5 comments about No Unhallowed Hand (Work and the Glory, Vol 7).

1. I've enjoyed reading Gerald Lund's The Work and the Glory series. Having just finished All is Well (Volume 9), I now know more about LDS Church history and I've come to better appreciate the sacrifices that my ancestors made for their faith and beliefs. As a member of the LDS Church and as a history buff, I believe that The Work and the Glory series is a valuable means by which one can learn more about Church history.

   All is Well (Volume 9) deals with the initial migration of the Sainits to the Salt Lake Valley in 1847. I knew very little about the details of this historic event until I read this book. For instance, I didn't know that the number of Saints making the initial entrance into the Salt Lake Valley was so few in number. I also knew little about the Mormon Battalion and the Donner-Reed party's disaster. Because of this book, I now feel compelled to learn more about the West's rich history, in addition to the history of early Mormon Utah.

   I agree with other reviews that The Work and the Glory series lacks a certain authentic element. In a way, the characters seem to be modern LDS Church members transported back in time. And I think Lund could have made more of an effort to make the characters not come across so perfect. However, I do understand that the context in which Lund wrote these books is one that is faith promoting, and I have no problem with that.




2. As I was studying the history of the LDS church with the intent to join but needing to understand more, my friend gave me Vol 1, Pillar of Light. I read it Xmas day, then asked for the rest. I read straight thru, loved the family, laughed and cried with them, stuck with Joshua til he found the way, cried when Benjamin died. I owe Gerald Lund a debt of gratitude, thanks to these books, I joined the church and am happier than I have ever been in my life.



3. The Work and the Glory series are the best books in the world. I have read them all atleast 4 times each. (...) I took them off our self and read them and have read all of them in 3 weeks!
   These series are not only wrote by one of the Quorum of the Seventy, but beats Harry Potter, And Lord of the Rings.
   This Series are about a family living in Pennsayaia, Just a little after Joseph Smith has recievced a vision on hill cumorah, and is four years of learning are nearing to an end.
   Any way, the family listens to Joseph and 1 member hates him and turns, well, goes really bad. 1 doesn't hate him but won't let his family talk about it, and the rest find it to be true. This series goesthrough the period of time from a little before the Book of Mormon is published, through Joseph Smith Marytr, and ends were The Family enter the Salt Lake valley and is starting to settle there. This book is so detailed, it's like you are actually there in the story wacthing all these people get, what the word? Suffer through the trial the mormon has face, but you can't do anything about it. You see the Hauns Mill Incedant, Joseph Get killed, The suffers and pains Emma smith goes through. Gerald N. Lund has made the History of the Latter Day Saints come to life in these 9 books. I think he sould be awarded for the best author of the year! Not to be mean, Yea, Harry Potter is Cool, Lord Of the Rings shows Courage, But there is no book That is Like this, with the Exception of the scriptures. Go and get yourself lost during where the church is brought back to the earth. And this book is not just for grown up, and members. This book is for every one no matter what age, It is like a story. A really good story. I just can't stop saying things about it



4. If the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints ever make these novels into a movie, the better make it go as close to the book as possible. I'm that 13 yr. old agian.



5. True, I am not the biggest fan of Gerald N. Lund's writing style. To me, the Steeds are the most annoying fictional family since the Brady Bunch. And yet... their family drama intrigues me, and hey, who cannot appreciate a touch of LDS church history? I happen to be fascinated by the story of the Mormon pioneers and their adventures and whatnot, so of course this particular volume appealed to me. The Steed clan is split into sections that go through various adventures on their way to Utah. No, the writing isn't wonderful, but it is a great story and even greater history.

No comments about Mormonism: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions).

3 comments about How to Be Totally Miserable: A Self-Hinder Book.

1. Great book! Bytheway does a great job in all of his books in encouraging everyone to be better people. Fun to read.



2. Goodness me, but what a clever and yet so obvious example of the great world of reverse psychology as the great John Bytheway takes on people who are never happy and just what may be making them that way. It's cute, clever, and a perfect reader especially for teenagers.



3. I really enjoyed this little book. Very quick read. John Bytheway helps you consider your outlook on life and the attitudes you may be projecting. Suggests how you can make yourself miserable with your thoughts and how to turn a negative outlook into a positive attitude.

4 comments about On the Road With Joseph Smith: An Author's Diary.

1. All biographies are written through the eyes of the biographer. They tell as much about the writer as the subject. Hence, biographies on Joseph Smith run the gamut of opinions. Bushman has his own, and this diary really helps to understand his thoughts on writing and promoting Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling. It would be great if every biography (and history book, for that matter) came with a personal diary by the author like this one. History is not a set of facts, it is a story told by someone.
   
   The extreme conserative Mormons will not like Bushman's scholarly approach, and those who pass too quickly on Joseph Smith as a fraud will call Bushman an apologetic, but I think the majority of us in the middle like RSR, and will really like this diary. Seeing the personal side of a biographer so important to American religious studies is a great opportunity. It's also not every day when you come across someone from a big university like Columbia who is also humble.



