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Summary: The Truth Will Set You Free--this is an EXCELLENT BOOK
Review: I was raised Mormon, served a faithful mission (was AP), an Elder's Quorum president, and temple worker. Along the way, I always heeded Mormon leaders' advice to avoid books that purport to "tell the truth about the Mormons." I would advise ANY Mormon who respects his/her ability to think for himself to order this book, and have it shipped overnight. I left the Mormon Church about 10 years ago because (despite having often taught Gospel Doctrine in Sunday school) I found myself unable to honestly connect the dots of Mormon theology--I realized that I was involved in a religion based on emotion and family tradition; not on having genuinely INVESTIGATED IT from many angles (i.e., Mormon and Non) for myself. I had followed the recommended Mormon path: only investigating it based on the Church's approved publications. Finally, I picked up Richard Abane's fascinating and painstakingly documented book. Reading it connected the dots of the religion for me, and confirmed that my choice to leave the LDS religion was right for me. I challenge all Mormons and interested parties to read it, and tell me how people can continue to throw so much support behind a group of powerful men in Salt Lake City who continually excommunicate their own members for simply telling the truth about the Church's history and theology. This book clearly reveals that while there are many good aspects about the LDS Church, it is not consistent in its theology or application--it is only consistent in its continual deciet of its own members.
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Summary: the most complete, informative, shockingly truthful book out
Review: This book is a must for anyone who wants to know the shocking truth about mormanism. This is not a boring history book. It reads like a hollywood screenplay with more sex, violence, betrayal, illegal activity, and murder than any movie I've ever seen! The auther uses literaly about 800 sources, many of them from morman literature. If you are a morman BUY THIS BOOK. If you read it with only 2% of your mind open it will change your world!!!
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Summary: Wow! Awesome Work!
Review: Richard Abanes has done an excellent job in providing a factual history of the LDS (Mormon) Church. The 152 pages of footnotes and appendices at the end of the book makes his documentation superb. I appreciated the honesty of this history, which is very refreshing compared to the white-washed pablum normally published by the LDS Church. Mr. Abanes punctuated his writings throughout the book with pictures of original documents and records. Having been a devout Mormon for 26 years before leaving the religion because of historical and doctrinal contradictions, revisions, and inconsistencies, I found this book to be captivating, poignant, bittersweet, and truthful. Thank you Richard for having the courage to take on this intimidating work.
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Summary: Fair, Honest, and Completely Truthful account of a Mormologi
Review: Truth is a rare commodity among people, and it is growing even more precious becasue of the inflation of lies. That is exactly what I like about this book.
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Summary: Harry Potter and the Book of Mormon
Review: Harry Potter and the Book of Mormon: The Muddle Behind the Polemick Having exposed the unspeakable dangers of the Harry Potter series, Richard Abanes, author of Harry Potter and the Bible: The Menace Behind the Magick, has trained his glazed eye on Mormonism. Abanes examines Mormonism with the same acuity he applied to that tousle-haired, bespectacled British imp (about 20/400), failing to discern the distinction between genuine scholarship and muddle-headed polemic. He has researched the latest in Mormon scholarship, collected documents and references, identified serious objections to Mormon beliefs, and then thrown these into the blender with rumor, innuendo, embarrassing stories, and carefully selected bits of slander. The result is his 650-page "history of the Mormon church." In introducing this tome, Abanes promises us an "objective history" and proceeds to present LDS beliefs in a form that would be unrecognizable to 95 out of every 100 Mormons. Specifically, he explains that the sharp-dressed, scripture-toting young men at your door are contriving to rule the world. And, in fact, the quotes he uses to make this point are genuine: early Mormon leaders did believe they were establishing Christ's political kingdom on earth and that this kingdom would supplant all existing governments. Indeed, one can occasionally find a Mormon who still holds this view. But the use of these quotes to establish "what Mormons believe" is simply misleading. Most contemporary Latter-day Saints conceive of their "kingdom" in purely spiritual terms and believe that the American system of government will endure until Jesus returns, if not longer. They believe in government "of the people, for the people, and by the people," and not, as Abanes would have it, in "one nation under gods." Having "established" that every Mormon from Gordon B. Hinckley to Orrin Hatch to Donny and Marie lusts after world domination, Abanes launches into his "objective history" of their faith. We can demonstrate the tenor of that history by examining its opening and close. Abanes begins by trotting out a tired anti-Mormon