Unbiased sources on LDS history

[Delano]

Hello.

I've been studying the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints on and off for the past few years. They have a rich and colourful history and an equally fascinating theology and culture.

However, a frequent problem I've run into is that the subject of the church itself seems to be extremely polarized. Most sources I've consulted are either violently opposed to the faith or are trying to promote its beliefs.

Can anyone with knowledge on this particular subject please guide me to some honest, unbiased sources without an agenda to promote?

(Some books I've already read on the subject, with varying degrees of prejudice, include F. Brodie's "No Man Knows My History" and Abanes' "One Nation Under Gods".)

 

[Alizée]

Ever read

Joseph Smith : Rough Stone Rolling by Richard Bushman

Excellent piece of work.

 

[Watchmen]

I second Alizee's suggestion. Some in the Church think Bushman should be excommunicated for some of what he writes in the book. Some outside the Church think Bushman is just another Mormon apologetic protecting the church. That both sides are unhappy tells me it's likely fair and balanced.

 

[Katzpur]

Hello.

I've been studying the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints on and off for the past few years. They have a rich and colourful history and an equally fascinating theology and culture.

However, a frequent problem I've run into is that the subject of the church itself seems to be extremely polarized. Most sources I've consulted are either violently opposed to the faith or are trying to promote its beliefs.

Can anyone with knowledge on this particular subject please guide me to some honest, unbiased sources without an agenda to promote?

(Some books I've already read on the subject, with varying degrees of prejudice, include F. Brodie's "No Man Knows My History" and Abanes' "One Nation Under Gods".)

I have an excellent recommendation. It's a book called "Latter Days," which was written by Coke Newell, a Latter-day Saint. It's several years old (well, not as old as "No Man Knows My History" -- it was published in 2000). I'll try to tell you enough about the book for you to figure out for yourself whether you'd be interested in it or not. If you are, it's available through Amazon. Quoting from the Preface, the author has this to say about books on Mormonism:

Those books written by outsiders to the Latter-day Saints' faith and employing a reasonable range of objectivity vary widely in their ability to get it right, to really comprehend LDS thought and doctrine -- Christian but very different. Those texts written by the dissidents, or even by objective outsiders who surrender to some odd compulsion to get their 'research' from the mouths of such dissidents, continally end up with the same dirty water, contaminated and dangerously unreliable. (Would you study Catholicism at the knee of a rabbi?) Finally, those books written by the faithful are, almost without exception, written to the faithful, using language the only the faithful understand, and emating from publishers and bookstores that only the faithful patronize.

With the publication of Latter Days, St. Martin's Press has opened the twenty-first century with a book unlike any other. I am fortunate to be the author they chose to write it.

Professionally, I'm on the inside of this tale: a card-holding Mormon high priest employed by the church as an international public relations officer at world headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah. A returned missionary. Married in the temple. But historically and conceptually, I'm a convert to the faith, straight out of rock-and-roll, vegetarian, whole earth, and homeschool, homeopathic Colorado mountains. And still into most of it.

Faithfully.

I can talk Lynyrd Skynrd and Ram Dass and Mother Earth News with the best of 'em. Though I have a reserved seat four feel away from the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, my idea of sacred music ends more toward Loreena McKennitt and Nightnoise ("The Cricket's Wicket" will be playing when I enter heaven or I'm coming back for the CD).

Thus, while I will not claim absolute inerrancy throughout this volume, I don't hesitate to state right up front that you can trust what you read here. I won't ask you to accept, as in believe, the theology presented, and I can't be responsible for your interpretation of any of it. But I'll lay it right on the table: you're getting clean water."

The book is 259 pages long. Roughly two-thirds of it concerns LDS history, the other third doctrine. It's extremely readable and it's written primarily for the non-LDS audience, but without the intent to proselytize. I never miss the opportunity to pitch it. It's definitely worth reading.

