Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: The Mormon Hierarchy: Extensions of Power by D. Michael Quinn ISBN: 1-56085-060-4 Publisher: Signature Books Pub. Date: February, 1997 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $44.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.22 (18 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: The Human History of "Gods in Embryo"
Comment: Dr. Quinn's book is a remarkable accomplishment. For a brief time, in the 70's and 80's, the historical office of the LDS church allowed for some objective, professional examination of its records. Quinn brings us some of the fruits of that time. This is not "faith-promoting" history-Deseret Book and Bookcraft have taken care of that-but shows the Brethren in all their human glory. Some reviewers have indicated that this volume has not threatened their LDS testimonies, but only confirmed what they already knew, that church leaders are human and fallible; other reviewers may be threatened by this realization, although many past presidents have pointed it out. The marketing of the infallibility of church leaders continues, perhaps because it gives comfort to those church members who are intolerant of ambiguity, but also because toadying is often rewarded in organizations.
Extensions of Power is actually several books. It is topically arranged to consider more or less controversial aspects of the church leadership-violence, involvement in politics, etc. It also includes, as the earlier companion volume did, hundreds of pages of notes and a detailed chronology of church activities from 1848 to 1996. We are afforded a glimpse into the complex personalities, power factions, and challenges of maintaining, growing and adapting a religious movement to a constantly changing and evolving U. S. and world culture. I was by turns frustrated with church leadership and empathetic with them in their struggle to understand and accommodate 'the world' without losing their unique identity. I was also able to see how present problems have their roots in the past, and the futile efforts of those leaders--such as Gordon B. Hinckley and Boyd K. Packer--who would like to bury the past.
Mormonism is a religion which was established and grew during historical, literate times, and leaders and members must come to terms with the difficulties of their history. Despite Correlation committees, Strengthening the Members Committees and million dollar public relations and marketing campaigns, and particularly since the advent of the internet, historical problems will not go away. For the questioning believer or the student of religions and U. S. history, Dr. Quinn's book is a very useful tool in understanding how the present Mormon church came to be.
Rating: 4
Summary: Another fine work by Quinn, exposing the mormon illusion...
Comment: Quinn has done another excellent job in this work and it's companion. As usual , some of the reviews are filled with righteous indignation by those who likely haven't read the book, and are objecting based on the premise that someone would dare peer into the highly secretive world of the elite club that runs the mormon church with an iron fist. This book is enormous, and a large percentage is taken up by footnotes. This is NOT speculation on Quinn's part; he has assembled the documentation and dares the reader to make their own assumptions. You likely would not sit down to read this straight through, but I find it useful to look at by section, depending on what interests me at that time. The more you look into this subject, the more you start to see the "brethren" as an exclusive club populated by familial relations more so than by men "called" of God. Having served in a mormon bishopric, I can attest that the decision making process is a lot more about pragmatically making sure everyone has a job to keep them busy than it is divine revelation. The top hierarchy is no different. Even as a strident critic of mormonism I was a little shocked by the impropriety going on. Personal loans from the church members tithe that was later forgiven? This from the allegedly lay leadership of the mormon church? Sounds more like Enron and Global Crossing than a church organization. As with most books of this nature, it is excellent for those who have left mormonism, Christians studying mormonism to help witness and evangelize them and open-minded mormon members who can get past the idea that this gerontocracy is full of holy men called to service. Read this and see for yourself that the brethren are where they are because they toed the party line, did the right favors or were related to the right people and now profit from book sales and "living allowances".
Rating: 1
Summary: He Just Gets It All Wrong
Comment: Nice effort Quinn, but merely relating the "Church Hierarchy" with the power of man was your first mistake in this book, and there are many more points of view and opinions in this book that are so far from the truth that I could not read such antiquated ridicule anymore. This book is not truth, and contains little fact that hasn't been twisted for the author's design.
There is no truth to the claim that "The Brethren" are all appointed merely by relation. Yes, there are those who have had close knit relations with each other all of their lives, even those that were and are related. But, what would you expect when less than fifty years ago, the LDS Church had less than half the membership it has now to gain it's leaders from? Consider the fact that many of these men lived or are living to be almost a century old. A Century ago, most memebers of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints were related, sometimes closely. Would not a few good families rear a few good boys to become a few good men? Why and how can Quinn claim that this is somehow a bloodline operation? One reviewer claimed that this disproves the divinity of their claim to a calling of God, because some may be related. Did not Christ himself call some who were brothers as part of the Twelve Apostles? There are further claims to this view that they cannot be called of God because it is "who you know" that gets you in to this "elite Club" and that you have to "toe the party line"... ad infinitum...