argument that should have been put out of its misery (and ours) long ago: he calls the reader's attention to the fact that the title page of the original (1830) edition of the book identifies Joseph Smith, not the ancient prophet Mormon, as its "author and proprietor." This is a cheap shot, since 1) Abanes himself admits (as does everyone) that Smith claimed before, during, and after 1830 that he was merely the translator of the book, and 2) it was demonstrated several decades ago that federal law (I Statutes 124, 1790, as amended by 2 Stat. 171, 1802) required Smith to list himself as "author and proprietor" of the book in order to secure its copyright. Leaping over hundreds of pages of such buffoonery, we come to Abanes' account of late twentieth-century Mormonism. Anyone familiar with the Mormon church's recent history knows that its central issues and themes have been explosive growth, bureaucratization, and internationalization. Compare this to Abanes' top stories of recent Mormon history: the excommunication of six of the church's several million members in a "purge" of intellectuals during September 1993, the forging by Mark Hoffman of a spate of documents designed to embarrass the church, and the telling by a high-level Mormon leader (Paul H. Dunn) of tall tales about having played major league baseball. Abanes glosses over much of what is most important Mormon history and focuses instead on what is most embarrassing. His objective history is "objective" only in the sense that it meets his objective of undermining the Mormon faith. This book could have been good if Abanes had distinguished between real evidence and polemical arguments, and if he had focused on what was truly important (rather than merely unfavorable) in Mormon history. And even the book as it stands could have been somewhat honest, if not actually good, if the author hadn't tried to pass it off as an objective history, rather than as evangelical polemic. But what can we really expect from a man who believes that the Father is God and the Son is God, but the Father is not the Son (i.e. A equals B, B equals C, but A does not equal C), that an all-powerful, all-good God will eternally (but lovingly) roast all who don't accept this Son who both is and isn't identical with Him, and that reading the Harry Potter series will lead our children into the waiting talons of Satan? Potential readers of this book should be aware that Abanes has not done any original research on Mormonism and has not written anything resembling an objective history. He has culled through both the legitimate and questionable "facts" of Mormon history and blended them in a way that serves his agenda: he wants to save you from an eternity in Hell with the Mormons (and Harry Potter readers), not inform you honestly and accurately about Mormonism and its origins. If you genuinely want to learn about the history of Mormonism, you would be better advised to read the works of more even-handed Mormon and non-Mormon scholars, such as Jan Shipps, D. Michael Quinn, Marvin Hill, Leonard Arrington, Richard VanWagoner, and Richard Bushman. Those who do choose to read Abanes' book should read it as the author wrote it - selectively.
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Summary: The book I read.
Review: SO this book unmasks the schemes that the Mormons are all known for. You saw the Olympics, and the cheap marketing associated with it. All gimmicks, and no substance, just like their religion. Gimmic after gimmick, but like Hart said, "Where's the Beef?" What irritated me the most is the door-knocking. DOn't they have better things to do, such as feed the poor, and move mountains by faith. The should have neighbors to love. This book explains why, to my satisfaction. The books illustrations are suitable helping me reaize the concepts thta are listed in teh book, such as polytheism, multiple wives, and the extorted tithing which goes to
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Summary: honest history, Mormonism worst enemy
Review: This book is so incredible. It does such an great job of showing how Mormonism is what many Skeptics wish Christianity was: A religion that is based on legend, brainwashes it's followers, and cannot stand up to judicious scrutiny. I recently read "the Case for Christ" and it's remarkable how well Christianity can be defended on a historical basis and then reading about how Mormonism has almost nothing but rebuttal evidence against it. It's not made up either, there are 200 pages where the author cites his sources for the rest of the book. Not that this is a bad book for skeptics either. The author, although a Christian, takes an extremely objective approach as he writes this. The only time he brings out a lot of theological points is when he is refuting Mormonism's claim to be Christian, and even then he states that the readers beliefs on Christianity aren't important. If you live in a area where you regularly encounter Mormons read this book and invite them in the next time they come to your door. I also VERY HIGHLY recommend this book if you are a person who is considering converting. Also, if you're a Mormon, I would encourage you to read this book as well. If this book is correct, critical thinking is not something that's encouraged within the LDS church. So ask yourself this, what is does truth have to be afraid of? If Mormonism is true then any argument against it must be a provable false right? Matthew 7:15-23
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Summary: Good read, but....
