Readings & Links

The Mormon Church and History Dissent and Debate Mormons and Politics

Genealogical Resources Bibliography

The Mormon Church and History

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The official site of the LDS Church, primarily created for church members. It offers background information on the church, an online library of Mormon scripture, commentary from the First Presidency, and news and information on temples and genealogical services.
Mormon.org
An official LDS Church site designed to answer questions and introduce non-members to basic information about the church. The site offers short overviews of Mormon life and doctrine. One can explore its members' beliefs, read answers to frequently asked questions, or ask a question. There's also a map of historically significant places to visit.
About Mormons
This site, unaffiliated with the LDS Church, provides in-depth, researched articles on an extensive breadth of Mormon topics. There are detailed answers to theological questions about the Mormon priesthood and premortal existence, and general information about the Mormon culture and belief system, such as fasting and interfaith relationships.
BeliefNet: Latter-day Saints
This is the Mormon section of BeliefNet, a Web site about world religions. The section offers background on Mormonism and online discussions of Mormon topics, with message boards where members and non-members discuss church-related questions from politics to personal faith.
Temples of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
This site features information about Mormon temples worldwide and a collection of photos in the "downloads" section. Find temples by geographic region and read an up-to-date list of completed and proposed temples.
Sunstone Magazine
A magazine focusing on intellectual and academic topics for Mormons and non-Mormons. The site features podcasts of speeches and downloadable versions of Sunstone articles.
American Prophet: The Story of Joseph Smith
Learn more about the founder of Mormonism at this companion Web site to a PBS documentary.
The Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail
The National Park Service provides information about the 1846 Mormon trip from Nauvoo to Winter Quarters and the 1847 trek to Utah. The Park Service also features an online version of a 1991 Historic Resource Study on the Trail.
Utah On The Web
The official web site for the State of Utah includes the Public Pioneer, a digital library of historical and geographical resources. Don't miss the link to Utah digital collections including photographs, newspapers, dissertations and more from a consortium of libraries.
Mormonism
From the PBS Religion and Ethics Newsweekly series, an April 2007 special report on Mormonism that includes links to its previous stories on Mormons and the Olympics, Mormon missionaries and more.

Dissent and Debate

ExMormon.org: Recovery from Mormonism
Former Mormons share their stories and criticisms of the LDS Church, as well as advice for people wishing to leave or join the church. The site's bulletin boards are a resource for active and informal discussion of the doctrinal and personal issues of importance to the ex-Mormon community.
Postmormon.org
An online community where former Mormons post news items and hold discussions related to both Mormonism and more broad questions of religious faith.
Shunned Ex-Mormons Form Own Communities
A 2005 National Public Radio story about former Mormons who meet to assist one another with the transition to life outside the church.
Mormon No More
A guide to the resignation process for Mormons who are considering leaving the church.
Affirmation: Gay & Lesbian Mormons
Affirmation is a support organization for gay, lesbian and transgendered Mormons run by LDS members and former members who still identify with the Mormon faith. The site provides news, history, personal stories and contact information for local chapters.
The Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research
A collection of articles defending or clarifying LDS Church positions on a wide variety of criticisms and disputed topics. Topics range from the lack of DNA evidence supporting the history contained in the Book of Mormon to whether it's acceptable for Mormons to drink soda.
LDS Newsroom: Same-Gender Attraction
An interview in which Elders Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and Lance B. Wickman of the Quorum of the Seventy discuss the Mormon church's views on homosexuality.
Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies
FARMS is a group of Mormon historical scholars, based out of Brigham Young University, whose membership includes Daniel Peterson. The site includes FARMS publications, which analyze and defend the historical accuracy of accounts written in the Book of Mormon.