2. This brief memoir (140 pages including the index) is a book about a book--Bushman's Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling (Alfred A. Knopf, 2005)--and the reaction it generated from Mormons and non-Mormons of various sorts during the author's yearlong promotional tour. On the Road will obviously be of greatest interest to those acquainted with Bushman or who at least have read Rough Stone Rolling; but the volume may also appeal to those curious about contemporary non-fiction book publishing or who are interested in how contemporary Mormon intellectuals try to sort out the more awkward aspects of their faith.
   
   Bushman confesses to having a "sensitive temperament," and he is sometimes so revealing that the reader feels on the edge of voyeurism. For instance, Bushman expresses his frustration at forgetting his cell phone charger, he regularly checks the Amazon.com rankings of his book, and he compares the quality of his own interviews with those of President George W. Bush: "He seemed unsure and forced in his answers....Sitting before a reporter who was going to be more critical, he faltered, and I do the same. I also thought it was partly because he is not entirely honest. He keeps thinking of the criticisms of his statements and is not certain he is answering satisfactorily. As I watched I was of course applying these observations to myself." (94) The volume is full of what one nineteenth-century after-dinner speaker called "carriage speeches"--the revised discourses he made to himself on the way home in his carriage.
   
   Bushman includes curious speculation about the nature of ultimate reality (60-62), which concludes with his pronouncement that "Mormons are not the only source of light" and that "Christ radiates throughout the world, through many voices." Yet he is willing enough to play down such sentiments for the present when Mormonism is "under attack from evangelical Christians." Bushman also expresses discomfort at Joseph Smith's polyandry and yet, for unspecified reasons, he swallows Smith's angels and golden plates whole. In the end, Bushman admits that by writing Rough Stone Rolling for both Mormons and non-Mormons, he attracted educated believers but lost readers at "both ends of the spectrum"--conservative Mormons who wanted an unsullied prophet with supernatural gifts and non-Mormons who were confirmed in their previous belief that Smith was only a charlatan.



3. Richard Bushman has published a brief account of dealing with his book, "Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling." I have read several other accounts of author's process of writing and reacting (John Steinbeck most notably), but have not felt that I reached the heart and soul of a man as this book does with Richard Bushman. He leaves nothing out.
   
   Most interesting are his attempts to deal with an anti-Mormon audience vs. conservative Mormons. His motivations are pure and having read "Rough Stone Rolling," I think he has pulled off a major accomplishment. He is a great and sincere man. He certainly is at the forefront of LDS historians and scholars.



4. I suspect this review is more personal than will be really helpful to Amazon readers. I write more to the the man than about the book.
   
   Professor Bushman is a deep thinker. I am impressed by his dedication to his profession (and why shouldn't he be dedicated), and to his faith.
   
   I also appreciated his candid discussion of his foibles and vanities. I think I begin to see that great things are accomplished by those who continue to "show up" as much as by those with genius (though I think Professor Bushman has plenty of genius). I get a chuckle from thinking of him checking his Amazon ranking because I'm just sure that I would do exactly the same thing. Isn't it just too human of us to want to know where we are "ranked," how we stack up against others.
   
   Perhaps the most compelling part of this book, though, is Brother Bushman's obvious efforts to be true to his convictions and spread the word in ways that are consistent with his academic AND spiritual views. I find him to be living up to the Mormon motto that "all things are spiritual to God."
   
   Well done, Professor. You are a credit to your faith.

5 comments about The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ (Official Edition).

1. I was raised in a Protestant home with only the Bible as scripture. I first became acquainted with the Book of Mormon as a young adult. For the past 36 years, I have read this "new" book of scripture many times, and I have tried to put its messages into practice. The result? I was married and my wife and I raised three daughters with both the Bible and the Book of Mormon as guides, with wonderful results.
   
   The Book of Mormon strengthened our faith in the truthfulness of Bible sriptures. It helped my wife and I to teach principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ with power and effectiveness. This book has helped my family to be more at peace by giving us a spirit that allowed us to get along better with each other.
   
   The Book of Mormon is full of references to the Savior Jesus Christ. It proves the Bible to be inspired, for prophets of the Western Hemisphere had long ago foretold the coming of the Messiah, of His birth in the Old World.
   
   The Book of Mormon not only supports the truth in the Bible: It mentions things not as well covered in the Bible, such as infant baptism and the nature of universal resurrection. It confirms the Bible's proclamation of eternal reward for following Jesus Christ and of the eternal negative consequences of rejecting Jesus Christ.
   
   Read the book with sincerity and prayer and feel of its truthfulness for yourself.



2. Life changing and thought provoking. Because of what it claims to be, an ancient record translated by Joseph Smith intended as a companion to the Bible we have today, this book should be read by every person before a decision is made about its truthfulness. With all the controversy surrounding it, it is impossible to form a true opinion without first hand knowledge of its contents. Truly another testimony of Jesus the Christ.



