Leonard J. Arrington (1917–1999)

A good book, but certainly not great. The subject matter was interesting. But I had a real problem with the writing. One of the most annoying aspects was the way the writers would assume things about the women's lives. It would say something like, "We can guess that Sister X did this as a young woman." Why guess? If you don't know, don't put it in the book! I don't want speculation in a biography. I want stuff that has been verified. Otherwise it's fiction.

Here is the best, one-volume history of that eccentric American religious movement known as Mormonism. Arrington and Bitton (both of them now deceased) were two of the first and the finest practitioners of what is known as the "New Mormon History," an historiography that attempted to combine the finest skills of the historian with either a professed faith commitment to Mormonism, or at minimum a healthy skepticism thereof. In other words, "New Mormon Historians" neither produced history that show more was subordinated to and in service of Mormonism claims of faith, nor that was overtly antagonistic to and suspicious of anything and all things Mormon.
In this case, Arrington and Bitton succeeded admirably. Both were men of faith--Arrington once served as LDS Church Historian (a period known to Mormon historians as "the age of Camelot"), and Bitton was his chief assistant. When both were overthrown by conservative Mormons--chiefly Boyd K. Packer, now the President of Mormonism's so-called "Quorum of the Twelve" and next in line to the Church's presidency--Arrington went quietly to BYU and Bitton to the U of Utah, retiring into academia. Yet both continued to produce works of substance, thwarting Packer's hope to have silenced them permanently.
"The Mormon Experience" does not accept Mormonism's faith claims blindly, nor does it discount them. It is a fine example of two faithful individuals combining their faith with scholarship. Their fine and courageous example has since been a lodestar for many who wrestle with Mormonism's rather outrageous historical claims--angels toting gold plates; temple ceremonies that smack of historical anomalies and Masonic ceremonies; and Joseph Smith's voracious sexual appetites--when weighed against many of its genuine theological insights and innovations.
I for one am glad to have this volume in my library. show less

Okay. I'm going to try and be positive first. First, there are aspects of this information that are wildly fascinating (I think). Attempts to live the "United Order," the Utah War, Brigham Young's unique viewpoints,* Eliza Snow being touted as a feminist for the first time (that I ever heard)-- These are all interesting topics and worth exploring. Especially the latter.

It had its dry humor too. If you've read it, you'd know about the DMC. And there were several times when I laughed out loud show more because of the humor that the saints, not the writer, brought to the tales.

It also brings a bit of realism to the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints** It wasn't all rose gardens when they arrived in Utah and food wasn't always plenteous after the seagulls. Neither was the Kirtland Safety Society the first time the church weathered financial crises.

But the tone is SOOOOO dry. And Arrington, economist that he is, had not yet read Freakonomics or anything by Arthur Brooks. So he didn't know how economics could be presented to be interesting. Perhaps he bit off more than he could chew?


* Let the record show: I love Brigham Young. He is an inhabitant of a foreign country. And Arrington does little here to make him more explicable, but I firmly believe (in spite of his foibles and, perhaps because of, his humanity) that he was a prophet.

** Perhaps what rankled the most was his unending use of the nickname. But BY and others used it. So I'm overreacting. show less

Find out about the amazing person behind Conan Doyle's unintentionally slanderous, cardboard portrayal in A Study in Scarlet. My only regret is that the one-volume format made it impossible for the very able Arrington to include much, much more of Brother Brigham's wit, wisdom, and impromptu eloquence. One of America's most outstanding leaders by any measure, he makes Mitt Romney and many others look like latter-day pygmies.