The Mormon Illusion: What the Bible Says about the Latter-Day Saints

Floyd C. McElveen

Jan 1985 · Kregel Publications

About this ebook

This classic work on Mormonism, now with over 135,000 copies in print, has been revised and expanded by the author. Major Mormon practices and beliefs are explained with thoroughly documented references to original Mormon sources. Chapters include: Joseph Smith--Prophet of God? The One True Church Priesthood and Genealogies Mormon Salvation.

Ratings and reviews

Being a LDS convert myself, it was interesting to read from another point of view. Mum taught me Buddhist traditions which lead me to question the Buddhist religion, I also saw Christian churches as hypocrites, because I had Christian friends (of other faiths) that went to church but didn't genuinely live its teachings. Coming from a Buddhist background, it was important to live by what God taught. So when I first learned of Joseph Smith's first vision, I completely agreed with him. As a convert, I love the teachings of Jesus Christ because they are practical and they are really life changing. It is also important to have the right authority and I feel it is within the LDS Church as given by Jesus Christ himself. This book was an interesting ready but felt lacked some important details about the LDS church, unsure if the writer was not clear himself or his intent was to mislead? I wouldn't take this book as doctrine but it definitely strengthens my faith in the LDS Church because there is so much to understand about God that people off the street cannot comprehend yet we have the 'restored Gospel' to help us comprehend these things.

It is difficult to see the 'classic' status that is claimed for McElveen's rehash of old charges brought against Mormonism, precisely because it is only a re-hash of all the claims that have been made against Mormons for almost two centuries. Apart from a childish argumentative style, McElveen's magnum opus is so lacking in verifiable references that it cannot be made to make a case against the Mormon religion. McElveen fails to refer to the robust rebuttals and arguments from Mormon scholars and historians that have shown the falsity of the claims he repeats from the usual Anti-Mormon sources, and his failure washes away his foundation of sand, leaving his theories unsupported. McElveen is of the class of Anti-Mormons that rely almost exclusively on copying material published by those who entered the field before he threw his hat into the ring. Sadly, despite its publicity, 'The Mormon Illusion' contains nothing new, nothing enlightening, and consistently fails to understand what Mormons believe and why, thus presenting an outsiders perspective of a Christian denomination that he has neither experienced or understood. The book's language and arguments are pedagogic and lack substance. McElveen is a 'Conservative Baptist Home Society' pastor that ministered in some Alaska, Idaho, and other western states with Mormon populations. It is said, "He has worked with and loved the Mormon people ... " The book is described by a non-Mormon as, "Candid, discerning, knowledgable [sic], well documented, [and] challenges LDS people to honestly rely on facts not shakey [sic] feelings, and to serve the scriptures - the Holy Bible, the Word of God." McElveen sits inside the camp of those that are actively hostile to Mormonism, but outside the camp of the knowledgeable in all things Mormon, in addition to his misuse of the Holy Bible in his futile efforts to present Mormonism and Mormons as things they clearly are not.

Pretty good take on Mormon lies throughout their history. Overall, in second place to Grant Palmer's "An Insider's View of Mormon Origins." Or any church history by Michael Quinn. Chapter 2, JS and the First Vision ought to be enough to debunk the whole mormon operation. JS didn't tell his First Vision story until 12 years after it supposedly happened and after he wrote the Book of Mormon. Joseph's mom never heard of Joseph's first vision. The two co-founders of mormonism -- Cowdery and Whitmer -- never mentioned it. I'll say this about early mormons. For the first 50 years, they wrote down EVERYTHING. They documented events like banshees. This worked against them, over time, as they changed their mind on doctrine and theology, they had to hide or change previous, contradicting, mormon scripture/history. Its all in their libraries. Occasionally, these embarrassing old documents are uncovered by official church historians. Some of them were brave (or naive) enough to publish their findings. Most were excommunicated, like Michael Quinn. The all-time heavyweight mormon historian, BH Roberts, didn't even believe the Book of Mormon was true. Mormons are not told real history, even that published by honest church historians. They have no idea there are 5 distinct, contradictory accounts of the First Vision written (or told) by Joseph Smith. In the first he was visited by an angel. By version 5 he was visited by God, Jesus, John the Baptist, lined up in all their glory. WTF. Underneath it all, most mormons don't really want to know or care about the truth of their church. Mormons are mostly personality types that get off on being better than everyone else. They are happy to be part of a group that is prosperous and is the One True Church, because "all other denominations are an abomination to God." God said that to Joseph. I am not making this up. That is the first vision story in a nutshell. Created 12 years after the fact to justify a scam artist who was, at the time, having his veracity questioned by other mormons. Get the pattern here? All Joseph's revelations can be tied to an occasion when his leadership was being questioned by members. Smooth dood, Joseph. Case closed. If you're wondering, I'm not a mormon. But I married one--before I knew anything about LDS except the (as it turned out) lies I read on their website. Oh, well. Tricked again. They are the opposite of Christian. Run away from them. Pity them. All they care about is being better than everyone else. But if this is what you like, then give em a try. It's a big club and they DO look after one another. If you don't mind spending most of your life and time in service to the organization--faceless, old white guys you don't even know anything about. What a racket.