3. Is this book true? Is it the word of God?
   
   Four years ago, I was suffering from two powerful addictions. I tried and tried to quit these behaviors, but I always returned to them.
   
   I picked up the Book of Mormon on the advice of a friend, and I read two or three verses from it. That's all I did. My addictions were taken from me!
   
   This book has caused a revolutionary change in my life, and I have never looked back. I have had peace in my heart and joy in my life since that day four years ago. The Book of Mormon is the most powerful book on the face of the earth.
   
   If the Book of Mormon is true, then Jesus is the Christ. He completed His divine mission on earth when he died that we might live. If the Book of Mormon is true, then Joseph Smith was a prophet of God who helped to restore the original Church of Jesus Christ to the earth.
   
   Is this book true? Is it the word of God?
   
   I am here to say that it is.



4. This is a beautiful book that I have read many times. It is the work of god and I recomend it to anyone who wants to learn more about god and his dealings to other of his children. Since the bible takes place primarily in jerusalem this book takes place in central and south america. The book of mormon explains how god teaches his children all over the world not just in one area.



5. TRY READING "The Book of Mormon" BEFORE REVIEWING IT.
   
   Everyone talks about having and "open mind" nowadays, yet when it comes to anything related to the LDS Church or "Mormons" then people are allowed to be as closed minded as possible. "Mormons" keep an open mind about others as Joseph Smith stated in the eleventh article of the LDS faith:
   
   "We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may."
   
   We do not force anyone to do anything. We simply ask you to find out for yourself.
   
   What other book invites you to find out for yourself whether it is true.
   
   "Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.
   4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.
   5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things."
   
   All we ask is that you read "The Book of Mormon" and find out for yourself. If you do not read it the whole way through (like you do with your Harry Potter novels) then you will never know and that is on you, but do not judge this book until you have done so.
   
   We even make it easy for you to obtain a copy. You don't have to buy "The Book of Mormon". Just copy and paste the following link into your address bar and you can request a Free copy to be delivered right to your door.
   
   http://www.mormon.org/mormonorg/eng/basic-beliefs/learning-center-offer?offerId=73d3c8ab1a7e1110VgnVCM100000176f620a____
   
   Has your life been changed from reading "The Book of Mormon"? Mine has, and it has never been better. Just ask your friendly "Mormon" neighbor.

5 comments about Secret Ceremonies.

1. The author makes an interesting story, even a page turner, but her autobiographical account can hardly be taken as truths of the Mormon church. As unfortunate as her story is, it is not a "peek" into the Mormon church or even a typical mormon family. Having lived around Mormons most of my life, I can say this is a gross exageration of a unique circumstance and based on hearsays and past clouded recollections of a religion she no longer (at the time of writing) adhered to or even believed in. I, too, could write a jaded and hateful view of a past religion in my life, full of every negative person and account blown into almost false proportions. but, that is never an uplifting nor "Christlike" way to focus time or energy. As with any religion, don't listen (or read) the hateful comments of "ex-members". Find out truths for yourself through proper channels and only then can one make an enlightened decisions concerning religion. This is not one!!



2. I finished this book quickly - it was a page-turner for me. I found the descriptions of Mormon ritual, garments, and thought very interesting. I live just outside "Zion" (as they call their territory), and there are many Mormons here - I live adjacent to two Mormon families. I've found copies of The Book Of Mormon INSIDE my garage (stamped property of their library), and have often wondered just what their lives are like, especially the women. The book also clarifies the reasons for the Mormon attitude and way of dealing with "the rest of us".
   
   After reading the book, however, I found that I identified with much of it more because of the time-frame than because of religion. The attitudes Ms. Laake talked about extended way beyond the LDS Church. The idea that the man's the boss in HIS house, that women are "less" and are to be controlled, and that the sex act itself is the biggest sin of all (for women) were prevelent then, and still are in some ways. Those of us who grew up in those days will find a lot of the incidents in this book familiar, Mormon or not.
   
   I've known many Mormons, and this book explains much that I had questions about, but never got answers to. I was unaware that Ms. Laake had passed away - that makes me sad - but I hope she came to terms with all of her troubles and found some happiness and peace.



3. This was a very well written book. It gave me an insight I had never hoped to find. I was grateful to have found this book. My step brother joined the Mormon religion so he could marry his high school girlfriend. The day he married, my step mother stood on the steps of the Temple fuming b/c NONE of his family was allowed inside during the Mormon ceremony. As Catholics we were not privy to their secrets and esoteric hoo-ha. I knew why were standing out there on the steps. I had read Deborah Laake's book. I wasn't sorry that I wasn't inside. I wouldn't want to stand there watching my brother pretend to disembowel himself. It's sick. Early on he started talking about having his own planet in the Celestial Kingdom or some such nonsense. He turned into a snotty jackass with delusions of grandeur. It was all very frightening. I think Deborah Laake was incredibly brave to try and find a life beyond being just another sheep. Her book really spoke of her existential struggle. I think if her church had been the loving community it professes to be, she'd have been able to ask questions and find some peace. She was a gifted writer. I found her story humorous at times and painfully tragic at others. I'm just devastated to learn that she committed suicide. The church turned against her for asking questions. She was excommunicated...kicked her out of her life. The self serving smug attitude of the church is the most un Christian behavior I have ever witnessed. It's a cult by definition. I Hope that Deborah Laake found her peace.



