mormons

"September 1861: all is not as it seems. With these cryptic words, a shocking secret passed down from president to president comes to rest in Abraham Lincoln's hands. And must make a fateful choice: save thousands of American lives or sacrifice the nation's future. The present: in Utah, the remains of a nineteenth century Mormon expedition that ended in murder have been uncovered. In Washington, D.C., the investigation of an international entrepreneur and Mormon elder has sparked a heated conflict between the White House and a powerful senator. In Denmark, a missing Magellan Billet agent is at the mercy of a zealot driven by divine visions. And Cotton Malone has suddenly gone from selling books to dodging bullets, plunged into a secret war set in motion more than two hundred years ago by America's Founding Fathers. From the streets of Copenhagen to the catacombs of Salzburg to the rugged mountains of Utah, a dangerous conspiracy is gathering power. And Cotton Malone must risk life, liberty, and his greatest love to uncover the stunning truth that could tear the United States apart."--from back cover.

This anthology provides rare access to key original documents illuminating Mormon history, theology, and culture in the United States from the nineteenth century to today. Brief introductions describe the theological significance of each text and its reflection of the practices, issues, and challenges that have defined and continue to define the Mormon community. These documents balance mainstream and peripheral thought and religious experience, institutional and personal perspective, and theoretical and practical interpretation, representing pivotal moments in LDS history and correcting decades of misinformation and stereotype. The authors of these documents, male and female, not only celebrate but speak critically and question mainline LDS teachings on sexuality, politics, gender, race, polygamy, and other issues. Selections largely focus on the Salt Lake-based LDS tradition, with a section on the post-Joseph Smith splintering and its creation of a variety of similar yet different Mormon groups. The documents are arranged chronologically within specific categories to capture both the historical and doctrinal development of Mormonism in the United States.

The author, daughter of Mormon fundamentalist leader Rulon C. Allred, describes her childhood in a polygamous family, her father's assassination by a rival fundamentalist group, and her decision to lead a different sort of life.

While searching for her true self and for the way to meet the needs of her personal sense of spirituality, an orphaned teenaged girl joins a Shaker community in mid-nineteenth century New England and learns about a new religion called Mormonism.

When a lost Mormon child wanders into Absaroka County, the intrepid Wyoming sheriff teams up with feisty deputy Victoria Moretti and longtime friend Henry Standing Bear on a high plains scavenger hunt that leads them to a violent interstate polygamy group.

Chronicles the experiences Jean Rio had during her journey from England to Utah with her seven children in the 1850s.

Author writes of her childhood in Boulder City, Nevada, her family's Mormonism, and the family's move to Las Vegas when she was twelve.

Veronica Swan, a sixteen-year-old Mormon, attempts to avenge the deaths of her younger sisters, who were brutally killed four years before by a deranged man her parents have forgiven.

The author describes growing up within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, her public criticism of the church, and her difficult decision to leave the Mormon church to pursue her own search for spirituality.