Customer Reviews

Same-Sex Dynamics among Nineteenth-Century Americans: A MORMON EXAMPLE

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Excellent read, and hits the history of Mormon attitudes regarding same-sex dynamics right on the nail's head. As one who has had first hand experience with both Mormonism and same-sex dynamics, I can assure you this book covers the these topics with astounding factual evidence and is devoid of any biasing, or personal agendas. As you can see from earlier reviews by folks from the Mormon hub of the U.S., this book strikes a raw nerve with their own personal and religious agendas. As Quinn so often and eloquently states: "Physical orientation and sexual orientation are not moral issues, and majority/minority phenomena in nature do not involve natural versus unnatural categories. The exceptional in nature is still natural, whether the exception is left-handedness or the homosexual orientation of erotic desire." And, I also agree with him when he states "that every human being, even those whose values or behavior I reject, is of value to God and to me."

Oh, what a kind and non-judgemental world it would be if people would love each other unconditionally, and actually put into practice, not just in word but in deed, their religious beliefs concerning tolerance, love and understanding of each other. Until that time, we all need to accept each other for who we are and bridge the gulf of misunderstanding that often leads to intolerance and hate.

Best scholarship I have read in a long, long time. It is not often I can say a book actually made me see myself and my beliefs differently. As a believing Mormon I find Quinn's research into the "many silences of Mormon history" not only enlightening, but, contary to the Church's fears, inspiring. Bravo, Michael. ~Gail Richards Dedrick

Scholarly and exhaustive, this book will tell you more than you ever though possible about same sex couples in the 19th century LDS church. I think Quinn must have read every copy of the Deseret News and the Tribune up to the 20's. Amazing documentation and research.

Very good book. A must read for anyone who is interested in the history of same sex dynamics in American or Mormon history. Everything in the book is well documented. Its amazing to see how the church and its members attitudes towards homosexuality has changed over the years.

Recently Mormon Church general authority Boyd K. Packer, a life long homophobe, once again embarrassed his church by publicly declaring homosexuality as "unnatural." His remarks were later amended in the written record.

Although published in the 1996, Quinn's book is highly germane today, as the topic of "same sex" relationships continues in heated discussions throughout the country. Mormons strongly reject those who do not fit its stereotypical "man, woman and six kids" view of marriage and sexual relations. It's strong financial support for California's punitive Proposition 8 barring same-sex marriage is another manifestation of its hostility to those "unnatural" men and women who wish to marry a person of their choice. As Quinn painstakingly shows, such intolerance was not always so in Utah or the Mormon Church. Church authorities born prior to the turn of the 20th Century had much more "liberal" attitudes toward same-sex relationships. Anti-gay Mormonism did not take hold until the 1950s.

Quinn does exhaustive research on any topic he pursues. The footnotes after each chapter are overwhelming. A reader could take days just reading through them, let alone reading the sources upon which they are based. As a consequence, there is plenty of evidence to support the proposition that homophobia has no deep roots in Mormonism and that it does not have to be such a big part of its agenda today. However, don't expect any significant changes in Mormon attitudes until Packer and his ilk are gone.

Excellent scolarship and abundant reference material make this book a must for anybody interested in the subject. May be the author sees "too much" in a few things but that cannot hurt in a church that denies the obvious presence of homosexuals in its midst. It shows how the perceived perversions were not such in the past and how they are a product of recent fears and denials.

The book is well researched and the writing for once isn't tedious, (good job Dr. Quinn). However, Quinn really strains it at times to prove his ideas. This is Quinn's hidden agenda: The Mormon church during the 19th century was not as homophopic as it is now, therefore the Mormon church should not be so severe in its attacks and excommunications of Gay members of the church like myself. Quinn's whole purpose in writing this book is to try to say that the current LDS leaders are hypocrites because earlier leaders had more lenient attidutes towards homosexuality. The book is a good history of same-sex relations but the reader needs to be aware of the hidden agenda and the bias in Quinn's historical research and writing.

Quinn takes parsing to a new level--an obvious malcontent. Anyone who could believe that Mormons have some secret "homoerotic" history needs serious therapy. I can't stop laughing. I gave it a two because there weren't serious grammar problems. Must have had a good (albeit tolerant) editor.