Criticism of Mormonism/Books/One Nation Under Gods/Introduction

A FAIR Analysis of: Criticism of Mormonism/Books A work by author: Richard Abanes

Claims made in "Chapter 1: Vagabond Visionaries"

Claims made in "Introduction: A Thread of Prophecy"

Page	Claim	Response	Author's sources
xv, 477n2 (HB) ix, 475n2 (PB)	"[S]ome of the least reliable reports on Mormon history, especially with regard to its earliest years, are those that have been produced by the LDS church..."	Use of sources: Historical Suppression in the Church	Boyd K. Packer, interview with D. Michael Quinn, 1976. Quoted in Smith, 105, endnote #22. (PB) Boyd K. Packer, "The Mantle is Far, Far Greater Than the Intellect," BYU Studies [Summer 1981], vol. 21, 264-265). (HB,PB)
xv, 477n5 (HB) ix, 475n5 (PB)	LDS leaders "attempt to control depictions of the Mormon past.	Use of sources: Calling All Mormon Scholars	Allen Roberts, Private Eye Weekly, October 20, 1993, 12. Quoted in Jerald Tanner and Sandra Tanner, "Legacy: A Distorted View of Mormon History,: Salt Lake City Messenger (#88), May 1995, 4
xv-xvi, 477n6 (HB)	"Mormon Scholars too often write history that, if not blatantly, at least tacitly defends the faith."	Use of sources: An Example of Biased Histories	John E. Hallwas and Roger D. Launius, Cultures in Conflict: A Documentary History of the Mormon War in Illinois (Logan, UT: Utah State University Press, 1995), 2-3. The balance of endnote is a laundry list of additional sources critical of the way history is treated by faithful LDS. It is deleted here, as it is not directly related to the use of the quote in question.
xvii	The "White Horse" prophecy predicts the "transformation of the U.S. government into a Mormon-ruled theocracy.	The White Horse prophecy	John J. Roberts, Journal of John J. Roberts Orson Hyde, Journal of Discourses 6:152 James Burgess, James Burgess Notebook, LDSCA, vol. 1 cited in Andrew F. Ehat and Lyndon W. Cook, The Words of Joseph Smith: The Contemporary Accounts of the Nauvoo Discourses of the Prophet Joseph, p. 279. Sandra Tanner, "Joseph Smith's 'White Horse' Prophecy,"
xviii, 475n5 (HB)	The "White Horse" prophecy "continues to be a dominant element of the faith espoused by Joseph Smith's followers" because they believe that they will be "officers and administrators" during Christ's millennial reign.	The White Horse prophecy Use of sources: The Mormon Quest for Power	Fred Esplin, "Mormon journalist and University of Utah spokesperson", "The Saints Go Marching On," Utah Holliday, June 1981, 34.
xix	Various Church leaders have reiterated the "White Horse" prophecy.	The White Horse prophecy	Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses 2:182 George Q. Cannon, Journal of Discourses 23:123; 23:104 Preston Nibley, Deseret News, December 15, 1948 quoted in Ogden Kraut, The White Horse Prophecy, 65
xx, 479n10 (HB) xiv, 477n10	Mormonism existed as a "radical, immoral, and un-American band of religious zealots" (HB) corrected to Mormonism "was perceived as a radical, immoral, and un-American band of religious zealots" (PB)	Use of sources: Perception and Reality	Fred Esplin, "Mormon journalist and University of Utah spokesperson", "The Saints Go Marching On," Utah Holliday, June 1981, 33.
xx, 479n15 (HB) xiv, 477n15 (PB)	The Church will rebuild the government and restore economic prosperity in preparation for Jesus Christ setting up a theocracy in Missouri.	Use of sources: Christ Setting up a Theocracy in Missouri	Bruce McConkie, Mormon Doctrine (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1958; second edition, 1966), 855. During a December 23, 1866 sermon, Brigham Young declared that at Christ's second coming, he would first appear in "the land of America" (Brigham Young, December 23, 1866, JOD [Liverpool: B. Young, Jr., 1867; lithographed reprint of original, 1966], vol. 11, 279.) Note: The hardback has the page number incorrectly specified as page 249, which was corrected in the paperback.
xx, 479n17 (HB)	"Mormons thereafter will reign with Christ, and every American citizen, along with the rest of the world, will be forced to recognize Mormonism as the one true religion."	The White Horse prophecy Use of sources: Destroying Governments and Religions	Orson Hyde, Journal of Discourses 7:53
xxi	As for other governments and religions, according to Joseph Smith, they "must eventually be destroyed from the earth."	Other governments and religions to be destroyed from the earth? Use of sources: Destroying Governments and Religions	History of the Church 5:212
xxiv	The Church refuses to divulge "routine (financial) information that other religions are happy to provide over the phone."		Richard N. and Joan K. Ostling, Mormon America: The Power and the Promise, (New York:HarperCollins Publishers, 2000), 115. ( Index of claims ) This is simply a repeat of the Ostling's claim.
xxiv	Mormons believe that they are "morally, ethically, and spiritually superior to non-Mormons."		Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, 4:269 Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation 1:236"