Customer Reviews

What Is Mormonism All About?: Answers to the 150 Most Commonly Asked Questions about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

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Unfortunately, there is a lot of misinformation about Mormonism. As the fastest growing major religion in the United States, it has been subjected to an onslaught of criticism. Many simply want to know what Mormonism is all about. If that is the case for you -- I strongly recommend this book.

Unfortunately, if you take a cursury look at reviews of books that attempt to express the Mormon belief system from the viewpoint of the believer, one finds many "reviewers" that have dedicated their lives to negative inuendo and disinformation about the Mormon faith. A number of reviews of this book are no exception.

But here is the real benefit of this book -- it presents the Mormon belief system without proselitizing any point of view. Missionaries in white shirts and ties won't show up at your door after reading it. So called "Christians" that wan't to call Mormon's non-Christians will not call to tell you are going to Hell for asking questions about Mormonism. In an accessible question/answer format -- it answers all of those questions you had about Mormonism but were afraid to ask.

The book is written by an active member of the LDS church. It gives a clear picture of how Mormons see the world. It is published by a major press (St. Martins). The author and publisher have covered their bases and offer an honest, succinct account of Mormonism.

The result is a book that presents Mormonism honestly, clearly and with a sense of humor. In the end, you -- the reader, are left to decide the matter for yourself. There is no discussion of who is right and who is wrong (can those arguments ever be won?)

I highly recommend this book as an introduction into what Mormons believe.

This book was an excellent source for me, in anwsering the questions that I had about Mormonism, and it a way that didn't make me talk to their missionaries or be embarrised to ask my mormon friends. As it was written by someone raised in another faith I think I has a very straightforward writing style that helps the reader understand their true beliefs.

I was interested in reading this book since I am a "Mormon" (actual name: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) and I was concerned about what it contained since there is SO much false info that swirls around (the review from "a reader" contains several) about "us". I was pleased to find that it gives frank and honest answers (often with a touch of humor) to the questions that I am asked by friends, and many that people are probably too hesitant to ask. I found it an easy read that kept me turning page after page to see what came next. It isn't meant to be scholarly, it's more like a conversation with a frank friend and I wish I could give my questioning friends answers as concise and clear as the author does. It actually has helped me to give better answers to my own friends.

This book is a children's book. His brief and shallow answers wouldn't satisfy anyone over the age of 12.

Just a word of caution to people reading these reviews- the person who wrote claiming to be a lifelong Mormon and stating that Mormons believe that God (Elohim? Never heard Heavenly Father referred to in those terms anywhere) had physical sex to conceive Jesus and that He has multiple wives is lying. The Mormons do believe in a Mother in Heaven (not Mary). What this person who claims to be LDS is stating is a gross misrepresentation of the LDS faith. Perhaps they should do more research than just watching The God Makers in their anti-Mormon church meetings...

"What is Mormonism?" was made in preparation for the Salt Lake City Olympics,as people streamed into Utah to watch the Winter Games. It reads more like a pamphlet than a book. It's as if a bunch of tracts were bundled together.

Johanson's apologetics can be summed up as "The Mormon Church is great because people don't cuss, tell dirty jokes, drink or smoke." He likes the motif of the '50s, citing the Church as an international Father Knows Best. Johanson is disingenuous in explaining why blacks weren't allowed into the priesthood until 1978,or the whole issue of polygamy. He says "Mormons believe in a Heavenly Mother in addition to a Heavenly Father",but there's the significant omission that Mormons aren't allowed to pray to her (thanks to an offhand remark by the current president of the Church in his Apostle days) Johanson doesn't mention that the Mormon Church has relaxed its teachings on abortion&artificial contraception since 1990, but he does stress the evils of coffee, caffeinated tea, and cursing. Of course,he doesn't explain that discrepancy.

"What is Mormonism all about?" is more interesting as an attempt at Mormon apologetics than an in-depth discussion of the religion. It's good for light reading,but not more than that.

Johanson acknowledges the fact that Mormonism has a number of critics, yet he believes that this religion is true. He writes on page 8, ?There are those who are hostile to the Mormon Church, who claim that Mormons worship Joseph Smith. [straw man logical fallacy: he should name just one person who claims this] This is not so. There are those who claim that Mormons worship Mormon. [again, name somebody] This is not so. There are those who claim that Mormons do not worship Jesus Christ and therefore are not Christians. This is certainly not so, as Mormons are committed, dedicated Christians who see themselves as having been ?born again? at Baptism, and as taking upon themselves the name of Jesus Christ, and who believe that there is no other way to salvation except through the grace and Atonement, sacrifice and Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.?

