Difference between revisions of "Criticism of Mormonism/Books/One Nation Under Gods"
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|H=Response to claims made in ''One Nation Under Gods'' by Richard Abanes
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|S=In early 2002 a new book entitled One Nation under Gods (ONUG) appeared on bookshelves, promising to tell the "real" history of the Mormon Church. The author attempts to pull disparate sources together to paint a picture that, when compared to objective reality, more closely resembles a Picasso than a Rembrandt—skewed and distorted—obscuring and maligning the actual doctrines and beliefs as understood and practiced by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for more than 150 years.
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|S=In early 2002 a new book entitled One Nation under Gods (ONUG) appeared on bookshelves, promising to tell the "real" history of the Mormon Church. The author attempts to pull disparate sources together to paint a picture that, when compared to objective reality, more closely resembles a Picasso than a Rembrandt—skewed and distorted—obscuring and maligning the actual doctrines and beliefs as understood and practiced by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for more than 150 years. FairMormon's original review of ''One Nation Under Gods'' was of the original 2002 hardback edition. The author has responded that there were editorial problems with this edition. We acknowledge that corrections were made in the paperback edition released in 2003 in response to some of the original reviews. Consequently, all previous FairMormon reviews have been edited for accuracy and tone, and the paperback edition of this work has been evaluated on its own merits. (It should be noted that the corrected paperback edition bears no markings indicating that it is a second edition or an updated edition; it simply appears as a paperback edition of the original.) This is an index of claims made in this work with links to corresponding responses. An effort has been made to provide the author's original sources where possible. In the subarticles linked below the hardback edition is represented by "HB" and the paperback edition by "PB."
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{{Epigraph|...after seven years, FAIR has been able to raise only twenty-seven objections to a book weighing in at 651 pages (471 pages of main text + nearly 150 pages of endnotes + bibliography + indexes). Particularly interesting is how most these so-called errors-mistakes (minus the ones too petty to even address) have all been resolved in the paperback version.''
 
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&mdash;The author, posted on his [https://web.archive.org/web/20081225233812/http://abanes.com/Errata2.html website "ERRATA FOR ONE NATION UNDER GODS"] (Dec. 2008 - web page has since been removed. This link goes to the web archive for the page)
 
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|S=FairMormon's original review of ''One Nation Under Gods'' was of the original 2002 hardback edition. The author has responded that there were editorial problems with this edition. We acknowledge that corrections were made in the paperback edition released in 2003 in response to some of the original reviews. Consequently, all previous FairMormon reviews have been edited for accuracy and tone, and the paperback edition of this work has been evaluated on its own merits. (It should be noted that the corrected paperback edition bears no markings indicating that it is a second edition or an updated edition; it simply appears as a paperback edition of the original.) This is an index of claims made in this work with links to corresponding responses. An effort has been made to provide the author's original sources where possible. In the subarticles linked below the hardback edition is represented by "HB" and the paperback edition by "PB."
 
 
|L1=Response to claims made in One Nation Under Gods, "Introduction: A Thread of Prophecy"
 
