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Summarized by Kent Larsen
Mormon America Criticized For Being Too Favorable
Chicago Tribune 28May00 A4
By Chris Barsanti
MORMON AMERICA: The Power and the Promise
By Richard N. Ostling and Joan K. Ostling
HarperSanFrancisco, 454 pages, $26
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS -- While many Mormons have been disappointed with Richard
and Joan Ostling's book "Mormon America" because they feel it is too harsh
on the LDS Church, Chris Barsanti, writing in the Chicago Tribune,
criticizes the book for being too soft on Mormonism. Barsanti calls the book
"worshipful," and says that stance colors what could be a groundbreaking work.
Barsanti does say that the book is welcome, and that it is full of "detailed
information about Mormon history, beliefs and controversies," but says that
the Ostling's conclusions come closer to hagiography than objectivity. He
says that while the Ostlings dispute the idea that Mormonism is a fringe
religion, "they do little to disprove it." He claims the description of
Mormon history "tries unsuccessfully to evoke sympathy" and claims that the
Ostlings detail "every wrong ever witnessed on the Mormons," but soft-pedal
troubling events like the Danites and the Mountain Meadows Massacre.
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