Shortening it and putting Smith's contorted archaism's into modern and highly readable English, the reader can breeze his way through this piece of religious fiction in very short order. The BoM really does not merit any closer attention than what Anerson (who, be it noted, is a "true believer" and a member of the L.D.S. cult) makes of it, anyway, unless one addresses the BoM as a dutiful scholar or has to make use of it in apologetic endeavours, debate, and close analysis.

Stripped of its pretentious aspirations, the BoM's narratives seem more triflingly inconsequential and insipid than inspiring. Anderson's prose is lean and straightforward, stripping the nonessentials of wording and detail away to leave the bare (even bald!) and unadorned accounts as the rather silly and arbitrary tales that they are. The many visions and speeches recounted in the BoM more obviously reveal themselves to the reader as the uncouth (but rudimentarily clever) confections from Biblical models, and gauchely awkward ones at that, which they are.

Anderson makes her abridgement of the BoM from the accepted L.D.S. text of the work. There are many corruptions in the L.D.S. text, especially when compared to the more faithful R.L.D.S. editions of it, or, certainly, to the critical texts of the BoM which have been undertaken. However, such matters are of little import in using and commending a welcome abridgement such as Anderson's is. Get it, read it, and mostly forget about it, having done your reader's duty to history and to this bit of Americana lore!

Brilliantly Accomplishing the Wearisome Task of Making Joseph Smith's Book of Mormon Accessible to Readers
Few books of similar notoriety are so utterly tedious to read. Joseph Smith Junior's Book of Mormon (BoM), which purports to be scripture and is considered as such by Mormons (L.D.S., Community of Christ, various other factions of Mormonism), makes for singularly tiresome and bland reading matter. Mark Twain, in chapter 16 of his "Roughing It", describes this work as "cloroform in print" and so it is! To quote Mark Twain in the context wherein that memorably apt phrase appears:

"All men have heard of the Mormon 'Bible', but few except the 'elect' have seen it, or, at least, taken the trouble to read it. I brought away a copy from Salt Lake. The book is a curiosity to me, it is such a pretentious affair, and yet so slow, so sleepy; such an insipid mess of inspiration. It is chloroform in print. If Joseph Smith composed this book, the act was a miracle keeping awake while he did it was, at any rate. If he, according to tradition, merely translated it from certain ancient and mysteriously-engraved plates of copper, which he declares he found under a stone, in an out-of-the-way locality, the work of translating was equally a miracle, for the same reason. The book seems to be merely a prosy detail of imaginary history, with the Old Testament for a model; followed by a tedious plagiarism of the New Testament. The author labored to give his words and phrases the quaint, old-fashioned sound and structure of our King James translation of the Scriptures; and the result is a mongrel, half modern glibness, and half ancient simplicity and gravity. The latter is awkward and constrained; the former natural, but grotesque by the contrast. Whenever he found his speech growing too modern, which was about every sentence or two, he ladled in a few such Scriptural phrases as 'exceeding sore', 'and it came to pass', etc., and made things satisfactory again. And 'it came to pass' was his pet [phrase, one among such others]. If he had left that out, his 'Bible' would have been only a pamphlet."

Ah, how sweet it is to savour that prestigious and cogent description of the putative Mormon prophet Smith's wearisome and clumsy forgery! Yet, because of the impact that the BoM has had on folk religion, right down to current times, one feels an obligation to read this literary monstrosity in order to understand the phenomenom of Mormonism.

What to do to make the onerous task less disagreeable and quicker? One can read the BoM in translation; there have been several into various languages, of which this commentator has two translations into Spanish, one put out by the L.D.S. Mormons (of the "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints"), copyrighted 1992, and another distributed by the R.L.D.S. Community of Christ (of the formerly named Reorganized Church of Jesus of Latter Day Saints), 3rd ed., 1979. These Spanish translations, especially the first mentioned, read more fluently, dissolving some of Smith's crudely archaic English, than does the work's English original.

Nonethess, the excessive length at which Smith recounts his tales, and places long-winded speeches and accounts of visions into the mouths of his ancient cast of characters, still tries one's patience sorely. For a book which Joseph Smith supposedly translated from a vanished original (if ever such ancient gold and metal plates existed, which is more than doubtful!) that had abridged, yet under "inspiration", earlier writings by the supposed prophets and others to whom Smith attributed the separately named parts of the BoM, it is astonishing how much dross and excessive length remains in such a putative abridgement! Does one really have to cope with such lengthy and flaccid verbosity just to complete the chore of reading through Smith's fakery?

Well, actually, no! One can read an abridgement of Joseph Smith Junior's tiresome narratives and pseudo-prophetical speeches and get through the unwelcome chore with welcome rapidity! There have been a few such abridgements over the years. Currently available is Lynn Matthews Anderson's simplified version of the BoM. Shortening it and putting Smith's contorted archaism's into modern and highly readable English, the reader can breeze his way through this piece of religious fiction in very short order. The BoM really does not merit any closer attention than what Anerson (who, be it noted, is a "true believer" and a member of the L.D.S. cult) makes of it, anyway, unless one addresses the BoM as a dutiful scholar or has to make use of it in apologetic endeavours, debate, and close analysis.

Stripped of its pretentious aspirations, the BoM's narratives seem more trifling and foolish than inspiring. Anderson's prose is lean and straightforward, stripping the nonessentials of wording and detail away to leave the bare (even bald!) and unadorned accounts as the rather silly and arbitrary tales that they are. The many visions and speeches recounted in the BoM more obviously reveal themselves to the reader as the uncouth (but rudimentarily clever) confections from Biblical models, and gauchely awkward ones at that, which they are.

Anderson makes her abridgement of the BoM from the accepted L.D.S. text of the work. There are many corruptions in the L.D.S. text, especially when compared to the more faithful R.L.D.S. editions of it, or, certainly, to the critical texts of the BoM which have been undertaken. However, such matters are of little import in using and commending a welcome abridgement such as Anderson's is. Get it, read it, and mostly forget about it, having done your reader's duty to history and to this bit of Americana lore!

The title says it all.
I certainly commend young readers who earnestly and sincerely try to read through the Book of Mormon.I know when I had tried to read it in grade school, it was very difficult for me to understand simply because my education to that point had not sufficed for the difficulty level of this sacred writ.

Even though I don't think this book here was meant to substitute for the original, I do think Lynn Matthews Anderson has provided a text that will prove invaluable for telling young readers what The Book Of Mormon says in very elementary English.I've read this and it certainly has the potential to make a world of difference for helping our young readers learn about its teachings.

I'll add a comparison of different Holy Bible translations and what one might consider to be an approximate Book Of Mormon counterpart (in terms of "readability"):

King James Version (advanced readers) - The Book Of Mormon (as translated by the prophet Joseph Smith)

New Living Translation (junior high reading) - A Plain English Reference to the Book of Mormon by Timothy J. Wilson

Good News Bible (children friendly) - Easy-To-Read: Book of Mormon by Lynn Matthews Anderson

I hope this information proves helpful to pursuers of The Book of Mormon - I still advice that one read the original text alongside whatever level of reading (for comprehensive purposes) you are most comfortable with.Blessings to you.

A life saver
The King James style english of the current Book of Mormon confuses the heck out of me when I try to read it. I do not understand why, in the reformed Egyptian, it was written that way but I'm sure Joseph Smith had a good reason for putting it down that way on paper when he looked through the Urim & Thumb-um to get his revelation. ... Read more