American Polygamy: A History of Fundamentalist Mormon Faith

Today's Fundamentalist Mormons in the American West resist assimilation like their forefathers. Centered on faith, they survive despite efforts to permanently end their cherished plural family arrangements. While some Fundamentalists like Warren Jeffs go rogue and corrupt their beliefs in heinous crimes, most hold steadfastly to a religion they say is biblical and restored by the first Latter-day Saint prophet, Joseph Smith, in the early 1800s. Mormon historians Craig Foster and Marianne Watson present more than two hundred photos and exclusive insights to explain how an estimated thirty thousand Fundamentalist Mormons still venerate a much-debated legacy--despite its difficult challenges--and persist in living plural marriage.

Arts & Photography

Foster, Craig L.

Watson, Marianne T.

Photography & Video

The History Press

Today's Fundamentalist Mormons in the American West resist assimilation like their forefathers. Centered on faith, they survive despite efforts to permanently end their cherished plural family arrangements. While some Fundamentalists like Warren Jeffs go rogue and corrupt their beliefs in heinous crimes, most hold steadfastly to a religion they say is biblical and restored by the first Latter-day Saint prophet, Joseph Smith, in the early 1800s. Mormon historians Craig Foster and Marianne Watson present more than two hundred photos and exclusive insights to explain how an estimated thirty thousand Fundamentalist Mormons still venerate a much-debated legacy--despite its difficult challenges--and persist in living plural marriage.

History Press Library Editions

By 1860, Mormonism had enjoyed a presence in Great Britain for over twenty years. Mormon missionaries had experienced an unprecedented success in conversions and many new converts had left Britain's shores for a new life and a new religion in the far western mountains of the American continent. With the unprecedented success of the Mormons had come tales of duplicity, priestcraft, sexual seduction and uninhibited depravity among the new religious adherents. Thousands of pamphlets with sensational titles such as, The Gates of the Mormon Hell Opened!..., Appalling Disclosures! Mormon Revelations, Being the History of Fourteen Females..., The Prophets; or, Mormonism Unveiled, and, Female Life Among the Mormons were sold or given to the British populace as a way of discouraging people from joining the Mormon Church. Foster places the creation of these English anti-Mormon pamphlets in their historical context. He discusses the authors, the impact of the publications and the Mormon response. With illustrations and detailed bibliography.

Penny Tracts and Polemics: A Critical Analysis of Anti-Mormon Pamphleteering in Great Britain, 1837-1860

Children's Books

Religions

Greg Kofford Books, Inc.

By 1860, Mormonism had enjoyed a presence in Great Britain for over twenty years. Mormon missionaries had experienced an unprecedented success in conversions and many new converts had left Britain's shores for a new life and a new religion in the far western mountains of the American continent. With the unprecedented success of the Mormons had come tales of duplicity, priestcraft, sexual seduction and uninhibited depravity among the new religious adherents. Thousands of pamphlets with sensational titles such as, The Gates of the Mormon Hell Opened!..., Appalling Disclosures! Mormon Revelations, Being the History of Fourteen Females..., The Prophets; or, Mormonism Unveiled, and, Female Life Among the Mormons were sold or given to the British populace as a way of discouraging people from joining the Mormon Church. Foster places the creation of these English anti-Mormon pamphlets in their historical context. He discusses the authors, the impact of the publications and the Mormon response. With illustrations and detailed bibliography.

A Different God?: Mitt Romney, the Religious Right, and the Mormon Question

In the contested terrain of American politics, nowhere is the conflict more intense, even brutal, than in the territory of public life also claimed by religion. Mitt Romney's 2007-2008 presidential campaign is a textbook example. Religious historian Craig L. Foster revisits that campaign with an astute focus on the never-quite-contained hostility that Romney triggered among America's religious right. Although no political campaign is known for its sweetness and light, the back-stabbing, mean-spirited attacks, eruptions of irrationalism, and downright lies exploded into one the chapters of recent American political history. What does Romney's campaign and the resistance of the religious right mean for America in the twenty-first century?

Religion & Spirituality

Including Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman, eleven Mormons have sought the highest office in the United States. Newell G. Bringhurst and Craig L. Foster bring their stories to life as the attempt to answer the question, "Is America Ready for a Mormon President?"

The Mormon Quest for the Presidency: From Joseph Smith to Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman

Biographies & Memoirs

Bringhurst, Newell G.

Leaders & Notable People

John Whitmer Books

The first in a three-volume anthology in which top scholars examine the entire range and history of Mormon polygamy.

The Persistence of Polygamy: Joseph Smith and the Origins of Mormon Polygamy

Fundamentalist Mormon polygamy emerged from LDS Church President Wilford Woodruff’s 1890 Manifesto, which ostensibly rescinded the practice of plural marriage among Mormons. This volume explores Mormon fundamentalism from several perspectives. Among the topics considered is the history of mainstream Latter-day Saint polygamy in Mexico, John Taylor’s controversial 1886 revelation implying the irrevocability of polygamy, and the rise of fundamentalist Mormon polygamy in the early twentieth century. Other essays provide carefully crafted portraits of fundamentalist Mormon leaders such as Joseph White Musser, Rulon C. Allred, Rulon T. Jeffs, and Warren S. Jeffs. Also discussed is the 1980s schism between the FLDS church and Centennial Park Community, the 2008 Texas raid on the FLDS YFZ Ranch, and modern media stereotyping of Mormon polygamy. Three essays provide personal perspectives on present-day polygamy: a recollection of growing up within a fundamentalist Mormon community, a reading of D&amp;C 132 from a fundamentalist perspective, and an examination of descendants of early Mormon polygamists who embraced fundamentalism. Other areas of research include the changing style of fundamentalist clothing and hair styles, fundamentalist attitudes and practices affecting African-Americans, and the plural wives of fundamentalist Mormon leaders. The volume concludes with a bibliographical evaluation of relevant literature. In this third volume of The Persistence of Polygamy, Newell G. Bringhurst and Craig L. Foster have assembled seventeen original essays that explore the fascinating history of plural marriage among fundamentalist Mormons—an enduring practice of The Principle.

The Persistence of Polygamy, Vol. 3: Fundamentalist Mormon Polygamy from 1890 to the Present

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Foster, Craig L.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Foster, Craig L.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Foster, Craig L.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

American Polygamy: A History of Fundamentalist Mormon Faith

American Polygamy: A History of Fundamentalist Mormon Faith

Penny Tracts and Polemics: A Critical Analysis of Anti-Mormon Pamphleteering in Great Britain, 1837-1860

Penny Tracts and Polemics: A Critical Analysis of Anti-Mormon Pamphleteering in Great Britain, 1837-1860

A Different God?: Mitt Romney, the Religious Right, and the Mormon Question

A Different God?: Mitt Romney, the Religious Right, and the Mormon Question

The Mormon Quest for the Presidency: From Joseph Smith to Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman

The Persistence of Polygamy: Joseph Smith and the Origins of Mormon Polygamy

The Persistence of Polygamy, Vol. 3: Fundamentalist Mormon Polygamy from 1890 to the Present