Is He Nuts?: Why a Gay Man Would Become a Member of the Church of Jesus Christ

Is He Nuts?: Why a Gay Man Would Become a Member of the Church of Jesus Christ by Dennis Schleicher

The author had an interesting childhood. His mother tended to get angry and then later calm down. They at first didn't go to church, then they started attended. Later his family would switch to "born again" church that he was not fond of. His relationship with them was significantly damaged by this experience. He later came out as gay and was beat up for it at school. He ended up telling this story on talk shows. He became a gay rights activist and worked in retail cosmetic related fields. He eventually left to do multi-level marketing sales for some company connected to Utah. He had been feeling the urge to return to a church, especially after his brother died of drug overdose. He did not think the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints was accepting to gays. However, he met many members of the church that were fine with him how he was. He joined that church despite seeming contradictions with lgbt culture. He had struggles, but felt the love of the lord. There were some people that do or say things that seemed offensive, but often it was just a case of misunderstanding.

The book has a strong message, but does take a bit to get there. He does work in sales, so there does seem to be a bit sheen shielding what are deep felt feelings and passion. His is not a common or easy path. It does seem to go against common culture norms. However, it is not impossible. Catholic priests have been celibate for centuries. There have been many that have failed, but most strive to keep their vows. Celibacy goes smack in the face of modern culture, but represents an extra commitment. Religion continues to say "you have power over your life". The religious concept of repentance says you can control your behaviors to what you want, even if it is hard and involves many "failures". You could spend forever waiting for society or religion changing to meet your needs. Or you could just have faith and try to follow Christ, treating all changes as bonuses. (He sees some baby steps the LDS church has done to be more LGBT friendly.) Being gay and Mormon is not an easy path. Many on the lgbt side will declare the church homophobic and declare that it is better to seek life with a same-sex partner. In the church, there will be those that will encourage traditional family life and condemn same-sex relationships. It takes great strength and faith to straddle the two and live in a way that does not seem fulfilling by either side. In his story, "coming out as religious" seemed to be even more challenging than "coming out as gay".  It is a challenging path that will probably never be easy.

To the Rescue: The Biography of Thomas S. Monson

To the Rescue: The Biography of Thomas S. Monson by Heidi S. Swinton

There is an audiobook available from audible and ebook available from libraries. Thomas S. Monson grew up in a working class part of Salt Lake. His church unit was the combination of two wards, called the "6-7 ward" (This would be sure to attract giggles from children everywhere with the popular meme.) From a child, he was fairly sociable and had leadership positions from a young age. He liked the outdoors and was fairly sociable, though got into typical juvenile mischief. He had good leaders at a young age who encouraged him to help others. He continued to have a strong focus on the individual throughout his life.

He attended the University of Utah and worked in advertising and publishing. He would continue to have a keen eye for details throughout his life. He enlisted in the Naval reserves towards the end of World War II, but spent most of the time in San Diego. He became involved in church callings, serving as a Bishop and Mission President at a young age. He was also a young member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. He was involved in many areas of the church, especially the opening of the church behind the Iron Curtain. He continued to have a reputation for individual focus and looked after individuals from his stewardship. 

He was always a master storyteller. I recognized many of the stories from his talks. This book "fills in the details" for many of the events that are already well known.

Sacrament

Sacrament by Camma Larsen Zollinger, illustrated by William Kuhre

This book starts with a discussion of friendship. Then it relates friendship to Christ, baptism and the sacrament. The books was well done and does a good job of presenting religious topics without feeling forced.

Standing for Something: 10 Neglected Virtues That Will Heal Our Hearts and Homes

Standing for Something: 10 Neglected Virtues That Will Heal Our Hearts and Homes by Gordon B. Hinckley , forward by Mike Wallace

This book is a book of family values and principles written by a religious to a general audience. The principles are sound, bur the delivery fells dated. It feels obvious that the values of the world have drifted further towards individual wants and away from standing for something. A marriage where the spouses are devoted to each other will be the best for raising kids, but also feels so rare today. People are afraid to "stand for something" and thus follow the understood whims of society as seen in social media. Alas, this often does more to bring people down than to help society.

