Mormonism Magnificent Illusion

International apologists present a compelling and inspiring case for how to draw on the resurrection for everyday Christian living.

The grand claim of the Christian religion is that it alone has the answer to the human "plight," which is that all people are born into a state of "lostness," and are estranged from God. If they die outside of God's grace and salvation, they will enter an eternal state of separation from God. The solution to this terrible plight is the saving death of Jesus. But does the Christian doctrine of salvation make sense? Curiously, most believers assert that faith isn't supposed to make sense in a human, rational way. It is God's revealed truth, the "mystery of faith," and it can only be understood through faith. That response, however, has long ceased to be acceptable to most thinking people. The more the theologians explain their view of salvation, the deeper the hole of incomprehensibility they dig. We are in the midst of a paradigm shift in our perception of the "truth" that is shaking the foundations of our inherited religious traditions.

'Serious efforts to understand Mormonism in a non-confrontational, non-polemical way are few and far between. In this book the author, John Bracht, has drawn together a multitude of LDS sources in order to demonstrate differences between Mormonism and 'traditional' Christian views on the nature of God and the Godhead."

In this articulate and insightful book, D. Michael Quinn reconstructs the world view of an earlier age in America, finding ample evidence for treasure seeking and folk magic in Joseph Smith's formative years. Folk magic was not unusual for the times and is important in understanding how Mormons may have interpreted developments. Quinn's impressive research provides a much-needed background for the environment that produced Mormonism's founding prophet.

Mormonsim, in its progress and maturity, has attained a conspicuous page in the annals of our century. Yet a full account of the remarkable sect, beginning with its origin and rise, and circumstantially disclosing the earlier designs and delusions of its founders, has hitherto remained unwritten. The facts and reminiscences contained in this volume, based upon the author's personal knowledge and information, are produced to fill the blank and supply the omitted chapters in Mormon history.