4. I was sad to read that Deborah Laake died a few years after she wrote this and wondered if the thought of dying of cancer provoked her to suicide or if it was disappointment in the direction her life took and maybe a sense of the looming condemnation from "the church", a term I use loosely. Anyway, it IS a page-turner, a bit too explicit for my taste in some parts, and pretty revealing concerning the Temple ceremonies. For someone wanting a Mormon woman's point of view, this one is priceless.



5. "The mind is a dark genius - it can rationalize anything."
   -- Denis Waitley
   
   The book "Secret Ceremonies" makes for a fascinating case study - and not just the one that the author was aiming for.
   
   Ms. Laake didn't know that her mental illness would return or that she was developing breast cancer and that she would eventually take her own life (February 6, 2000) when she was putting the finishing touches on this book back in the early 1990's. No, it's not in the book but that's how her story ends. But to fully understand the end one must rewind the tape and view the beginning and middle of the story - and that's where this one gets really interesting because there's a "take away" for everyone in this book.
   
   To this listener (I listened to the audiobook) the overarching, recurring theme in Ms. Laake's story is denial. This is hardly surprising since in order to survive in a cult one must remain in a constant state of denial.
   
   Specifically, one must deny your core values, beliefs, feelings and perception in favor of the new reality provided by the binding system. The psychological term for this is "snapping". The refusal (or reluctance) to "snap" will not enable you to fully participate in, let alone succeed in the group. Based on the mountain of testimonies from ex-Mormons it's clear that this "double bind snap" is the order of the day in the LDS Church. (For a full dissertation on this read "The Pattern of The Double-Bind in Mormonism" by Marion Stricker)
   
   Never-the-less, it's fascinating to see how denial was so internalized that it dominated Ms. Laake's thinking long after she was out of the church. As Terry Greene Sterling, a former colleague at the Phoenix Times put it, "Laake liked to think of herself as a brutally honest journalist, and she was, except when she wrote about herself." she goes on to explain, " . . . shortly after her suicide, I realized she had blamed Mormonism and the men in her life for her mental illness, for the terrible dark spells that followed the giddy manic highs." And there lays the platinum "take away" of this intriguing book - how Deborah Laake systematically denies any responsibility for her behavior and the damaged life that resulted from it.
   
   For example, Terry Greene Sterling goes on to document how, "She wept that Mormon leaders would not allow her to eulogize her mother during an upcoming church funeral, wouldn't even let her sit in the front of the church with the family. Of course, she should have expected such a reaction after ripping into the Mormon church in 'Secret Ceremonies,' but she couldn't recognize the ugly logic . . . "
   
   Another example is how she was so expert at choosing romantic pursuits that were dysfunctional to point of being destructive. The data provided in the book would indicate that she had a pattern of impulsively first romanticizing and later villanizing the men in her life. Her courtships are counted here in months as are her marriages and affairs. Yet Ms. Laake never seems to consider the possibility that she didn't let enough time elapse to really get to know her love interests before she made serious, life impacting physical and romantic commitments to them. It never seems to occur to her that she was only positively emotionally invested in the relationship until a major commitment -- such as marriage or living together -- was made.
   
   In other words, she never got to know the "real" person behind the "dream lover" before she gave herself up. Then as soon as the real person emerged suddenly, other new, idealized relationships seemed far more interesting. (If the discerning reader is wondering if Ms. Laake was exhibiting the classic symptoms of a romance addict you're not alone)
   
   In a similar vein, Ms. Laake employs a mocking tone toward the Mormon/LDS Church but there's no indication in the book that she any pursued other, more mainstream belief systems or philosophies. She never attempted to figure out why the LDS Church is defined as a "cult" rather than a "denomination" or "sect". Frankly, I didn't sense any real spiritual hunger in Ms. Laake, just a general disdain for authority figures in general, male authority figures in particular under girded by an emotive attention seeking personality.
   
   This is reflected in how the devout (both genders) and the leaders in the book (overwhelmingly male) come off as naive idiots that she is somehow smarter and superior to despite her lack of practical and theological education as well as her limited life experience relative to theirs. This is classic narcissistic, ego-driven grandiosity that this reviewer found trying -- it's amusing when it's coming from an ignorant, inexperienced adolescent but grating coming from a 40-something adult.
   