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|L5=Response to claims made in One Nation Under Gods, "Chapter 4: Smith's Golden Book"
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|L6=Response to claims made in One Nation Under Gods, "Chapter 5: People of Zion"
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|L7=Response to claims made in One Nation Under Gods, "Chapter 6: No Rest for the Righteous"
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|L8=Response to claims made in One Nation Under Gods, "Chapter 7: Woe In Ohio"
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|L9=Response to claims made in One Nation Under Gods, "Chapter 8: Big Trouble In Little Missouri"
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|L11=Response to claims made in One Nation Under Gods, "Chapter 10: A New Beginning"
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|L12=Response to claims made in One Nation Under Gods, "Chapter 11: Bloody Brigham"
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|L13=Response to claims made in One Nation Under Gods, "Chapter 12: Wars and Rumors of Wars"
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|L14=Response to claims made in One Nation Under Gods, "Chapter 13: Unholy Matrimony"
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|L15=Response to claims made in One Nation Under Gods, "Chapter 14: The Politics of Compromise"
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|L16=Response to claims made in One Nation Under Gods, "Chapter 15: Making the Transition"
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|L17=Response to claims made in One Nation Under Gods, "Chapter 16: Mormon Racism: Black Is Not Beautiful"
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|L18=Response to claims made in One Nation Under Gods, "Chapter 17: Is Mormonism Christian"
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|L19=Response to claims made in One Nation Under Gods, "Chapter 18: Cover-Ups, Conspiracies, and Controversies"
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|L20=Response to claims made in One Nation Under Gods, "Postscript" (paperback only)
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|L21=Response to claims made in One Nation Under Gods, "Appendix A: Abraham's Book?"
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|L22=Response to claims made in One Nation Under Gods, "Appendix B: Failed Joseph Smith Prophecies"
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|L23=Response to claims made in One Nation Under Gods, "Appendix C: Recommended Resources"
 
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{{Epigraph|...after seven years, FAIR has been able to raise only twenty-seven objections to a book weighing in at 651 pages (471 pages of main text + nearly 150 pages of endnotes + bibliography + indexes). Particularly interesting is how most these so-called errors-mistakes (minus the ones too petty to even address) have all been resolved in the paperback version.''
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&mdash;The author, posted on his [https://web.archive.org/web/20081225233812/http://abanes.com/Errata2.html website "ERRATA FOR ONE NATION UNDER GODS"] (Dec. 2008 - web page has since been removed. This link goes to the web archive for the page)
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==Quotes from the author==
 
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''[T]o be honest, your FAIR analysis of the hardbound is actually hurting you in some very interesting ways -- and you don't even know it. Suffice it to say, I have been enjoying the many times I've had the pleasure of point out to lots of Mormons (many of them now former Mormons) where FAIR has not been completely honest, and where FAIR has shown itself to be terrifically nit-picky and petty. I thank you.''
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''[T]o be honest, your FAIR analysis of the hardbound is actually hurting you in some very interesting ways&mdash;and you don't even know it. Suffice it to say, I have been enjoying the many times I've had the pleasure of point out to lots of Mormons (many of them now former Mormons) where FAIR has not been completely honest, and where FAIR has shown itself to be terrifically nit-picky and petty. I thank you.''
 
<br>&mdash;The author, commenting on FAIR's previous analysis of this work. Posted to ''Mormon Apologetics and Discussion Board'', Nov. 21, 2008
 
<br>&mdash;The author, commenting on FAIR's previous analysis of this work. Posted to ''Mormon Apologetics and Discussion Board'', Nov. 21, 2008
 
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Latest revision as of 21:57, 11 May 2024

Contents


Learn more about responses to: Richard Abanes
Wiki links
Online
  • Craig L. Foster, "'Doing Violence to Journalistic Integrity (Review of ''Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of a Violent Faith by Jon Krakauer)'," FARMS Review 16/1 (2004). [149–174] link
  • Michael G. Reed, "Abanes's Revised History (Review of One Nation Under Gods: A History of the Mormon Church)," FARMS Review 16/1 (2004). [99–110] link
Navigators

Response to One Nation Under Gods



A FAIR Analysis of: One Nation Under Gods, a work by author: Richard Abanes
 		Becoming Gods
Claim Evaluation
One Nation Under Gods
Chart one nation under gods summary.jpg
Summary chart breakdown to claims tag.jpg

