America's Saints: Rise Of Mormon Power [Paperback]

Robert Gottlieb (Author), Peter Wiley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 30, 1986

After careful research and extensive interiviews, the authors have prepared this compelling and controversial portrait of the Mormon's organizational structure and economic empire-and the men who control both. Index.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Robert Gottlieb teaches at the University of California at Los Angeles and lives in Santa Monica.  He is co-author of Thinking Big, a study of the Los Angeles Times.


Peter Wiley is a historian and journalist.  He lives in San Francisco.

Product Details

• Paperback: 280 pages
• Publisher: Mariner Books (May 30, 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0156056585
• ISBN-13: 978-0156056588
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,052,901 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars AN INTERESTING STUDY OF THE MORMONS BY TWO NON-MEMBERS, March 7, 2011

By 

Steven H. Propp (Sacramento, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: America's Saints: The Rise of Mormon Power (Hardcover)

The authors write in the Preface to this 1984 book, "We soon discovered that, despite the plethora of books about the Mormon experience, nothing comprehensive had been written about the contemporary church---the rapidly expanding, spiritually influential, politically and economically powerful organization that had emerged in the post-World War II period. Further, little had been written about the dynamics of church organization ... Nor had there been much analysis of the changing of the guard... As non-Mormons and transplanted Californians, we realized that undertaking a book on the contemporary church offered hazards as well as opportunities... We also had to contend with the deep penchant among Mormon leaders for secrecy... The church encourages an internal spying system so that documents and information do not get leaked to the outside world."

Here are some other quotations from the book:

"(Ezra Taft) Benson was becoming increasingly vitriolic in his warnings about the dangers of Communism... Instead of bringing the (Mormon) Prophet into an alliance with the Birchers, Benson's activities set off alarm bells in church headquarters... Benson continued to work with the Birchers without becoming a member... Using his position in the church to imply that church leaders supported his views, he worked to create the impression that ... the increasingly frail (President David O.) Mckay, endorsed his activities." (Pg. 78)

"Years later, when (Nathan Eldon) Tanner became the financial leader of the church and counselor to four church presidents, questions were raised about Tanner's political philosophy. Known for his occasional support for liberal positions within the church on such matters as civil rights and opposition to the John Birch Society, Tanner, many of his liberal supporters assumed, was something of a 'socialist' in his early years." (Pg. 103)

"In Latin America, the growth of the Mormon church and other Protestant fundamentlist groups has had a direct relationship to the fortunes of the Catholic church." (Pg. 143)

"The church's missionary work has brought gradual and continuous rather than dramatic growth in Indian membership." (Pg. 168)

"Beliefs and paternalistic attitudes such as (Spencer) Kimball's (toward Native Americans) became an embarrassment to the church. Then in 1981, the church announced that in an 1840 edition of the Book of Mormon Joseph Smith had changed the words 'white and delightsome' to 'pure and delightsome.' But there was no modification of the passage in Nephi where the Lamanites were punished for their transgressions by being turned 'dark and loathsome.'" (Pg. 174)

"Right-wing Mormons took the revelation (granting blacks the priesthood) in stride. They had been carefully prepared for the eventuality of a revelation. Unlike their liberal counterparts, these more orthodox Mormons maintained a nearly absolute belief in church leadership and obedience to the General Authorities." (Pg. 185)

"The BYU and church security networks were crucial to the church campaign. Files were compiled, and whenever a BYU student was thought to be gay... that student was called in to talk... Surveillance of gay bars in Salt Lake City was commonplace, and lists were drawn up that identified 'persons involved in lewd behavior.'" (Pg. 224)