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14 of 16 found the following review helpful:
Nice review of some of Mormonism's biggest problems Nov 16, 2006
By Duwayne Anderson
I had the pleasure of reviewing Ed's book in manuscript form, and I'm really pleased with the final product. Ed is a former newspaper reporter for the Salt Lake Tribune, Deseret News, and Columbus Dispatch. He's also the author of "Getting Things Done," and "Doing it Now." With that literary experience it should come as no surprise that "How to talk to a Mormon Missionary" is well-organized, well-researched, and well-written.
Faithful Mormons will call Ed's book "anti-Mormon." That's a pejorative term among Latter-day Saints, a kind of secret code among the faithful that means "this man is in the devil's power and you will lose your testimony and your eternal salvation if you read his book." Personally, though, I think Ed has gone out of his way to be respectful. He methodically looks at various claims, evaluates the evidence, and advances logically consistent conclusions regarding the validity of Mormon assertions. What else would you expect from an honest intellectual examination of Mormonism? The faithful, obviously, won't see it that way. In the topsy-turvy world of Mormon apologetics, the very act of criticizing Mormonism is considered "disrespectful" and rejected out of hand. For truth seekers, though, Mormonism deserves all the respect it earns, and it can earn respect only by proving its naked assertions. For them, Ed's book will be an invaluable resource.
This is the story of an imagined conversation between two people seated next to each other on a long flight. One has investigated and rejected the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), and the other is a young Mormon headed home from his mission. Ed's book is built around various arguments used by the fictional Mormon missionary, and how the fictional investigator shreds them. While it's true that the names and circumstances are imagined, the essential elements are not.
Ed's missionary begins by bearing his testimony, explaining that he knows the church is true because he's prayed about it and had answers to his prayers in the form of good feelings and a "burning in my bosom." The reply to that argument is based on the simple observation that most people feel good about their religious beliefs, yet these religious beliefs are often mutually inconsistent. Thus, the notion that "feels good = truth" leads to a logical contradiction, and the rock of "revelation" upon which Mormonism claims to be based, is exposed as little more than the good feelings that anyone has when they hear something they are pre-disposed to believe in.
Chapter 2 brings us to the Book of Mormon, piously proclaimed by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as the most correct book on earth. The Book of Mormon presents itself as a literal history of the ancient Americans, yet it miserably fails key scientific tests. None of its non-trivial claims about ancient America are true, even many of its trivial claims are bogus. The ancient Americans were not Hebrews, did not write in Hebrew or Egyptian, didn't have domesticated horses, cattle, swine, or elephants, did not grow old-world food crops, and did not smelt iron and steel. Anyone familiar with ancient American archeology would realize in an instant that the author of the Book of Mormon had no significant knowledge of ancient America.
But even if you're unfamiliar with ancient American archeology, the Book of Mormon comes across as a clumsy attempt at history. Bliss points out, for example, that the Book of Mormon hardly ever mentions women, yet in real historical documents women are mentioned prominently. For example, Bliss lists all the women in the Bible. The list is so long that it takes an entire page. After that there's another half page listing the Biblical women that are described but not named. Then he lists all the women in the Book of Mormon - there are three of them. There are twelve books in the Book of Mormon, covering a total of more than a thousand years, where no women are mentioned at all. This is highly unlikely in a real history. [I present a similar argument in my book, "Farewell to Eden: Coming to terms with Mormonism and science," in which I show that the month-dates in the Book of Mormon are not randomly distributed, as in real histories, but highly biased, as we would expect from a fabricated story.]
The problems with the Book of Mormon aren't just external. There are doctrinal problems, too. For example, Joseph Smith said the Book of Mormon contains the fullness of the gospel, yet it doesn't describe dozens of fundamental LDS doctrines at all, including the pre-existent life, the war in heaven, Satan cast out, progress in the spirit world/paradise, the Terrestrial, Telestial, and Celestial kingdoms, baptism for the dead, eternal (temple) marriage, and the doctrine that god has a body of flesh and bone. It doesn't even describe the key LDS doctrine that god, Jesus, and the holy ghost are separate beings. Instead of these doctrines, which the LDS proclaim are essential parts of the restored gospel, the doctrinal discussions in the Book of Mormon consist almost entirely of issues that were hotly debated at the time Joseph Smith wrote it, things like infant baptism and the origin of the Indians, just as one would expect if Joseph Smith was the author, and not some ancient Amerindian.
I can't summarize all the arguments that Ed discusses in his book, so I'll just list them to give you an idea of what he covers:
View of the Hebrews
The Book of Mormon "witnesses"
The Swedenborg factor
The first vision
The Kinderhook incident
The genetic code
The book of Abraham
The gift of prophecy
The Adam-god question
The curse
The principle
If you've researched Mormonism you may not find any new arguments in Ed's book. For those who're new to Mormonism, though, this is an excellent book for summarizing some of the most damaging arguments in opposition to LDS claims. I highly recommend it.
11 of 13 found the following review helpful:
Conversational and non-confrontational Oct 09, 2006
By Jarom Smith
By way of disclaimer, I contributed to this book in a small way by providing creative and editorial feedback to the author (at his request) sometime between the first writing and final completion of the work, and I am named in the acknowledgements section. So, my opinion is not exactly without bias. Then again, is anyone's opinion without bias? At least with me, you know where the bias lies. :-)
All of that having been said, this is a fabulous book! It unfolds as a conversation between a recently-returning missionary and a knowledgeable "investigator" of the church. It presents many of the problematic issues of Mormonism in a non-confrontational and conversational style which literally flows from one page to the next. It is the kind of book which can be read in one sitting (over the course of just a few hours) or it can be digested on a chapter-by-chapter basis. All of the book's claims are extensively documented, but the documentation is done unobtrusively so as not to get in the way of the discussion.
