Looking for more "Anti-Mormon" book recommendations to expand on my knowledge of the cult and continue with the deprogramming efforts.

So far I've read :

'Secret Ceremonies'

'Wife No. 19'

'Blood of the Prophets'

Any other recommendations would be appreciated!

RECOVERING AGENCY: Lifting the Veil of Mormon Mind Control, by Luna Lindsey.

Very highly recommended (by me).

:)

Thanks I saw that on Amazon and was wondering about it. I'll check it out.

Found this on Kobo too (I am a Nook owner), so got it downloaded now. Thanks again.

Giant Joshua

MMM -Brooks

Nauvoo Polygamy-Smith

Thanks!

I am currently reading "Blood of the Prophets". I would also recommend "No Man Knows My History" by Fawn Brodie.

Thank you!

The book of mormon

LOL

I should have specified a book I can stay awake through! :)

The changing world of Mormonism by the Tanners is probably the best to get comprehensive exposure to most of the problems in Mormon history and claims. And their more exhaustive Mormonism shadow or reality is THE "anti-Mormon" book. I would start with those.

This is one of the few religiously oriented books I have kept. It is well written and has been controversial for years as it disputes much of the old testament stories. I am not saying this the definitive book on the subject. It was helpful for me in understanding some aspects of the origin of the Bible - in particular the old testament.

Here is a quote from a review:

"They [the authors] argue that crucial evidence (or a telling lack of evidence) at digs in Israel, Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon suggests that many of the most famous stories in the Bible—the wanderings of the patriarchs, the Exodus from Egypt, Joshua's conquest of Canaan, and David and Solomon's vast empire—reflect the world of the later authors rather than actual historical facts.

Challenging the fundamentalist readings of the scriptures and marshaling the latest archaeological evidence to support its new vision of ancient Israel, The Bible Unearthed offers a fascinating and controversial perspective on when and why the Bible was written and why it possesses such great spiritual and emotional power today"

because I started reading "anti" literature. I had always accepted the BoM and Bible as history. Then I learned about the Apocrypha, the Gnostic Gospels, the Nag Hammadi Library, the Codex Sinaiticus https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codex_Sinaiticus

...How could a temple and civilization exist 6,000 years before Adam & Eve??? http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/gobekli-tepe-the-worlds-first-temple-83613665/

I suppose you could try "Under the Banner of Heaven" https://www.amazon.com/Under-Banner-Heaven-Story-Violent/dp/1400032806

If you're looking for proofs from history, speeches, creeds/doctrines... Well instead of "Anti" read the cesletter. Read the essays on the corporations site. Read "Rough Stone Rolling". If you have pioneer ancestors, read through a few of their life stories and histories. Read some of the Journal of Discourses http://jod.mrm.org/1

The problem is that there is no "Proof" of a non-existent history, world, culture. Instead there's non-sense writings and documentaries by TBMs who try to prove that the Incas, Mayans, Hopi, etc... were lamanite/nephites but they use the exact same tactic and proofs as "Ancient Aliens" or "Chariot of the Gods" people--because non-white, ancient man could never have been smart enough to make temples, pyramids, etc...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/26/2017 04:39PM by dydimus.

Thanks for the additional recommendations. Eric, that bible one sounds interesting. I've personally wondered about the legitimacy of those stories myself. :)

The history of Joseph Smith by his Mother.

Mother Smith shows Joseph was a horse thief, put his father's dreams in the Book of Mormon as the dreams of Lehi, tells of Joseph sharing stories of the native Americans and their culture long before he spoke of finding the plates.

Two must read classics:

As some have recommended above:

No Man Knows My History by Fawn McKay Brodie. She was related to the prophet McKay and was a good historian and author. The church's response to her book was pathetic. They didn't deny anything but rather attacked her character in No Ma'am That's Not History, by Hugh Nibley (an all time low from him- character attacks and obfuscation).

The second must read is By His Own Hand Upon Papyrus by Charles Larson. I believe it is on line. This book will school you but good about the "Book of Abraham."

Both books are a great read. You will be appalled at how much they didn't tell you in Sunday School.

"No Ma'am That's Not History, by Hugh Nibley "

Wow, what a jerk. They really are so childish aren't they?

Thanks for the recommendations!

This is awesome, thanks for everyone's responses!

"Who Really Wrote the Book of Mormon": Great Stuff!

Shapeshifter, I was enlightened by Youtube. Many influential mormons share their stories how they saw the light and fell away. Type in 'youtube ex-mormons'. Talk about a WOW moment! You'll get plenty of them! I wanted to puke when I heard all the facts I NEVER KNEW. 40 years of my life gone!

Long title for a 47-page book, but this is astonishing!!!

"An Authentic Account of The Massacre of Joseph Smith, The Mormon Prophet, And Hyrum Smith, His Brother--together with A Brief History of The Rise And Progress of Mormonism, And All The Circumstances Which Led To Their Deaths" by George T.M. Davis.

I ordered a copy from Nabu Public Domain Reprints and several pages were missing. Forgotten Books leaves out a lot of pages, too, unless you are a paying member.



Here are two printable copies that appear to have all pages:

http://www.truthandgrace.com/1844AuthenticAccountofthemassacreofJoeSmith.pdf


This one is easier to read:

http://www.olivercowdery.com/smithhome/1840s/1844Davis.htm

I printed it to make sure I always have access to it.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 07/27/2017 02:23AM by kathleen.

Here's another one:

"Brief History of The Church of Christ of Latter Day Saints, (commonly called Mormons); Including an Account of Their Doctrine and Discipline; with The Reasons of The Author For Leaving The Church." 50 pages, 1839

by John Corrill, a member of the legislature of Missouri.



http://www.olivercowdery.com/smithhome/1830s/1839Corl.htm

That's an interesting read. No wonder the Mormons abandoned Carthage. Joe played the persecution card to the hilt, causing the people of Illinois to welcome the Mormons with open arms. By 1844, animosity was so high (not to mention their immortal leader being put down like a dog) that they feared for their lives. Mormons being noxious and obnoxious is nothing new.

I recommend reading the book of Abraham as translated by Smith and then reading the same text as translated by peoplemail who actually have an understanding of Egyptian. He got literally every single word wrong, unsurprisingly. He also got many of the genders wrong from the pictures, something that many people could get correctly just from guessing, yet he still got them wrong.

*people, not peoplemail

Shapeshifter, it's cool that you are the type of thinker who goes after the truth.

You may encounter some nonsense in the "anti" writings, but most of the authors cited here *seem* to be honest historians. Will Bagley in particular has cross-referenced much of his writing with what other historians have also discovered. The two I cited (Davis and Corrill) were contemporaries of JS and either witnessed what they wrote or interviewed many other of Smith's contemporaries.

Good luck!

(Meant to post this at the end of the thread)

This is awesome, thanks for everyone's responses!

I've repeatedly replied as follows as this question has been asked over the years:

No reasonable, critically thinking, honest person could possibly read No Man Knows My History without concluding that Joseph Smith was a fraud.

It's an elegantly written, deeply researched history by an eminent scholar. It's worth reading on that basis alone, whether you agree with my conclusion above or not.