Recommended Reading List
When I came to realize that there were some very serious problems with the Mormon church and its history, I immediatley set out to research it as much as possible. As a member, I was always admonished by church leaders to avoid anything critical of the church, its gospel and its beliefs. I adhered to that rule because I arrogantly assumed that I had the truth and anything critical of my beliefs couldn't possibly be true anyway, so there was no point in seeking any of them out.
But the truth won't always be ignored. When it finally hit me, it did so with the jolt of a lightning bolt and I was rudely awoken from the mental coma that my church membership had forced me into.
At first, I was content to read the blogs and listen to the podcasts I found on the internet, which were dedicated to exposing the lie that is Mormonism. Sadly, not all of these websites even exist anymore. One of my favorite podcasts was the Former Mormon Radio, found on thechurchisnottrue.com. It contained several great interviews with exmos such as Richard Pakham, Tal Bachman, and Grant Palmer (okay, so Grant may still be a member - he was only disfellowshipped after publishing his book, but I definitely don't think he could be classified as a full-blown TBM.)
I was deeply saddened to see that the website was shut down and the interviews are [seemingly] lost. I'll have to conduct a more intense internet search to see if perhaps someone else has copies of them.
Another blog/podcast that was instrumental in my decision to finally leave the church was The Mormon Truth! found right here on Blogger. Samuel the Utahnite is the operator of that one, and although he doesn't post new stuff very often (like I'm one to talk), he's a no-nonsense kind of guy who flat out tells it like it is.
One of my favorite websites, which I read daily, is The Mormon Curtain. Infymus runs that site and has compiled an impressive library of articles and points-of-view from disillusioned and ex-mormons. There is some really quality stuff there.
But the internet wasn't enough for me (especially since I didn't have it at home for awhile), so I started reading books. Here is the list, with brief explanations as to why I found them valuable in my quest for freedom from religion.
No Man Knows My History - by Fawn Brodie.
This classic and controversial biography of Joseph Smith was a real eye-opener. I learned a TON of church history I hadn't ever been exposed to before. I will concede that the author takes some liberties when she attempts to suppose what was going on in the mind of Joseph Smith, but I side with a comment made by someone else who read it: "if only 10% of that book is true, then the church isn't what it claims to be." Hell, even if just 1% is true, that's more than enough to call the entire LDS church and its belief system into question.
Mormon America by Richard N. and Joan K. Ostling. A much more balanced approach to explaining the religious juggernaut that is the Mormon church, but because it was written by a couple of never-mos, I doubt many TBMs would bother with it...after all, how much could these "outsiders" possibly know about the church? Which leads me to the next book...
An Insider's View of Mormon Origins by Grant Palmer.
Grant does a phenomenal job of pulling back the curtain and revealing to the world the history of the church that "they" don't want anyone to know about. He offers some compelling evidence that Joseph Smith wasn't much more than a charismatic fraud.
Thank you Grant!
By His Own Hand Upon Papyrus by Charles M. Larson.
Come on Mormons. You should all be familiar with the claim that the Book of Abraham was penned by father Abraham himself and that Joseph Smith "translated" the scrolls into what is now LDS Scriptural canon. Wake up! This one is a slam dunk against Mormonism IMO. If Joseph lied about this, it's quite likely he lied about other things as well. (Well, we know he lied publicly about his polygamous marriages too.)
Losing A Lost Tribe by Simon Southerton.
It's subtitle: Native Americans, DNA, and the Mormon Church.
Scientific PROOF that Joseph Smith's claims as to the historicity of the Book of Mormon are completely bogus. Geez, how much more evidence do you need, Mormons? Today's Native Americans couldn't have possibly been descendants of some ancient Jewish family. The LDS will spin this one any which way they can to maintain this ridiculous belief, but in doing so, they have to contradict other things in the BOM. It's a no-win situation for them.
Born-Again Mormon by Shawn McCraney.
Written by a former Mormon, this book does a good job of explaining how and why the LDS church isn't a very good "Christian" church. Shawn also has a weekly television program here in SLC on channel 20, Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. called Heart of the Matter. A great show for anyone who is questioning Mormonism. He's another "insider" who knows what he's talking about. It's a call-in show, so sometimes he gets in debates with disgruntled Mormons who phone in and it can be pretty entertaining. I like to watch it because he exposes the lies found within Mormonism, not because it stresses Christian belief in the bible. The next book explains why I no longer put much stock in that book either.
