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>Novelist Larry McMurtry wrote that the book makes use of much recent research and is the most complete biography of Joseph Smith published to date, but that in reading Bushman, it is difficult to determine "where biography ends and apologetics begin.
and all its awards are from Mormon organizations, too
people who want an honest accounting would be much better served to read Jon Krakaur's masterful expose of the "church", <em>Under the Banner of Heaven</em>
Smith was a con man through and through, it's a good thing he died as young as he did before he could do even more damage
Here are three books through Signature Books, a subsidiary of Deseret Books:
Development of the Mormon Temple Ceremony by Anderson
Joseph Smiths Quorom of the Anointed by Anderson and Bergera
Nauvoo Endowment Companies by Anderson and Bergera
And finally: Compton’s book partially addresses it
Since everyone is saying everyone else is wrong, both you and /u/TheBlackBear are wrong (well, sort of). They (the party, not necessarily Republican voters) only care about two core things:
- Making the rich richer.
- Pushing white evangelical Christian nationalism.
Not everyone in the party cares equally about these two things, but those are the two core drivers that the modern Republican party are built upon. Everything else-- including all the things that /u/TheBlackBear refers to, as well as the racism, homophobia, and misogyny-- follow from those core ideals.
I'm just reading the book Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation and it really does a good job of tracing both the history of white evangelical Christian nationalism and shows the effect that they have had and are having on our national policies. Their ultimate goal is to make the US a Christian theocracy. Taking America Back for God: Christian Nationalism in the United States is another good book on the subject.
While nothing these two books cover started with Trump (Jesus and John Wayne traces it's roots back to the Eisenhower administration), it's hard to truly understand the Trump presidency without understanding these forces. It's really far more terrifying then it even appears on the surface.
They are 100% part of church history. That is why the Church didn't just dismiss it as fraudulent based on the content. The context of it totally fit within Joseph Smith's interests in folk magic and the occult.
See Early Mormonism and the Magic World View by Quinn
And it's why Oaks gave a talk after its discovery trying to rationalize why a salamander could also be considered an angel. Weird stuff.
Lots of people here are or have been in the same boat. You are not alone.
Focus on your relationship with your wife and kids. Most people recommend going very slowly with spouses. You will have to bring up your issues some day. If nothing else your wife may notice your change in attitude. The critical thing at that point (or before that point) is to make sure your wife knows that you love her. You are questioning the church, not your marriage. Many TBMs have trouble making that distinction.
The second most important thing is that when you do start talking to your wife about church issues is to make sure she does not run to her family for advice. That is one reason to start slowly at the very edges. Ask that she keep your confidence. Cultivate the idea that this is something that the two of you have to work out together, and that family interference will only make it worse. It is the two of you against the world.
A family member or close friend leaving the church might be an opportunity to talk about why they left. I know you said that your families are uber TBM, but don't be surprised if someone does come out as ex.
One thing you might do is get a copy of No Man Knows My History by Fawn Brodie. It is an old book. Get it in paperback and let your wife see you reading it. Encourage her to read it with you.
I think the book used to be sold at Deseret Books, but I don't see it on their website. It might still be available in a brick and mortar store. Here is the Amazon link if you can't find it an official church site.
I recently read Jesus and John Wayne and it brought all kinds of flashbacks from growing up in Baptist churches.
In Sacred Loneliness
https://www.amazon.com/dp/156085085X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_fabc_V1CNXN5367K0MKYDS0W7
Everybody quotes Todd Compton but they don't want to give him credit. This is the best book.
Also the footnotes for the gospel topic essay hold more information than the actual essay itself. If the footnotes are good enough for source material for the church's essay then they're good enough for the rest of us.
The Orthodox Way and The Orthodox Church by Bishop Kallistos Ware are great first books.
Great thoughts.
I lost some twitter followers a while back because I wrote a thread about Joseph Smith's heavy practicing of folk magic.... and that the Smith family were a bunch of swindlers and con-artists. Good riddance, lol
Side note: read "No Man Knows My History" by Fawn M. Brodie. Fawn was the excommunicated niece of David O. McKay. She was excommunicated for writing this book.
Fundamentalist Mormons marry multiple children many of the time.
Read a book for once in your life.
For youtub babbies
Best I've found so far is $7.89 on Kindle. https://www.amazon.com/Early-Mormonism-Magic-World-View/dp/1560850892
I'll keep looking for a PDF or other online version.
For all 4 of those groups there are differences in the number of books translated, this is only in the Old Testament though. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biblical_canon#Table
I can only speak for the English language but 'most' Christians generally use the same couple of bible translations which became the most popular, with Catholics/Orthodox adding their own books when printed. For example the NKJV which was originally made by Protestants for Protestants is also very popular with Orthodox Christians (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Orthodox-Study-Bible-OE-Some-NKJV/dp/0718003594). Likewise the RSV while being 70 years old is still used and updated by all groups of Christians, the Orthodox really like it because it was the first English translation with the whole Orthodox canon, there is also the RSV Catholic edition in print and the ESV revision for Protestants which is currently super popular.
I also think there are some traditional Catholics who would advocate only translating and reading the Latin Vulgate over the original Greek also but they are a pretty small minority today.
No Man Know's My History, a biography of Joseph Smith. The author, Fawn Brodie, was eventually excommunicated by the LDS church.
This is the Orthodox Study Bible. It was based on earlier English translations (mainly the NKJV) that were edited in places where they disagreed with the standard Orthodox Bible. So it's not perfect, but it's the best full Orthodox Bible available in English.