Mormons and Politics

The Making Of Mitt Romney
A June 2007 Boston Globe series that examines the former Massachusetts governor's careers in business and politics, his faith and family life, and what it all means for his presidential campaign. Part Two of the series, "The Missionary," traces Romney's Mormon faith and roots, from his ancestors' 19th-century migration to Joseph Smith's settlement in Nauvoo, Ill., to his own time as a missionary in France. Part Four, "The Family Man," profiles the candidate's family and his first entry into politics.
Mitt Romney's Evangelical Problem
In this September 2005 article, Washington Monthly editor Amy Sullivan examines how the Mormon faith of Republican presidential candidate Gov. Mitt Romney could erode his support among the GOP's evangelical Christian supporters.
LDS.org Newsroom: Political Neutrality
On this page, the church outlines its official position of non-participation in partisan politics and its guidelines for interacting with LDS members in elected office.
Dry Kindling: A Political Profile of Mormons
This paper by political scientists David Campbell of the University of Notre Dame and J. Quinn Monson of Brigham Young University analyzes Mormon culture and political history to argue that church members represents an overlooked "electoral bloc." [Note: This is a pdf file; Adobe Acrobat required]
Imperfect Fit
This December 2006 Boston Globe article explains why Mormon voters, though generally politically conservative, don't fall into the "religious right." The story examines the key issues separating the two camps: stem-cell research, abortion, and prayer and evolution instruction in public schools.

Genealogy Resources

Genealogy and the Mormon Archive
An overview of what the vast Mormon archives offer professional and amateur genealogists.
The Family History Library
FamilySearch.org is the main online Mormon repository of genealogy information. These FAQs explains how to use the site, how the library is funded and more.
Unlocking the Vault
This March 2007 article from the LDS Church newsletter explains the plan to digitize the billions of records in the Mormons' vault.
Center for Family History and Genealogy
This center at Brigham Young University trains students in genealogy and has several ongoing projects, including the Immigrants Ancestors Project, which trains volunteers to collect records from the home countries of emigrants to the U.S, and an online tutorial of how to use U.S. census records.

Bibliography

Bagley, Will. Blood of the Prophets: Brigham Young and the Massacre at Mountain Meadows. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2002.
Blomberg, Craig L. and Stephen E. Robinson. How Wide the Divide?: A Mormon and an Evangelical in Conversation. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1997.
Bloom, Harold. The American Religion: The Emergence of the Post-Christian Nation. New York: Riverhead Books, 2000.
Brodie, Fawn M. No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith, the Mormon Prophet. 2nd ed. New York: Vintage Books, 1995.
Brooks, Juanita. The Mountain Meadows Massacre. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1962.
Bushman, Claudia Lauper and Richard Lyman. Building the Kingdom: A History of Mormons in America. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001.
Bushman, Richard Lyman. Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005.
----. Joseph Smith and the Beginnings of Mormonism. Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1984.
Butler, Jon. Awash in a Sea of Faith: Christianizing the American People. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1990.
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Book of Mormon. Salt Lake City: Church Distribution, 1981.
----. Our Heritage. Salt Lake City: Church Distribution, 1996.
Davies, Douglas J. An Introduction to Mormonism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003.
Givens, Terryl L. By the Hand of Mormon: The American Scripture that Launched a New World Religion. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002.
----. The Viper on the Hearth: Mormons, Myths, and the Construction of Heresy. New York: Oxford University Press. 1997
Gordon, Sarah Barringer. The Mormon Question: Polygamy and Constitutional Conflict in Nineteenth-Century America. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2002.
Hardy, B. Carmon. Solemn Covenant: The Mormon Polygamous Passage. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1992.
Newell, Linda King and Avery, Valeen Tippetts. Mormon Enigma: Emma Hale Smith. Garden City: Doubleday, 1984.
Ostling, Richard N. and Joan K. Mormon America: The Power and the Promise. New York: Harper Collins, 1999.
Prince, Gregory A. and Wm. Robert Wright. David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 2005.
Shipps, Jan. Mormonism: the Story of a New Religious Tradition. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1985.
----. Sojourner in the Promised Land: Forty Years Among the Mormons. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2000.

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Site Published April 30, 2007