Misquoting Jesus by Bart Ehrman.
Subtitle: The Story Behind Who Changed The Bible And Why.
Offers some very valuable and well-researched insight (Ehrman is a respected Bible scholar, after all) as to why the "good book" shouldn't really be accepted as God's Infallible Word. Men were behind writing (and making copies) of the books in the Bible and as we all know, men are prone to mistakes. This book gives some great examples of the changes that have been made in it. (Hey, at least one teaching in Mormonism is close to being right - the Bible HAS had some changes made to it!)
For years, I've held a belief that if God exists, then the Devil must also. I no longer maintain that after reading:
The Birth of Satan by T. J. Wray and Gregory Mobley.
Subtitle: Tracing The Devil's Biblical Roots.
Provides scriptural evidence that the Devil we all know and fear today "evolved" from very humble beginnings. Maybe he's not really something to be afraid of, after all, especially if he only exists in our own minds.
And if Satan isn't real, then is God?
The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins.
I'm seriously thinking about calling this my new "bible." While it might not be possible to unequivocally disprove the existence of some kind of Higher Power, this book comes pretty close to doing so. Dawkins, an avowed athiest makes an extremely powerful and convincing argument as to why we should stop believing in God and allowing ourselves to be enslaved in various religions. He has convinced me that religious belief, even casual observance to religious laws can be very dangerous.
Although I still consider myself agnostic, after reading Dawkins, I'm now standing at the doorway to athiesm with my hand on the knob.
Okay, well is it wrong to believe in at least the teachings of Jesus? Shouldn't we at least admonish our children to follow his example?
I believe that Jesus was a real person who lived and died. But was he really some supernatural phenomenon who came back from the dead? It's a nice thought, especially if it allows us the possibility of living some kind of life after death, but is it true? I could teach my children to "be like Jesus", but I might also be just as effective in teaching them what I call the "Spider-Man Law." If you've seen the movies, you know what I'm talking about. "With great power comes great responsibility." All the classic superheroes live this creed, but it was Stan Lee who put it into words. To elaborate, if we are able to do good and make the world a better place, then we should. It's like a newer, better version of the Golden Rule (and isn't that the basic teaching of Jesus anyway?)
Is Jesus actually what the Christian world believes him to be? Try reading:
The Jesus Dynasty by James D. Tabor.
Yep, Jesus was real alright. But he wasn't what people think he was. Check out this book for some eye-opening evidence.
The book I'm currently reading is A History Of The End Of The World by Jonathan Kirsch.
It discusses in detail, the book of Revelation and how it changed the course of western civilization.
Sometimes I'm glad that I'm a member of a book club!
But the truth won't always be ignored. When it finally hit me, it did so with the jolt of a lightning bolt and I was rudely awoken from the mental coma that my church membership had forced me into.
At first, I was content to read the blogs and listen to the podcasts I found on the internet, which were dedicated to exposing the lie that is Mormonism. Sadly, not all of these websites even exist anymore. One of my favorite podcasts was the Former Mormon Radio, found on thechurchisnottrue.com. It contained several great interviews with exmos such as Richard Pakham, Tal Bachman, and Grant Palmer (okay, so Grant may still be a member - he was only disfellowshipped after publishing his book, but I definitely don't think he could be classified as a full-blown TBM.)
I was deeply saddened to see that the website was shut down and the interviews are [seemingly] lost. I'll have to conduct a more intense internet search to see if perhaps someone else has copies of them.
Another blog/podcast that was instrumental in my decision to finally leave the church was The Mormon Truth! found right here on Blogger. Samuel the Utahnite is the operator of that one, and although he doesn't post new stuff very often (like I'm one to talk), he's a no-nonsense kind of guy who flat out tells it like it is.
One of my favorite websites, which I read daily, is The Mormon Curtain. Infymus runs that site and has compiled an impressive library of articles and points-of-view from disillusioned and ex-mormons. There is some really quality stuff there.
But the internet wasn't enough for me (especially since I didn't have it at home for awhile), so I started reading books. Here is the list, with brief explanations as to why I found them valuable in my quest for freedom from religion.
