Review by Booklist Review
Leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints agreed in 1972 that "the Church was [now] mature enough that our history should be honest." In American Zion, historian Benjamin Park aims to provide that honest history, a goal that seems at times to make uneasy bedfellows with his personal Mormon faith; Park writes about Joseph Smith, in particular, with an air of tense constraint that is absent from the rest of the book. Upon reaching Smith's death, the book becomes immediately more frank about the failures and prejudices of LDS leaders as well as their vision and successes as it follows the church's expansion over the next century and a half. While the bulk of the narrative necessarily follows the overwhelmingly white, male, and straight church leaders, Park takes special care to highlight the experiences and advocacy of female, BIPOC, and (to a lesser extent) queer members of the church. American Zion is an engrossing read and an ambitious historical recounting of an American religion that was contested from its earliest beginnings.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review
Synthesizing the massive archive of primary and secondary sources on Mormonism is no small task. Park (history, Sam Houston State Univ.; Kingdom of Nauvoo) not only admirably achieves his goal by offering new and different interpretations, but he also gives readers fresh insights into well-worn territory by utilizing his gifted storyteller's pen. The overarching narrative of the book follows the Church of Latter-day Saints in its American context, from pre-establishment in the 18th century to the present day. Internal and external conflicts are covered. The book documents the contributions of LDS women, and their voices are present in every era, although sometimes muffled. Still, Park makes sure they are heard. Questions about racism in the LDS Church are addressed, and Park acknowledges that sometimes the institution was complicit. Contemporary issues of sexuality and polygamy are also given their due. Park has a knack for highlighting the right historical figures, known and unknown, to make serious points about the bigger picture of Latter-day Saint history. VERDICT A book about Mormonism that will stand the test of time. General readers should be riveted by a story well told; scholars will be engaged by arguments worth debating.--David Azzolina
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A history professor takes on the history of a faith that has "been contested from the very start." Mormonism--officially, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints--is the product of a period of religious fervor that swept the northeastern U.S. in the 1820s and '30s, a venue for enough fire-and-brimstone sermonizing that the area was called the "burned-over district." In that context, Joseph Smith unveiled a story of a lost Christianity native to America in which his "religious and supernatural obsessions…intersected." Moreover, it emerged in a time of schismatic religions, otherworldly obsessions, and a widespread belief that buried treasure awaited discovery everywhere. Smith's story became the Book of Mormon, "America's most substantial contribution to the world's scriptural canon." Park, the author of Kingdom of Nauvoo, is respectful but not uncritical. He is particularly interested in the near-reversal of two of Mormonism's foundational tenets, the first being an independent theocratic state, the second polygamy, "Utah's worst-kept secret." Both gave Mormonism the reputation of being anti-American, even if early Mormons "nearly canonized" the Constitution. In response, the church's leadership decreed an ultra-patriotic, conservative worldview. Whereas Utah overwhelmingly voted for Franklin Roosevelt during the 1930s and '40s, its voters chose Donald Trump over Joseph Biden even more enthusiastically in 2016 and 2020. One of its leaders, Ezra Taft Benson, was so committed to his racist doctrine that he came close to signing on as segregationist Strom Thurmond's running mate in 1968. Today, even as the Mormon leadership has adopted a policy allowing unencumbered historical research such as Park's, there are ongoing doctrinal battles involving race, gender, and politics--battles that may soon take a surprising turn, given that Republicans are in the minority among Mormon millennials, who espouse many progressive ideas. A welcome updating of earlier studies, and a readable, engaging work of religious history. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
