Early Mormonism and the Magic World View

Rating:
Summary: A brilliant work of scholarship and history
Review: D. Michael Quinn has written a great book on the powerful links between magic thinking and the religious impulse. Quinn's research is extraordinary in its detail and has many important implications for humanity's constant quest to find reassuring signs and portents in the often dangerous world around us. Do not be dissuaded by carping comments about Quinn's writting style or point of view. This is a well-written, thoroughly researched book. The "magic world view" that Quinn explores so well is not limited to Mormonism, but is a feature of ALL religions in their formative stages. See the Old Testament (Exodus 7:9, Numbers 21:8) among many cites) for examples of the magic world view in early Judaism. The brazen serpent of Moses was clearly a cult object and was later destroyed for that reason (II Kings 18:4). Quinn deserves praise and applause for a job well done.

Rating:
Summary: Quinn's Best, but . . .
Review: Early Mormonism and the Magic World View is Quinn's best book, the research is amazing, the sources belivable, and presentation is well organized. Quinn has a particular slant on Mormon history that contributes to his powerful presentation. I find his introduction great as he explains that he believes in LDS Doctrine, and that no document discovered or undiscovered would change that belief. Quinn is a believing radical and this is evident in his argument. The story is assembled very well and accessible to those not entirely familier with Mormon history, some back ground would make the book much more enjoyable, "No Man Knows My History" would make a good first read.
I only give this book three stars due to Quinn's consistant conflict with FARMS writers that defend the orthodox LDS Church version of the past. I don't believe that FARMS have produced enough quality history to really merit the specific attention Quinn gives them. Quinn does use this time directed at FARMS to further support his argument, and I would strongly recommend this book for those who have read about Mormon history and would like to read more.

Rating:
Summary: A necessity for a true student of Mormon History
Review: I consider myself to be a faithful member of the church and at times the information that Quinn shared caused me to question my faith. I believe that if everything presented in a book is agreeable then it is probably not faith strengthening. The fact that I had to re-think my assumptions at many isntances was actually an enlightening and faith promoting experience.

As a believer in religion and in history this book created a dichotomy of sorts withing my mind and soul. My scientific values sit at one end prompting me to believe that the evidences of occult practice in the church prove its falsity. However my values for cultural differences, and my understanding of the different lenses that accompany those cultures, persuade me towards the truthfulness of the LDS church. The church has stood firm through time and brought hope to people with a magic world view and a scientific world view.

This book was not an easy read, I had to use an encyclopedia of religion and a dictionary to get through it, but it was well worth it, in knowledge gained. The historical research is phenomenal, but of course not perfect. People who write history do it subjectively as well as people who research history and rerecord it. I doubt we can fault Quinn for his subjective inclusions in his work, when it is apparent he has labored for objectivity whenever possible. The book is truly a relic to be held on to because its research will, perhaps, never be duplicated to that intensity again.

Rating:
Summary: Polemic and Ironic
Review: In this work Quinn (an excommunicated mormon) has addressed an amazingly complicated and controversial subject and made it even more controversial. His knowledge on the subject is obviously immense. Half of the 700 pages consists of notes proving he has done his research (Although some scholars most notably William Hamblin a professor at BYU have accused Quinn of falsifying sources) Unfortunately only about half of the 325 pages of written materiel seemed to be devoted to the comparison of mormonism and magical practices. The book adresses three main issues with ideas interweaved throughout the work.
First, Quinn give numerous explanations of how he has arrived to certain conclusions. He gives the reader a crash course in how to be a historian and history should be written according to him. Unfortunately, this is a bit didactic and manipulative as Quinn gives things his own little logical twist to lead the reader to share his conclusion. He also tries and prove some of his points by using probabilities. This is of course a problem because just because something is highly probable doesn't mean it actually occured.
Second, this book is an attack on LDS apologists and historians. His excuse that he is merely responding to their polemic arguments is both pathetic and ridiculous. The fact is that he continually attcks their works throughout. This would be fine if he did so in a scholarly and logically manner. Instead, he has reduced himself to petty namecalling repeatedly calling them polemic and telling them they would understand better if they would simply read his book! Ironically, while he is correct about many of the methods that some Mormons historians use, he himself is guilty of these same methods. For example, he accuses apologists of dismissing evidence as mere coincidence when it doesn't not support their arguments. However, when discussing the marriages of Joseph Smith and how many were preformed on astrologically significant dates the ones that are not he dismisses as unfitting to the pattern(after hearing his discussion of every Thursday being significant, every first and last day of a zodiac sign, every new moon and every multiple of seven days folowing the new moon,etc one wonders if there are any days that are not significant). He also hurts his argument with a few (though not many) direct attacks on Mormons. For instance, He accuses Mormons of always trying to explain why certain blessings promised in patriartichal and priesthood blessings do not come true. This is unfair because every Mormon knows that these things are promised on the condition that the person remain righteous similar to many blessings in the Bible.]
Finally, the third thing that Quinn discusses is the relationship of magic and Mormonism. This is by far the most interesting and why people are reading this book. There are many similarities and they are quite thouroughly discussed. The subjects range from astrology to magic circles. He also discusses many of the Smith family heirlooms and their magical significance which I found fascinating.
While the book is an excellent source on Mormonism and magic the many other aspects take away from the work as a whole. If you can manage to wade through the dogmatic parts of the work then this is a good book to read. If you get bogged down by such arguments or are easily manipulated or hoodwinked then skip this one.