No Man Knows My History - by Fawn Brodie.
This classic and controversial biography of Joseph Smith was a real eye-opener. I learned a TON of church history I hadn't ever been exposed to before. I will concede that the author takes some liberties when she attempts to suppose what was going on in the mind of Joseph Smith, but I side with a comment made by someone else who read it: "if only 10% of that book is true, then the church isn't what it claims to be." Hell, even if just 1% is true, that's more than enough to call the entire LDS church and its belief system into question.
Mormon America by Richard N. and Joan K. Ostling. A much more balanced approach to explaining the religious juggernaut that is the Mormon church, but because it was written by a couple of never-mos, I doubt many TBMs would bother with it...after all, how much could these "outsiders" possibly know about the church? Which leads me to the next book...
An Insider's View of Mormon Origins by Grant Palmer.
Grant does a phenomenal job of pulling back the curtain and revealing to the world the history of the church that "they" don't want anyone to know about. He offers some compelling evidence that Joseph Smith wasn't much more than a charismatic fraud.
Thank you Grant!
By His Own Hand Upon Papyrus by Charles M. Larson.
Come on Mormons. You should all be familiar with the claim that the Book of Abraham was penned by father Abraham himself and that Joseph Smith "translated" the scrolls into what is now LDS Scriptural canon. Wake up! This one is a slam dunk against Mormonism IMO. If Joseph lied about this, it's quite likely he lied about other things as well. (Well, we know he lied publicly about his polygamous marriages too.)
Losing A Lost Tribe by Simon Southerton.
It's subtitle: Native Americans, DNA, and the Mormon Church.
Scientific PROOF that Joseph Smith's claims as to the historicity of the Book of Mormon are completely bogus. Geez, how much more evidence do you need, Mormons? Today's Native Americans couldn't have possibly been descendants of some ancient Jewish family. The LDS will spin this one any which way they can to maintain this ridiculous belief, but in doing so, they have to contradict other things in the BOM. It's a no-win situation for them.
Born-Again Mormon by Shawn McCraney.
Written by a former Mormon, this book does a good job of explaining how and why the LDS church isn't a very good "Christian" church. Shawn also has a weekly television program here in SLC on channel 20, Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. called Heart of the Matter. A great show for anyone who is questioning Mormonism. He's another "insider" who knows what he's talking about. It's a call-in show, so sometimes he gets in debates with disgruntled Mormons who phone in and it can be pretty entertaining. I like to watch it because he exposes the lies found within Mormonism, not because it stresses Christian belief in the bible. The next book explains why I no longer put much stock in that book either.
Misquoting Jesus by Bart Ehrman.
Subtitle: The Story Behind Who Changed The Bible And Why.
Offers some very valuable and well-researched insight (Ehrman is a respected Bible scholar, after all) as to why the "good book" shouldn't really be accepted as God's Infallible Word. Men were behind writing (and making copies) of the books in the Bible and as we all know, men are prone to mistakes. This book gives some great examples of the changes that have been made in it. (Hey, at least one teaching in Mormonism is close to being right - the Bible HAS had some changes made to it!)
For years, I've held a belief that if God exists, then the Devil must also. I no longer maintain that after reading:
The Birth of Satan by T. J. Wray and Gregory Mobley.
Subtitle: Tracing The Devil's Biblical Roots.
Provides scriptural evidence that the Devil we all know and fear today "evolved" from very humble beginnings. Maybe he's not really something to be afraid of, after all, especially if he only exists in our own minds.
And if Satan isn't real, then is God?
The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins.
I'm seriously thinking about calling this my new "bible." While it might not be possible to unequivocally disprove the existence of some kind of Higher Power, this book comes pretty close to doing so. Dawkins, an avowed athiest makes an extremely powerful and convincing argument as to why we should stop believing in God and allowing ourselves to be enslaved in various religions. He has convinced me that religious belief, even casual observance to religious laws can be very dangerous.
Although I still consider myself agnostic, after reading Dawkins, I'm now standing at the doorway to athiesm with my hand on the knob.
Okay, well is it wrong to believe in at least the teachings of Jesus? Shouldn't we at least admonish our children to follow his example?