   As if to put a spotlight on this type of "baby with the bath water" thinking, in her summation Ms. Laake rejects any form of systematic theology labeling it "God as defined by controllers" as if only HER experience and understanding of God is legitimate and she is immune from controlling, manipulative behavior due to her "victim" role - which ironically is the historic "career path" for emerging cult leaders. (see Walter Martin's classic "The Kingdom of the Cults" for a full exposition)
   
   So in the end the big, troubling question that this book raises isn't, "Is the Mormon/LDS Church a wacky, controlling, potentially dangerous cult?" there are any number of fine books that have answered that in detail to the affirmative.
   
   Rather the better question is, "Was Deborah Laake's mental illness a result of being traumatized by the Mormon/LDS Church or by other factors?" This, I believe, is the better question because it elevates this intriguing and riveting book past it's banal particulars to far more valuable universal questions. As another reviewer (in this case an Ex-Mormon man) put it so well,
   
   "I think any Mormon who grew up in the church (especially females) can relate in some way to her story. Most of us haven't ended up in mental institutions, due in part, because of the pressures the church and our LDS families place on us, but it isn't too difficult to see how that could possibly happen. . . . Non-members, as well as former or current LDS members, should find this book to be a very interesting autobiography. "
   
   Or as Elizabeth Browning said so well, "Always learn from experience - preferably someone else's" To me, this book is a marvelous example of where an unexamined, unenlightened, self-absorbed life will lead you. The Mormon/LDS Church in that light simply becomes a minor character in this great and wonderful play called, "Life".
   
   Like I said at the beginning, there's a "take away" for everyone in this fine book and I highly recommend it!
   
   Books that expand on the issues raised in this book and review:
   ================================================================
   The Pattern of The Double-Bind in Mormonism
   
   Twisted Scriptures: A Path to Freedom from Abusive Churches
   
   Take Back Your Life: Recovering from Cults and Abusive Relationships
   
   Boundaries
   
   Emotional Blackmail: When the People in Your Life Use Fear, Obligation, and Guilt to Manipulate You
   
   Games People Play: The Basic Handbook of Transactional Analysis.
   
   Keeping the Faith: Guidance for Christian Women Facing Abuse
   
   Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse, The, repack: Recognizing and Escaping Spiritual Manipulation and False Spiritual Authority Within the Church
   
   Healing Spiritual Abuse: How to Break Free from Bad Church Experiences
   
   Toxic Churches: Restoration from Spiritual Abuse

5 comments about In Sacred Loneliness: The Plural Wives of Joseph Smith.

1. The information that is presented in the book will give a perspective into the lives of early mormons that will open your eyes to the trials and problems associated with polygamy and polyandry. Modern mormons will find their eyes opened to information that the church would rather leave buried. The secret lives lived by these early mormons will sadden and inspire as you read the day to day happenings of those who are brought to light in this wonderful book. If you are looking for an honest and open view of mormons this is the book for you.



2. Since it seems to be something of a prerequisite in reviewing Mormon history books, allow me to state what everyone wants to know up front: yes, I'm LDS; yes, I'm active; yes, I will remain active after reading this book. Now, on to my comments--
   
   1. This book is not really about Joseph Smith, at least not much. As other reviewers have noted, each chapter is a mini-biography of one of Joseph's plural wives. Thus, in every chapter, Joseph appears, marries the woman, is martyred at Carthage, and that's that. In most cases, there are few details about Joseph's relationship with the particular woman.
   
   2. If you can get past the fact that Joseph married women who were still married to other men, there's not much "weird" stuff in this book to wrap your head (or testimony) around. (Compton calls this "polyandry." I think "bilateral polygamy" would be more accurate.) Compton briefly explain this phenomenon by stating that Joseph began to see the ordinance of marriage just like that of baptism: if it wasn't done right, it didn't happen. I was hoping Compton would elaborate on that, but he doesn't. In any event, there's interesting circumstantial evidence that the husbands of some of these already-married wives knew of and perhaps endorsed Joseph's marriage to that wife.
   
   3. Perhaps the most interesting thing about this book is the women who remained faithful in the Church. Many of these women reeled when Joseph proposed to them, but many of them reported profound spiritual experiences confirming that God approved. These women, after making it to Utah, would often gather on Joseph's birth or death date to talk of their experiences with Joseph. They clearly saw it as a symbol of honor to have been married to him.
   
   4. Compton is VERY repetitive. You have to get used to that. That's why I can only give this three stars.
   
   All in all, a worthwhile read, if only to gain appreciation for the amazing lives that many of these women led.



3. jodepsh smith said in his own words you can only have one wife, after joseph smith was killed by a gang while he was in jail , b. young led the mormons to utah and thats were the teachings of having more than one wife began. i have read the true documents on joseph smith. this book should be thrown away for it's lies.



4. First of all, I found out about Joseph Smith's polyandry in this book. The discovery was devastating to my "testimony" in the dogmatic claims of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Or rather, it was devastating to any continued efforts on my part to believe in those claims. I don't see how anyone reading this book could come away with the same perspective on Joseph Smith that they had before. Compton is so spare in his prose, yet so complete in his details and research. His copious notes and sources make disbelief impossible to anyone honestly reading to become informed. Cognitive dissonance can only sustain so much!
   
