Thursday, September 06, 2012

More on Mormonizing

Further to yesterday's post reviewing The Mormonizing of America, here are two articles of interest.

"Mormonism Obsessed With Christ," by Stephen H. Webb was published in First Things in February. Webb emphasizes the Christocentric nature of Mormon devotion while acknowledging that such faith is often at odds with orthodox Christian interpretations, such that "the Mormon metaphysic calls for the revision of nearly every Christian belief."

"Why I Fell in Love With Joseph Smith But Couldn't Commit to Mormonism" was written by Jane Barnes and published on The Huffington Post on September 5. She comes to a similar conclusion to Stephen Mansfield in the book I reviewed in yesterday's post: "Today's Mormon Church is not the church of Joseph Smith. Joseph's church was a wild and woolly institution, constantly adapting to new situations and to the prophet's revelatory twists and turns. That's far from the case now." The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints managed to thrive and grow despite hardships and persecution, but inevitably it became conservative and grew away from its founder.

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