Customer Reviews

The Mormon Hierarchy: Extensions of Power

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4 star:		(4)
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1 star:		(7)

 

 

Dr. Quinn's book is a remarkable accomplishment. For a brief time, in the 70's and 80's, the historical office of the LDS church allowed for some objective, professional examination of its records. Quinn brings us some of the fruits of that time. This is not "faith-promoting" history-Deseret Book and Bookcraft have taken care of that-but shows the Brethren in all their human glory. Some reviewers have indicated that this volume has not threatened their LDS testimonies, but only confirmed what they already knew, that church leaders are human and fallible; other reviewers may be threatened by this realization, although many past presidents have pointed it out. The marketing of the infallibility of church leaders continues, perhaps because it gives comfort to those church members who are intolerant of ambiguity, but also because toadying is often rewarded in organizations.

Extensions of Power is actually several books. It is topically arranged to consider more or less controversial aspects of the church leadership-violence, involvement in politics, etc. It also includes, as the earlier companion volume did, hundreds of pages of notes and a detailed chronology of church activities from 1848 to 1996. We are afforded a glimpse into the complex personalities, power factions, and challenges of maintaining, growing and adapting a religious movement to a constantly changing and evolving U. S. and world culture. I was by turns frustrated with church leadership and empathetic with them in their struggle to understand and accommodate `the world' without losing their unique identity. I was also able to see how present problems have their roots in the past, and the futile efforts of those leaders--such as Gordon B. Hinckley and Boyd K. Packer--who would like to bury the past.

Mormonism is a religion which was established and grew during historical, literate times, and leaders and members must come to terms with the difficulties of their history. Despite Correlation committees, Strengthening the Members Committees and million dollar public relations and marketing campaigns, and particularly since the advent of the internet, historical problems will not go away. For the questioning believer or the student of religions and U. S. history, Dr. Quinn's book is a very useful tool in understanding how the present Mormon church came to be.

I have read the Extensions of Power, and found that the accomplishment of such a study is on par with ground breaking studies in other fields of historical research. Quinn has obviously spent a great deal of effort in providing a clear and concise and convincing argument. I hope that he will continue his work and perhaps augment the appendices - particularly the chronology section with footnotes. Again, extremely well written by a reliable historian, and a pleasure to read and recommend.

This is a fascinating book. Don't be disuaded by the number of pages, and don't fret the large number of citations. Quinn is a master researcher, but more important, he has some strong and insightful opinions regarding the power structure of the Mormon Church. He respectfully (and candidly) explores some difficult issues, such as the evolution of the various offices of general authorities, (no, it's not the same today as it was 150 years ago, or the way it was in Old Testament times...), the degree of familial relationship among general authorities, and the manner in which decisions are made to appear unanimous, even when there is real dissent. Along the way, he shines his detective's light on stories tucked away in the collective cognitive closet of Mormondom, such as efforts to keep black men from receiving the priesthood nearly 15 years earlier than they eventually did, political entanglements on the Equal Rights Amendment and homosexual issues, and especially fascinating was the chapter on Ezra Taft Benson's extremely controversial John Birch Society association and his partisan political activities during the tumultuous "cold war" years. This is a fascinating read, and a great opportunity for folks to see "the other side," the real, human side, of the men Mormons revere as "prophets, seers and revelators."

A note about Quinn's critics. Quinn takes a lot of heat for his copious, almost obscene number of footnotes and references. Many reviewers of Quinn's writings are not convinced that his research is reliable. I say "hogwash." The reason I say that is that the author of a book such as this is doing more than just reporting a list of facts, dates, times and places. He's consuming massive amounts of information, and synthesizing it according to his own experience, education, history and paradigms, and producing an interpretation of his study. This is not unique to Quinn...I would argue that every historian, no matter how objective they think they are, in the final analysis produces nothing more than their personal interpretation of events that are only observable from a distance. The reality is, the Mormon people are, and always have been, a "record keeping people." Subsequently, Michael Quinn has a remarkable amount of material available to him. As the historian consumes such material, an integrated picture begins to form; his interpretation. It may not represent the same conclusions that another, equally well-read researcher might come up with, but it is valid non-the-less. So my response to the critics below who are concerned that their interpretation of Quinn's reference material is not the same as his is, "so what?" You are apparently standing and looking at what he is looking at from a different perspective, with different ideas, learning and study, and you are entitled to a different oppinion. That in no way minimizes Quinn's efforts, but rather magnifies the point that such scholarly investigation and study is well worth the time and effort.

Well done, Mr. Quinn, and thanks for sharing your thoughtful observations with the many of us who will never gain access to the materials that you have studied. To those who disagree with him, feel free to write a book, and we'll explore your conclusions, too!

I was terribly impressed with Dr. Quinn's efforts in 'Extensions of Power'. If you want to know how the Mormon Church is governed and operates, this is the book to have. Dr. Quinn's use of anecdotes, coupled with his extensively researched factual information, makes this book, nearly as good a read as anything I've ever read before. It's something that's very hard to put down (I read it nearly non-stop for 3 days!). More engaging that Tom Clancy, for sure.