   This is NOT an anti-Mormon book. Comption was for years a BYU professor, and co-editor for the FARMS Hugh Nibley collected writings project. He remains still (the last I heard) a member of the LDS church in good standing. In any case, he wrote this book with a clear, honest intent to pursue the full truth: and not just produce another "faith-promoting" version of Joseph Smith and early church history. This is important to distinguish: anti-Mormon books typically are written by either apostates or non-member writers already antagonistic toward the LDS church. Compton, et al. the other writers of this genre, of full church history, are seekers after truth, and their pursuit leads them where the truth will. So it is with this reader. I do not give anti-Mormon books any attention. Why try and learn church history from people never inside the church, or people who hate it and leave, then write "all about it?" That makes no sense to me. But writers of Compton's capability and purpose have my fullest attention. And when they produce a book like "In Sacred Loneliness", they have all my respect as well.
   
   I especially enjoyed the way Compton laid out his book, devoting an entire holistic chapter to each wife; or pair of wives in the cases where Joseph Smith married sisters.



5. I had to and am STILL a member!
   Ok, so I now know the truth. NO man is perfect, even the prophets and apostles. This church is about the PRINCIPLES...PERFECT and true!! We all fall short of living this religion properly...so what! As long as we are trying to be and do better each day. They (the principles) have never failed me and never will!!! No one will ever do everything right or for that matter most things right.
   If you can't handle the truth, don't read this! That's why we have been told half truths...because people CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!
   Stop putting your trust in the arm of flesh and go out and live and teach correct principles and let people govern themselves....wow, who said that??? Oh yeah, Joseph Smith.

4 comments about People of Paradox: A History of Mormon Culture.

1. The thesis of the book is that the four primary paradoxes with which Latter-day Saints encounter the world have influenced the cultural and artistic history of the religion. I found it interesting from the historical aspect but purchased the book mainly to understand the paradoxes that Givens describes. (Don't worry - they are not deal breakers!) This book should be in the collection of everyone who has an interest in the development of art and culture in Mormonism.



2. The print is so small in this book I simply put it away without reading. Will try to locate my magnifying glass and maybe I can make some sense of it.



3. I found this to be a very valuable book. Terryl Givens taught me aspects of LDS history that I did not know or simply hadn't dawned on me. As a small example, in talking about building the Nauvoo temple, he mentions the extremely small population that took on the building of the Kirtland Temple. "Instead of the 100 or so members who populated the Ohio town when that temple was announced in 1832, Nauvoo in 1841 was the center of a burgeoning Illinois Mormon population in excess of some 12,000." - pg 109. Every time I think about such a small band of people taking on the building of the Kirtland Temple I get dizzy. And when I consider the amazing growth of the church in only a few years amid all the difficulties they also endured I am still amazed even though I have known the story since my childhood.
   
   However, this isn't another telling of the history of the church. Givens examines the culture of the church and the various strains within that culture that had their roots in the revelations received by Joseph Smith, the strains of culture brought in by the various groups of immigrant converts, the impact of the various migrations due to persecution, the temporary isolation in the West, and the growing pains of becoming a global church in modernity.
   
   This is an ambitious book that accomplishes the author's aims amazingly well. Givens admits that he has left out material on popular culture and folk expressions that deserve treatment. He also recognizes that some of the Western cultural distinctions of high culture and serious art will have less meaning to an increasing membership outside that cultural heritage.
   
   Givens presents his material in sixteen chapters divided into three parts. Part 1 establishes the "Foundations and Paradoxes in Mormon Cultural Origins". The four chapters lay out the cultural dichotomies of authority and radical freedom, the idea of searching and certainty, the very practical (banal) aspects of everyday life that are also tied up with Mormon ideas of the sacred, and the sense of being the chosen people versus the effects on our culture from persecution, migration, and isolation.
   
   Part 2 is "The Dancing Puritans" and covers the period from 1830-1890. The six chapters examine the idea among Mormons that the "Glory of God is Intelligence", along with architecture, music, dance, theater, literature, and the visual arts. The author's emphasis is how the seeming conflicts of the Part 1 play themselves out in the circumstances and means of expression by the artists during this period.
   
   Part 3 is "A Moveable Zion - Pioneer Nostalgia and Beyond the American Religion" and covers the years from 1890 to the present. Givens again takes us through the way thinkers fit into and don't fit into Church culture. He also takes us through the realities of church correlation. The topics of architecture, music, dance, theater, literature, and the visual arts are examined regarding their developments. Film is also added to the chapter of theater. Givens also talks about the implications of the majority of the church not only being outside Utah and the Western states, but also outside the United States.
   