Another recommendation is "Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling." I haven't read this book myself, but those who have say it's excellent. Unlike "Latter Days," it's strictly a biography of Joseph Smith. It's written by Richard L. Bushman, Gouverneur Morris Professor of History at Columbia University. If you click on the link, you'll be able to read what people have said about it.

I think it goes without saying that it's going to be hard for you to find any books on Mormonism that are totally unbiased one way or the other. These two, I think, would be about as close as you could come. I believe both authors have done their best to present an objective perspective. I hope this helps.

 

[Alizée]

I second Alizee's suggestion. Some in the Church think Bushman should be excommunicated for some of what he writes in the book. Some outside the Church think Bushman is just another Mormon apologetic protecting the church. That both sides are unhappy tells me it's likely fair and balanced.

Exactly.

 

[Delano]

...That both sides are unhappy tells me it's likely fair and balanced.

Haha, thanks. I'll remember to consider that in future research

 

[Delano]

Actually, I do recall a while back somebody recommending that book to me, but I forgot about it. Thanks a lot, I'll be sure to check it out.

 

[Anti-Constantine]

Hello.

I've been studying the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints on and off for the past few years. They have a rich and colourful history and an equally fascinating theology and culture.

However, a frequent problem I've run into is that the subject of the church itself seems to be extremely polarized. Most sources I've consulted are either violently opposed to the faith or are trying to promote its beliefs.

Can anyone with knowledge on this particular subject please guide me to some honest, unbiased sources without an agenda to promote?

(Some books I've already read on the subject, with varying degrees of prejudice, include F. Brodie's "No Man Knows My History" and Abanes' "One Nation Under Gods".)

I have yet to come across a historical text that could be considered unbiased. All texts tend towards one side or the other when it comes to the LDS Church. If you want truly unbiased texts, some of the history books that deal with the region and speak of the LDS as a mere side note tend to be the least biased. I have found that even among these there is often slight bias (I believe Jim Bridger makes some comments about the LDS, but his were derogatory if I remember correctly.)

 

[Doodlebug02]

Have you checked out this site?

The LDS Restorationist movement, including The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

The Ontario Consultants On Religious Tolerance tend to be a very unbiased organization.

 

[Worshipper]

The Ontario Consultants On Religious Tolerance tend to be a very unbiased organization.

I sure wouldn't say that. They seem to be very biased against any kind of conservative religion (or any religion whose adherents tend to be conservative), and very biased toward any religion that tends to be more liberal.

Take, for example, their statements about the Catholic Church. They have a whole section devoted to human rights abuses by the Roman Catholic Church, including abuses that can't even really be connected to the RCC, like the Holocaust, and abuses that are so minor as to be easily overlooked, like the castration of some prepubescent male singers during the Baroque period so that they could retain high-pitched voices as adults (a rare practice of the time that was by no means limited to the Church).

The corresponding sections on their Judaism and Wicca pages mention only abuses against Jews and Wiccans at the hands of Christians. The corresponding sections on their Islam and Hinduism pages mention that some Muslims and some Hindus have engaged in abusive activity, but make a careful point of saying that we can't judge the whole religion based on the intolerance of a few. But we can condemn the Catholic Church because a few Baroque choirboys in Italy were castrated by people who happened to be Catholic?

They are anything but unbiased.

 

[Delano]

...They are anything but unbiased.

Worshipper, I partly agree with you. I feel OCRT are generally a good source of information but they are rather more critical about Christianity than any other religion. They also seem, in some cases, to be more willing to make excuses for atrocities in other faiths.

However, at the same time, I don't think it's fair to say they ask us to "condemn" the Catholics or other similar groups. They are pointing to various "bad" things adherents of these faiths did... they are not trying to convince us that the faith itself is bad.

It should also be noted that Christian-related articles make up the majority of their site. There are some essays extremely critical of Christianity, but by the same token there are also plenty in an unbiased and even complimentary light.