Despite Johanson?s supposed background in Presbyterianism, Congregationalism, and Methodism, his book is highly disappointing. First of all, his answers to many of the questions are short and don?t really scratch below the surface. It appears that he makes a conscientious effort to not cite additional resources, rarely quoting from anything except an occasional biblical or other Standard Works passage. (I doubt that there are more than two dozen references in its 226 pages.)

One example of his short, inadequate answers appears on page 83 as he responds to a question on Mormon archaeology. It is a good question and deserves a thoughtful response. Instead, Johanson offers less than a hundred words insinuating that there have been plenty of archeological finds in South America, Persia, and the Middle East that somehow support the Book of Mormon. Yet he does not provide a shred of evidence. Earlier, however, he had said that when it comes to Book of Mormon archaeology, ?Mormons believe that God will intentionally withhold such hard evidence from mankind, just to test (or ?prove?) their faith.? (p. 23) Can such a claim really be taken seriously?

When responding to the question ?What?s the difference between Protestant denominations and the Mormons?? Johanson refers to a common Mormon idea that the Bible was changed sometime in the Middle Ages and somehow ?practices that were not the original practices? were introduced (p. 28). Because the Bible is incomplete and improperly edited, he recommends the Book of Mormon ?to clarify some of the more confusing or incomplete passages from the Bible.? (p. 12) Again, he doesn?t provide anything more than personal opinion to support his claims. This is a trait common throughout the book.

Johanson often uses ?doublespeak? in his answers. This is common with many Mormons who apparently hope that those who are not LDS?especially evangelical Christians?may casually gloss over and minimize differences. His goal, it is clear, is to have the reader think that Mormonism is synonymous with Christianity.

Finally, Johanson often uses pejorative adjectives to describe those who dare make the audacious claim that Mormonism is not a Christian religion. One overused moniker is ?anti-Mormon,? a word that must have been utilized by Johanson in excess of a hundred times throughout the book?s pages. For example, in his response to the question ?Do Mormons ever participate in Bible study groups?? he says that while Mormons study the Bible, ?Mormons would usually be unwelcome if fundamentalists, evangelicals, or anti-Mormons were also in the group.? (p. 49) In other word, if you are not ecumenical, then?take your pick?you must be a narrow-minded fundamentalist, evangelical, or anti-Mormon (or maybe you?re all three!) who discriminates against LDS ?Christians.?

He raises the war flag when it comes to rhetoric about those he feels are ?angry and hostile toward Mormons? and ?fundamentalist Christian groups (including some Southern Baptists and other evangelical groups) that are quite hostile toward Mormons.? He concludes this section by insinuating their miscommunication is on purpose, saying, ?Anti-Mormons are also quite quick to (intentionally?) misinterpret and miscommunicate many of the simple beliefs that Mormons hold, by trying to claim that Mormons believe in the Book of Mormon and not the Holy Bible; that Mormons believe Joseph Smith was someone to worship instead of Jesus Christ; and other such misrepresentations.?

There are, he claims on page 35, few sincere Christians. He writes that ?many people visit a few churches and decide which to attend, based on who else is there, or if they like the minister, or if the sermons are good (or short), or if they would like to join the choir, or what time of day the Sunday services are held, and so on, and that?s the basis of their decision. Those approaches are not true for Mormons.?

The Mormon Church, he adds, ?has a much more comprehensive and defined set of doctrines than do most Christian denominations.? Nothing like setting the stage to make non-LDS churchgoers look superficial and even sinful. Even Christian bookstores are part of the conspiracy against Mormons because, on page 11, he criticizes them for not carrying Mormon ?scholarly? works ?for they view them as false and un-Christian. The only Mormon-related materials in most Christian bookstores are anti-Mormon materials.? The question is, how many evangelical Christian books do the Deseret and Seagull bookstores carry?

Overall, I cannot recommend this book. It does not offer any adequate answers to the 150 questions posed. I would suggest Johanson go back to the drawing board, eliminate his use of logical fallacies, and do a little research that would involve more than just his mere opinion. Until he does this, his book wastes both paper and, if read, the reader?s time.

