"No Man Knows My History" Fawn Brodie

[Georgia]

I have never had the experience you are describing, but I have heard these sentiments from others. I have long been of the opinion that evangelizing Mormons has less to do with disproving Joseph Smith than it has to do with addressing the despair they think they will experience if they reject him - not realizing that submission to that fear is itself a kind of despair. I think there is something very healthy in reading something like No Man Knows My History (a book for which I do have criticisms, but still recommend) because coming to terms with the harder truths about how you have been mislead is strengthening to the conscience. But it can also prompt a great sadness, and I do share the experience of the sadness involved in contemplating just what the magnitude of the Mormon deception is.

This quote opened my eyes! I have long been puzzled about how so many people dispute the extensive research on the origins of the BOM or on the historical issues of that faith. Now, I have so much more understanding and empathy. Thank you!

 

[LongJourney]

Annette Gordon-Reed wrote a book about the Jefferson-Hemings relationship. I doubt you could get access to it. However, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sally_Hemings is available, and seems to be reasonably balanced and authoritative.

Again, Brodie dismissed both the Hemings theory and the Spalding theory without adequate examination, because they did not fit her pre-conceived notions.

 

[utah_rose]

I’m unaware of the fear you seem to imagine exists, so I can’t address that.

However, I’ve got a better idea. It’s a bold alternative, and one that, in my experience, has yet to be tried among those who are trying to “evangelize Mormons.” And it is this:

Instead of trying to find a way to point out the faults you imagine to be found in the Church of Jesus Christ, why not simply show the simple beauty, and hope, and joy, to be found in what you have?

Then you could give the prospective Catholic something to read and go away and let them compare your version of the Gospel with the one they already have, and decide for themselves which is more compelling.

Because if what you have is really better, shouldn’t that be apparent on a fair comparison, in which the dice are not first loaded by trying to undermine their faith?

I read No Man Knows as a teenager. Although it wasn’t nearly as spiteful, nor as egregiously erroneous, as Walter Martin’s stuff, which I also read at the same time, I was able to detect a number of its errors.

Having subsequently learned a lot more about a great many things, I now find that the book is simply swarming with errors.

It’s unlikely to make much of an impact on any well-informed Latter-day Saint; but it might have some impact upon the weak and unwary.

Regards,
Pahoran

 

[utah_rose]

utah_rose:
Somehow the previous comment was attributed to me Utah Rose because I pressed the wrong button.

I live in Salt Lake City and yes there are some very nice Mormons, but you still are in error. Joseph Smith was run out of town partly because he tried to rape a 14 year old girl in a boardinghouse.

He also was the “prophet” that began the sinful practice of polygamy. Jesus says in the Bible of false prophets “by their fruits you will know them” and the certainly applies to Joseph Smith.

Jesus was the founder of the Catholic Church. “Thou art Peter and upon this Rock(Peter) I will built my Church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it”.

Yes, we will pray for you. Read the Church Fathers and you will see that apostolic succession for 2000 years. The Church has never fell into apostasy.

The Mormon Church has many good qualities. They believe in family and abhor same sex marriage, as well as giving to many charities.

But you don’t have the essence of the real Church, just what you’ve been told. Please pray about this and then read some real Church history before Joseph Smith came up with his.

 

[scipio337]

Meh. The tit for tat with Pahoran grows tiresome.

Does anyone else see the

scurrilous attacks by triumphantly uninformed and militantly hostile people

?

If I or any have done so, please, report it to the mods, as I don’t want to see this kind of activity on these forums.

 

[LongJourney]

Pahoran has a history elsewhere for being abrasive and offensive. He is not representative of LDS people as a whole. Just much much more so than most.

 

[Michael_Francis]

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