The Mormon Mirage
Q. How many Mormons does it take to fix a lightbulb?
A. Mormon lightbulbs aren’t fixed, they’re restored.
Don’t get it? By the time you’ve finished reading Latayne Scott’s reissued “The Mormon Mirage” you might. Zondervan have just put out a third edition of this classic text on mormonism from an evangelical christian perspective, updated for the twenty-first century. It contains chapters looking at LDS history, the Book of Mormon, LDS soteriology and concepts of revelation.
Revelation is the key of course to understanding what makes nineteenth, twentieth and twenty-first century mormonism tick. Bible not good enough for you? New revelation will fix that! Need to justify your extra wives? New revelation will fix that! Got a problem with a racist cosmology? New revelation will fix that as well! Scott explores the LDS mythology around the prophet Joseph Smith and like others before her, finds it lacking. She weaves personal stories of living as a mormon with historical facts and data that fly in the face of the offical line coming out of Salt Lake City.
Most important of all though, she describes her own personal moment of revelation, when discovering that she couldn’t please God after all (the reason she became a mormon) she finally met the true Jesus who saved her entirely through grace. This “Gentle Apostasy” of hers is the prayer that many of us have for our LDS friends and acquaintances, that they would also see the real Jesus of the Bible rather than the unreal Christ of the Book of Mormon.
Was the Church of Christ restored 200 years ago, or are LDS today the ones who need the scales lifting from their eyes? Latayane Scott would argue the latter and I think, after reading her book, you’ll probably agree.
A review with a sense of humor — How refreshing! Thank you so much. I really appreciate it.
Latayne C Scott
http://www.latayne.com
Hi,
Just a short note to say that I really appreciate Latayne’s book. I’ve been researching Mormonism for over 30 years, contributed to one book, co-wrote another, and still have a lot of questions. Her book has answered some and has done so in a very readable and non-aggressive way. I guess one of the biggest questions that still remain is why do so many Mormons, when leaving Mormonism, turn into either agnostics or atheists? It doesn’t make sense to me, especially when others go straight from Mormonism into a Christian sect. Didn’t both types of ex-Mormons share the same deep religious convictions and love of the Mormon God? If so, then how do some go into Christianity and others into a lifestyle that mitigates against God? The only reasonable answer I’ve come up with so far is that the ones who no longer believe do so because they feel that all churches are as wrong or evil or will lie to them or whatever, like the Mormon leadership did, so they figure they the only logical course of action is to not believe in any religion, no matter how reasonable it might be.
Sorry to digress. Thanks again Latayne for your book. I actually mentioned it on a recent radio interview. Keep up the good work! I’m looking forward to meeting you at the conference.
Art Vanick
I concur with Art.V.The book is great and much needed.It has a refreshing approach to the riddle of mormonism.It is well balanced and crisp and to the point.It does not castigate Mormons as it’s purpose seems to be simple,but interesting presentation with a challenge to study the points it so ably gives.
A must for all of those wanting to know more about mormonism.
Thank you Art and Howard for the supportive comments.
I am as continuously puzzled as Art about the number of ex-Mormon atheists. I do think it is the feeling of betrayal….
See you in the Vatican, er, Salt Lake City, Art.
Hi Latayne.
I’m a big fan of Audible.com & am downloading your book as I write this.
Our neighbors are Islamic on one side & Mormon on the other. We had them all over for lunch yesterday. I continue to educate myself on various world views but must admit to feeling very weak in & of myself to communicate effectively the love God has for people & the grace available through Jesus, His Son.
Thank you for getting your work into audio format. I have little time to read but lots of time to listen.
Steve
Steve, thank you for your supportive comments. I will look forward to hearing what you have to say after you listen!
Wow, Mormons on one side and Muslims on the other? Well, with all of the similarities between the two, whatever you say to one you could pretty much say to the other.
God's blessings to you.
Art Vanick
Hello Mrs. Scott.
I met you briefly years ago when i purchased a book from you and had you autograph it for me. It was in Tulsa, Oklahoma at a soul winning event held at the fairgrounds. At the time, I was about 25 years old and very serious and curious about how to discover the real truth about what the Bible says. Today, I’m 67 years old and getting ready to publish a “book” that contains “The Answer” (the title of my book) that I believe so many have wanted to know but believed could not be found with certainty. My book is interactive and presented in the form of a debate. In addition to my own comments, I’ve included many links to sites containing the writings, or videos, of a large number of “experts” in their various fields of thought. What I’ve done is point out the serious flaws in their thinking and the conclusions they reach. By eliminating the obvious mistaken ideas, the correct ones are made to stand out thus revealing the truth and making it easier for people to see that we really can know it with as much certainty as it’s possible for humans to know anything.
You’re book that you signed for me? I sent it to someone to read several years ago and never heard from them again.
It’s too bad that in spite of all the effort so many have made to expose false teachings that they are still overwhelming our nation and the world.
All my best to you and yours,
David McClellan