Comments on ‘The Mormon Delusion’ series from Robert Bridgstock, author of ‘The Youngest Bishop in England.’
I am seriously impressed by his 1st Volume: ‘The Truth behind Polygamy and Secret Polyandry.’ Jim is a stickler for detail and a bit of a perfectionist – he wants to get things right and this volume does just that. Packed with detailed information – much of which I never knew before; it is painstakingly laid out, covering the entire early history of polygamy and polyandry – right up to, and past the Manifesto era. I highly recommend it as a serious study of polygamous Mormon history.
Apart from what I once believed to be scripture; I have been influenced by a number of books in my life – regretfully, not the great classic philosophers, but still… men like CS Lewis, the scientist and Christian – Henry Drummond, the Lutheran minister – Richard Wurmbrand, the priest – Richard Rohr, Father Daniel O’Leary, Eckhart Tolle, M Scott Peck, the contemplative – Thomas Merton and the Celtic Poet John O’Donohue. All these and many others, have helped shape my views about the meaning of life and God, because these authors–like me–have believed in some form of divine cause and purposeful existence… but then, I read all 5 volumes of Jim Whitefield’s ‘The Mormon Delusion’ and found myself reassessing and re-evaluating ‘what’ and ‘who’ this God is – especially the God of Mormonism. I appreciate, that within the soul of each LDS member, God may vary widely, therefore, I qualify my meaning by saying that the ‘institutional God’ revealed through countless LDS scripture, manuals and sermons is greatly in question and convincingly challenged by Jim Whitefield. I think his first 3 volumes are just packed with well resourced historical information and I defy the average LDS member who needs to seriously review Mormonism, not to be shocked to the core – should they read with ‘a sincere heart – with real intent.’
When I then glanced at the contents of his last 2 volumes (Vol. 4 The Mormon Missionary lessons and Vol. 5 The Doctrine and Covenants) I thought they would be boring! I thought: ‘Why should I want to read about the Missionary Discussions?‘ And, ‘Reading about the Doctrine and Covenants will also be tedious?’ But I did, and was amazed. If I had to read again any of his books, it would be those last two. Jim brings some very interesting angles and background information on the lunacy of basic Church teachings that we old LDS members once thought were so true. I particularly found his challenges and the scolding of Smith’s absurd god (with a small ‘g’) to be profound as well as hilarious. Seeing through Jim’s eyes, I discovered that the god of the Doctrine and Covenants (Smith invented Revelations) was petty, vengeful, nasty, petulant, arrogant, small minded, deceptive, violent, inconsistent and wholly unreliable… and far from convincing.
Jim repeats himself quite a bit, but the thing is – he is aware of it and tells you the page where he last dealt with the subject properly and then proceeds to give a slightly new angle to the same subject. I personally like repetition; it helps to reinforce things I so easily forgot I had read.
Jim calls himself a ‘Bright.’ A term describing a form of atheism where the naturalistic world view is accepted and the supernatural and mystical, dismissed. What I noticed about all of Jim’s writings through all the volumes, is that he is much restrained with his atheism, which makes me think he holds a very tolerant respect for different beliefs. In only one or two pages in only ‘one’ of his later volumes, does Jim go off in a rant about God or religion and in my opinion, a very justified rant anyway! He calls into question–as I have previously mentioned–the ‘nasty’ ‘vindictive’ attitude of the god that supposedly spoke through Smith… on page 445 of Volume 4, he describes in frustration about the god that never seems to stop blaming and threatening his own people as well as constantly labelling the entire human race as ‘evil’…. “Why can’t the Mormon God, just for once, be NICE – ever?” (My bold emphasis)
Although I have penned my own book on the subject (The Youngest Bishop in England), I would seriously prefer a doubting and serious searcher of truth to read Jim’s volumes before mine as they contain more information and evidence of the hoax.
The author’s grasp and knowledge of science, physics, geology, archaeology and biology, is evident throughout his writings. His journey has been a hard and cruel discovery of facts and like many honest and utterly devout souls who can no longer live a lie, has incurred alienation from his family with suffering and rejection. His books stand as a supreme achievement and offer a light and warning to the world of the real history and face of Mormonism. For me personally, they stand as a major resource and comprehensive evidence to the great Mormon deception; every important issue is there and written with painstaking meticulous care and correctness.
Robert Bridgstock. November 2014.
Jim Whitefield 