On the other hand, for the New Testament - not the entire Bible, just the New Testament - there is a better Orthodox translation available. You really should start reading with the New Testament anyway, not the Old, so I suggest buying this one first.
The best way to read the Bible is to start with the New Testament (minus the Book of Revelation; that will make no sense without extensive study), then read the Old Testament, then read the New Testament again.
The reason to do it this way is because the NT contains the core message of Christianity, so you need to read it first in order to get the main points first. The OT is important background information, so read that second. Then read the NT again because you will understand more of it after you've gone through the background information.
It's different for everyone. It was very painful for me. Loads of self-hate. It took a long time to get over all the things you listed, tackling each issue one by one, with always more coming. And then I'd be blindsided by yet another aspect I hadn't specifically considered yet. I based my whole life and plans for the future on church teachings. When I left, I had to figure out how to separate the person I was from the belief system I had. It was miserable. Sometimes it still hurts. The betrayal runs deep.
Be patient with yourself. It may take a while. If you're open to resources, one thing that helped me was reading Recovering Agency, by Luna Lindsey. It helped me recognize the ways I'd been controlled and manipulated, and it helped me be more patient with my believing LDS family.
Just the fact that you wrote this out - that you're able to name and articulate the things you're facing - is remarkable. So painful, but it says a lot about you as a person. You can do this.
Sounds a LOT like the book, "Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation ". It's relatively short, easy to see and paints a clear picture of their viewpoint.
I guess it depends on whose list you are looking at. Todd Compton’s list is the one I refer to the most. Hales’ list is not bad either. Both have found enough documentation to connect JS with the women on the lists (marriages/sealings). Keep in mind, Nauvoo polygamy was very secretive. The practice was constantly denied. We are fortunate to have as much documentation as we do.
I use the Orthodox Study Bible, it's based on the NKJV, but with the Old Testament translated from the Septuagint instead of the Masoretic Text (The Hebrew bible written by the Jewish clan of Scribes known as the Masorets, it was probably translated between the 7th-10th century AD, That is the Most Common source for most Protestants' Bibles' Old Testament.
Wereas the Septuagint was written in 300 AD, when the King of Alexandria wanted a scripture in the common language of Greek. So, he has 70 Scholars (Septuagint is Latin for 70) each translate the entire Old Testament alone. And when they were complete and they compared their copies they were completely identical, this is why I said it was divinely inspired Greek translation.
This story is also repeated in the Jewish Talmud, which is why it used to be that you could read from either the Hebrew Tanack, or the Greek Tanack, both were fine. But when the Christians started using the Greek Tanach, they stopped that practice and only reading from the Hebrew Tanach was acceptable. Christians used the Septuagint explicitly, until St. Jerome, when he was writing the Vulgate, chose to translated the Vulgate's Old Testament from Hebrew.
For number 2, the CES letter is just an amuse bouche. There is a ton of easy to digest materials on the church. A good start is An Insider's View of Mormon Origins by Grant Palmer (former CES director).
I would encourage you to read the following: https://www.amazon.com/Early-Mormonism-Magic-World-View/dp/1560850892
It was written by a faithful LDS scholar who was censured and, I believe, excommunicated for his research. The claims are impeccably documented. It's also interesting to read for anyone interested in 19th century US religion, as it reconstructs the shared religious and spiritual outlook of many communities in the Eastern US.
Great question, I’m interested in this as well. “Jesus and John Wayne” was an excellent read somewhat related to your question. A good book of reflection on how we’ve gotten to where we are today.
I'm not sure what you mean when you use the word orthodox.
But if it is the orthodox church, here is a good book you can give him, that is very good and very balanced:
https://www.amazon.com/Orthodox-Way-Kallistos-Ware/dp/0913836583
>I've recently been getting in to orthodoxy and I've been doing things that I have knowledge on like using my prayer rope and saying morning prayers
Glory be to God! It's always nice to hear of a new convert.
>I want to go to my local church for liturgy but my parents are Jehovah's Witnesses and they won't take me to church also I'm 17 and can't drive yet
Can you walk to the nearest Orthodox Church, there might be people willing to give you a ride. Alternatively, you could be able to take the bus. I also don't drive, it's way too expensive. So those are methods that I've used to get to Church.
>I don't know what kind of bible to use
There is a wonderful translation in English known as The Orthodox Study Bible. You can order it Here if you live in Canada like me, or Here if you live in America. If you don't have a credit card, no sweat, most Orthodox parishes will have a copy that you can buy.
Ok, so Bushman and Brodie should be your first must reads.
If you like Harry Potter, but wish it was real: Mormonism and the Magic World View
https://www.amazon.com/Early-Mormonism-Magic-World-View/dp/1560850892
Came here to say the same.
​
Read Fawn Brodie's 'no man knows my history' and you'll know all you need to know about the BOM. If that isn't enough, read Early Mormonism and the Magical World View, by Micheal Quinn.
;'
If you weren't paying attention during the 70's when the SBC took over the GOP, or during the Tea Party days, or the rise of Trump, a great book to get into is Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation. Well worth the $10 at Amazon.
Fine. In Sacred Loneliness: The Plural Wives of Joseph Smith written by LDS historian Todd Compton.
Also, you know, family history. Hence, myself as a source.
Made me happy to see them cite Kristin Dumez - @kkdumez multiple times in this one. For anyone raised in fundamentalist evangelicalism in the US, Jesus and John Wayne is a required purchase.