Book Reviews Page

Reviews of a broad range of books by LDS and non-LDS authors on Mormonism-related topics.

A Gathering of Saints by Robert Lindsey — This gripping book is the best overall telling of the Hofmann forgery / murders story. It provides a candid look at the involvement of high ranking Mormon leaders in the purchasing and suppressing of documents deemed threatening to the Mormon Church.

 

A Guide to the Joseph Smith Papyri. by John L. Gee, PhD.

 

 

 

 

An American Prophet's Record: The Diaries & Journals of Joseph Smith, Scott H. Faulring, ed.,— Joseph Smith regularly recorded his thoughts and daily activities in personal journals and diaries. These were selectively edited following his death before being published. This book draws from these sources to reveal Joseph's teaching regarding women and the priesthood, the Word of Wisdom, celestial marriage and others.

 

An Insider's View of Mormon Origins by Grant H. Palmer — The word “Insider” in the title reflects his thirty-four years of experience as an Institute Director for the Church Educational System (CES); however, throughout the eight chapters Palmer challenges the many traditional claims that inspire members of the Mormon Church.

 

Blood of the Prophets: Brigham Young and the Massacre at Mountain Meadows by Will Bagley — A major new study of the Mountain Meadows Massacre.

 

 

By His Own Hand Upon Papyrus: A New Look at the Joseph Smith Papyri by Charles M. Larson — Mormon Egyptologist Stephen E. Thompson, Ph.D. has called this "the best source to go to if you want to know what's been going on with the Book of Abraham."

 

Early Mormon Documents, Dan Vogel, editor, 5 vols., Signature Books, Salt Lake City, 1996-2003 — A gold mine of sources that provide a complete, candid, and for some a surprisingly different picture of early Mormon origins.

Forgotten Kingdom: The Mormon Theocracy in the American West, 1847-1896 by David L. Bigler — After years of conflict in Missouri and Illinois, the militant millennial movement went to the Great Basin of North America, then in Mexico, to establish the Kingdom of God as an earthy state. The author relies almost solely on original records and government documents in an effort to present an unbiased and authoritative account.

In Sacred Loneliness: The Plural Wives of Joseph Smith by Todd Compton — In this definitive new book a Mormon scholar offers a calmly crafted, thoroughly documented look at Joseph Smith's practice of polygamy.

 

 

Inventing Mormonism: Tradition and the Historical Record by Michael Marquardt & Wesley P. Walters — A meticulously documented study of Joseph Smith's early years, leading up to the coming forth of the Book of Mormon and the founding of what became the Mormon church.

 

The Joseph Smith Revelations: Text & Commentary by Michael Marquardt — A collection and study of the original texts of Joseph Smith's revelations. Includes historical background and changes made to the revelations, as well as commentary on the significance of the alterations by contemporaries of Smith and Marquardt himself. Revelations are arranged chronologically and thoroughly documented.

 

Mormon America: The Power and the Promise by Richard N. & Joan K. Ostling — The Mormon Church desires acceptance as a mainstream Christian Church, but do they deserve to be considered part of the broader Christian community? Perhaps the best general introduction to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints available today.

 

Mormon Enigma: Emma Hale Smith by Linda King Newell & Valeen Tippetts Avery — The work of two gifted Mormon historians, this award-winning biography of Joseph Smith's first wife gives perhaps the most intimate picture yet of the Prophet's secret practice of polygamy, and the compromises he made to practice it.

The Mormon Hierarchy: Origins of Power by D. Michael Quinn — Perhaps the most important new book on Mormon history since Fawn Brodie's 1945 landmark biography of Joseph Smith.

 

 

Mormons in Transition by Leslie Reynolds — While pursuing her Master’s degree in Christian studies at Regent College, the author had the opportunity to interview a number of Mormons, some currently involved in the church (of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), some in the process of transitioning out and a few who have left the church. This book relates the results of those interviews as well as giving valuable insights to the non-Mormon reader.
 

New Approaches to the Book of Mormon: Explorations in Critical Methodology, Brent Metcalfe, ed.— Ten contemporary Mormon writers grapple with challenges to the authenticity of the Book of Mormon.

 

 

New Mormon Challenge: Responding to the Latest Defenses of a Fast-Growing Movement, Beckwith, Mosser and Owen, Zondervan, 2002, 535 pages — A compilation of essays by top evangelical scholars who apply the expertise of their field to related Mormon claims and defenses. The book is divided into 4 parts:

  • Part I Mormonism’s Appeal, Growth and Challenges

  • Part II The Mormon Worldview

  • Part III Mormonism and Christianity

  • Part IV The Book of Mormon

Out of the Cults and Into the Church by Janis Hutchison — A culmination of Hutchinson’s master’s thesis, as well as a product of the many lessons she learned first-hand during her years of struggling to replace her formerly held Mormon worldview with a biblical one.

 

Quest for the Gold Plates: Thomas Stuart Ferguson's Archaeological Search for the Book of Mormon by Stan Larson — A candid yet even-handed survey of Book of Mormon archaeology, told through the career of one of its most ardent 20th century champions. The author is a former employee of the Mormon Church's Translation Services Department.  

 

The Refiner's Fire: The Making of Mormon Cosmology by John L. Brooke — This book examines the evidence that the esoteric philosophical lore of "hermeticism" was a major influence on Joseph Smith's religious ideas. The author teachers history at Tufts University.

 

The Simeon Solution by Anne Osborn Poelman — The author is a world-class medical specialist and the wife of an Mormon General Authority. She finds in the story of Simeon in Luke 2 a paradigm for reconciling faith and reason. But does her thesis fit the Biblical story?

 

The Sixth of Seven Wives: Escape from Modern Day Polygamy by Mary Mackert,

 

 

 

  

Speaking the Truth in Love to Mormons Mark J. Cares — Written to help Christians effectively communicate the historic Gospel of Jesus Christ to members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).

Studies of the Book of Mormon by B. H. Roberts — The long-suppressed work of Mormon General Authority B. H. Roberts, who in his later years came to question the historicity of the Book of Mormon, after a life-time as its greatest apologist.

Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith, Doubleday, by John Krakauer, 2003, 373 pages — True story of Dan and Ron Lafferty, two Fundamentalist Latter-day Saint brothers who murdered their sister-in-law and her baby claiming they got a revelation from God to kill them. Insightful look at the Mormon and FLDS views of revelations and the dangers of revelation that is not open to critique or reason.