Latayne C. Scott

I'd thought this book was what the summary on Goodreads says: "Latayne C. Scott shared her remarkable journey out of Mormonism as she uncovered shocking inaccuracies, inconsistencies, and contradictions in the faith she had loved and lived." .. This book isn't what it purports to be. Scott doesn't share much about her "journey" at all; it's more an expose of the inconsistencies of the Mormon doctrines. And she spends most of the time talking about Joseph Smith. If I wanted to read a biography about Joseph Smith I would have looked for one. I was hoping this would be Scott's memoir. It really wasn't, I soon realized.

This book would probably interest theology students, and it did pique my interest for awhile.. but I soon grew tired of reading paragraph after paragraph of Joseph Smith quotes, quotes from The Book of Mormon, and the life and times of Joseph Smith. I wanted to hear more about Scott's personal experience, her life in the Mormon church and what it was like for her leaving the church. Not what I'd hoped, so I quit reading this today.… (mehr)

This third edition of Latayne C. Scott’s book updates the material on Mormonism to 2008. It was originally published as a response to her leaving Mormonism in 1973 and the second edition came out in 1984. She is of Baptist background but became a Mormon when she was twelve and believed and loved it through her teenage years and into university studies at Brigham Young University. This book’s subtitle reflects that there have been a lot of changes in Mormonism in the last decades, especially since the 1990’s.

This book is comprised of two parts. The first part deals with the history and doctrines of the LDS and consumes most of the book. The second part looks at nine issues and challenges facing Mormonism in the twenty-first century. It actually covers more than nine issues because some are combined under one heading such as gender which covers Mormon positions on both women and homosexuality. The background information on Mormonism is quite complete, with many references for those who wish to be exhaustive. Scott is clear throughout in showing how Mormon doctrine relates to orthodox Christian theology and how the two departed from one another in the lives and practice of early Mormon leaders, particularly Joseph Smith and Brigham Young. She also summaries the beliefs of many of the Mormon splinter groups.

The second part which lists the various issues that Mormonism is currently dealing with is quite helpful because one wants to know what Mormonism is actually doing today as well as what it has been doing in history. Scott is very helpful throughout the book in distinguishing between official Mormon doctrine and actual practice and folk belief. Apparently Mormonism has become less authoritative in its proclamations in recent decades. Scott explains that this is due to opposition from both within and without and because of accommodation to changing times. My only concern with this section is that she shows that the Mormon leadership is “out of touch” with society on some controversial issues such as gender and approval of homosexuality. These issues are fracturing many Christian denominations and therefore not something that traditional Christianity can criticise in Mormonism. Most Evangelicals would approve of the Mormon stance on the issue of homosexual marriage although they would base this on biblical exegesis, not revelation by Joseph Smith or any other latter-day prophet.

I would highly recommend this book to those who know someone within the Mormon system or those who want to understand the importance of authoritative scripture for the Christian church. Although Scott does not set out to intentionally underscore the importance of biblical faith and proper exegesis and hermeneutical methods the evidence of what happens when those are not employed is very apparent. Her conclusion is also helpful in that she summarises the main points of disagreement between Mormonism and Evangelicalism and shows how the Mormon approach to the subject of truth differs radically from that of mainstream Christianity.… (mehr)