The Idaho Falls Temple: The First LDS Temple in Idaho

The Idaho Falls Temple: The First LDS Temple in Idaho by Delbert V. Groberg (Author)

This history of the Idaho Falls temple is very well annotated and includes details of almost every person and event involved in early Idaho Falls history. The temple was started during the Great Depression. The church had not built a temple for many years before this temple was constructed. Both the church and the community were very eager for this project. The church members were excited from a religious point of view. The community, including city leadership and chamber of commerce were also enthusiastic about having a grand building and the many jobs that would be provided by construction and the supporting of future visitors. 

The book includes numerous pictures of people, maps and buildings. There are reproduced newspaper clippings as well as verbatim copies of various talks and newspaper articles. The narrative does jump around a bit, but can be read from about any location. Much of the book covers the building and initial dedication of the temple. However, there are some accounts of the operation of the temple. The special 24 hour operation as well as the first Black man to go through the temple are two stories that come to mind. The detailed accounts and pictures of people make this a great historical and family history resource. 

Heart of the Matter: What 100 Years of Living Have Taught Me

Heart of the Matter: What 100 Years of Living Have Taught Me by Russell M. Nelson

There is an ebook available from libraries and audiobook from audible. This book has an assortment of anecdotes and learnings that Russell M. Nelson has had over the course of his 100 years of life. He had experience as a doctor, becoming a heart surgeon even after initially learning that in school that heart surgery was impossible. His later years had been devoted to church service, including being president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He has had various experiences throughout many countries of the world in both medical and church service. With all of this outward activity, he has also spent time with his family and raising his many children. The book has many teachings that would be at home in a General Conference address (and plenty that came from one.) There are also minor bits, like he regularly weighs himself, and eats a bit less if see his weight increased. It seems like a very logical strategy. Never let weight get out of hand either way. There are also plenty of teachings of family and simply living the best you can and not short changing your spiritual life.

Abish (Steppingstone)

Abish (Steppingstone) by Sherrie Johnson, illustrated by Mark McCune

Abish is one of the few women mentioned by name in the Book of Mormon. This story tells her story. She was a faithful Christian living among the Lamanites. When the king faints as part of his conversion, she runs to tell everyone. However, when this causes chaos, she wakes the king. Many people follow Christ due to this episode. The story is well told. There are also little cartoon characters that provide small commentary and hints on big words. (They provided a definition for "rebuke" right as the kids asked.)

Without the Mask: Coming Out and Coming Into God's Light

Without the Mask: Coming Out and Coming Into God's Light by Charlie Bird

The artist was a the mascot at BYU. He also came out as gay while remaining active in church. He looks at his history. As a child in rural Missouri, he found he had many "female" interests. He was empathetic, artistic and liked gymnastics. He was not a big fan of the typical "jock" boy activities. (The question remains - why are the preferences typecast as male or female?) His parents divorced, leading him to become closer to his siblings. He was willing to come out to his sisters first, but it was more challenging to come out to his brothers. He found the challenge of being gay and religious. The LGBT contains people with similar orientations, but also tends to be open to substance and sexual experimentation. Trying to be faithful can be challenging with regards to relationships. He had some experiences where he went out with women, but refused to try to enter a relationship. He did mention there were some people that had working relationships like this. (I wonder if this was more common in the past.) It must be a challenge to remain faithful in religion that condemns the expression of the attractions you feel. (Would it be such a challenge if things were not considered so binary?) The theme of the book is love for people, especially as they work through challenges.