Response to claims made in One Nation Under Gods by Richard Abanes

Summary: In early 2002 a new book entitled One Nation under Gods (ONUG) appeared on bookshelves, promising to tell the "real" history of the Mormon Church. The author attempts to pull disparate sources together to paint a picture that, when compared to objective reality, more closely resembles a Picasso than a Rembrandt—skewed and distorted—obscuring and maligning the actual doctrines and beliefs as understood and practiced by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for more than 150 years. FairMormon's original review of One Nation Under Gods was of the original 2002 hardback edition. The author has responded that there were editorial problems with this edition. We acknowledge that corrections were made in the paperback edition released in 2003 in response to some of the original reviews. Consequently, all previous FairMormon reviews have been edited for accuracy and tone, and the paperback edition of this work has been evaluated on its own merits. (It should be noted that the corrected paperback edition bears no markings indicating that it is a second edition or an updated edition; it simply appears as a paperback edition of the original.) This is an index of claims made in this work with links to corresponding responses. An effort has been made to provide the author's original sources where possible. In the subarticles linked below the hardback edition is represented by "HB" and the paperback edition by "PB."


Jump to details:


Response to claims made in One Nation Under Gods, "Introduction: A Thread of Prophecy"


Jump to details:


Response to claims made in One Nation Under Gods, "Chapter 1: Vagabond Visionaries"


Jump to details:


Response to claims made in One Nation Under Gods, "Chapter 2: Moroni, Magic, and Masonry"


Jump to details:


Response to claims made in One Nation Under Gods, "Chapter 3: From Profit to Prophet"


Jump to details:


Response to claims made in One Nation Under Gods, "Chapter 4: Smith's Golden Book"


Jump to details:


Response to claims made in One Nation Under Gods, "Chapter 5: People of Zion"


Jump to details:


Response to claims made in One Nation Under Gods, "Chapter 6: No Rest for the Righteous"


Jump to details:


Response to claims made in One Nation Under Gods, "Chapter 7: Woe In Ohio"


Jump to details:


Response to claims made in One Nation Under Gods, "Chapter 8: Big Trouble In Little Missouri"


Jump to details:


Response to claims made in One Nation Under Gods, "Chapter 9: March to Martyrdom"


Jump to details:


Response to claims made in One Nation Under Gods, "Chapter 10: A New Beginning"


Jump to details:


Response to claims made in One Nation Under Gods, "Chapter 11: Bloody Brigham"


Jump to details:


Response to claims made in One Nation Under Gods, "Chapter 12: Wars and Rumors of Wars"


Jump to details:


Response to claims made in One Nation Under Gods, "Chapter 13: Unholy Matrimony"


Jump to details:


Response to claims made in One Nation Under Gods, "Chapter 14: The Politics of Compromise"


Jump to details:


Response to claims made in One Nation Under Gods, "Chapter 15: Making the Transition"


Jump to details:


Response to claims made in One Nation Under Gods, "Chapter 16: Mormon Racism: Black Is Not Beautiful"


Jump to details:


Response to claims made in One Nation Under Gods, "Chapter 17: Is Mormonism Christian"


Jump to details:


Response to claims made in One Nation Under Gods, "Chapter 18: Cover-Ups, Conspiracies, and Controversies"


Jump to details:


Response to claims made in One Nation Under Gods, "Postscript" (paperback only)


Jump to details:


Response to claims made in One Nation Under Gods, "Appendix A: Abraham's Book?"


Jump to details:


Response to claims made in One Nation Under Gods, "Appendix B: Failed Joseph Smith Prophecies"


Jump to details:


Response to claims made in One Nation Under Gods, "Appendix C: Recommended Resources"


Jump to details:


Overview

...after seven years, FAIR has been able to raise only twenty-seven objections to a book weighing in at 651 pages (471 pages of main text + nearly 150 pages of endnotes + bibliography + indexes). Particularly interesting is how most these so-called errors-mistakes (minus the ones too petty to even address) have all been resolved in the paperback version.


—The author, posted on his website "ERRATA FOR ONE NATION UNDER GODS" (Dec. 2008 - web page has since been removed. This link goes to the web archive for the page)

∗       ∗       ∗

Notes

Summary: Responses to claims made in "Notes" (473-617) (PB)

Source analysis

Summary: An examination and response to how the author of One Nation Under Gods interprets the sources used to support this work, indexed by page number.