The author and many of the contributors (including myself) are former Mormons, which I think adds to the quality and realism of the back-and-forth conversation in the book. We tried very hard to imagine what kinds of responses and what sorts of approaches the "missionary" in this story would take. The goal was that a member of the LDS church reading the book would feel that what the missionary says is more or less in line with what he or she would have said in the same situation. In the end, I think we succeeded at giving the "missionary" an articulate, realistic voice which does justice to the LDS church's claims and positions.
This book is the product of several years' worth of writing, re-writing, editing, and revision. It is respectful of the beliefs of Latter-Day Saints, and demonstrates that it is possible to disagree without being disagreeable. I highly recommend this book.
7 of 9 found the following review helpful:
Simple and Powerful! Nov 10, 2006
By Susan Emmett
I am mentioned in the acknowledgement page of this book, but my only involvement in it's production was as a supportive friend. I was not involved in helping with the content or production. Having said that, however, with many family members who are Mormons, Never-Mormons, and Ex-Mormons, I am always looking for material to stock in my library for those times someone asks to know more about the history and doctrines of Mormonism. Mr. Bliss' new book, "How to Talk to a Mormon" will be become, in my opinion, one of the standard "must-haves" for those accumulating information about Mormonism. It is concise, to-the-point, and within a small volume includes the most important information about doctrines and history of Mormonism. If you have any interest in the "meat" of Mormonism -- as a member already, or someone who has a family member or friend contemplating joining the Mormon church, this book will provide information and material most of the general public does not know about this religion. I highly recommend it.
Sue Emmett
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
AN EXCEPTIONALLY-SUCCINCT AND NON-POLEMICAL CRITIQUE OF LDS HISTORY Jul 12, 2011
By Steven H. Propp
Ed Bliss is a former member of the LDS church, who served a mission in Oklahoma and Arkansas. He is also a "former journalist (Deseret News, Salt Lake Tribune, Columbus Dispatch), college instructor, legislative assistant in the U.S. Senate, lobbyist, and lecturer."
He writes in the Introduction to this 2007 book: "LDS missionaries use every opportunity to strike up a conversation with anyone who might be a potential convert. The discussion is often quite one-sided, because usually the other person knows nothing about Mormonism... In the pages that follow I've tried to show how a typical discussion might go if the other person were more knowledgeable, so there would be less discourse and more dialogue... I am aware of the many positive aspects of Mormonism and I admire the self-sacrifice and devotion of these young missionaries. At the same time, however, I realize that many of them ... have a very limited understanding of some aspects of Mormonism..."
This book is not a typical "Evangelical-bashes-Mormonism" tome, nor a "secularist ridicules religious superstition" affair; in fact, Mr. Bliss does not make his current religious convictions (if any) manifest. It focuses mostly on the historical evidence concerning the LDS church, rather than religious doctrine. The book is told as an amiable conversation between an active Mormon missionary returning from his mission, and a fellow passenger (who "considered joining the Church, [and has] been making an exhaustive study of it") on a long jet ride.
Here are some additional quotations, to give you an idea of the wealth of information it contains:
"I submit that your 'burning in the bosom' doesn't prove that you are right. It merely proves you are convinced." (Pg. 5)
"After Joseph Smith's death, (James J.) Strang (who claimed to be his successor) wrote a book in the same style ... Five of the witnesses to the Book of Mormon ... all pronounced Strang's book just as inspired as the Book of Mormon. It was also accepted as scripture by Lucy Smith, the Prophet's mother..." (Pg. 12)
"Another disturbing element ... is the scale of warfare in the Book of Mormon. Literally millions were killed in the battle between Coriantumr and Shiz...in one battle at a small hill in New York called Cumorah---and they and their weapons all vanished without a trace!" (Pg. 18)
"There are virtually no women in the book (of Mormon)." (Pg. 26)
"Remember also that the witnesses didn't get together and work out the wording of the Testimony. They signed a document that had been drafted by Joseph Smith." (Pg. 53)
"In 1839 Joseph Smith met with a Mormon convert named Edward Hunter, who had been a follower of (Emanuel) Swedenborg, and the prophet commented on Swedenborg's views... his belief in pre-existence, eternal marriage, the spirit world, the three degrees of glory, eternal progression, and the existence of millions of other earths similar to this one, are all Swedenborgian doctrines that were not included in the Book of Mormon, but which later turned up in the teachings of Joseph Smith." (Pg. 62-66)
"Joseph Smith made that prediction (of Civil War) on December 25, 1832. But just a week before that, the newspapers all over the country were saying that the nation was on the brink of civil war---because of what South Carolina had just done!" (Pg. 92)
3 of 4 found the following review helpful:
Short, fun & very interesting May 26, 2009
By T. Perry
This book is very readable and is written in a two person dialogue style that is very engaging. The author is very knowledgeable about the LDS church and its doctrine and teachings.
It is a critical book, but it doesn't come across as a unwarranted attack towards the LDS church, which is nice. I found it very entertaining and I also learned some things as well, which is what I look for in a book. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in Mormonism.
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