I am possibly buying a mountain cabin in the next few weeks. I plan to let my TBM relatives stay there. I will also let non-TBM people stay there, so I have an excuse to have a coffee maker on the shelf and wine in the fridge? :-)

But anyway, I've been thinking that if people are "stranded" in the cabin (I won't have WiFi), what kind of Mormon approved books could I stock that might make people say Hmmm?

Someone in one of the earlier threads mentioned the 1830 version of the Book of Mormon. I think that might be a good thing for the bookshelf because it's defnitely pro-Mormon, but it might get some people thinking. I have no idea if it's actually available however.

In my own past, I read the autobiography of Lucy Mack Smith on my mission and it definitely made ME say Hmm.. There were some odd things in it, and why would a mother lie?

Are there any other books like that which my relatives couldn't outright dismiss as anti-Mormon lies and propaganda?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/22/2013 06:42PM by Dave in Hollywood.

"Mormonism and the Negro" by Lund, provided you can find a copy.

I have a copy of Mormonism and the Negro. What a damning book it is.

For off topic reading, let me strongly recommend "Class," by Paul Fussell. It's about class in American society, and it's funny and piercing at the same time.

Under the banner of heaven.....

Mormon Enigma: Emma Hale Smith

If TBMs will be staying in your cabin beware some of the books "disappearing." My sister the librarian has told be that books critical of a religion have a habit of vanishing in the night.

Since Mother Smith's book was edited by George A. Smith and published at the direction of Joseph F. Smith it is a good one to have around to break the ice.

You might want some pioneer stories to read if you are roughing it. "Mormon Midwife: The 1846-1888 Diaries of Patty Bartlett Sessions" might be of interest.

Reading firsthand accounts of polygamy, women anointing the sick, early women's groups etc. Also an account of crossing the plains and early life in Utah.

Also "While Others Slept" by Ellis Reynolds Shipp a book made of the journals of a woman who lived polygamy and was encouraged by BY himself to pursue medicine. She went back east to study and become a Dr.

Left her toddlers with her sister wives and wrote to them a lot.

One entry talked of how hard her heart must be because her husband chose to spend the night with a different wife and she wanted his company.

She talked of going visiting teaching to a woman who saw her husband every other week and never had to directly live with or interact with her sister wife. She also did not have to provide for her self, she had lamps and rugs and curtains and nice furniture in her home.

This Dr. spoke of traveling to Provo to harvest the apples from the orchard her father left her in his will. She needed every one of those for their family!

It shows how in polygamy the wives had to provide for themselves and their husband and children. It gives thought for the shelf of Mo'ism.

For a slightly subtler approach that will still pack some serious punch, how about...

"Mistakes Were Made (But Not By Me): Why We Justify Foolish Beliefs, Bad Decisions, and Hurtful Acts" by Carol Tavris & Elliot Aronson

"Idiot America: How Stupidity Became a Virtue in the Land of the Free" by Charles P. Pierce

"Guns, Germs, & Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared Diamond

"How the Mind Works" by Steven Pinker

"The Mismeasure of Man" by Stephen Jay Gould

: )

Ah! Just thought of two more...

"The Swerve: How the World Became Modern" by Stephen Greenblatt

and

"The Rise & Fall of Alexandria: Birthplace of the Modern World" by Justin Pollard and Howard Reid

Tom Clancy, Clive Cussler et al and a bunch of those 'Stupid Facts' and puzzle type books that are great for bathroom reading. Just thinking what my brother has at his cabin....

Oh, and old Reader's Digests, Smithsonians, and Nat Geo's. Seriously

"Lamb: the gospel according to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal" by Christopher Moore, with a note about how well the author studied the bible and provided a study of Christ that is both spiritually moving and humorous.

"illusions" by Richard Bach, with a note of how your favorite seminary teacher recommended it after telling a great story of reading the book, accepting the challenge of testing the power of visualization by setting the book down and visualizing meeting the author AND DID. (true story)

I have more, but they're a bit more 'in your face'



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/22/2013 08:17PM by Pyewacket.

Some old Ensigns and come copies of the old Relief Society Magazine, back when the RS was an autonomous organization.

Bazaars? Cultural Refinement? Road shows?
Wow-- things have changed.

All the published autobiographies by past and contemporary escapees from polygamy.

That book that was mentioned at ExMo Conference about the war of 1812. (Don't remember the title) Someone?

Why all of your doubts of course!

"Beware of falling shelves"...

Any or all books by Dan Brown.

I think I would just avoid the whole Mormon mess and buy about 50 classic books from Barnes & Noble in those cheap hardcover editions that cost about $6-8 each. Get books like Great Expectations, Huckleberry Finn, Frankenstein, Anna Karenina, Moby Dick, Pride & Prejudice, The Great Gatsby, etc. If you're like me, you're probably always saying that you want to read such and such a book when you get around to it, and what better time than when you're at the cabin? If you have Mormons over, maybe it will give them a chance to take a break from the Mormon grind and read something that will expand their horizons a bit.

It is important to give people a choice.

Mormon Doctrine by Bruce R. McConkie, preferably with some of the wackier passages bookmarked and highlighted. Also the JoD.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/23/2013 12:15AM by glibberish.

I like a lot of these suggestions. For my particular cabin, I'm not particularly interested in "entertainment" that will take people out of the Mormon experience. I want people to either see what Mormonism used to be like or something that really pricks their mind.

I like the suggestions of Guns Germs & Steel since I read that and it is damning to Mormonism just by what isn't in there.

I think things like 1984 are just too subtle for your average befuddled Mormon.

And since a cabin is "historical" I like all the suggestions for older books that used to be gospel and now are just "rumors." Keep em coming.

Oh, and I don't mind people stealing books at all if they actually read them. If they steal them to burn them, well, let's just say I am categorically opposed to burning books (being a good librarian and all).

Guns, Germs & Steel is a great idea. My father picked it out of my bookcase simply because it had the word "guns" in the title. :)

Make a sign and frame it, asking to not take books from cabin.

Early mormonism and the magic world power
Mormon Hierarchy
mormon enigma/emma hale smith
Journal of discourses

Ditto on all of the above. They are all excellant.

I spend a lot of time at my parents cabin in Wasatch County. I am well known in the family as being an apostate so they are not surprised at what I conveniently "leave behind". I actually bought a copy of Will Bagley's "Blood of the Prophets" and left it there for over a year. My father (a devout TBM on the surface,doubter underneath the surface) and I had one of the best conversations about that book than we have had in years about any other topic. Another book I left up there was "The Mormon Murders". That to led to some interesting conversation. Be brave. Leave something wild up there,worse that can happen is someone will burn it (the book,hoepfully not the cabin).