I know, I know, I already posted on this, but see, there’s this whole FIRESTORM of controversy going on about Martha Nibley Beck and her book, and you all KNOW I love controversy.

I’ve heard some good things, some bad things, some downright nasty things, and some extremely stupid things about her book, almost entirely from people who have not READ said book. Do I REALLY have to take a moment here and tell you all how incredibly stupid that is? People! If you are going to decry something as evil, or wrong, or stupid, or backwards, or whatever else, DO THE RESEARCH. In plain English, READ THE BOOK. Then speak.

I personally did a lot of research before I ever left Mormonism. Being the kind of person I am, I figured that if I was going to claim I did not believe in something, I better be able to tell people WHY I didn’t believe it.

So I researched. A lot. And while I will get about twelve letters from TBMs (true believing Mormons) telling me that the problem was I didn’t PRAY about it, the truth is, I found that LDS claims just don’t hold up. This was even before that pesky DNA evidence came out–you know, the DNA proof that Native Americans were NEVER related to the Jews, along with a whole slew of other DNA evidence that the apologists are currently trying to refute.

Go apologists! More power to you. ANYWAY, my point here was, read the book before you call it bad, or evil, or anything else. I have run across the same problem with my own book. “The author obviously has an axe to grind,” I hear. I don’t own an axe. I have no desire to grind it. I’m just telling a story, and my story isn’t the “all problems are solved by Joe” version you hear from those touting the LDS lifestyle.

Tell me, please, why the LDS think they can tell EVERYONE that their Church is the ONLY TRUE CHURCH, but no one has the right to refute that claim? It’s just like all those missionaries you hear about. Every year, thousands of young men, a passel of young women who are not yet married, and lots of retired people, like my own parents, embark on “missions.” These people have one job. Tell the poor, misguided heathens about God’s one and only true church. Now, while the more than 500 Amazon “reviewers” of the Book of Mormon would like you to believe that it is a “companion” to the Bible, what they don’t say is that Mormons believe they ALONE have the truth. Founder Joseph Smith said that the personages (and pick your vision here. There are at least THREE different versions of it…) who appeared to him told him that all the Christian churches were wrong. God said all the creeds of Christendom “were an abomination in his sight; that those professors were all corrupt; that: ‘they draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me…” (Joseph Smith History 1:19).

If the LDS faithful have the right to proclaim to everyone who will listen about their truth, so do we, who don’t believe, have the right to proclaim that we DON’T believe and to tell you why.

Is there really a difference?

Oh, perhaps if I just decided I didn’t like Mormonism, because if you take that second m out it becomes “Moronism,” then you could have an “axe to grind” with me.

But that is not what I am claiming. Nor is it what Martha Beck is claiming. She is trying to tell you her story. I, for one, am anxious to read it.

The upcoming book, Leaving the Saints: How I Lost the Mormons and Found my Faith,, by Martha Nibley Beck, is creating a firestorm among the Mormons. The title, of course, gives you a pretty good idea why they don’t like it. It involves “leaving” which is not faith promoting. But, if you are not familiar with Mormons, you wouldn’t clue in on the author’s “royal” Mormon lineage. See, Martha’s dad is beloved Mormon apologist, Hugh Nibley, and her claim that he molested her has people pretty hot under the collar. These people include her own family, of course, most of whom are denying that there is any truth at all to Martha’s claims.

In an article in The Salt Lake Tribune, one of her sisters even uses the ultimate card. “Martha’s gay, you know. She forgot to mention that. She’s gay, so of course she hates men, so that’s why she’s going after Dad. Oh, and her ex-husband is gay, too. You can’t really take her seriously.” That’s me paraphrasing. What the article actually said was: “When the key issue in the book is her sexuality and how she got the way she is, to leave that out is going to make her look foolish,” Rebecca Nibley said.

Does it? Is that really what Beck is trying to tell us? The key part of molestation is NOT sexuality. Especially not when the molested are the very young. If the book was about Martha’s sexuality, she would have addressed the fact she is gay. Rather, the book is about her upbringing, and her own violation at the hands of the one person she should have been able to trust implicitly. I’m sorry that her family disagrees. I truly am.

But I’ve discovered that “family” is a funny thing. My youngest sister swears up one side and down the other that our father was not abusive. She even avers this after recounting a story where he chased her down the hallway trying to smack her while she covered her butt with her hands. “He hit me, too, Natalie. That doesn’t mean he was abusive.” Then she recounted her story. “He was mad. I was out too late. They didn’t know where I was, and he was worried.” Okay, well that makes it all better, and certainly more understandable. When people get worried, they get abusive. Right?

Anyway, Martha’s family doesn’t care too much for her book. Neither do the other Mormons who are sending her nasty emails. Having been the target of those nasty emails myself, I feel for her. It’s easier to reconcile them when they come from strangers. But when it’s your family, well, it makes it hard.

We tend to want to make excuses for our family members, because no one wants to believe that those closest to us might be our worst enemies. And maybe Martha’s sisters really don’t believe she was sexually molested by their father. I don’t know. But whatever the story is, one must applaud her bravery in writing such a story.

I wish her the best.

Call the papers! Gather the drones. Let’s get us a religion going, and strike while the iron is hot!

7:23 a.m., February 2, 2005, MST:

BoM #94,391
W&S #32,101

(Note to reader: Please pay attention to the fact that Wives and Sisters does NOT have 544 testimonies, er, uh, “reviews” touting it to be the best book ever written, and a companion to the Bible, and claims of “it changed my life.” In terms of followers, I am a true slacker. One of my Amazon reviewers did say it put hair on her chest. I wonder if that is scaring female readers off? I for one, do not want hair on my chest.)

I am TRULY, truly ahead by a wide margin here. You got it, WIVES AND SISTERS, is leaving the BoM in my dust.

Amazon rankings at 9:55 p.m. MST, February 1, 2005:

BoM #78,889
W&S #32,996

I’m winning, I’m winning. Muwwwahhahhhhaaaaaa… Now where are those young virgin boys… I need me some HUSBANDS.

(Disclaimer: Yes, I am well aware that I have taken to only posting the Amazon rankings when I am AHEAD. Give me break. The posts when Joe’s book is ahead are boring. I’m bummed. I pontificate. I opine. I rant. This is much more fun, isn’t it? Give it an hour, and it will change….)