Lyndon Johnson invaded the Dominican Republic. Richard Nixon sponsored a coup attempt in Chile. Ronald Reagan waged covert warfare in Nicaragua. Nearly a dozen times during the Cold War, American presidents turned their attention from standoffs with the Soviet Union to intervene in Latin American affairs. In each instance, it was declared that the security of the United States was at stake—but, as Michael Grow demonstrates, these actions had more to do with flexing presidential muscle than...

Three months before his death, Joseph Smith established the Council of Fifty, a confidential group that he believed would protect the Latter-day Saints in their political rights and one day serve as the government of the kingdom of God. The Council of Fifty operated under the leadership of Joseph Smith and then Brigham Young, playing a key role in Joseph Smith's presidential campaign and in preparing for the Mormon exodus to the West. The council's minutes had never been available until th...

Founder of the largest indigenous Christian church in American history, Joseph Smith published the 584-page Book of Mormon when he was twenty-three and went on to organize a church, found cities, and attract thousands of followers before his violent death at age thirty-eight. Richard Bushman, an esteemed cultural historian and a practicing Mormon, moves beyond the popular stereotype of Smith as a colorful fraud to explore his personality, his relationships with others, and how he received ...

A gripping account of the mob killing of Joseph Smith, founder of Mormonism“American Crucifixion paints a brilliant picture of religious experimentation, public intolerance, and the making of a martyr.”—Chicago TribuneOn June 27, 1844, in the dusty frontier town of Carthage, Illinois, Joseph Smith and three of his associates waited anxiously in a jail cell. The dynamic founding prophet of Mormonism no longer had a congregation to p...

Who Are the Mormons?The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: - Has over 12.5 million members worldwide and is one of the fastest-growing and most centrally controlled U.S.-based religions - Is by far the richest religion in the United States per capita, with $25 to $30 billion in estimated assets and $5 to $6 billion more in estimated annual income - Boasts such influential members as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and presidential candidate Mitt Romney

“From one of the brightest of the new generation of Mormon-studies scholars comes a crisp, engaging account of the religion’s history.”—The Wall Street JournalWith Mormonism on the nation’s radar as never before, religious historian Matthew Bowman has written an essential book thatpulls back the curtain on more than 180 years of Mormon history and doctrine. He recounts the church’s origins and explains how the Mormon vision has evolved—and with it the este...

"A concise and eminently teachable history of the most important American-made world scripture . . . [and] its cultural and religious significance." — ChoiceLate one night in 1823 Joseph Smith, Jr., was reportedly visited in his family's farmhouse in upstate New York by an angel named Moroni. According to Smith, Moroni told him of a buried stack of gold plates that were inscribed with a history of the Americas' ancient peoples, and which would restore the p...

Beginning with a handful of members in 1830, the church that Joseph Smith founded has grown into a world-wide organization with over 12 million adherents, playing prominent roles in politics, sports, entertainment, and business. Yet they are an oddity. They are considered wholesome, conservative, and friendly on one hand, and clannish, weird, and self-righteous on the other. Mormonism: A Very Short Introduction explains who Mormons are: what they believe and how they live their li...

Brigham Young was a rough-hewn New York craftsman whose impoverished life was electrified by the Mormon faith. Turner provides a fully realized portrait of this spiritual prophet, viewed by followers as a protector and by opponents as a heretic. His pioneering faith made a deep imprint on tens of thousands of lives in the American Mountain West.

Part l: Mitt Romney is both a participant and victim of the Mormon Religion. Mormonism is a well-masked cult that enslaves the minds of those raised in it. Did you know that Mitt Romney truly believes when he leaves this earth he will become a literal “God”, equal to Jesus Christ, and be awarded his own planet to “Lord” over? Mitt will call his wife, Ann, onto his planet in order to have continuous celestial sex to populate it with spirit babies who will then pop down (be reborn) to earthy...

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormon Church) has generally been viewed by the public as anti-evolutionary in its doctrine and teachings. But official statements on the subject by the Church’s highest governing quorum and/or president have been considerably more open and diverse than is popularly believed.This book compiles in full all known authoritative statements (either authored or formally approved for publication) by the Church’s highest leaders on the to...

More than two decades after its original publication, Thomas G. Alexander’s Mormonism in Transition still engages audiences with its insightful study of the pivotal, early years of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Serving as a vital read for both students and scholars of American religious and social history, Alexander’s book explains and charts the Church’s transformation over this 40-year period of both religious and American history.For those familiar with the LDS...