Mormonism Unmasked

An incisive book that clearly explains the Mormons' basic beliefs and sharply refutes their subtle heresies. Offers Christians an easy-to-use guide on witnessing to Mormons.

This bibliography of more than three thousand entries, often extensively annotated, lists books and pamphlets that illuminate evolving British views on the United States during a period of great change on both sides of the Atlantic. Subjects addressed in various decades include slavery and abolitionism, women's rights, the Civil War, organized labor, economic, cultural, and social behavior, political and religious movements, and the "American" character in general.

For years, Mormonism has taught that all the creeds of Christianity were an abomination and all other churches were corrupt (Pearl of Great Price, Joseph Smith 1:19). Joseph Smith was told not to join with any of them, but to help lead in what would be a restoration of the true church. In the same way, Christianity has never accepted Mormons among their ranks, considering them teachers of a different gospel (Galatians 1:6). But a new ecumenical spirit of openness might suggest that the doctrinal distance between these two groups is shrinking. Are the two sides actually moving closer together? Is there significant change within the ranks of Mormonism? If so, is the change widespread? Does this new direction reflect the views of the leadership, or is it simply the belief of a few? Worse yet, is it a deceptive media ploy on behalf of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) to appear to be something it is not? This work is a fresh new look at the distinctives between Christianity and Mormonism in an attempt to answer the question: "Is Mormonism Now Christian?"

The American religious scene in 1955 was a very tame and predictable world. It matched the tame, predictable world of women's clothing, where most women going out shopping wore a dress with coordinating gloves, hat, and shoes. And it matched the tame, predictable world of children's toys, where almost every young girl yearned for a baby doll that said Ma-Ma, and almost every boy needed a coonskin cap. Choices of fashions, toys, preachers, and churches were limited and domesticated. Fifty years later, the tame, predictable world of 1950s fashions and toys is long gone. Women go shopping in everything from sweatshirts and jeans to tube tops and short shorts. And both boys and girls want the latest Sponge Bob Square Pants video game. The same kind of transformation has gone on in the world of religion. It is no longer tame and predictable either. Welcome to the Wild World of Religion of the 21st Century. Explore its habitats, identify some of the inhabitants, and learn about their characteristics and customs in this Field Guide.

On September 11, 1857, a small band of Mormons led by John D. Lee massacred an emigrant train of men, women, and children heading west at Mountain Meadows, Utah. News of the Mountain Meadows Massacre, as it became known, sent shockwaves through the western frontier of the United States, reaching the nation's capital and eventually crossing the Atlantic. In the years prior to the massacre, Americans dubbed the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints the "Mormon problem" as it garnered national attention for its "unusual" theocracy and practice of polygamy. In the aftermath of the massacre, many Americans viewed Mormonism as a real religious and physical threat to white civilization. Putting the Mormon Church on trial for its crimes against American purity became more important than prosecuting those responsible for the slaughter. Religious historian Janiece Johnson analyzes how sensational media attention used the story of the Mountain Meadows Massacre to enflame public sentiment and provoke legal action against Latter-day Saints. Ministers, novelists, entertainers, cartoonists, and federal officials followed suit, spreading anti-Mormon sentiment to collectively convict the Mormon religion itself. This troubling episode in American religious history sheds important light on the role of media and popular culture in provoking religious intolerance that continues to resonate in the present.