Tale of Two Cities: Mormons Vs Catholics

Rating:
Summary: Fair and Informative without Polemics!
Review: Fr. Taylor presents a fair and even-handed comparison of Catholicism and Mormonism from a Catholic perspective. Missing is the bitter polemics which characterizes too much of the comparative religion genre aimed at lay readers. The book's main strenghts are eight chapters which briefly present Mormon beliefs and then compare and contrast those beliefs with Catholic beliefs on the same subject. Fr. Taylor is careful not to disparage Mormon beliefs when he describes them. This, along with his refusal to slander Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, set his book apart in its field. Written by a faithful Catholic this book aims to educate lay Catholic readers on the basic beliefs of Mormonism. This book is not an exhaustive treatise or inacessable scholarly tome. Nonetheless Fr. Taylor does an outstanding job presenting the basics of Mormon beliefs in an organized manner for the average reader. In the end Fr. Taylor explains why he has problems with the Book of Mormon. The Mormon reader will no doubt be frustrated with this if he or she does not take this book for what it is: a fair and charitable comparison from the Catholic perspective. Hot-blooded partisans from both the Catholic and Mormon faiths will dislike this book. One camp because Fr. Taylor writes honestly about the differences, the other camp because he shows respect for those who have beliefs different from his. This is a book written by a man of good will for people of good will. I recommend "A Tale of Two Cities" rather than spending time and money on "When Mormons Call" by Isaiah Bennett. Mr. Bennett is strident and uncharitable in his writing style. Without question Fr. Taylor has written the best introductory comparison of the two faiths available today for the lay reader.

Rating:
Summary: Great book for a Catholic trying to relate to a Mormon
Review: While volunteering in Alaska for a year, I fell in love with a Mormon woman. As a Catholic, I thought that we could come to a common ground in our faiths and maybe even marry someday. A friend found out I was dating a Mormon and gave me Fr. Taylor's book. After reading it and other books on Mormonism (Mormonism Unmasked, The Mormon Conspiracy, The Facts on the Mormon Church), I found that Fr. Taylor had more charity in his analysis than all of the writers of the aforementioned books combined. I have found great flaws in Mormon Theology, History, Anthropology and Archaeology. Yet because of my relationship with a Mormon woman, I had to be careful on how to compare Christianity to Mormonism. Fr. Taylor gives an unbiased, straight forward account of the two religions. He is careful not to hurt or offend his Mormon family and friends, but he points out critical differences with Catholicism and problems with Mormon Theology. He even goes so far to point out his own weakness in his faith when comparing Joseph Smith's death to the death of a real saint. I recommend this book to any reader, Catholic or not, that has a Mormon friend, Mormon family member or Mormon girl/boy friend. I wish I had had Fr. Taylor's knowledge and charity when I dealt with my relationship, we might still be together to this day if I had.