I was given several books lately by a good friend whom she and I think very similar. She handed over these books as a gift from the heart. Thank you very much! I've been reading the material I was given and, WOW, there's so much info here. I started to read one particular book tonight and thought I'd share a little. So here it goes:
Title: A Winter with the Mormons
Edited by: David L. Bigler
Preface by: George Miles
Printer: Tanner Trust Fund
Date: 2001
My rating: *****!! (so far)
I had just finished the preface, and I had to give everyone a taste. If you like what you 'taste' then by all means, buy the book!!! I'm gonna quote just a little bit:
"Goodell's broad critique of Mormon society built upon his contempt for polygamy. His observations of Mormon legal, economic, and political relations continually return to the theme of expedient self-indulgence as the primary engine of Mormon behavior. Whether they are making cowardly deals with "savage" Indians, selling goods at inflated prices to hard-pressed travelers, using the courts to extort money from unfortunate outsiders, or seeking to obtain federal funds for irregular purposes, Goodell's Mormons are undisciplined, selfish, and unprincipled. When confronted with evidence of the sacrifices the pioneers have made to emigrate to Salt Lake or with their willingness to subordinate individual comport to the needs of the larger community, Goodell sees not nobility but craven fear of the Danites, the Church's secret militia.
Goodell's depiction of a corrupt, authoritarian society reflects a broader theme in American popular culture of the ante-bellum years, the fear that powerful conspiracies were undermining American freedom. Critics castigated the Freemasons, Roman Catholics, the slave-power conspiracy, and the abolitionists as secret, self-serving organizations whose ambitions were incompatible with American democracy. In such an era, Mormon social cohesion was seen not as an inspiring expression of community but as a political, economic, and social threat." (A Winter with the Mormons, preface pgs Xll and Xlll)
Did that wet the ole' appetite? Did mine. Now I'm off to read some more of this fantastic book. Go get your own!
One of The Books
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Labels: A Winter with the Mormons , cult , Mormonism
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