Review: Beyond having read the Book of Mormon some time ago I have had very little exposure to the Mormon religion and I was interested in this book both to learn more about the history of Mormonism and about Mormon beliefs. I approached this book as someone with an interest in history and comparative religion. The book answers both interests. It provides a description of Mormon history as well as (as far as I can tell) a clear understanding of the foundations of Mormon belief. Indeed, the book goes further than this in that it also provides a fascinating snapshot of American life during the 1800's. I had never before heard of the practice of treasure diving ("occult" location of treasure) and I was particularly interested in the reactions of various counties to the Mormon settlements. Clearly the rule of law was rather thin in 19th Century America. When considering the early history of the Mormon Church one is stuck by the parallels in behavior both to other newly founded religions and also to political movements such as Socialism in revolutionary France.
Whilst I greatly enjoyed the book, two issues concerned me. First, the author clearly has a point of view concerning the Mormon religion. This point of view is evident in the author's choice of language throughout the book. In my view the author's "bias" is overt but not exaggerated. This does not invalidate the book but it does raise the suspicion that the book may not be balanced. Since we are told little about the author it is difficult to judge and I would have been happier had the author discussed this issue at the start. The problem with all religion, and many other forms of human belief, is that they are based on the human ability to believe in the irrational. However, some of the author's comments suggest that Smith should be dismissed solely on the basis of changing his mind. It is ironic that Mormonism suffers from being too well documented, perhaps even the Christian religion suffered similar changes in direction during its early years. Any bias is unnecessary since a dispassionate observer can identify far better reasons for dismissing Smith's claims. Secondly, this book seems unsure as to the nature of its audience. For example, if this book is intended as a serious history, it is surely unnecessary to identify that misspellings in quotes are deliberate (beyond the standard usage of the term SIC). A small thing but it is irritating none the less. The style veers between that of a history and that of a journalistic exposé. Indeed, at times during the later part of the book, the author lapses into what can best be described as commentary.
I would certainly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in American history, comparative religion or psychology. It is easy to read and has a wealth of details in the footnotes. I greatly enjoyed it. I would, however, suggest that readers visit the Author's web-site prior to reading the book in order to better understand the author's point of view.
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Summary: An In-Depth, Well-Documented History of Mormonism
Review: Where I live, we have a startling growing Mormon population. I felt it important to truly understand the history of this "religion" as I have also studied Catholicism, Methodism, Lutheranism, Baptist, and Judaism. Was I in for a surprise! Abanes' jacket cover described the history in a nutshell..."an enthralling saga-laced, action-packed Hollywood movie--sex, lust, violence, greed, murder, deceit and betrayal!" Having done extensive reading in the pre-mentioned religions, I will agree that some of those could possibly have the same description on their jacket covers as well. However, Abanes' book is an EXHAUSTIVE, well-researched, well-documented history of the Mormon "church"--- and his comparisons "Is Mormonism Christian?", "Is Mormonism a Cult?", Appendices, re: "Glossary of Morman Terms, Notable Mormans, Abraham's Book?, Failed Joseph Smith Prophecies, and Recommended Resources" were all extremely helpful in assisting MY understanding of the Mormon "church." There are also many other good websites and other informational books out there, that perhaps go more into the rituals and practices within the Morman Temples, but Abanes writes very straightforwardly and factually and doesn't go into the ritualistic aspects of Mormon "services"; I was very impressed with his compilation of tremendous number of stories, books, letters, newspaper articles, videotape, and other documentation. The first section of the book "Mormonism - the Early Years (1805-1830) is a little dry, but necessary for the reader to completely understand how Joseph Smith's stories came about and the many changes thereto. After that, the book takes off and I could not put it down. Anybody giving this book a poor review is obviously of LDS background - and the Mormon "church" makes a distinct practice of not informing its members of the Mormon history...
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Summary: Full of inaccuracies
Review: Authors use footnotes to to demonstrate their attention to detail and scholarship. In this case, the author gives his readers not only lots of footnotes, but also misquotes, and quotations out of context. Apparently he hopes that the readers will not "check him out". The book deals with a very controversial subject - the history of Mormonism, and this author is unabashed in taking one side, and no pretense at objectivity. There are better books out there. Save your money.
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