Format: Paperback
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Zondervan
Publication Date: May 1, 2009
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0310291534
ISBN-13: 9780310291534
List Price: $16.99
Rating: 5 Stars!
Many thanks to the kind folks at Zondervan Academic for the opportunity to review Latayne C. Scott’s The Mormon Mirage, 3rd Edition.
As each of us goes about our daily business at the office, store, and elsewhere, it is likely that we will rub shoulders with a Mormon at one time or another. Heck, sometimes they even show up right at the front door. During these encounters, the conversation can at times be confusing at best. While Christians and Mormons may use some of the same words, the theological meaning each side places on these words are often oceans apart. In order to be better prepared for these occasions, I’d encourage you to educate yourself on the history, theology, and practices of the Mormon Church. For an accessible, layman’s terms approach to the subject I highly recommend Latayne C. Scott’s The Mormon Mirage, 3rd Edition. Latayne is uniquely suited for this particular writing task. Unlike many authors who can only offer the perspectives of an outsider looking in, as a former Mormon, she offers the perspectives of a former insider.
The first part of the book is comprised of eight chapters. Here, Latayne recounts her own journey into and later out of Mormonism. In the midst of sharing her story, she also introduces the reader to Mormon founder Joseph Smith, various writings of the Mormon Church (Book of Mormon, Pearl of Great Price, etc.), and Mormon theology. The second part of the book is comprised of three chapters. Chapters nine through ten discuss nine issues the Mormon Church must face today, including:
• The Influence of the Internet
• Mormonism in the News and the Public Eye
• Race
• Gender
• Visibility of Polygamy and Splinter Groups
• Mormons and Politics
• LDS Academics and Intellectuals
• Dealing with “Antis” or Oppositional Media
• Ex-Mormons
Chapter eleven brings the book to a close with the final assessments of an insider looking back. Ultimately, Latayne left Mormonism, because she came to the understanding that it is not Biblical Christianity. It is her hope that the same truth that drastically changed the course of her life will change the lives of those standing where she once stood. Following chapter 11, you’ll also want to read the addendum, Evangelizing Mormons in the Twenty-First Century. If after reading this book, you would like to learn even more about Mormonism, be sure to consult the 41 pages extensive endnotes and 4 pages of materials listed under “For Further Reading” towards the end of this book. Last but not least, I was very pleased to see a subject index, Mormon scripture index, and scripture index at the end of the book. I’m always very appreciative of detailed indexes in books of this size.
I’d like to close by giving this book a five star rating. Latayne takes on a subject area that could be dry and boring to read and presents it in a way that is both engaging and informative. This book has just the right mix of personal stories and experiences interwoven with facts and research. I sincerely recommend this book to the Christian with an interest in learning more about Mormonism. This book would also be helpful to the Mormon who is struggling with their faith as Latayne was many years ago. Readers who enjoy this book may also want to consider Latayne’s first work of fiction, The Latter-Day Cipher (Moody, 2009).
Latayne C. Scott is the author of fifteen books in addition to other poems and articles. She lives in New Mexico with her husband Dan. They have two married children. You can learn more about Latayne’s writing and speaking at www.latayne.com and www.representationalresources.com.
You may download this review as a PDF: 
Buy this book on Amazon: The Mormon Mirage: A Former Member Looks at the Mormon Church Today
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12 users responded in this post
Great review, Shaun!
I’ve “seen” Latayne around blogs today, so I encourage you to ask her a specific question. She’s happy to answer.
Shaun, I am deeply grateful for your review. You were so thorough.
Did the reading of my book leave you with any unanswered questions about Mormonism?
Thank you and bless you.
Latayne C Scott
http://www.latayne.com
Here’s a question for Latayne. What are the three most important things Christians can do for the Mormons they come into contact with?
There are three things, and they’re all associated. One is to make sure you know your Bible well so that you are not persuaded to make your own assessments of what seems reasonable or attractive in a religion. The second is to be able to show a Mormon that you are satisfied and at peace with your God. And the third thing is to be able to articulate that, proactively, offering to help the Mormon find the satisfaction that you have.
I say that because Mormons are trained to put others on the defensive, posing questions that most Christians aren’t Biblically prepared to answer. And, when I was a Mormon, I assumed that all Christians secretly were unhappy and needed the LDS gospel to be happy. How surprised I was to learn the opposite.
Latayne,
I suggest that your former perception of non-LDS Christians as being “secretly unhappy” was not a product of something the LDS Church taught you. As a Mormon myself, I am confident that individuals in every religious tradition have found much peace and satisfaction in their faith.
There is a difference between believing that the LDS gospel can better one’s life, and believing that all are secretly unhappy without it.
As for your three suggestions, they seem pretty good to me.
James,
Thank you for your comment. While I can’t speak specifically for Latayne, it seems within the realm of possibility that she was taught folks outside of the LDS tradition are “secretly unhappy”. Chances are that her experiences some 30 years ago and your experiences today in the Mormon Church will probably vary at least a bit. As far as the LDS gospel goes, it is possible that embracing the LDS gospel and becoming a part of the Mormon Church may “better one’s life” and offer some temporal benefits. Temporal benefits aside, if the LDS gospel is unable to deliver on the eternal promises it makes, it is all for nothing. An uncertain eternity seems like a steep price to pay for a “happy”, but deceived life.
Hi Shaun. The LDS experience certainly isn’t the same for every Mormon. Just as with every faith tradition, ours is one with a broad spectrum of diverse views. I’ve no doubt that some LDS actually do believe that every non-LDS is secretly unhappy. I’ve also no doubt that some Protestants (I assume that is what you are) actually do believe that every non-Protestant is secretly unhappy.
That being said, I’m unaware of any authoritative statements by LDS leaders to that effect. We recognize that truth can be found in all faith traditions, and that it brings much happiness and joy to it’s adherents.
As for your comments regarding the potential eternal consequences to LDS if the case be that the LDS message is false, I simply disagree with the premise (of course). This probably isn’t the right place to dive into this discussion, but I sense that even were one to strip away those elements of Mormonism which are incompatible with mainstream Christianity, we would still find a basic set of beliefs which God would find acceptable. As Joseph Smith once said, a man is never condemned for believing too much.
James,
Thank you for your constructive follow up comment. You are right in your assumption that we both come at these types of issues from a different set of premises. Also, you correctly identified that my previous response implies that I believe the LDS message to be false. I’m afraid you’d have to strip away an awful lot of Mormonism to make it compatible with Christianity. In fact, I think you’d just have to put down Mormonism all together because it offers a false gospel. (See Gal. 1:6-9) Also, I disagree with your final quote. While a man may believe something with all his heart, if what he believes is false, he could very well be on the path to eternal condemnation without even realizing it.
Well, if you’re interested in chatting about Gal 1:6-9 I’d be happy to! Perhaps you could write a post about it, or we could just simply exchange emails about it.
All the best!
lehislibrary@gmail.com
James,
Thanks for yet another response. I’ll throw Gal 1:6-9 in my idea bucket for an upcoming post. Have a great 4th of July weekend!
[...] Book Review – The Mormon Mirage by Latayne C. Scott By Shaun Tabatt Bible Geek Gone Wild, June 30, 2009. http://biblegeekgonewild.com/?p=1778 [...]
[...] On the most recent episode of the Connected Kingdom Podcast, David Murray speaks with Latayne C. Scott about her book The Mormon Mirage: A Former Member Looks at the Mormon Church Today (Zondervan, 2009). You can listen to this episode of Connected Kingdom here: LINK. I had the privilege of writing a review for The Mormon Mirage back in 2009. You can read my review here: LINK. [...]
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