Rating:
Summary: A Reflection of culture
Review: One of the problems I keep seeing in history is the attempt to avoid the cultural influences on the subject. There are those who say that Joseph Smith was a charlatan because of his interest in money digging, yet it was a respectable (or at least not considered a scam) by the majority of his peers in the western NY area. If Joseph Smith were a charlatan it comes from other sources that the author did not discuss. He merely put the origins of Mormonism into a context of the culture surrounding him. He attempts to draw no conclusions on the veracity of the revelations received, but does show how the Smith family and later others were influenced by the folklore magic surrounding them. To call this a pro-mormon book would be laughable as many who read this might find their faith in question. However, to call this anti-mormon is almost as comical has he creates no proofs nor demonstrates any counter to the basic LDS claims.
Personally, I found the book enlightening, particularily in the footnotes where he discusses his arguments with FARMS (and almost supports the opinion I had been forming with respect to FARMS). To read this is to find some of the connections on the influence of culture on the style of the phraseology used in the Book of Mormon and further emphasize that there is a significant (which I believe apologists will disagree with) influence from Joseph's background and the events of his surroundings.
I do think that the title doesnt really give the non-historian a good perspective of the book, I would rather title it "Early Mormonism and the Cultural Influences of Folk Magic"

Rating:
Summary: A great accomplishment--but seriously flawed
Review: The most important thing to say about D. Michael Quinn's treatment of LDS origins and folk magic is that it is the essential work on the subject. Anyone honestly interested in Mormonism has to read this book: there is no substitute. What Quinn has accomplished with his scholarship is absolutely unparalleled in the field. The modern student really cannot understand the LDS movement without studying Quinn's book.

It is also vital to recognize what Quinn has sacrificed for the sake of truth in this treatment. Many Mormons are excommunicated--but usually they are doctrinally disaffected. Quinn is a believing Mormon whose scholarship cost him his fellowship with the LDS Church. This may not reflect well on the church, but it certainly says a lot for Quinn.

Having given these truths appropriate primacy, I turn critical. Quinn has done something amazing in this book--but he could have done it much better. Indeed, as I read and reread it, I was astounded by how such an insightful investigator and thorough scholar could also be such a bonehead. And I still don't understand it to this day.

In this context, I must take pains to protest that Quinn's faults are not those preached by his enemies in the LDS polemical establishment. Almost always, when he is involved in a dispute with one of these, he is in the right. His command of information involving Mormon origins is truly breathtaking, and his critics are generally reduced to redesigning the rules of evidence in every case in order to discredit him. Quinn rightly resents these tactics--which leads him into one of the superficial faults of this edition of the book. He is constantly addressing, in annoying asides, the critiques of these disreputable opponents: it interrupts the course of his argument and renders his tone unbearably peevish. He should give these characters the attention they richly deserve--that is, none. Those unreflective Mormons who can be swayed by their arguments will never be swayed by the force of his, and the rest of his readers won't even be aware of the determined nescience these creatures so shamefully represent.

What really hurts is that Quinn can be so damn dumb about details. The earliest interpretation he can attribute to the IHS that appears on some magical documents--and on the vestments of Catholic priests--is the "In hoc signo" of Constantine. But any Catholic schoolboy knows that IHS can also represent iota-eta-sigma, the first three letters of Jesus' name in Greek. Quinn refers to scholar Ioan Petru Culianu as a "she"--but "Ioan Petru" is "John Peter" in Romanian. These details--largely irrelevant to Quinn's principal argument--multiply so insistently that the literate reader draws back and is almost ready to dismiss the book as a whole.

Similarly, Quinn's style is frequently painful. One particularly repulsive habit is conveying substantive information about a figure after a demonstrative adjective. "This Mormon polemicist.... This German immigrant...." This native speaker of the English language wonders if Quinn just learned it a year before writing the book.

Finally, Quinn's analysis of the relationship between Joseph Smith's magical sources and the distinctive features of LDS theology is the shallowest part of the book--where it really should be the most profound. The reader is essentially left to provide this analysis for himself.

I complain because I was hoping for a more perfect book--a more exalted treatment, if you will. But of all books available, this is the best. Quinn deserves our sincere gratitude for what he has done. He has not so much revolutionized our comprehension of the Restored Gospel as restored it to its original condition.

Rating:
Summary: Tedious, interesting, stop whining about your critics.
Review: This book has several major problems. One, It's way too long and tedious. Second,Quinn's conclusions can be debated especially in regards to how acceptable folk magic was in the United States during the early 19th century. Third, as with all of his books since his excommunication Quinn's "hidden agenda" is to show that Joseph Smith wasn't really an inspired prophet but was deeply learned about magic and used that to start Mormonism. This leads to another debateable point. First, how learned was Joseph Smith? Quinn seems to think that a young teenaged Joseph Smith who lived on a farm in rural New York had all day to sit around and read magic books from local bookstores. Come on! Second, Quinn logic seems weak at points, i.e. "There was a bookstore with magic books only five miles from Joseph Smith's home, so he must have read the book." or "Some early members of the church believed in Astrology so that must mean the Mormon church during the 19th century believed in Astrology." These are not direct quotes but the essence of some of his logic. Quinn's footnotes are to long and tedious to investigate. In fact he goes to so much length to footnote that one wonders: 1-does Quinn have any original thoughts and 2-Is he burying us with footnotes to make up for weak evidence and poor conclusions? Another problem with this book is Quinn spends way to much time fighting his critics in the book. Is this book about Early Mormonism or Why my critics are wrong? Like some of his other works Quinn again seems to have a "hidden" desire to fight against the church that excommunicated him. Advice: Quinn stop whining and fighting your critics and work on your research and writing skills. This book has some good thought provoking sections.

Rating:
Summary: Take it or leave it-the occult behind the cult
Review: We should all apprach this book with a take ti or leave it apprach. Perosnally, I love Dr. Quinne's throughly scholarlary book. He has a keen and sharp eye for details, and that is where the devil lives.

I bought several copies for my friends, and demanded that they read it so they can understand the occult behind the cult.