I believe that Jesus was a real person who lived and died. But was he really some supernatural phenomenon who came back from the dead? It's a nice thought, especially if it allows us the possibility of living some kind of life after death, but is it true? I could teach my children to "be like Jesus", but I might also be just as effective in teaching them what I call the "Spider-Man Law." If you've seen the movies, you know what I'm talking about. "With great power comes great responsibility." All the classic superheroes live this creed, but it was Stan Lee who put it into words. To elaborate, if we are able to do good and make the world a better place, then we should. It's like a newer, better version of the Golden Rule (and isn't that the basic teaching of Jesus anyway?)
Is Jesus actually what the Christian world believes him to be? Try reading:
The Jesus Dynasty by James D. Tabor.
Yep, Jesus was real alright. But he wasn't what people think he was. Check out this book for some eye-opening evidence.
The book I'm currently reading is A History Of The End Of The World by Jonathan Kirsch.
It discusses in detail, the book of Revelation and how it changed the course of western civilization.
Sometimes I'm glad that I'm a member of a book club!
posted by Al Jordan | 6:11 PM
2 Comments:
Hey Al Jordon,
Thanks for the mention and I promise to be better in the future about updating my blogs, as I've just been very busy. I've just had a lot of family things, plus projects in the oven and I haven't had the time to do everything I want and need to do.
Now, with what you said about "the church is not true", not existing anymore along with the fact that all of their podcasts are gone; I may have another project that I need to move to the front burner.
I'm sure you know about my 4 podcasts listed on iTunes already, with others on the way(including a podcast with the audio of my weekly live Skypecast, which I started back in February and hope to be able to continue soon) and then hopefully, I'll be able to keep all of them updated on a regular basis.
The newest one I started is called "Mormon Truth Stories", which is for all of the ex-Mormons out there to send me their audio story or opinions, which I'll publish for them. So far, Demon of Kolob has been the only contributor, but many others have contacted me and are interested.
Now, back to "The Church Is Not True.com"...I had no idea that their site had gone done, as well as all of their podcasts on iTunes. Man, that sucks!!
However, I do have every single episode they ever put out and I loved those guys and had exchanged quite a few Emails with Hyrum and respected him a ton. We attempted to talk on the phone quite a few times, but just played phone tag, leaving each other messages. He's still out of the country I believe, doing humanitarian service and is a great guy.
The reason I respected these guys so much, is because they came into existence precisely when I was just beginning my journey to the truth and they helped more than I can even express and I told them that many times and have blogged about them.
If it wasn't for Mike and Hyrum, I don't know what I would have done, as I was in so much pain and had so much anger, but they helped me to laugh again, which I hadn't done for quite a while.
Furthermore, they were the 100% direct inspiration for me to start my podcasts, which now have over 30,000 downloads a months and growing. I will always be grateful to Mike and Hyrum and all that they personally did for me.
I was gonna be on their show at one point, but it just wasn't ever a good time for me, at that point in my life. Maybe one day I can have Hyrum on my podcast.
Now, I mention all of this, because I want to re-vive their podcast and I'll gladly host all of their old episodes, as I have unlimited storage and bandwidth and would gladly put in the time to upload everything and submit it all to iTunes.
It would truly be tragic if this podcast isn't out there for everyone to hear, because I know that it helped so many people, especially me. It's my way of saying thanks guys and allowing them to continue helping people forever.
I've already Emailed Mike and Hyrum, but if I don't hear back from them, I'm just gonna do it and I can always remove it later, if for some odd reason they object.
I don't know Mike personally, but I do know Hyrum and I'm pretty sure he won't object, as he sought my help on some things before he left the country, regarding their podcast. Hyrum was the one that handled all of the tech stuff for their podcast and had asked me if I would be able to help Mike after he left and then we just never got back in touch.
If I'd known they needed help in hosting it, I would have gladly offered back then.
Anyway Al Jordan, I appreciate your comments and participation on my site and I'm gonna go put a link up to your blog, on my blogs. Congrats on being out officially and I'm glad that I was able to at least help a little bit in your escaping from the cult and recovery.
Take care,
Samuel
Aside from exchanging private emails, the Internet Archive might be helpful for finding some of the old podcasts.
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