What Do Mormons Believe? by Rex E. Lee

6/10

I saw this book at a used book store while on my mission. At first from the title of the book I thought it was going to be an anti book. Which is funny because this book ended up playing a role in an anti experience later on during my mission. I ended up purchasing the book with some hesitation because I felt like maybe I should leave it on the shelf for some curious non-mormon to purchase and read. But I selfishly purchased it because during my mission I liked reading any kind of church book I could get my hands on.

I read the book and it was ok. Nothing too amazing. Just some basic and foundational principles. Which seemed to confirm that I should have left the book for someone else. It wasn't until about my last or second to last month of my mission when this family we were teaching showed us some anti mormon stuff someone gave them. It was more of a "look at this silly stuff someone gave us" kind of encounter and not a "is this really what you believe?" one. But nonetheless, they showed me this part of it which contained a quote from a church authority. The quote was something ridiculous which was actually the opposite of what we believe. I noticed the classic "..." contained in the quote indicating that they left something out. I pointed out that this is a common trick by the anti mormon posse as a way to leave out true and accurate context. I looked at the source of the quote and it came from a book called "What Do Mormons Believe?" I was like, I have that book and don't remember reading that part which is totally contrary to what we actually believe. I was able to look up the quote and it was the most shameful and dishonest portrayal possible. It removed the middle of a sentence which made the edited sentence appear to say the opposite of what the full sentence was saying. I was able to show the family the actual quote from the book and they couldn't believe it either. It actually helped their investigation of the church which was quite the backfire by the loser anti trickster.

And that is the story I always think of when I see this book on my shelf. I don't remember much of anything in it but I remember that it helped overcome some silly anti.

There is this informational quote in the book which actually comes from a Statement of the First Presidency on the Equal Rights Amendment back in October 1976:

"In Utah, where our Church is headquartered, women received the right to vote in 1870, fifty years before the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution granted the right nationally."