American Zion: A New History of Mormonism

American Zion: A New History of Mormonism by Benjamin E. Park

This history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints focuses on the social issues and key personalities involved. The religious and doctrine are mentioned, but primarily in the context of general culture. The church was established by Joseph Smith during a time of great religious activity. Though there are many supernatural aspects, these were not far out of the ordinary for the day. The church was tight-knit, cohesive group that was welcome to immigrants and less-desirables. As they set out to build up large communities, their neighbors were disturbed. It was a time of "majority dominance" in US politics. The Mormons were in conflict with the community. There were also many conflicts within, with many early leaders leaving the church. The introduction of polygamy also strained relationships internally and externally.

Brigham Young was the next leader and put his stamp on the church. He lead everyone to Utah. Polygamy became well established. Blacks were less welcome and the church became more friendly to southerners. The church controlled almost all aspects of life in religious, political and social areas. 

Changes occurred as the church desired statehood. Polygamy was banned (though secretly practiced.) The church dropped its own party and let people align with their own politics.

After that time, the church pivoted in beliefs based on leadership. There were conservatives, such as Ezra Taft Benson as well as more open leaders such as David O Mckay. The church consolidated organizations. In the 1960s fiscal management lead to surpluses and strong financial footing. The church became much more aligned with American culture. Rather than a fringe movement, they were seen as a bastion of family.

Academically, the church finally opened archives at the end of the 20th century. There was a willingness to publish "dirty" history. However, historians could be excommunicated for publishing research that the church leadership disagreed with. The church has had to navigate difficult political situations with race, LGBT movements and the like. The church has hidden financial details at a time when culture at large is quite open. How does the church manage the Christian mission with the corporate structure? 

Papa's Book of Mormon Christmas

Papa's Book of Mormon Christmas by Emma Rae Parker (Author), Alexa Terry Hanson (Illustrator)

Papa tells the story of how the special Book of Mormon brought him comfort when he was fighting in the war. It is a nice little story, though I wanted to know more details (like what was the War he was fighting?)

The Articles of Faith for Children

The Articles of Faith for Children by Janet W. Breeze (Author), Margot Seymour Schulzke (Author)

This book is more than a half-century old. The Articles of Faith for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are still the same. However, the way they are explained has changed. The language in this book is that of its time. Kids had questions of "what about girls"? as it used the gender-neutral "he" from the time period. While there is pretty much just one page for each of the thirteen Articles of Faith, there is a lot of teach on each of those pages. It is hard for a child to digest it all. The kids did have some questions when reading this, but it was a long read.

If the Savior Stood Beside Me

If the Savior Stood Beside Me Board Book by Greg Olsen

This is a board books, but it is more appealing to adults than kids. The pictures are all high quality paintings, rather than simple illustrations. The words sort of follow the song "If the Savior Stood Besides Me". 

Who's Your Greatest Hero?: A Book of Mormon Story Applied to Children: Jesus visits the Nephites

Who's Your Greatest Hero?: A Book of Mormon Story Applied to Children: Jesus visits the Nephites by David Bowman

This book primarily details the visit of Jesus to the Nephites told in 3rd Nephi. The illustrations are in a humorous, caricature fashion. After the scriptural story, it has some applications for children.

The Next Mormons: How Millennials Are Changing the LDS Church

The Next Mormons: How Millennials Are Changing the LDS Church by Jana Riess

This book analyzes people that had identified as Mormons or former Mormons. The author initially performed a large survey and then performed in-person interviews with select participants. The participants were divided into generational cohorts and also analyzed by basic demographic standards. General religious and cultural questions were asked (and compared with other stories.) There were also various analysis of Mormon-specific characteristics (such as temple garments, Word of Wisdom, missions, etc.)

The general results seem to show that Mormons do tend to represent their generation. The church leaders are from older generations and the church policies tend to be closer to those. The younger generations of church members tend to be leaving religion as do others of younger generations. Later teens/ early 20s seem to be the primary area when they leave. There is also a variation in the interpretation of various church policies and doctrines. It is also interesting that the strong centralized conservatism of the church is somewhat recent. Older members remember a time when there was more individual control and differentiation. It is also interesting that sexual and gender identity do play a role in many people disaffiliation. Yet, there are those that still remain in spite of being "outside the norm". Young people as a whole tend to be less binary than older people.

