The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has 6 million members in the United States today (and 13 million worldwide). Yet, while there has been extensive study of Mormon history, comparatively little scholarly attention has been paid to contemporary Mormons. The best sociological study of Mormon life, Thomas O'Dea's The Mormons, is now over fifty years old. What is it like to be a Mormon in America today? Melvyn Hammarberg attempts to answer this question by offering an ethnography of contemporary Mormons. In The Mormon Quest for Glory, Hammarberg examines Mormon history, rituals, social organization, family connections, gender roles, artistic traditions, use of media, and missionary work. He writes as a sympathetic outsider who has studied Mormon life for decades, and strives to explain the religious world of the Latter-day Saints through the lens of their own spiritual understanding. Drawing on a survey, participant observation, interviews, focus groups, attendance at religious gatherings, diaries, church periodicals, lesson manuals, and other church literature, Hammarberg aims to present a comprehensive picture of the religious world of the Latter-day Saints.

Anyone interested in Book of Mormon archaeology will be fascinated by the amazing story of Thomas Stuart Ferguson. The reader accompanies Ferguson on his exploratory journeys to Mexico and Guatemala in search of the remains of Book of Mormon peoples, assisted through generous funding by the LDS church. He became a closet doubter but made peace with himself and his community without promulgating disbelief.

"Spanning the first decade after the Mormon exodus to the Salt Lake Valley, these fourteen "general epistles" were written by Brigham Young and his counselors in the church's First Presidency. They provide a glimpse of the Mormons' earliest years in the Great Basin and their simultaneous missionary efforts worldwide."--Provided by the publisher.

What do Americans think about Mormons - and why do they think what they do? This is a story where the Osmonds, the Olympics, the Tabernacle Choir, Evangelical Christians, the Equal Rights Amendment, Sports Illustrated, and even Miss America all figure into the equation. The book is punctuated by the presidential campaigns of George and Mitt Romney, four decades apart. A survey of the past half-century reveals a growing tension inherent in the public's views of Mormons and the public's views of the religion that inspires that body.

"A Bison book."Reprint of the 1970 ed. published by Michigan State University Press, East Lansing; with new pref. by the author. Bibliography: p. 214-220.