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Mormonism: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions) | 
 enlarge | Author: Richard Lyman Bushman
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Category: Book
List Price: $11.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  1 reviews
Sales Rank: 503821
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 144
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.5
ISBN: 0195310306
Dewey Decimal Number: 289.3
EAN: 9780195310306
ASIN: 0195310306
Publication Date: April 22, 2008
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Product Description
Beginning with a handful of members in 1830, the church that Joseph Smith founded has grown into a world-wide organization with over 12 million adherents, playing prominent roles in politics, sports, entertainment, and business. Yet they are an oddity. They are considered wholesome, conservative, and friendly on one hand, and clannish, weird, and self-righteous on the other.
Mormonism: A Very Short Introduction explains who Mormons are: what they believe and how they live their lives. Written by Richard Lyman Bushman, an eminent historian and practicing Mormon, this compact, informative volume ranges from the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to the contentious issues of contemporary Mormonism. Bushman argues that Joseph Smith still serves as the Mormons' Moses. Their everyday religious lives are still rooted in his conceptions of true Christianity. They seek revelation to solve life's problems just as he did. They believe the authority to seal families together for eternity was restored through him. They understand their lives as part of a spiritual journey that started in a "council in heaven" before the world began just as he taught. Bushman's account also describes the tensions and sorrows of Mormon life. How are Mormons to hold on to their children in a world of declining moral standards and rampant disbelief? How do rational, educated Mormons stand up to criticisms of their faith? How do single Mormons fare in a church that emphasizes family life? The book also examines polygamy, the various Mormon scriptures, and the renegade fundamentalists who tarnish the LDS image when in fact they're not members.
In a time when Mormons such as Mitt Romney and Harry Reid are playing prominent roles in American society, this engaging introduction enables readers to judge for themselves how Mormon teachings shape the character of believers.
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| Customer Reviews:
Richard Bushman's _Mormonism_ July 27, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Richard Bushman's Mormonism: A Very Short Introduction is the best work on Mormonism that could come out at this time. It is by the right author and published by the right press. It is the best work because it defines simply but elegantly the essential nature of Mormonism and addresses in a timely way the main issues about Mormonism currently in the public sphere. With his impeccable and highly honored credentials in the scholarly world, his profound historical and doctrinal knowledge, and his exceptional communication skills, Richard Bushman is exactly the right person to have written this book. I would venture that in time his Mormonism will receive his largest audience ever. The distinguished Oxford University Press assures widespread exposure to Bushman's book by placing it in its Very Short Introductions series. This is the same press that has given us Terryl Givens' highly acclaimed books, The Viper on the Hearth, By the Hand of Mormon, and People of Paradox and is bringing out Givens' commentary on the Book of Mormon and his edited collection of essays, with Reid Neilson, on Joseph Smith, Jr.
Bushman introduces his work by asking, "What sets Mormons apart?" He answers that succinctly by an exposition on the doctrines, persons, and history of the Restoration. In his subsequent six chapters, Bushman gracefully and knowledgeably tells 1) how Joseph Smith's revelations set the pattern for every Mormon to seek inspiration, 2) how the organization of the City of Zion constituted Mormons as a people as well as a church, 3) how the Mormon priesthood is both hierarchical and democratic, 4) how Mormons understand the meaning of life, 5) how old ideals and new struggles formed Mormon identity, and 6) how Mormons left their homeland and fought to retain their distinctiveness. A dozen illustrations add interest and impact to the book.
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