some scary and disturbing shit goes on in these pages.

with this book, mormonism catapulted itself to the forefront of what i deem to be interesting. that is, the study and discussion of mormon history surpasses circumcision, the evils of walgreens, is homosexuality a choice and the use of abortion as birth control arguments combined. the informational nooks and crannies that make up this spiritual juggernaut are as endless as the nooks and crannies of their ultra-white temples. and, secreted behind any of the curtains, beneath all of the rocks you are reasonably assured of discovering a skeleton as intriguing as anything dan brown has ever put to paper.

granted the most special facet of this thread is that we are talking about a major religion that came into existence AFTER the printing press and modern journalism (although, let's be clear, if CNN existed when joseph came down the hill with his gold plates, the church of the latter day saints would have never gotten out of the blocks). as a historical object, the documented roots of mormonism are as compelling as would be the discovery of a partially evolved human alive and kicking and biting for all they're worth. it is, without doubt, endlessly marvelous.

the core question; are the true foundations of the other world religions equally dubious? it doesn't take long to see that given the difficulties in pinning this nascent faith down, the odds of debunking something thousands of years old just aint' going to happen. however, to the great and public chagrin of the church, their institution can be, and is routinely, placed on the petri dish and vivisected by the world-over.

in their defense, the white men of MORMON.INC are putting up one hell of a fight.