Description

(From back cover)

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

"The Ostlings ... have succeeded splendidly. . . . [This book] is a scrupulous, fair-minded account, one that neither shies away from the controversies that have shaped the perception of Mormonism nor has any particular ax to grind about them."

—Los Angeles Times Book Review

"This definitive introduction to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) for most non-Mormons will also be essential reading for Mormons who are interested in something other than an 'all is well' analysis of their church. Highly recommended."

—Library Journal

"Reading Mormon America is two parts enjoyment and one part guilt. How is it possible for a well-read person to know so little about the fastest-growing religious organization in America? Yet even a reader who has some familiarity with the tenets of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will discover an embarrassment of riches in this book."

—Seattle Times

Table of Contents

Preface
Introduction: A New World Faith

Chapter

1. Sealed with Blood
2. Beginnings: A Very American Gospel
3. The American Exodus
4. Polygamy Then and Now
5. Redefining the Kingdom of God
6. Almost Mainstream
7. Mormons, Inc.
8. Some Latter-day Stars
9. The Power Pyramid
10. Families Forever
11. A Peculiar People
12. Rituals Sacred and Secret
13. Two by Two
14. Saintly Indoctrination
15. Faithful History
16. The Gold Bible
17. Discovering "Plain and Precious Things"
18. "How God Came to Be God"
19. Are Mormons Christians? Are Non-Mormons Christians?
20. Rivals and Antagonists
21. Dissenters and Exiles
22. Mormonism in the Twenty-first Century

Appendix:

1. Joseph Smith's King Follet Discourse
2. How the Income and Wealth Estimates Were Made