knotheadusc's Full Review: Judy Robertson - Out of Mormonism: A Woman's True ...
Over the past month or so, my husband Bill and I have been dealing with some changes. Those of you who have read my reviews in the past may have read about my husband's prior affiliation with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. A few days ago, Bill formally resigned from the LDS Church. We also recently found out that Bill's 18 year old son, who was once a devout Mormon, decided not to serve a mission for the church next year. Instead, he's become an inactive member and moved out of his mother's house. I have never been a Mormon myself, but I have been affected by Mormonism, mostly because of my husband's and his children's ties to the LDS faith. I've spent this week reading books written by people who have left the church. Today, I'm going to review my latest reading material, Judy Robertson's 1997 book Out of Mormonism: A Woman's True Story. This review refers to the 2001 edition of the book.
Out of Mormonism is Judy Robertson's story of how she and her family became Mormons for a few years, and how they came to leave the faith. The book is divided into four parts. The first part, which runs for about 27 pages, is the story of how the Robertsons came to be attracted to Mormonism. The author writes about meeting an Arizona based LDS family while she and her husband, Jim, were on a business trip from their home state of Arkansas. Because they spent a couple of months on this trip, they got to know the LDS family well and were attracted to their wholesome image. Robertson describes the family as fine people and remarks about how they treated her family like their own family. Prior to taking the business trip, Robertson had a spat with a woman who was a member at her previous church and she was still stung from that. I got the idea that the LDS church's clean image coupled with Robertson's anger with the lady from her church led the Robertsons to consider Mormonism. By Robertson's account, everything about the LDS church looked "right" and she believed it would put her on the road to righteousness. The Robertson family joined the church and were apparently happy with it at first.
In Part Two, Robertson writes about her life as a Mormon woman. She describes what it was like to subscribe to the Word of Wisdom, which in very simple terms, refers to the church's requirement that members abstain from drinking alcohol, coffee, or tea, and using tobacco products. Robertson and her husband had enjoyed the occasional cocktail and Robertson liked her coffee. During this part, Robertson and her family moved to Arizona. Robertson also writes about her first experience in the temple. Church members must be "temple worthy" before they can attend the temple and it takes about a year for new converts to become worthy. Robertson describes how she and her husband became "worthy" to enter the temple. The couple had been led to believe that they were in for a very spiritual experience. They were disappointed when the experience wasn't what it was hyped to be.
Part Three is Robertson's account of how she and her husband decided that the LDS church teaches a false doctrine. She explains how they came to that conclusion and the aftermath of their decision to leave the LDS church. Evidently, the Robertsons' departure from the church was hardest on their teenaged daughter, Janet, whose friends were all church members. In this part of the book, Robertson's writing becomes a bit preachy.
In Part Four, Robertson describes her life after Mormonism. Judy Robertson and her husband were not content to simply leave the faith. They felt a moral obligation to lead others away from Mormonism, so they founded Concerned Christians. It soon became their mission to "reveal the truth" about Mormonism to church members. In this part of the book, there are many quotes from the Bible, presumably to show readers how Concerned Christians "know" the LDS church isn't true.
Following the four parts of Out of Mormonism are resources for the reader. There are four appendices, a glossary of Mormon terms, and endnotes. The appendices consist mostly of religious material and advice. Roberston also includes instructions on how to resign from the LDS church. She explains what potential ex Mormons should write in their letter of resignation and where to send it. And she includes the mailing address for her own group, Concerned Christians.
One thing prospective readers should know is that Robertson's tale begins in the late 1960s. Her affiliation with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints lasted from 1967 to 1973; however, that fact is not entirely clear at the beginning of the book. This is important because some things within the church have changed since she was a member. For instance, when Robertson and her husband went through the temple, they took blood oaths promising that they would never reveal the temple's secrets. That part of the temple ceremony has since been stricken. She describes what it was like to wear the one-piece nylon temple garments that were issued to her during her first trip through the temple. However, nowadays, the garments are two piece and made of a different material. In those respects, Robertson's tale is a bit outdated. In other respects, it's not.
The next thing to know about this account is that it's not particularly well written. I didn't find a bunch of typos or grammatical errors. Instead, I found some awkward sentence structure and a dull writing style, especially when Robertson wrote dialog. I was able to finish this book in two days, but I didn't find Robertson's writing very satisfying or interesting. She comes across as very "concerned", but she also seems a bit simple to me. Robertson indulges in a great deal of preaching and repeatedly refers to the LDS church as a cult, even as she insists that there are a lot of nice things about the LDS faith. I don't know whether or not the LDS church is truly a cult, but I don't think Robertson particularly helped her case with her somewhat rabid anti Mormon doctrine stance. I definitely have read other ex Mormon accounts that were more eloquent and engaging than Out of Mormonism was.
Despite my somewhat negative comments about Out of Mormonism, I wasn't completely turned off by the book. Much of what Robertson writes about her experiences with Mormonism rings true to me, based on what my husband has told me and other accounts I've either heard or read. I have not experienced Mormonism myself, but an awful lot of people I've known who have left the church have told similar stories about their experiences. From a testimonial standpoint, Out of Mormonism could be valuable to some people. What's more, Robertson insists that her group doesn't hate Mormons as individuals. Instead, they believe that Mormons are deceived. In Out of Mormonism, Robertson is actually very complimentary to Mormons as people. She makes it clear that she believes the Mormon doctrine is false, not that Mormons are evil people.
I think this book will appeal to devout Christians who are looking for a strong testimony against Mormonism, especially if they were ever attracted to Mormonism. It might also appeal to Mormons who are considering leaving the church in favor of a more evangelical faith. As for me, though I do believe in God and consider myself a Christian, I found Out of Mormonism to be a bit too preachy. I may not know if the LDS church is the one true church, but I do know for a fact that there are better books out there about leaving the LDS church than Out of Mormonism.
Concerned Christians' Web Site: http://www.concernedchristians.org/
The real-life account of one woman's life in Mormonism and how she ended up leaving the church. Part apologetic, part autobiography.More at HotBookSale
The real-life account of one woman s life in Mormonism and how she ended up leaving the church. Part apologetic, part autobiography.More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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