Early Mormonism and the Magic World View

Early Mormonism and the Magic World View

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Excellent
An extensive and comprehensive review of the beginnings of Mormonism and the actual driving forces behind the movement. It was written by a much maligned but none the less excellent Mormon historian. It is a must read for all those who want to understand the real roots of Mormonism and not the public relations blurbs generated by the Church Of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints/Mormon church in this day and age.

Michael Quinn has been excommunicated for his honesty about a church that he still professes to love. He loves it warts and all and some of the warts are in his book. Not for the believer who only wants the gloss. It isn't the "faith promoting" take on the church that the church advocates its members read and in fact, only read. For the serious investigator or student of Mormonism, this is a must read. The fact that so many church members and the church itself has come out so strongly against Dr. Quinn and his books is proof that the unattractive truth is there for all to see.

The research for this book was done over years of study in the well hidden files and records of the LDS church at Brigham Young University and LDS archives, during the time that Dr. Quinn was allowed access to these. This book wasn't written out of Dr. Quinn's hat as Joseph Smith wrote the Book of Mormon. This is the real deal!

1 Star Citation Liberation
I read the first two chapters… and reviewed the citationz. In my opinion Dr. Quinn is not much of a historian..his conclusions are leaps. I may or may not read the rest of the book. It is to difficult and time consuming to check each reference. (Im surprised that Dr. Quinn didn't accuse Joe Smith from magically jumping over the moon with a citation of the cow jumping over the moon.) I question Dr. Quinn's abilities as a historacle writer.

3 Stars Do you believe in magic?
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints,like evangelicals and Pentecostals,discourages its followers from pursuing the occult. This is ironic, considering their founder Joseph Smith's fascination with it. "Early Mormonism and the Magical Worldview" is a scholarly,and somewhat dry,work from controversial Mormon historian Michael Quinn. In it, Quinn explains how early Mormons used divining rods and seer stones,wore amulets,engaging in folk magic that is now officially condemned.

Like other Mormon scholars,Quinn draws parallels between Mormon temple rituals with Gnostic mysteries and Freemasonry. In Gnostic texts,initiates are taught magic passwords to become exalted,as Pres.Brigham Young spoke of "passing angels who stand as sentinels being enabled to give them they key words,the signs and tokens,pertaining to the Holy Priesthood."

Joseph Smith's occult practices went beyond the temple. When he and his wife Emma excavated the Book of Mormon,it was on September 22,the autumnal equinox. They performed specific rituals such as wearing black and riding black horses. Joseph Smith also gave amulets to his plural wives Eliza Snow and Zina Huntington (a polyandrous woman) with mysterious sigils. Some of his plural wives had Venus amulets,sexual emblems. He also had Jupiter talismans to symbolize power. Joseph Smith also believed in astrology. The occult helped bring about the Mormon faith as it is today.

The magical worldview lives on in Mormonism. This partly explains why Mormons,unlike evangelicals&Pentecostals,tend to not condemn the Harry Potter series. Mormons regard their temple undergarments as amulets,protecting them from harm.Mormon athletes are more likely to have "good luck practices" (carrying special coins,wearing lucky charms) than Catholic or Protestant ones. While official Mormon publications have condemned astrology,belief in astrology thrives among ordinary Mormons. In 1998,an LDS apostle told the General Conference that the church was founded on April 6,1830,because "there was a full moon shining." As in earlier times,Mormons still believe in pyramidology,even in its highest echelons. The Salt Lake Temple itself is a testament in stone to Mormon magical thinking,with its sunstone and carvings depicting the lunar phases. Of all the homegrown forms of spirituality, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints remains the most magical.

5 Stars Wonderful Book
I have studied a great number of religions along with their roots and traditions. Quinn's books in general are among the best I have read on any religion. I feel that this book specifically is the best. It is a scholarly text providing multiple sources for many of the footnotes. In this second edition, Quinn directly addresses the criticisms of Mormon apologists and shows that the criticisms are without basis. This book puts the Mormon Church in a context of the time and events surrounding its formation. It sparked an additional interest in 20th century folk magic, Kabbalism, Gnosticism and Freemasonry. This also lead to additional studies on other early American religions and common roots of doctrine and practice.

5 Stars Another 5-star for Quinn
Quinn's research, and great perspective on things shine through with this analysis into magic and how it affected Joseph Smith and his family and followers. It is quite interesting the evolution of this book. From being frowned upon, to having deseret book sell it in their stores (which is another subject).

Quinn is superb in this book. The writing style is easy to pore over, and the research is quite impressive. His organization, to me, is fine and what he goes over seems to be a thorough dig into the magic aspect of early mormonism. I recommend this book for those who are very sturdy in their faith, or for those looking for another aspect of Joseph Smith after they have read a couple of his biographies already.

Buy/More Info

Sphere: Related Content

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3. Out of Mormonism – A Womans True Story
4. David O McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism
5. Beyond Mormonism – An Elders Story
6. The Book of Mormon – The Earliest Text
7. The God Makers – A Shocking Expose of What the Mormon Church Really Believes
8. Leaving the Saints How I Lost the Mormons and Found My Faith
9. Catholics and Mormons Report Gains in Membership
10. The Reincarnation of Joseph Smith: The New Mormons

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