What will the future hold? Perhaps most of interest is areas where there is more divergence between former and current members. Women that leave skew much more strongly towards wanting female priesthood than those that stay. Those that leave are also more politically liberal. Will the church become a strong narrow enclave or a large diverse group? The book does focus on America. I wonder what the difference would be looking worldwide?

Religion of a Different Color: Race and the Mormon Struggle for Whiteness

Religion of a Different Color: Race and the Mormon Struggle for Whiteness by W. Paul Reeve

Mormons today are viewed as being very "white". in the past they were viewed as being of an inferior race (even as they were "whiter" then than they are today.) This book explores the odd injection of "race" within non-genetic areas. It uses the cartoon of "Elder Berry" and his multi-racial offspring to explore the view of Mormons to the American public.

At first the religion was viewed as "different" than other mainline protestant religions. The different beliefs and practices resulted in a shunning. There were also economic and political implications as Mormons occupied land and tended to vote as a block. Later they adopted polygamy which gave people more ammunition for haring them. They were viewed as a degenerate people that had evolved backwards. They were lumped with blacks and other minorities as being "inferior".

The church dropped polygamy and Utah became a state. Then they moved to become more acceptable to "white America". The role of blacks in the priesthood was reduced, with the "seed of Cain" doctrine used to prevent blacks from holding the priesthood. The book explores much of the history of the arguments used. (There seemed to be a lot of hearsay and selective sources.) Eventually, the LDS church was seen as being very white. It finally achieved the goal of "whiteness" just as whiteness was going out of style in the civil rights era. Now the church has enabled everyone in leadership positions and is widespread throughout the world. It celebrates mixed marriages. Yet, it fights the perception that it is just a "white" church.

Buffalo Flats

Buffalo Flats by Martine Leavitt

Rebecca Leavitt had traveled with her family to join other co-religionists in what is now Alberta. They generally get along with those that are not of their faith, though there are there are plenty of conflicts. Rebecca wants to have land of her own. However, as a woman she cannot claim it like men can. (She finds it ironic that the land officer is a subject of the Queen.) 

The characters experience many of the challenges of life in the northern frontier. There are diseases and medical problems. The weather brings about plenty of challenges of its own, from the cold to the flash foods that can destroy areas. They also experience the life of a religious community, complete with religious experiences as well as struggles to overcome human foibles that contradict their believes.

The religious community is a patriarchal society, but it is Rebecca's mom that wields the most influence. She is a nurse midwife who attends to all the childbirths as well as most ailments. When they discover that a neighbor is beating his wife, she "goes on strike" until the men go to "take care of things". It is an example of the influence that one can have even when ostensibly in a position of weakness.

Ten Secrets for Achieving a Successful Celestial Marriage

Ten Secrets for Achieving a Successful Celestial Marriage by Laura Nielson Denke

In this book, Laura presents the ten secrets of a successful marriage to a youngish couple and we get to observe. The style helps bring the narrative. We are not just presented with advice to follow, but see the process of the couple taking it in. Sometimes it is easy to follow the advice. Other times it is much more challenging. We see their real-world challenges as well as the stories of others who have faced struggles related to the points being discussed. 

The target audience is members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that have been married in the temple for eternity. Some of the "secrets" are very specific for the audience. Other "secrets" are more general. There are numerous references to general marriage experts such as John Gottman as well as religious leaders. 

Marriage is a two-party institution. Both most work together for success. Trying to change the other person is an exercise in futility. However, changing the way you behave can bring about some success, even if the other person is not fully engaged. If both are living the "platinum" rule, there is the highest chance of success.