It just isn't true.
If Quinn wanted a diverse look at the LDS Church Leadership (which you as a reader should demand), he fell way short. Did he even try to get to know these men? NO! NO! NO! How can you put up claims against men you didn't even try to understand. Someone compared them to the scandalous power mongerers of Enron or WorldCom. What a joke. If that is what you got out of this book, I guess it did it's job. What it fails to mention is the fact that these men actually live very humbly. They don't tell members how to vote. They don't tell members what their personal opinions should be. They don't have million dollar estates on property taxless Florida land with pools and the like. They don't have private jets (President Hinkley flies on a corporate jet that LDS Billionare Hunstman donates to him, all flights are paid for by Huntsman, not the church.) They don't travel in limousines and large escapades of gallivance. They donate their entire lives to helping others.
The leaders are given very small compensation by the tithes of the church, of which members are very aware. How else are they to live? They cannot have jobs with their calling to the Quorum of the Twelve. Some churches use all or most of their donated money to pay or compensate the minister or preacher, so i don't see anything wrong with these men getting very small compensation from the "coffers" of the LDS Chruch. Church finances are presented by their auditing office every April. A claim was made that no one knows the finances of the chruch, because they are not public. What private institution makes their finances public? And the members do in fact know where the money goes. Every ward is given tithing operation money, which the ward member use for their operations. It also goes to stakes and areas, as well as temple districts and church properties. A large portion goes to releif agencies of the church which give aid to countries and people around the world in times of need. All of which expenses are recorded and audited by the Church Auditing Committee. The book fails to mention all of this.
The claim that somehow The Bretheren did something haneous by making loans of Church money to others that went bad and writing them off as bad debts of the Church is a point that is made to make them look like crooks and decievers. The Presidency is Incorporated just like any corporate business, city, or other church that owns property or businesses. Yes, it is sad that those debts could not be repaid, but the company I work for (a financial company) writes of 2 billion dollars in bad debts each year, lawfully and within reason. (Tax laws give this option to corporations on purpose!). Sometimes people run into tough times. I'll bet you have.
Lastly, the statement is made: "History and actions of the past are, in general, lost to the current generations of saints..." What a completely false statement. There are so many within the church that know fully and wholly what has occurred in church history, and probably know much more detail and truth about the history than Quinn could find. The fact that the church history documents are, for ther most part, open to the public is in itself a statement against that claim. The very library of information that Quinn used for this book is open for members and neighbors to research and generate such opinions.
This book does not in any way examine the "Mormon Hierarchy" in the totality that you would expect. Rather, Quinn makes a lot of royalty pay on claims that others have been making since 1830 (the founding year of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints.) Quinn must have been afraid to look at the lives of the people he so fully decries in this book because I don't remember one instance where he interviewed or spoke to these men or their counterparts. So, Quinn, what kept you from doing so? With such claims, it was required if this book should have any merit at all. I'll just say this. If you analyze anything in this world, and merely look for faults, you will find them. These men are just that, men. They have faults. Jesus's own Twelve Apostles also had faults, some denied Christ, others betrayed Him, and some had little faith. Does this mean that Christ's own were not called of God, to be lead by Jesus the Christ? Quinn's arguments just don't hold up when looked at in a panoramic view. Skip this one.
 |
Title: Early Mormonism and the Magic World View by D. Michael Quinn ISBN: 1560850892 Publisher: Signature Books Pub. Date: December, 1998 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
 |
Title: The New Mormon History: Revisionist Essays on the Past by D. Michael Quinn ISBN: 1560850116 Publisher: Signature Books Pub. Date: February, 1992 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
 |
Title: No Man Knows My History : The Life of Joseph Smith by Fawn M. Brodie ISBN: 0679730540 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 01 August, 1995 List Price(USD): $18.00 |
 |
Title: Insider's View of Mormon Origins by Grant H. Palmer ISBN: 1560851570 Publisher: Signature Books Pub. Date: October, 2002 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
 |
Title: In Sacred Loneliness: The Plural Wives of Joseph Smith by Todd Compton ISBN: 156085085X Publisher: Signature Books Pub. Date: December, 1997 List Price(USD): $39.95 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
