Scattering Of The Saints: Schism Within Mormonism

by John C. Hamer (Editor)

This fascinating volume contains sixteen original essays on different expressions of the Latter Day Saint movement that have emerged since Joseph Smith organized his church in 1830. Included are groups which trace their path through Sidney Rigdon, James J. Strang, Alpheus Cutler or Granville Hedrick. Also included are historic (no longer extant) branches of the movement that were led by David Whitmer, William Smith and Amasa Lyman. Finally, Scattering of the Saints outlines the history of fundamentalist Mormonism and recent schisms within the Reorganized Latter Day Saint tradition.

Genres: Religion, Lds, History, Mormonism, Spirituality, Nonfiction

358 pages, Paperback

First published September 10, 2007

Reviews

[Jeffrey Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I admittedly had a personally profound experience with this series of essays. It wasn't exactly the content of the book but what the topic of the book pointed at. I was reminded of the very real nature of the expanded Mormon movement. Its a family, full of inbreeding, fighting, and on occasion, reconciling. I was reminded of the experiences I have had upon discovering cousins or a sibling I did not know existed. To learn about the other sides of the Mormon story which have been hidden, or of the people whose legacies have been mistreated by the Brighamhites was healing in a way. Having lived most of my life as a devout member of the LDS faith community, I have recently moved on in my own journey (to borrow a tired cliche).

These essays were, in a way, calling me back to the family--not for religious reasons but for purely familial ones. Who are these family members I have never known or have always known as "heretics" and "apostates" my whole life?

With over 400 distinct churches stemming from the life of a young farm boy in Upstate New York, Mormonism has a rich, and colorful collection of peoples, and cultures. The contributors represent a variety of the different branches within Mormonism, while a couple have also moved on from their Mormon roots, but not left their heritage behind.

Roger Launius ends the volume with some prescient takeaway from the essay 'Is God the Ultimate Practical Joker?':
--"All claimants to leadership among the Latter Day Saints have always held two beliefs in common. First, they have all believed, or at least claimed to believe, that God had called them apart to reestablish "a true church" out of the vestiges of an older but impure religious movement. Second, God always told them through revelation, vision, or some other supernatural means that what they taught was the pure gospel and all else a corruption of the holy way."
--"Collectively we deconstruct the arguments of those to whom we have no allegiance and after dissembling declare them invalid, feeling superior in the process, while we ignore and therefore accept some of the most stark of contradictions and absurdities in the belief system that we have embraced."
--"Students of Mormonism have tended not to take seriously the faith claims of these various groups, in essence concluding that God does not foster chaos and multiple paths of righteousness and that therefore those failing to adopt their faith claims are either mistaken or deliberately misleading in their religious conceptions."
--"Perhaps we are doing little more than offering stories about the past that have some relationship to what took place but are not the sum total of anything, and do not offer any understanding that we might consider of a concrete nature...I have always believed that the search for historical knowledge came through each person's study and presentation, modified or embraced or rejected by others on the same quest. I revise what has bone before; others following my path revise my work. That is the historical enterprise, as I understand it."

[Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

The essay about the modern-day practice of polygamy, written by a woman who is a practicing polygamist (and a historian), was AWESOME, and that is why I am giving this book five stars. I really enjoyed reading about that and all of the other sects that have as their foundation a belief in Joseph Smith as a prophet and the Book of Mormon as the word of God.

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great survey of Latter Day Saint groups. It is an edited volume (i.e., a compilation of many separately written chapters by different authors) so has all the upsides and downsides of that format--downsides including occasional repetition and lack of total comprehensiveness. But these are not material drawbacks of the book--you know what you're getting into with an edited volume.

The most striking thing is that there are no chapters on the two largest groups (Community of Christ/RLDS and Brighamite "LDS"). Maybe this was intentional, but by leaving them out it sort of concedes their exceptionality in a book designed to flatten the hierarchy among the groups. Why not have essays on these two groups that have to explain their claims starting from neutral ground? But this is not a criticism; I enjoyed and learned much from the book.

[Brad Hart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic read! The "Mormon Schism" as it has come to be called is one of my favorite historical moments in the history of the Latter-day Saint movement. Sadly, it's also one of the most unknown events, especially among the rank and file membership of the mainstream church. This is unfortunate because the Mormon Succession Crisis is critical to an understanding of Mormon history. This is a must read if you are going to call yourself a serious student of Mormon history.

[Lance · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible summary of the most important branches of the movement started by Joseph Smith, Jr. Can’t recommend it enough to anyone wanting to learn more about the Mormons not in the LDS Church.

[Eva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great info, super interesting to find out about a whole lot of other groups that trace their origins to Joseph Smith.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the stories and backgrounds of all the many spin-offs of the LDS religion and this book provided a good breakdown and was very informative.

I may have to purchase it and use it for future reference.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating essays on just a few of the dozens of churches which have arisen out of the Latter Day Saint movement.

[Benjamin · Rating 3 out of 5]

An informative resource. I didn't find it consistently engaging, as some essays were a lot drier than others. Still, a worthwhile read.

[Vickie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bought this book at Kirtland. Found it very informative about the many schisms of the LDS church.