Loaded and prejudicial language

Summary: An examination of how the author employs loaded and prejudicial language in this work in order to discredit Mormonism.

Absurd claims

Summary: Some of the claims made in this work are simply absurd. We list and respond to those claims here.

Presentism

Summary: “Presentism” is an analytical fallacy in which past behavior is evaluated by modern standards or mores. We examine some of our favorite examples of this fallacy in One Nation Under Gods.

Mind reading

Summary: The author often attempts to interpret what Joseph was thinking as a way to lead the reader to a predetermined conclusion regarding Joseph Smith.

Rewording secondary sources

Summary: A list of paragraphs which echo the prose of Fawn Brodie's No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith.

Sarcasm

Summary: The author of One Nation Under Gods uses sarcasm to belittle what he claims to be LDS beliefs and doctrine.


About this work

[M]ore than a few Mormons, although they had never actually read my book, declared without hesitation that it was rife with errors.
—One Nation Under Gods, p. 438 (paperback edition)

We did indeed read the book (both the Hardback and the Paperback), thoroughly. They are, and continue to be, rife with errors.

Quotes from the author

[T]o be honest, your FAIR analysis of the hardbound is actually hurting you in some very interesting ways—and you don't even know it. Suffice it to say, I have been enjoying the many times I've had the pleasure of point out to lots of Mormons (many of them now former Mormons) where FAIR has not been completely honest, and where FAIR has shown itself to be terrifically nit-picky and petty. I thank you.
—The author, commenting on FAIR's previous analysis of this work. Posted to Mormon Apologetics and Discussion Board, Nov. 21, 2008

...what ONUG [One Nation Under Gods] did was to provide needed information to non-Mormons, evangelicals, secularists, and from what I hear, even many Mormons (many of whom, thanks to ONUG, are no longer Mormons).
—The author, commenting on the value of his book. Posted to Mormon Apologetics and Discussion Board, Dec. 7, 2008

Props to FAIR for reacting so quickly to my responses to what they had kept up at their website for 5 years. After my refutation of their so-called critique of One Nation Under Gods was posted, it took them about 1-2 weeks to take everything down. Good job, FAIR!
—The author, responding to this "so-called" critique. The statement, however, is not accurate. The original 27 articles were taken off the FAIR website and moved here to the FAIR Wiki, where over 100 new articles were added. Posted to Mormon Apologetics and Discussion Board, May 14, 2009

∗       ∗       ∗

It should be noted that the author's response to the list of problems documented by FAIR is that the editing on the hardback edition of One Nation Under Gods (ONUG) was incomplete and that many of the problems were corrected in the paperback edition, published a year later. (This corrected paperback edition bears no markings indicating that it is a second edition or an updated edition; it simply appears as a paperback edition of the original.) This review primarily treats the paperback edition of this work, with an acknowledgment of corrections made by the author to the hardback edition.

In early 2002 a new book entitled One Nation under Gods (ONUG) appeared on bookshelves, promising to tell the "real" history of the Mormon Church. In the words of its author,

It is beyond legitimate dispute that the Mormon church has for decades been painting for the general public a decidedly biased picture of the Latter-day Saint faith, especially with regard to the origins of the Book of Mormon. Fortunately, a more objective sketch of Mormonism's earliest years can be drawn using non-LDS witnesses, secular media articles, and private journals (Mormon and non-Mormon).

All of these sources will be used in this book to discover how Mormonism's founder—Joseph Smith—formed, controlled, and expanded his church, which today is one of the wealthiest and most influential religions in the world. [ONUG, xvi]

With his thesis stated and his purpose laid bare, the author attempts to pull disparate sources together to paint a picture that, when compared to objective reality, more closely resembles a Picasso than a Rembrandt—skewed and distorted—obscuring and maligning the actual doctrines and beliefs as understood and practiced by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for more than 150 years.
Retrieved from "https://www.fairlatterdaysaints.org/answers/index.php?title=Criticism_of_Mormonism/Books/One_Nation_Under_Gods&oldid=257895"