So where do I post one of Corey's book reviews? I'm going to opt for here on the family blog even though it's a book. He's the head of this household, and here's a peek into his brain. It's a fine tuned machine. My brain is a bowl of spaghetti. Corey, I do verily believe, has a gift for discussion and processing of deep thoughts. So you ready? Here is his review of . . .
under the banner of heaven
ha! I bet you didn't see that one coming, huh? This is like an anti-Mormon book! (some say "Anti-Mormonism disguised as journalism") Well, time for Corey to learn for himself. I saw it at the library and we had been discussing a little cause his friend who is not LDS read it, so I thought Corey should read it for himself so he knew what he didn't know about it and could contribute more to the discussion. Here's the email/review he sent today to his friend, Brian, that we met in Chile but is from Washtington State I think - they went to Peru on a business trip, they've had lots o discussions about religion. Anyway here ya go:
Well, it certainly is interesting - that's for sure. I've read the first part, and then skipped to the late-middle part and so far haven't come across many statements that struck me as untrue. A few things (like Joseph Smith saying you needed three wives to get into the highest levels heaven, or Brigham Young saying you should die if you have sex with someone of African descent) were stated without any sources and sounded like a load of crap (would love to see the references) - but most of the statements seemed fairly accurate from what I have read so far. Reading that Lafferty is a "cellie" with Mark Hoffman was particularly interesting. I'm glad to be reading it, and I hope I don't sound too negative with my thoughts so far.
But the conclusions and innuendos are troubling. Imagine someone trying to explain Christians in Texas by starting off with the David Koresh story. There are enough people who know enough about Texas and Christianity not to be bothered by it, but the same thing can't be said of Mormonism. He's paining a very broad brush and tying in some phsyco-murderer with a great faith. His thesis appears to be that religion is dangerous, and the modern LDS church is just a watered-down, less dangerous version of the original, which still persists on the fringes. He'd be able to make a much better case showing that atheistic-statism tended to lead to mass murders (Mao, Stalin, Hitler) but instead zeros in on a nut job to represent Mormonism. It's troubling because there isn't enough positive info for people to put it in context. So there may be truth to the evidence/anecdotes, but the end result leaves a miss-characterization.
Consider the case of Elizabeth Smart - a young girl taken by knife-point from her main-stream Mormon family from a nut-job who met the family by doing random construction work. Mr. Smart had hired the guy to try to give him some income as he did with some homeless people as well. Maybe not smart, but was motivated by Christian charity. The mad-man took Elizabeth Smart as his new wife, talked/dressed like an Old Testament prophet and raped her daily. From an outsider's perspective he was a religiously motivated Mormon, "polygamist" extremist. But to Elizabeth, there was no confusion - she said he hated the church, its leaders, and knew exactly what he was doing. Mitchell took on words he thought might have authority in a religious area - and in another place/time it would have been some other justification besides religion. My point is to outsiders it might have looked like a "Mormon" problem, but those of us who are closer to the situation aren't confused - as I'm sure you have no confusion with David Koresh.
It's hard to compete with Big Love, Fundamentalist "Mormon" murderers, and Broadway shows that represent your faith for you. I haven't read enough to necessarily "review" the book, but these are my initial impressions. I think that co-coreligionists should be careful using this book as an excuse to bash Mormonism since all believers appear more-or-less equal in his eyes. Mormons just happen to have more recent and more interesting examples of crazy off-shoots. Of course, any of the statements/quotes from early church leaders (for instance with regards to polygamy) are fair game and should be studied in context. I said this before, but if you had to describe a beautiful woman and were limited to discussing her armpits, nostrils, and arm-hair, she might not sound so good on those terms. By choosing which areas of Mormon and Mormon-related history to focus on, the author takes a "proctologist's view" of a great religion.
I'm curious what things you learned about the LDS church from that book, or things that stood out to you. You mentioned a young woman having a vision condoning polygamy at the time - what other take-aways did you have?
Does he have a gift for what? I'm sure I'm biased, but I just love to read his thoughts and to stay up late at night talking with him, it's fun. He's such an amazing "learner of things!!" (Brian Regan clip there, funny!)
I'll probably browse through the book when Corey's done. If you want to really know about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, though, there is one book that is the most important for you to read above all: The Book Of Mormon. The Book of Mormon has blessed my life in a thousand ways, I love it, and I know that it is a true book of scripture given to us from God to help us in the latter days, our time on earth to prepare ourselves and our children for Christ's return. I love it and I read from it everyday, and it makes all the difference. My favorite scripture from the Book of Mormon is 2 Nephi 2:8 -
Wherefore, how great the importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth, that they may know that there is no flesh that can dwell in the presence of God, save it be through the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah...
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