Mormon America: The Power and the Promise

Rating:
Summary: A Peek Inside "Mormon America"
Review: Non-Mormon America's conceptions of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints usually are one of four things: the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, The Osmonds, clean-living and family values. What most outside of the church don't know is that the LDS faith is the most successful religion founded on American soil and, if current growth rates remain stable, will become the first major world religion to come about since Islam. These facts alone should make thoughtful outsiders at least a little curious about what the Latter-Day Saints teach and why.

Enter Mormon America: The Power and The Promise by Joan K. and Richard Ostling which provides an excellent resource for those curious outsiders.

The book itself is written in an informative, well-documented and journalistic style (some of the chapters appeared as part of a Time magazine cover story). Instead of a skeptic's condescendtion or a fundamentalist's hysterical "hell fire and brimstone" condemnation, the Ostings provide a fair overview of the Mormon's history, doctrine, practice and future. For every instance of an odditiy, contradiction or embarrassing moment in the previously mentioned catergories, the author's provide the standard explanation given by LDS apologists in addition to the criticism given by both non-Mormons and Mormons alike.

On a personal level, I found the LDS concept of continuing revelation to be one of the most facinating parts of the book. While it seemingly could provide a way to explain uncomfortable practices from the past (i.e. polygamy, denial of the priesthood to African-Americans etc.), I would think it would undermine any attempt to form a stable basis for morality.

As a person who has grown up around Independence, Missouri and been on the fringes of Mormon culture (having several Mormon friends), I can say that this book is accurate (although not always comforting or "faith promoting" to Mormon's themselves). It deals fairly with sore spots between Mormon's and people of other faiths and should help greatly in increasing understanding between the two often antagonistic camps of Mormonism and traditional Christianity.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Introduction to Mormonism
Review: This book, a follow-up to the Ostlings' 1997 Time Magazine cover article, provides a top-to-bottom look at Mormonism with as objective of an eye as possible. I was born into the faith, but there were many things that I learned about the LDS Church that I didn't know or had only suspected. For example, the LDS Church has hidden its financial activities from the public and its members for 50 years, despite requiring members to give 10% of their incomes in tithes. The Ostling provide reasonable estimates of the LDS Church's financial assets, revenues and expenditures and compare them to other religions of equivalent sizes. Topics covered in the book range from history, the various branches of Mormonism (LDS, RLDS, etc.), doctrine, canon vs. cultural beliefs, Mormonism in Utah vs outside, the life and work of missionaries, the changing impact of Mormonism on the US and vice-versa, and the future prospects.

This book is great for Mormons, ex-Mormons, those who are investigating the LDS Church, or those who are interested in culture and religion in general. You won't find a better researched, more objective book aimed at the general public.

Rating:
Summary: Power & Influence might have been a better title.
Review: This book is the best I've read on the rise of the LDS. It may be a bit dry in parts. The book provides a detailed history of the church as well as a discussion of the beliefs and rituals of church followers. This book also provides information regarding the political and financial power of the church. Most of the critics of this book are likely to be Mormons, who dismiss anything about the LDS which is not written by the church. However, this book is not a hatchet job on the Mormon religion, to me, it seemed to present its information in a fair and neutral fashion. This is a great place to start your studies of the LDS.

Rating:
Summary: About as Fair as Non-Mormons Could Be
Review: I echo the reviewers remarks in the dust jacket of the book, that the only objective review of Mormonism must be written by someone from outside the Church. Many Mormon reviewers struggle with this book, but I think it is essential that they remember one thing...IT WASN'T WRITTEN FOR YOU! It was written by non-mormons for the rest of the world who look in at the church and ask, "Just what the heck is going on in there, anyway?" Of COURSE the authors are not going to give the same attention to every detail that believers are going to want to see, because this is a single volume book! Latter-Day Saint theology is complex, has been written about extensively, and it takes a serious student of history and religious thought years and years to gain a complete picture of the church. This book is not a substitute for all that, since the vast majority of folks are simply not interested in that level of detail. The Ostlings have written an overview, a glimpse, at this phenomenon called "Mormonism" with a reasonably balanced treatment from those who are faithful believers, those who are neutral, and those who have an axe to grind. But that's okay, since this is not a book that explores the complexities of Latter-Day Saint doctrine, but rather a book that explores the cultural phenomenon called Mormonism. I especially appreciate their treatment of the recognition that this is a quintessential American Church, and that its appeal is broad for those elsewhere in the world who are either Americanized, or who aspire to be. A strong argument could be made for changing the nickname from the "Mormon Church" to the "American Church," (though I'm sure every other church in America would choke on that one!)

This book is highly recommended reading for non-mormons living in Utah, Idaho, Arizona, and California, and anywhere else where there are high concentrations of LDS folks. It is good reading for people who seek a general understanding of various religious movements or churches. And if you are LDS, and want to know how you look to someone from the outside, this is a good way to find out. From my personal perspective, if we find there are some things we don't like about how we are perceived by others, then that's a good place for us to begin working to bridge the gaps that still divide us from the rest of the world.