This book is the latest in the PR offensive by the mormon church to convince unsuspecting readers that mormonism is Christian. Yes, mormons believe in the divinity of Jesus (specifically - that he is a god), so in a sense they are Christians. But what this book fails to mention is that mormons believe (though seldom discuss) that Jesus was conceived by God the Father (Elohim in mormonism) having actual physical sexual intercourse with the virgin Mary to beget the Savior (Jesus in mortality or Jehovah in the pre-existence spirit world before mortality), the oldest spirit offspring of Elohim and his polygamous wives. (They also say they believe the doctrine of the virgin birth because Mary did not "know" a man (but she did "know" God in the carnal sense). In fact, it is my experience that many mormons do not know that early 20th century mormon president Joseph F. Smith (see the hard to now find "Doctrines of Salvation") and other church leaders openly taught this doctrine.
In addition, this book is intentionally misleading about polygamy saying it was practiced by a small minority of men between the 1850s and 1880s, when in actuality Joseph Smith started secretly entering into polygamous marriages for himself in the early 1830s (well documented by mormon and non-mormon historians), and other mormon leaders like Brigham Young began taking plural wives in the early 1840s at Smith's invitation. Further, mormon practice of polygamy lasted well into the 20th century as some committed mormon leaders continued to enter into secret polygamous marriages well into the 20th century, and those polygamous marriages performed before and after 1890 continued to be observed till that generation of mormon leaders died out till the 1930s and 40s. Mormon PR professionals do their best to make this practice as obscure as possible, but Mormon leaders in the late 19th century from Brigham Young to Lorenzo Snow (and probably Wilford Woodfuff - the mormon president who issued the 1890 manifesto to save the church from financial ruin and eventual oblivion) all believed and taught that entering into polygamous marriages was absolutely necessary for "exaltation" (going to heaven - or in mormon terminology - going to the top third of the celestial kingdom).
This leads to yet another misleading quality of this book. The question, asked of Gordon Hinckley (current mormon president) by Larry King, and frequently brought up in other fora - if mormons believe that God was once a man and that those who accept mormonism can become gods - is not even brought up in this book, so is not addressed. In his sections on the mormon version of the plan of salvation (what is man's ultimate destiny) Mr. Johanson does not mention this central concept of mormon belief at all.
As if these deceptions are not enough, this book says that some archeologists believe they have found evidence to support the Book of Mormon and others disagree, leaving the reader with the false impression that the evidence for or against the historicity of the Book of Mormon is neutral, though nothing could be further from the truth. Even mormon archaeologists, including former head of the Anthropology and Archaeology Department at Brigham Young University, John Sorenson, have declared that there is no such thing as Book of Mormon archeology, and no non-mormon archaeologist takes Book of Mormon claims seriously, nor in fact do any reputable mormon archeologists. Then Mr. Johanson goes on to make the utterly false claim that mormons believe that God is withholding evidence that would definitively support the historicity of the Book of Mormon to test the faith of mormons. Certainly Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, and other church leaders believed otherwise and said as much, going so far as to fund an amateur but dedicated archaeologist, Mr. Tom Ferguson, in his substantial efforts in the 1950s and 60s to explore Mesoamerican archaeological sites to find physical evidence to substantiate the existence of book of mormon civilizations. Of course, now that not one shred of archaeological, linguistic, genetic, geographic, or biological (animals and plants described in the Book of Mormon) evidence confirms the existence of Book of Mormon civilizations, Mr. Johanson and other misguided defenders of the faith are downplaying to the point of denial the problems this creates for mormonism. Further, professionals in all of these fields indicate that the evidence against anything like the Book of Mormon civilizations existing is uniform and overwhelming.
In summary, this book is a very misleading resource for those who are exposed to mormonism and want to find out what mormons believe, but it IS a good guide to what the current clique running the mormon church wants people to think they believe to get people in and start them paying tithing so they can help bail out this financially stressed and very secretive organization. (The mormon church has not released details of its finances since 1958, claiming that church members are not interested in this information. I can tell you that if the leaders of the church were proud of how the money comes in and how it is spent they would never shut up telling the world about it. But they are scared of how the public, and of how their own membership would react if they knew the details, so the simply do not make them available.)
The mormon church is much like INGSOC (the party) in Orwell's well-known book "1984." The truth constantly changes, and like the party in "1984" when the truth changes, the past is changed too. Read "Mormonism 101" instead if you want the real