It is also interesting to see details from the life of the author and understand how it relates. The book was written in the late 1990s, so some parts of it do show their time. (It was interesting to read about them receiving something by fax!) It is interesting how the world has changed in 25 years, though the principles of a successful partnership remain similar.

Six Events: The Restoration Model for Solving Life's Problems

Stephen R. Covey rose to fame with his Seven Habits book used for self growth and organizational improvement. Six events brings that experience in to the spiritual dimension. Covery fills the book with anecdotes, many based on his experience serving as a Mission President in Ireland. The target audience is members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints that want to improve their life and faith in the gospel.

The six events are connected an adverb and a restoration event:

1. Who? The First Vision. Who am I? Who is Christ? How do you feel loved

2. Whose? The Restoration of the Gospel

3. How? The Restoration of the Priesthood

4. Where? Restoration of the Church

5. What? Restoration of the Keys of Salvation

6. Why? The restoration of Temple Ordinances

They are tied together with "When?", an event of personal restoration. (In this he stresses the importance of doing things in order. Just having somebody jump to going to church without a faith in Christ will not lead to a lasting commitment.)

The book straddles the "self-help" and the "religious apologetics" domains. It feels a little bit dated. However, the core message is still works. You must slowly build up a deep faith to have the best personal and religious experience. Bold transformative experiences are nice, but not necessarily lasting. True transformation takes work.

Anytime, Anywhere

Anytime, Anywhere contains a series of vignettes from John Groberg's service as a church leader. This involved him traveling at anytime, anywhere. This book is the "sequel" to the Other Side of Heaven books and greatly expands the geographical scope. The stories take place all over the world, from Mongolia to Hong Kong to Tonga, Latin America and even the southwestern United States. The focus is on the insights and spiritual experiences that occur, rather than the events themselves. In some cases, it is a seemingly minor occurrence that leads to a great insight. In other times, seemingly large traumatic events become blessings in disguise. The stories are often short and isolated. I was often left wondering what happened later down the road.

There were a few sections that did flip the script. There were many stories of Tongans that reached out to him to tell their stories. He often had only a small recollection of what to them were very life changing events. It is interesting that the long term impact can often be very different from the short term perception.

From Muddy River to the Ivory Tower: The Journey of George H. Brimhall

From Muddy River to the Ivory Tower: The Journey of George H. Brimhall by Mary Jane Woodger and Joseph Groberg

George H. Brimhall served as president of Brigham Young University as it pivoted from being a general purpose educational institution to being a full-fledged university. This was not without conflict. The school was in danger of being closed numerous times. There were also conflicts with the twin goals of providing secular and religious instruction.

Brimhall attempted to professionalize the school, bringing in professors with advanced degrees (often from the University of Chicago.) Alas, these professors taught concepts like evolution. Brimhall saw a compatibility between the scientific and religious instruction. However, other people did not see it that way. Some students claimed to lose their faith in religion in response to the teachings. The church leadership became involved and requested that they change their teachings or leave the University. Brimhall was devoted to support his religion and relented in dismissing the controversial professors. 

Brimhall's family was directly connected to part of history. His father migrated to Utah, divorcing his first wife who did not want to follow. He remarried in Utah and had a big family. Brimhall's first wife developed mental illness and lived the end of her life in the mental institution. Brimhall then entered into a polygamous marriage with a second wife. This seems to be one of the ideal cases for plural marriage. He fathered a large number of children from his two wives.  He grew up in Utah, though spent time on "mission" trips to explore other parts of the mountain west. He was devoted to creating curriculum for various church organizations and was known for his "short sermons"

Brimhall died in questionable circumstances due to a self-inflicted gunshot wound after suffering from chronic illness. Some tried to explain it as an accidental discharge, though there is no certainty. Was it just the pain of illness that did him in or were there other skeletons in his closet?

The book covers his life, but seems to jump around a bit. Perhaps due to lack of primary sources, there appear to be some gaps in the life history.