Book Review :: The Mormonizing of America by Stephen Mansfield

I must confess, I do not know much about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. But in the past two months I have been asked directly if I have read certain books on Mormon religious belief, and I have had the opportunity to review two of these books directly. In the past year, I have been asked an increased number of questions by teenagers about the LDS Church. Anecdotally, it appears that interest in the Mormon religion is accelerating; this presidential election will likely push that trend.

For this reason, I'm thankful for Stephen Mansfield's survey, The Mormonizing of America: How the Mormon Religion Became Became a Dominant Force in Politics, Entertainment, and Pop Culture. It isn't often that a book combines masterful storytelling, compelling personal narrative, religious history and academic scholarship in a prosaic style that is propulsive, driving you forward from chapter to chapter, streaking around the corner, anticipating what comes next. But this book was my constant companion, in just this way, for the first 72 hours I had it in my possession. I was eager to read, eager to learn, eager to see what Mr. Mansfield had to report. The LDS Church was, and is, interesting.

Mansfield's book takes the reader through the history of the LDS Church. We learn of Joseph Smith, his life, times, family background, and cultural setting. We are told of the Golden Plates, their translation, and the unique American elements that contributed to the rise of the LDS movement. Mansfield then provides insight in to the modern LDS family, their beliefs, their communities, and the particularities that have caused them to thrive. Mansfield also investigates the problems modern Mormons face as a religious tradition, such as historical credibility as it relates to The Book of Mormon, LDS speculation on the origins of early American people groups, and tensions that have mounted between the LDS Church and Protestant Christian groups. Also, Mansfield provides an easy to follow Mormon chronology, and a helpful summation of basic Mormon beliefs.

As someone who loves religious history and good writing, this book was as enjoyable and informative as any other I have read. There is much here for the layperson and the scholar, written with enough simplicity to be comprehended by a broad audience, but enough sophistication to be challenging for someone with an advanced knowledge of the LDS people.

Very helpful. I recommend this book, strongly.

NOTE: I received this book in exchange for a review.