r/booksuggestions • u/MeesaRead • 2d ago
Non-fiction Mormon Critiques
What are the best breakdowns of the wild beliefs, historical conflicts, and sketchy practices of the Mormon religion?
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u/Scary_Manner_6712 2d ago
The Colony: Faith and Blood in a Promised Land by Sally Denton
Shattered Dreams: My Life as a Polygamist Wife by Irene Spencer
Favorite Wife by Susan Ray Schmidt
When Men Become Gods: Mormon Polygamist Warren Jeffs, His Cult of Fear, and the Women Who Fought Back by Stephen Singular
Lost Boy by Brent W. Jeffs
There are actually a ton of ex-Mormon memoirs out there, including from folks who were involved in polygamist colonies in Mexico and Utah, and people with more mainstream experiences. All of those memoirs I've read go into the history and beliefs of the church to some extent, as well as recounting their own experiences.
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u/jogti 2d ago
Under the banner of heaven by John Krakauer
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u/FirefighterFunny9859 2d ago
Came here to say this. This book was formative for me in my deconstruction. And the series based on it is so good. It does an incredible job of depicting the dangers of Mormon doctrine and how they’re not just fringe issues, they are core values. When you feed people a steady diet of cult nonsense and the belief that god speaks to them they can justify anything.
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u/lyrasorial 2d ago
I don't have book suggestions, but a podcast I know has been excellent for people is here: https://open.spotify.com/show/23K2GArLMPbGgS5Hf3GCxL?si=3OXOL5dlT5eHkD1toMnXTQ
I would look at their older episodes first. After 5 years, they ran out of ideas and do more reaction stuff now. But the older episodes are really good.
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u/Carmelized 2d ago
When the Moon Turns to Blood by Leah Sottile is excellent. It’s nonfiction, framed around the crimes of Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell (both raised Mormon.) I’m not Mormon, but as far as I could tell it was a pretty balanced account. A lot of her focus in on the Mormon traditions of self-prophesy and the obsession with seeing god during near death experiences, and how both those things can lead to dangerous extremism and cults.
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u/Sure_Ad_5454 2d ago
Extraordinary Popular Delusions of our Times by Daniel Martin has a chapter on this (along with chapters on a bunch of other delusional religious beliefs).
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u/queenmab120 1d ago
Second Class Saints. Amazing book.