Another reviewer said that Dr. Quinn's extensive use of quotes was somehow not a good thing, that it was distracting (?). I found his use of quotes to be extremely useful. Above all, it showed that his research was well founded in the Church's own records.

This is a tremenduous work and I'd highly recommend it to anyone seeking to understand how the Mormon Church really works.

This book is a remarkable accomplishment that will probably never be surpassed as many of the sources Quinn uses have been sequestered away by the church leadership. In reading the book, I felt the author tried to paint a sympathetic picture of church leadership and the challenges they faced. However, with the church's current focus on blind obedience and the building of personality cults around past church leaders, it isn't surprising that some reviewers find offense with the book and will try to discredit it by nitpicking an inaccuracy here or there.

Reading the book, it looked like a series of essays to me. One of the most interesting of the essays was the chapter on Ezra Taft Benson and his attempts at directing the membership of the church towards the extreme right-wing doctrines of the John Birch Society. His success is illustrated in Utah and Mormon areas of Idaho and Arizona being some of the most Republican in the nation. In this regard, this book is relevant to anyone wanting to understand the current demographics and attitudes of church members and how they evolved.

One of the best parts of the book is the huge appendix. Any student of Mormon history will find it very helpful and interesting.

Dr. Quinn is to be commended for his wonderful book.

I would like to add my comments about this book as one who has been an active member of the Mormon Church nearly all my life. I did not find this volume to be negative toward the leaders of the church at all. In fact, I gained a better appreciation of what church history I already knew by the author putting all of the material in true context. It doesn't hurt my testimony of the restored truth and priesthood to know that the men who ran the church were indeed humans who make mistakes - sometimes big mistakes - all in the name of "trying to do the right thing". Rather than bring the "brethren" down in the minds of the reader, I felt that if the author could only find the few instances of misbehavior that he did, that these must be extrodinary men indeed. I do have a few questions of the author. If he reads this review, I would like to talk to him personally about the book. Please send me an email of where I may call you or where I can send you my phone number.

Dennis Michael Quinn (born 1944) is a historian who has focused on The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. From 1976 he was a professor at Brigham Young University, until he resigned in 1988. He is one of the "September Six" Mormons who were excommunicated or disfellowshipped in September 1993 for speaking against Church doctrine and leadership. He is also controversial for his sexual orientation (see his book Same-Sex Dynamics among Nineteenth-Century Americans: A MORMON EXAMPLE.)

He writes in the Preface to this 1997 book, "I have tried to be true to the spirit of candor I found in the spoken and written records of the Mormon hierarchy. This study ... also examines the evidence of historical process and institutional change over time, rather than selecting evidence to reinforce current definitions and policies. That single-minded determination on my part led to conflicts with LDS leaders. I am now a believer outside the church for which I still have affection and fond hopes."

Here are some more quotations from the book:

"Harmony and unanimity became so important to the twentieth-century hierarchy that some authorities have even assented to what they regarded as violations of God's will." (Pg. 13)
"The presiding quorums have sometimes tailored their minutes to fulfill the requirement of unanimous voting." (Pg. 19)
"Despite such conflicts, church leaders regard the final result of their deliberations as revelation." (Pg. 20)
"(I)n July (1946) the hierarchy was stunned to learn that Patriarch Joseph F. Smith was homosexual. Publicly they cited 'ill health' as reason for his resignation and released him..." (Pg. 128)
"(B.H. Roberts') alcoholism continued to strain his relationships with fellow general authorities, and in 1901 Roberts confessed to the First Council 'as to his violation of the word of wisdom.'" (Pg. 145)
"Under such circumstances the Mormon hierarchy bore full responsibility for the violent acts of zealous Mormon(s) who accepted their instructions literally and carried out various forms of blood atonment." (Pg. 256)
"Although affirming that they act as private citizens when urging political positions, general authorities expect to be treated differently than private citizens in the political arena." (Pg. 371)

D. Michael Quinn is a dissident Mormon who has authored or edited several books on the history of the Mormon (LDS) Church. Naturally, they stray quite extensively from official Mormon hagiography. Quinn's best known work is probably "Early Mormonism and the Magic World View", but his other books are equally worth delving into.

"The Mormon Hierarchy: Extensions of Power" is the second volume of a two-volume series. The first is subtitled "Origins of Power".

The book is really a collection of essays on various controversial topics of Mormon history. Half of the book consists of appendices, footnotes and references. One of the essays deals with the controversies surrounding Ezra Taft Benson and his support for the extremist John Birch Society. Another essay describes the successful Mormon campaign to stop ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA).

Quinn has also included an extensive discussion of 19th century Mormonism in Utah. He reaches the surprising conclusion that the secretive, theocratic Council of Fifty played only a minor role. Despite this, Mormon Utah clearly was a theocracy. Not without some irony, the author describes how LDS-approved candidates in Utah elections would get 99% of the votes, and never less than 95%. For a period, the Mormon-controlled "People's Party" didn't even have a central committee, but was controlled directly by Church authorities! Please note the names "people's party" and "central committee" and the 99% election results. Are we talking Utah or Estonia in 1940?

