What's Wrong with Mormons by B. Jay Gladwell--Common Misconceptions

With a title like What's Wrong with Mormons? I paused for a moment when asked to host this tour. I was like, "Gee, is that a nice thing to say?" Then I read the subtitle, "a good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit", a Bible verse that our children will be learning more about at Vacation Bible School this year.

Today's guest blogger is B. Jay Gladwell, author of What's Wrong with Mormons? - a good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit. He'll discuss common misconceptions people have regarding Mormons and how people can find out the truth.

B.J.G.: What are three misconceptions about Mormons, what is the truth, and where can the truth be found?

When one considers the vast number of misconceptions about Mormons (members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), attempting to select only three is a daunting task at best. The single greatest misconception about Mormons is we are not considered Christians.

Perhaps the grossest misconception argues that we are not Christians. Not one of these arguments have anything to do with whether or not we accept Jesus as the Christ (the Messiah—the Savior and Redeemer of all mankind). Nothing could further from the truth. Of course we do!

So the question must be asked, how does one define “Christian”? Webster’s Online Dictionary defines the term as: “one who professes belief in the teachings of Jesus Christ.” By definition, Mormons qualify as Christians.

Recently, I was interviewed on a talk-show radio program. During the course of that interview, the host (not a member of the LDS Church) asked, “Do you believe in Jesus Christ?” and “Do you believe He is the Son of God?” Both questions were answered in the affirmative. Then, much to his credit, he said, “All right, my Bible tells me that all I need to do to be saved is to repent of my sins and accept the Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God. And this is where I have a problem with my evangelical brothers and sisters, who in the world are we to suggest that you, or anybody else, is wrong if you have met the requirements of salvation?”

Herein lays the heart of the matter. What the opponents of the Church have said, those who refuse to recognize Mormons as Christians, in so many words, is that the term “Christian” is only defined to mean “those who believe as I believe.” When a person claims Mormons aren’t Christians what he’s really saying is Mormons don’t embrace the traditional idea of the Trinity. “Their Jesus is different from our Jesus,” is the usual response.

In his book, Are Mormons Christians?, author Stephen E. Robinson states, “If the term Christian is used, as it is in standard English, to mean someone who accepts Jesus Christ as the divine Son of God and the Savior of the world, then the charge that we aren’t Christians is false. However, if the word Christian is given an overly narrow definition, then it is merely a way of saying LDS Christians differ in some degree from other Christians. No one ‘owns’ the term Christian or has the right to deny it to others who worship Jesus as the divine Son of God.”

This misunderstanding as to what Mormons believe about Jesus Christ has grown out of the unfortunate reality that non-Mormons go to other non-Mormons in an effort to figure out what is it Mormons believe. How absurd! Would you go to a Baptist to learn what the Catholics believe?

So this dilemma leads to the answer to the second half of the question posed above. To learn the truth about what Mormons believe, ask a practicing Mormon. It’s that simple!

About the book:

What’s Wrong Wrong With Mormons? was written as a result of the falsehoods and misinformation that continues to be perpetuated by those who are less than honest. The author, B. Jay Gladwell, invites the reader to come and reason together. Using a conversational style, he discusses the basic doctrines of the restored Gospel, based on the teachings found in the Holy Bible and latter-day scriptures.

About the author: B. Jay Gladwell is an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Having served in several leadership positions in the Church on the local level, he currently serves as the Gospel Doctrine teacher in his ward. He received and MFA from the University of Miami in screen writing and has taught various writing and cinema classes on the university level in South Florida.

He and his wife have four grown children and live in Miami, Florida.

You can visit his website at www.whatswrongwithmormons.com or his blog at www.whats-wrong-with-mormons.blogspot.com.


The WHAT'S WRONG WITH MORMONS? VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR '08 will officially begin on August 4, 2008 and continue all month long. You can visit B. Jay's tour stops at www.virtualbooktours.wordpress.com in August to find out more about him and his book!

As a special promotion for all our authors, Pump Up Your Book Promotion is giving away a FREE virtual book tour to a published author with a recent release or a $25 Amazon gift certificate to those not published who comments on our authors' blog stops. More prizes will be announced as they come available. One winner per author will be announced on our tour blog on August 31!

This virtual book tour has been brought to you by:

Season of Sacrifice by Tristi Pinkston--book review

Season of Sacrifice by Tristi Pinkston is a powerful story of faith rising up against seemingly insurmountable odds.

Ben Perkins wants more out of life than working in the coal mines of Wales, so when The Church begins organizing shiploads of Saints to go across to New York and then onto Utah, he decides to leave his home and journey to America. He leaves behind his sweetheart, young Mary Ann Williams, but he promises to send enough money for her passage as soon as he can.

After receiving Ben's wages, Mary Ann travels with the rest of Ben's family to America. Mary Ann and Ben are married in October 1869. The rest of Mary Ann's family, including her younger sister, Sarah, join them in Utah in 1878.

When the Perkins family is asked to join the San Juan mission to create a trail through Southern Utah, Sarah accompanies them to help care for the children.

The planned six-week journey, turns into six months of hard labor as the Saints blast through cliffs, build roads, and create dugways to make a trail to San Juan. They survive dangerous conditions, believing they cannot turn back because it is what the Lord has called them to do.

Relief comes at last when they finally settle in San Juan. But relief for Ben, Mary Ann, and Sarah is short-lived. Ben announces that he has been called to enter into a plural marriage and to take Sarah as his second wife. Can these Saints follow the Lord's commandments? Can they push aside their own feelings and practice obedience? Will their lives ever be good again?

I approached this novel with a a tiny bit of anxiety. I had only read one other book that had Mormon characters in it and they weren't the good guys. In addition, I didn't know how much polygamy was going to play a role in this novel or how it would be portrayed. The author did an amazing job with this story and I can honestly say that my anxiety was unnecessary.

Season of Sacrifice tells the story of Tristi Pinkston's great-great grandfather Ben Perkins and his family. Their devotion to their faith is inspiring. The hardships they faced--astounding. The decisions they had to make are unthinkable in this day and age. They were true pioneers in every sense of the word.

Pinkston broke the book up into four parts--each flowing nicely into the other. From the time Ben appears as a coal miner through to the birth of the first child born to Sarah and Ben Perkins, you follow him and his family through every emotion, every decision, every hardship. You journey with them in the cramped quarters onboard the ship to America. You ride the dusty trail with them. You're there as they blast through the cliff that will become known as "Hole in the Rock". You feel their relief when they finally arrive at San Juan. And mostly, you feel for both Sarah and her sister, Mary Ann, as they struggle to obey the Lord's commandments.

Pinkston provides a Cast of Characters at the beginning of the novel, which allows the reader to reference back if necessary...though I was so caught up in this fascinating story, I never needed to refer to it. In addition to the Epilogue, Pinkston provides a list of Chapter Notes, which tells the reader what is historically accurate and what is portrayed in such a way as to add to the plot of the story. She also provides a touching Afterword about polygamy, which seeks to help readers understand the origins of plural marriage and it's place in the Mormon Church, and indicates her own difficulties in writing about Sarah's marriage to Ben. Also included are some wonderful family photos to provide faces to some of the characters the reader meets along the way.

Season of Sacrifice is a gripping page-turner that will find you clinging to the very last word!


Title: Season of Sacrifice
Author: Tristi Pinkston
Publisher: Golden Wings Enterprises
ISBN: 978-0-9794340-1-3
U.S. Price: $16.95