Rating:
Summary: Mormon 101
Review: Based on a Time magazine article called "Mormon's Inc.", Joan and Richard Ostling have taken that original idea and expanded it into their book "Mormon America", a factual recount of the Mormon church, one of America's most rapidly expanding religions to date.

Upfront, the Ostlings claim this book is for non-Mormons as an introductory text to learn about this religion. Thus is covers many topics, some very thoroughly, in a concise, Time magazine sort of way. From Prophet Joseph Smith's visions and his establishment of the Mormon church based on his translated texts, to the current church (current as of 1999), you learn about many church aspects.

One of the most intriguing chapters early on is the polygamy chapter, which was handled fairly without judgment. Another chapter explains the complex organizational structure of the church, which comes across as being very totalitarian and a top-down form of leadership. A third chapter explains the development of the Mormon family, and the roles people play in them. The last few chapters discuss the religious beliefs of the church members.

All in all, I found while the text is very informative, it also reads very dryly. Perhaps because the authors attempt to present a vision of Mormonism without their own personal beliefs in the way, it reads very matter of fact and not very compelling. I've read other books that account the death of Joseph Smith which have moved me much more than the mere reporting of it in this book. While I appreciate authors leaving it up to the reader to make any decisions based on the material presented, a bit of humanity and a bit of themselves would have made for a slightly more enjoyable read.

If you know nothing of the LDS church, and are interested to learn what it's all about, this is the book for you. If you already have a working knowledge of the church, and want more, there are a host of other books out there that might fulfill your needs better.

Rating:
Summary: Fact-based and covers a lot of ground.
Review: I really didn't know much about the Mormon religion before reading this, and it truly gives the religion a positive spin, which you don't always find when it comes to this religion in the media! I thought the authors did their best to go over all the historical and current aspects of the religion in general, although I thought it was a bit dry in spots.... I would have actually liked more insights from practicing Mormons and more about the church services and culture.

Rating:
Summary: I can handle the truth, but will you dare to peek.
Review: I love the cover of this book. The salt lake cathedral is loonming liekthe mormon meance appraching us. will we stand? I will not say. But look, then open your eyes to the truth.

I love the footnotes on the pages, and find that they prove the arthur's caset I do not mean to be an alamrmist, so I really don't mean danger, just a concern about a gropwinf force in the universe.

Rating:
Summary: Read it- but investigate further, is not truly objective
Review: It's not that I wouldn't recommend this book- but I would certainly not rely entirely on the authors' viewpoint. It is difficult- if not impossible- to write an objective outsider viewpoint on any religion.

If you have questions about the Mormon faith, go ahead and read this book. It will give you a start to your study. But also make sure you step a little further and research into the claims made here. Yes, the Church does have a controversial past- but I would like to see another religion that doesn't.

I could give personally give better answers than the authors' attempt to give- or not give. Why are Mormons Christians? Because being a christian means believing in Christ- and Christ is the center of our religion. Why do we have "secret ceremonies?" because these things are sacred to us and we do not want them defiled or ridiculed. Are the LDS women repressed- neither I or my husband think so. I have as much power and say in our lives as he does.

I have been Mormon most of my life. I left the Church for a time, because I did have questions- some of the same posed by the authors. I was encouraged by church leaders to seek out answers on my own- from both pro-Mormon and anti-Mormon sources. I was lead back to where I began, with a stronger base and knowledge than when I started.

This book does have some good information- but do, as the authors say you should on the Mormon religion- investigate further on you own.

Rating:
Summary: Objective my foot!
Review: I give this book two stars because they don't go out and get nasty about Mormonism. This book is a bunch of selective facts. If you go by this book, Mormonism is the fastest growing religion in the world. This book is accurate, somewhat. But when I can go talk to a Mormon--several of them--and get an entirely different story about thier religion out of them--it makes me question how unbiased and factual this book actually is. I am a born-again Christian in Utah, the home of Mormonism. I live, work, go to school with, and see Mormons on a daily basis. And from what I have read, it seems that the Ostlings never visited Utah, to see what the people are really like. Their quotes seem to be taken from magazines like Time magazine, and they seem to lay it on thick for the people they did review who didn't give them the answers they wanted. The Ostlings also failed to compare Mormonism statistically to other religions, and failed to mention some choice facts about the church's history in utah as well as statistics for the state of Utah. The section on the Mormon missionaries and Family Home Evening are acurrate, however, and this book looks like an honest effort. But I'm beginning to think that someone who lives in Utah--Mormon or no--should be next in writing a book about the CHurch of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This book fails as a source to learn more about Mormonism.

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful book
Review: The authors do an excellent job of exposing the Mormon Church for the mindless mass movement that it is.