   Since I have lived all my life in the church, but here in Michigan, I learned a great deal about the life of the Saints in the West that I did not know and it was all most interesting. However, I have also lived my life deeply involved in music (my undergraduate degree is in music theory and I have studied piano since I was a child), and I found some of Givens' analyses and conclusions a bit exasperating. Some of what he and the some of the artists in the book claim are difficulties with Church culture have more to do with the life of artist everywhere and in all places. On page 337 we read this sentence: "No wonder, as Southey noted despondently, a survey of responses to the Mormon Arts Festival revealed that `more than one-third or all patrons believed that art was basically irrelevant to the church.'' Talk about missing a glass two-thirds full!
   
   My guess is that more than a third of the population at large sees the fine arts as irrelevant to their life in any way. Having been a classical musician all my life, I can't tell you how few people care about this music as anything more than a kind of muzak. For the life of me, I can't understand people who tell me they like to listen to Mozart to relax. How can you be listening to that music with anything but amazement and excitement is beyond me.
   
   Yes, there are cultural aspects to the church that can be exasperating to any of us; even with a full, strong, and burning testimony. However, I found the emphasis on the exasperations of "intellectuals", academics, artists, and so forth to be quite provincial. A plumber or a farmer can be frustrated by aspects of the church as easily as a painter, writer, or a pianist. I grew up in a working class home and worked on an assembly line for a couple of years when I was very young and found that people from any background could find all kinds of things to get worked up over. Some of them were even legitimate and meaningful hurts rather than a frustration that the church won't re-fashion itself into what any given individual thinks it should or could be. I have seen people shaken to the core over the way sugar beets and potatoes were being farmed, commodities were being canned, the way the church facilities were being maintained, and the endless list goes on. The artist's problem is the same the problem everyone else has. The church is about active belief and engagement at that level. The rest, including being a "cultural Mormon", is pretty much incidental.
   
   Not long after I began piano lessons I became a deacon and was soon called to be the pianist for priesthood meeting. Over the decades of playing in various wards and branches around the world I have learned about people and their preference for the familiar and the way "everyone" (meaning their congregation) does things. I can't tell you how many times I have been told "we don't sing that hymn here" and I always respond, "Well, now we do". But this is a people issue, not an LDS issue. It has also happened when I have played for non-LDS congregations and even for non-religious groups.
   
   Being an artist is about making your art. You can't worry about what others think about you. You will likely have to work hard for quite awhile to bring others around to your point of view. You also can't worry about being a `great artist' because you almost certainly are not (I certainly am not). That does not mean that you shouldn't be an artist or make your art. At any level you are helping to build a base for the arts and developing the kind of environment we all need for art to flourish. If all there were in the world was, to use the clichés of this book, Beethoven and Shakespeare, there would have been no audience for them, no artisans to provide their instruments or theaters, no performers, and consequently no Beethoven of Shakespeare. If you are an artist, or lover of the arts, or even if you can only give place in heart to think about the arts, do so and we will all be more greatly blessed.
   
   Another issue is the aspect of creating art specifically for Mormons. That can be a good thing, but it can also be limiting (not because of the subject, but because of the size of the audience). We are only twelve or thirteen million people in a world of billions. My advice is to make and participate in great art and spread it to the world. Some of it can be specifically Mormon, but why not increase your chances for success by creating for a bigger audience. This doesn't mean you have to pander or turn your back on the church or its principles. It does mean you have to be strong and spend time presenting your art and your point of view rather than passively condemning the world for not recognizing your talent.
   
   I recommend this book to everyone interested in Mormon culture, whether you are a member or not. Of course you don't have to agree with the author on anything or everything to learn some new things and get a lot of food for thought. And that is all you can ask of a book. Well, that and larger print. To whomever chose the font size and type for this book: please provide darker and bigger type in the future. My eyes aren't as young as they used to be and I found the act of reading this book more of a chore than it needed to be. I also wish Givens had a website for the book that pointed us to images of the artworks, sound clips, and video so we could experience the arts more fully. The black and white images provided are very helpful, but an additional website would have been that much more helpful.
   
   With a few small quibbles aside, this is a great resource and an important contribution to any of us who care about our culture. I am grateful.
   
   Reviewed by Craig Matteson, Ann Arbor, MI



4. Finally, someone has put together all of the anomalies inherent in the LDS religion and culture. Well, not all. But enough that you get a really good idea of all of the paradoxes that are so frustrating. It was fascinating to see so many of the perplexities spelled out. However, I believe there is somewhere a statement to the effect "there must needs be an opposition in all things"; but who would have thought that it was built-in?

5 comments about Book of Mormon: 1830 Replica Edition.

1. Your opening statement in the front fly-leaf reads, "See for yourself how this sacred book appeared when early converts read it.",then in the beginning of the next paragraph, "The pages for this special edition have been photomechanically reproduced at actual size from press sheets...run at E. B. Grandin...." Both my first copy, which I was going to send back when you sent the second copy, and the second copy have an ink "glitch" at the bottom of page 226, at the beginning of the last five lines. The photoreprint that the Church produced in 1980, I don't believe had these "glitches." What is Stratford Books' comment about these glitches?
   Sincerely,
   Kenneth V. Roe



2. ALTHOUGH NOT MORMONS, MY WIFE AND I GOT CURIOUS ABOUT THE MORMON TYPE OF SPIRITUAL MYSTICISM WHILE READING THE WONDERFUL ORSON SCOTT CARD.



