Mormons and Mormonism An Introduction to an American World Religion Book

This collection of essays does the interested reader of Mormonism some serious justice. You will probably want some working knowledge of Mormonism prior to reading this book. And having some prior knowledge of Mormonism, these essays are addressed to some of the major questions one would have of the religion. At least, it addresses many of the questions that I had/have about Mormonism.

Perhaps the greatest trait of the book is that some of the essays are directed at general stereotypes of Mormonism that come from people with little knowledge of the religion. The book does not seek seem to have the purpose of "setting you straight," but there is plenty of careful analysis of the most common attacks leveled against Mormons. Is it a heresy? Is it simply American myth? How do Mormons and non-Mormons live amidst the stereotypes? And the kicker of all, is Mormonism even Christian? All these questions are addressed. Whether the reader thinks that the questions are answered or not is a matter of opinion, of course, but the authors of the essays offer thoughtful insights into how to answer each question critically rather than simply going with the flow of ignorant American hatred.

I particularly recommend this book for the essays on whether Mormonism is Christian and how the 'heresy' of Mormonism relates to Christian 'orthodoxy.' The latter essay is one of the more humorous scholarly essays that I have ever read and was rather enjoyable.

I want to make clear that I am not myself a Mormon. But as I read this and other books on Mormonism the more I find that the religion is actually quite reasonable, all things considered. The two essays mentioned above will alone show a reader the reasonableness of Mormonism, at least in comparison to Christianity (those who find Christianity unreasonable will certainly think Mormonism unreasonable... but then, those people probably have a bias against all religion). If nothing else, this book can offer practical analysis of how Mormonism fits into the world rather than allowing a reader to flounder in the thought, "surely this is crazy!" Perhaps, but perhaps not.