Appendix 5 is easily the most interesting part of the entire volume, a veritable treasure trove of downright bizarre information on Mormonism you won't learn from those clean-cut LDS missionaries. The "elders" probably don't even know about it! Thus, we learn that the famous Miracle of the Seagulls wasn't considered particularly miraculous when it first happened. Brigham Young prohibited Mormons from digging gold in Utah only to send a Mormon group to California to do precisely that. Sodomy was legal in Utah from 1852 to 1876. Young prohibited Blacks from entering the priesthood, but nevertheless invited Elijah Abel to a social event in Salt Lake City. Abel was an African-American who had been ordained by Joseph Smith! Young also denied the virgin birth, claiming that God had a physical body and had a carnal relation with Mary. In 1857, Young allowed a polyandrous relationship and preached in favour of marriage between siblings. One of his apostles said that Muhammad might have been a true prophet! And so on...

More shocking is the trail of violence, murder and mayhem that characterized Utah during the rule of Mormon theocrats. The Mountain Meadows Massacre is the most well known instance, but it seems that "blood atonements", decapitations and castrations were the order of the day, Brigham Young not being wholly innocent of stirring things up. Of course, the Wild West was a brutal place in those days, and the problem isn't so much that this or that horse thief was summarily dealt with. The problem, of course, is the religious-theocratic dimension, as when the Mormons and the federal authorities together attacked the Morrisites, or when Mormon dissidents were attacked, or when "loose" women were found decapitated, etc.

"The Mormon Hierarchy" is more forthright than Leonard Arrington's bland work "Brigham Young: American Moses". Arrington, of course, is The Living Prophet's Loyal Opposition. Quinn, it seems, is something else again.

The only criticism I have of this book is that Quinn's style of writing frequently gets dry, tedious and over-detailed. Still, I cannot recommend this volume high enough.

Five stars.

D. Michael Quinn has written an excellent book here (as well as other books) that most LDS members should read and analyze. History and actions of the past are, in general, lost to the current generations of saints.

Not for lack of information, but because the mind of the regular modern saint is numbed and casual, and delving into doctrinal history is beyond their general comprehension or intention. There is no real way for any member of the church to distinguish the full scheme and organization of both the church, and deeper doctrine.

Mike Quinn comes along and re-reveals important correlations of the past, and people become afraid of reading and deciding for their selves, whether Quinn's assumptions and opinions are valid and truthful, and reflect something hidden.

That members would not study and assimilate an honest work like this goes against the Lord's admonition to seek out the truth in all forms; they don't want to, it scares some of them and the fence sitters will have to fall one way or another.

There are people that denigrate D Michael Quinn for his efforts. Yet, there are many things about the History, Prophecy, and contemplation of World and Celestial events by the LDS membership and LEADERSHIP that just do not seem to add up or correlate with 'after-the-fact' review. The most current prophet of the LDS Church has told countless people, members and not, to discount the teachings of prior presidents of the church, church history, mandates, old teachings and doctrines, and actions of key general authorities.

The most perplexing thing is either one has to accept Joseph Smith's doctrine as true restoration, or Brigham Young's doctrine. One cannot accept both, as they contradict each other. If the latter Young's doctrine is accepted, then Joseph Smith's work, prophecies, and church organization has to be made null. Who restored the true Church and the Real Church of Christ's Doctrine? Whatever the organization was during Smith's tenure, it would be apparent that Young changed divine rules and guides, thus apostasizing and changing the order that God set up through Joseph Smith.

The Mormons, in spite of the promises of the Smith period, had now become a subjugated cult under Brigham Young. Smith had even ordained 4 people to take charge of the Church in his absence or death, and yet Young, would not allow it and changed things around.

That is why the Mormon Church is an Enigma, and the current leaders see to it that no key document can make its way out of the Salt Lake Temple Vault, into the hands of informed scholars, who by studying and reading these same documents, could prove a different course than the one taken since the founding of the church. Even Mike found many contradictions and power struggles. His mistake was revealing his concerns publicly, which caused the church leadership to kick him out of the fold.

Church leaders discount the work by stating that for the human element, thoughts and directives are only 'human', and thus, mistakes were made but the work is still blessed in spite of flaws in the leadership. Yet the words of the Doctrine & Covenants state that "this is a house of order..." Either the organization is wholly correct, or the tenets preached represent an 'order' that does not exist.

Dr. Quinn's work is outstanding. As with all his published works, it has very detailed references. There is no fluff! Nearly half the book is footnotes, and I found them as fascinating as the actual contents. For all the legal work the Mormon church did to prevent the book actually being published, they should have spent the time and money on something better. This book provides a refreshing look at the reality of LDS church leadership. I highly recommend this and also "Origins of Power" to be a part of every LDS, or LDS-interested, library.