3. The binding: This is an original size reproduction of the 1830 first edition of the Book of Mormon. The binding is beautiful and first-rate, something one doesn't usually see in books anymore. The pages are folded and sewn and the binding is in a traditional manner with open space between the back of the sewn-together pages and the inside spine of the cover - just like real hardcovers used to have. The cover itself is a very nice high-quality grain leather with gold trim. From the outside, this book is probably nicer to have than an original would be. It is a joy to hold and a delight to read.
   
   The inside: This is a photo-reproduction of a first edition, so there is some loss of quality. There is also some curvature distortion to the text, as if the pages were not completely flattened when they were reproduced. The blotch on page 226 that another reviewer mentioned is present, but it did not detract from my enjoyment of the book (also see this product's "customer images" section for a photo of this). The inside is not perfect, but it is probably the best that could be created without damaging the spine of an original first edition.
   
   The content: This is the original version of the Book of Mormon, as it was intended to be seen, without any of the editorial changes, passage rewrites, or other adjustments that have been made over the course of the last 150 years. I prefer reading the original versions of things like "Pilgrim's Progress," "The Song of Hiawatha," and other older works; so I really appreciated this aspect of the book.
   
   Also, in this version of the BOM, there were not yet any chapter summaries, no verse numbers nor verse spacings, and no footnotes. The book is arranged in the traditional style of a novel and the original 1800s spellings are also present.
   
   This is the next-best thing to a "real" first edition, complete with all of the 1830 indicia and a preface by "The Author" explaining about the loss of the Book of Lehi.



4. I bought this replica for inclusion in a university display about the printing of the Book of Mormon, although the binding isn't period (a good thing since it wouldn't hold together long if it was!), I'm very happy with what it adds to the display. This book was obviously crafted with great attention to detail.



5. This is a great addition to anyone's collection. it is nice to see the book of Mormon like the early saints did. AND to read it and put to rest all the critics saying there are thousands of changes from the original. Those "thousands" of changes are clearly when they number versus, and separated the chapters.

5 comments about The Mormon Conspiracy.

1. For anyone trying to decide whether or not they should try becoming a Mormon this is a good read for comparison to the Book of Mormon. Having lived among them for more than 20 years, I was still amazed at the amount of information the "regular folks" don't know and are willing to accept as fact.



2. Not worth reading. Like all conspiracy theorist they try to establish fear in the deluded and paranoid for a buck. Truth is never a factor unless it would make more money. Just another of 1000's on the heap that could not make it as tabloid journalism. I give it 2 thumbs down.



3. I am in nursing school, last semester, and unfortuently have not had time to even start reading this book. It looked good when I ordered it and then I got busy and could not read it when it came in. I score it a 3 only because I have to give it something to rate it. In actuality it could be much better or worse. Someone else read it and tell me if it is any good.



4. This is a book that ALL active Mormons, inactive Mormons and non-Mormons need to read. In other words, EVERYONE should read "The Mormon Conspiracy"! If nothing else, the revealing truth behind where the tithing money goes, after it's paid by the church membership,is shocking.
   I recommend this book highly!!!



5. I am a bishop in the Mormon Church. I'm mortified that our secret conspiracy has been revealed! All these years of just pretending to follow Jesus and serve my fellowman are now out the window! Curse this gentile!! I thought our secret symbols on the dollar bill, our hidden network of interconnecting underground tunnels under Washington, and our disguised stockpiles of guns and ammunition (cloaked with the invisible shield from Emporer Palpatine) were well hidden! Dang! Flip! NOW what evil steps should we launch before they discover our secret microchips we've been quietly implanting in peoples brains via nasal sprays?! I will have to fire up my intergalactic transponder, so the Illuminati can be warned that our plot has been discovered. The Romney humanoid shall have to be reprogrammed. Dang it! I hate it when all our hard one-world-order machinations are uncovered, especially by a basically first time author who has no research skills whatsoever. Who would have thought a guy who has never been a Mormon, doesn't know anything about the Mormons, obviously has never even met many Mormons, could discover our evil plot by sheer brilliant deduction! Ah well! Word to the wise--for all you gentiles out there who want to survive the coming Mormon "purge"--remember to tie a scarlet ribbon around your door knob and paint some lambs blood on your door sill. We shall spare your lives, but you men shall serve as food and you women as breeding sows. The brain chips shall keep you mollified and complacent enough, so you have nothing to fear, really. We know where you are. Don't try to hide. Assmiliation, per plan 49 froum Outer Space, is God's will!
   
   Bishop Anonymous (but you may call me "O Ravenous One")