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The Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Mormonism
From its founding in pioneer times to the present day, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has been both mysterious and misunderstood-with some Protestant faiths not even recognizing the Mormons as Christians. This fascinating guide debunks the myths of Mormonism and reveals its history, faith, and culture.
336 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2002
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33 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
May 7, 2012
This book was an excellent overview, very informative. I really enjoyed the light heartedness of the author, (sometimes people can be TOO serious, myself included). I enjoyed his educational approach, I learned several interesting facts about a religion I have been a part of for close to 9 years now. Great read for family members or friends of Mormons to understand more about us. I am recommending this to my family members!
September 14, 2010
Great resource for the new convert; provides easy answers to common questions.
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August 3, 2011This book does an excellent job of explaining the basic tenets of the LDS faith. If you are interested in learning more about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, then start here.
May 29, 2017
This book is very good.
October 22, 2024
A VERY HELPFUL OVERVIEW OF THE LATTER-DAY SAINT RELIGION AND CULTURE
The author wrote in the Introduction to this 2003 book, "The intent of this book is to provide you with a fundamental understanding of the origins, challenges, and practices of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints... One reason for the increased interest in LDS beliefs surrounds the Church's focus on the family... This book will spend quite a bit of time discussing LDS family values."
Here are some additional quotations from the book:
"Members of the LDS Church believe they can become like God himself. They believe that God is a glorified man, in whose image man was created." (Pg. 14)
"MYTH: 'Some people were indecisive in the War in Heaven.' Nothing could be further from the truth. The concept that some people who find themselves out of favor with society, due to ethnic background or social status, was the result of not choosing God's side in the Grand Council in Heaven is a fallacy. By the mere fact that we are born into mortality proves which side we chose. Those who chose with Lucifer fell with Lucifer." (Pg. 23)
"And let me say a special note about 'murderers': As I mentioned earlier, although David did have a man killed, he was promised some form of glory for his obedience. Mormonism teaches that David's ultimate residence will be among the wicked of the Telestial World. But as for the REALLY bad guys, it's hard to anticipate what judgment they will receive... I won't waste time speculating where they will or should go." (Pg. 55)
"LDS doctrine is founded on the principle that there was one 'church' established by Christ, and that church was destroyed within the first 100 years after his death." (Pg. 77)
"The matter concerning men of color and the priesthood ... is still a difficult topic to discuss, especially for some of those men who were personally affected by it... The Church has since encouraged all of its members to look forward and experience the progress and success of the Church, rather than waste time on matters that no longer warrant attention." (Pg. 190)
"The Church itself ... takes no official position of endorsement or restriction on regulating birth control, except in the case of its firm condemnation of elective abortion." (Pg. 238)
The author wrote in the Introduction to this 2003 book, "The intent of this book is to provide you with a fundamental understanding of the origins, challenges, and practices of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints... One reason for the increased interest in LDS beliefs surrounds the Church's focus on the family... This book will spend quite a bit of time discussing LDS family values."
Here are some additional quotations from the book:
"Members of the LDS Church believe they can become like God himself. They believe that God is a glorified man, in whose image man was created." (Pg. 14)
"MYTH: 'Some people were indecisive in the War in Heaven.' Nothing could be further from the truth. The concept that some people who find themselves out of favor with society, due to ethnic background or social status, was the result of not choosing God's side in the Grand Council in Heaven is a fallacy. By the mere fact that we are born into mortality proves which side we chose. Those who chose with Lucifer fell with Lucifer." (Pg. 23)
"And let me say a special note about 'murderers': As I mentioned earlier, although David did have a man killed, he was promised some form of glory for his obedience. Mormonism teaches that David's ultimate residence will be among the wicked of the Telestial World. But as for the REALLY bad guys, it's hard to anticipate what judgment they will receive... I won't waste time speculating where they will or should go." (Pg. 55)
"LDS doctrine is founded on the principle that there was one 'church' established by Christ, and that church was destroyed within the first 100 years after his death." (Pg. 77)
"The matter concerning men of color and the priesthood ... is still a difficult topic to discuss, especially for some of those men who were personally affected by it... The Church has since encouraged all of its members to look forward and experience the progress and success of the Church, rather than waste time on matters that no longer warrant attention." (Pg. 190)
"The Church itself ... takes no official position of endorsement or restriction on regulating birth control, except in the case of its firm condemnation of elective abortion." (Pg. 238)
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September 12, 20239/22
Preread for collection development.
Very thorough, digs into Mormon theology, making a case for this religion as a Christian sect instead of a cult. A good research tool for any comparing religions. A little deep for jh research.
Preread for collection development.
Very thorough, digs into Mormon theology, making a case for this religion as a Christian sect instead of a cult. A good research tool for any comparing religions. A little deep for jh research.
May 7, 2017
So far this book only rates two stars. When comparing Mormon ideas with mainstream Christian ideas the Author is is greatly oversimplifying the Christian ideas. I don't know a lot about Mormonism but I suspect he is over simplifying their ideas as well. I also found a factual error where he referred to Constantine as the "Holy Roman Empire" ! In actual fact the Holy Roman Empire did not exist at the time of Constantine, it came much later and was located mostly in modern day Germany. Criticism aside, the book is interesting, very readable and I do intend to finish it.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews