Customer Reviews

Mormonism: The Prophet, the Book and the Cult

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Reading this book allows an introduction to basic Mormon doctrine, how Mormonism has evolved, and historical information regarding the Book of Mormon and its contents. It encourages readers to further pursue their questions about Mormonism by referencing other works by Mormons and non-Mormons alike. It is an easy, interesting read from which I have learned much about the history of Mormonism and its origins.

Peter Bartley is also the author of The Gospel Jesus: Fact or Fiction?. He wrote in the Introduction to this 1989 book, "This book is about fundamentals. It seeks to provide answers to the sort of questions any serious study of the movement would be likely to raise. How did Mormonism originate? What are its claims, its distinctive beliefs? What are we to make of the Book of Mormon? To what extent, if at all, can Mormonism be accounted a Christian movement? Is Mormonism reasonable? ... these are questions of paramount interest that must be faced."

Here are some other quotations from the book:

"The language of the (golden) plates was 'reformed Egyptian,' a language which ... 'none other people knoweth.' How, then, could Professor Anthon have verified Joseph Smith's translation had he seen it? And how does it advance the Mormon case to have Professor Anthon pronounce the characters on the paper 'Egyptian, Chaldaic, Assyriac and Arabic,' when we are assured they were taken from an unknown language?" (Pg. 22)
"The statements collected by Hurlbut and others should not be accepted entirely without reservation. Anti-Mormon feeling ran high in those early days; it also appears that people then had a peculiar fondness for signing affidavits. Nevertheless, it is impossible to dismiss them as merely the products of envious neighbours or sectarian hatred." (Pg. 25)
"Mormons have always contended that (Sidney) Rigdon converted to Mormonism only after he had been shown the published Book of Mormon, and it must be said that the evidence that Rigdon ever knew Joseph Smith prior to then is tenuous." (Pg. 27-28)
"The Indians could not have had any use for the many roads and highways mentioned in the Book of Mormon, for they had no wheeled vehicles, though the discovery of wheeled toys is proof that at least the principle was known." (Pg. 50)
"Nephite history, we are told, lasted from 600 BC to 400 AD. The Maya were building temples and ceremonial centres towards the end of this phase; but the golden age of Maya civilization, when the arts and sciences reached their apogee, was the classic period of 300-900 AD." (Pg. 53)

I am from the Republic of Ireland, and therefore, as a Mormon, have an interest in anti-Mormon polemic against The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints circulating here.

This book by Bartley is, without doubt, one of the worst books I have ever read in my life on "Mormonism." The main fault of this book is that Bartley has no clue whatsoever of the existence of genuine Mormon scholarship that counters his time-worn claims against the Church. For instance, his ignorance of the Book of Mormon is startling. He seems to be unaware of John L. Sorenson's work, "An ancient American setting for the Book of Mormon" and other works, such as those by John A. Tvedtnes, that renders moot his claims against the text.

One criticism levelled against the text of the Book of Mormon is that the mention of "synagogues" represents an anachronism in the volume. However, this has been outdated for some time now. Lee Levine, a non-Mormon scholar from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem has discussed the strong evidence of pre-exilic synagogues as chambers in the gates of cities, as seen from recent archaeological discoveries in the Holy Land.

With the Deuteronomic Reformation in 621 BCE, centralisation of temple worship and animal sacrifce in Jerusalem resulted in local cognregations establishing centres for worship in chambers in city gates, representing the earliest synagogues in structure and function (see Lee Levine, "The ancient synagogue: the first thousand years" for more).

Therefore, the claim that the Book of Mormon's mention of "synagogues" being an anachronism is non sequitur.

Much more could be said about the mistakes in this text, and the above represents just a sample of the weakness of Bartley's criticisms against the Book of Mormon.

I welcome feedback at Robert.S.Boylan@nuim.ie

Bartley's book is a short, clear description of the source of the Latter Day Saints (Mormons), their beginnings and subsequent changes in doctrine over the years, and the key figures in Mormon history. I was surprised to discover that the origin of polygamy in Mormon history was not the Book of Mormon, but later 'revelations'. Also, the concept of God with a wife, multiple deities, the 'godhood' of selected humans, and other aspects of Mormon teaching are explained clearly. The belief that Christ was married with children seems to reveal a definite link to Gnostic creeds, and separates Latter Day Saints from the other Christians of all faiths. This book is instructive and easy to read. It is not greatly detailed, but is a good primer or starting point to learn about the Mormon religion. I recommend it.

Being from Colorado, I am interested in Mormonism, and I routinely speak with Mormons. Many, many books on Mormonism are downright hostile and unscholarly. This book seems to be in that category. While it provides some basic information that is useful, it follows many Protestant examples of spreading falsehoods about the LDS church. If you are doing research about Mormonism or wish to build a large library of material about them then you may want this book. If you are looking for one or two good books, then try Isaiah Bennett's "Inside Mormonism", or William Mitchell's "A Christian Looks at Mormomism", and avoid this one.