An Insider's View of Mormon Origins Review

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An Insider's View of Mormon Origins ReviewThe author of this exceptionally clear & thoroughly documented book is an active, fourth-generation Mormon, a 34-year professional historian and Mormon-studies director at college-level religious institutes.
From the Preface: "I, along with colleagues, and drawing from years of research, find the evidence employed to support many traditional [official Mormon] claims about the [Mormon] church to be either nonexistent or problematic."
Chap. 1 ("Joseph Smith as Translator/Revelator") concludes that Jos. Smith "mistranslated a number of documents" including the Book of Abraham, used the King James Bible extensively in constructing the Book of Mormon, also weaving in many 19th century concerns, and that the Book of Mormon is of "no value in trying to learn more about ancient America or the Middle East."
Chap. 2 ("Authorship of the Book of Mormon") concludes that the Book of Mormon is most likely a 19th-century production pieced together from sources demonstrated to be available to Smith, and therefore not a translation from ancient metal plates which, in any case, were not used and often not even present during dictation to scribes, done by looking not at plates but into a hat with a stone placed in it, often separated from his scribe by a blanket hung between them. This chapter also mentions DNA evidence demonstrating that the origin of Native Americans is not as claimed in the Book of Mormon.
Chap. 3 ("The Bible in the Book of Mormon") demonstrates the King James Bible as source for numerous reworked Book of Mormon stories, many anachronisms and King James translators' errors copied in this erroneous form into the Book of Mormon. Quote: "Why would God reveal to Joseph Smith a faulty [mistranslated] KJV text?"
Chap 4 ("Evangelical Protestantism in the Book of Mormon") concludes that numerous theological issues addressed in the Book of Mormon probably derived from Smith's Upstate New York religious environment than from the claimed ancient gold plates.
Chap 5 ("Moroni and the Golden Pot") examines a long list of parallels between a published story by E.T.A. Hoffmann, and Smith's account of the angel Moroni's visits. The chapter concludes, "It would stretch credulity to believe that this [long list of parallels between Hoffmann's Golden Pot story and Smith's Moroni story] could be a coincidence, and I therefore think that a debt is owed to E.T.A. Hoffmann and the European traditions ..."
Chap. 6 ("Witnesses to the Golden Plates") concludes that, despite the LDS Church's current claims, the evidence shows that none of the eleven witnesses claimed to have actually seen the physical gold plates, instead visualizing them "with spiritual eyes" in a prayer-induced trance state.
Chap. 7 ("Priesthood Restoration") concludes that Smith's claim to have been personally ordained by John the Baptist, Peter, James and John as resurrected beings, was not at all what Smith originally claimed, but instead evolved over a number of years from the original claim that didn't involve any beings such as the above four New Testament figures.
Chap. 8 ("The First Vision") concludes that the LDS Church's official claim that Joseph Smith claimed to have been visited by God the Father and Jesus Christ as two separate beings "is not supported by the historical evidence" either in the number of beings alleged seen or in the year and circumstances as now officially claimed.
Conclusion chapter: Ît states, "The foundation events were rewritten by Joseph [Smith] and Oliver [Cowdery] and other early church officials .... This reworking made the stories more useful for missionary work and fellowshipping purposes. ... Is it right to tell religious allegories to adults as if they were literal history?"
In short, this book recommends that practicing Mormons regard their foundation stories as inspirational fictions rather than as truthful history.An Insider's View of Mormon Origins Overview

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The Devil Colony: A Sigma Force Novel Review

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The Devil Colony: A Sigma Force Novel ReviewOver the years, I've written a lot of enthusiastic things about the novels of James Rollins. But until now, I've never written this: THE DEVIL COLONY IS THE BEST NOVEL THAT JAMES ROLLINS HAS EVER WRITTEN! (Yes, in all caps even!) Like many readers, I was disappointed in the two-year wait for this latest installment in the Sigma Force series. Now, I'm thinking perhaps he should take two years on all the novels--I don't know if it was the extra time, but something has paid off huge dividends.
As always, summarizing the story is the hardest part. First, because I'd hate to spoil any surprises. And secondly, because it's just really hard to summarize one of Rollins's everything-but-the-kitchen-sink plots. The main action of this book opens in present day Utah. From two boys who can't resist the lure of the forbidden, a great and terrible discovery is made at a sacred Native American site. There are bodies. There is an artifact. And, astonishingly, something that goes to the very core of Mormon theology!
Just as the scientists on site are beginning to grasp what they've discovered, there is a huge explosion. The explosion is blamed on a Native American activist, but it's clear that this wasn't your standard bomb. It's something far more dangerous, with implications that spread further and further afield, and which drag Sigma operatives into the story on differing assignments and for different reasons. All the usual suspects are back, including the enigmatic Seichan, who is again paired in an uneasy alliance with Gray Pierce. Painter Crowe is also back in the field this time around. Operatives from the Guild are up to their usual tricks, and even as readers learn more about the shadowy organization in this novel, new questions are raised for the next book. (It's infuriating how he does that.)
In provocative messages leading up to the publication of The Devil Colony, James Rollins repeated asked, "Was America founded on a lie?" The plot of this novel does get right to the heart of the formation of this country. What were Lewis and Clark really up to? What was Thomas Jefferson communicating in secret ciphers? It also explains the fate of some of the most mysteriously lost cultures through history. It delves into the not only the most cutting-edge technology, but also some amazingly advanced ancient technology. And, yes, it also explores the foundation of the Mormon Church. Oh, and there's a super-volcano! And killer whales! And the heist of all heists!
Seriously, I could go on like this all day. The scope of this novel is breath-taking. What's amazing is that Rollins pulls all of these diverse threads together SO plausibly that you'll find yourself wondering if he has indeed solved half the puzzles of the ages in one fell swoop. As always, there's a staggering amount of fact laced throughout his fantastic plot. It's enough to make you go, "Hmmm."
The pace starts to race early on, and it just never slows down. The stakes in the book simply get bigger and bigger. Technically, it's a well-structured page-turner. But in the end, it's the story that got me and held me. Every part of it was just so inventive, exciting, and so darn interesting! I entitled this review "Best. Novel. Yet." I don't anticipate Mr. Rollins topping The Devil Colony any time soon, but I hold out hope. He wrote this one. What wonderful tales can we look forward to in the future?The Devil Colony: A Sigma Force Novel Overview

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