By Eric Johnson

To best understand Mormonism’s history and doctrines, there are certain materials that any Chrsitian who wants wanting to understand this religion and share his/her faith with a Latter-day Saint ought to consider owning. the following is s a list of 10 scholarly books as well as 10 books written by Christian apologists.

10 Scholarly Books

Introductory

1. Mormon America by Richard and Joan Ostling (HarperOne, 2009)

2. One Nation Under Gods: A History of the Mormon Church by Richard Abanes (Basic Books, 2002)

To understand the basic history of Mormonism, I think One Nation Under Gods provides a good overview of how this religion came to be. The many charts included throughout are helpful as well. This was written in the middle of Abanes’ “investigative journalist” days from 1994-2009. It is an older book but I believe a solid resource that can be helpful today.

Joseph Smith

3. No Man Knows my History : The Life of Joseph Smith by Fawn Brodie (VIntage, 1995)

Originally written in 1945, this book by Fawn Brodie is a classic on the life of Joseph Smith. Brodie uses the best resources she has at that time, including the 7-volume series History of the Church. This is Sandra Tanner’s favorite biography of Smith, so that ought to speak volumes.

4. Rough Stone Rolling by Richard Bushman

LDS Church historian Richard L. Bushman gives his take on the life of Joseph Smith. While there are certainly some differences between Brodie’s take versus Bushman’s, Bushman is farily honest and this is definitely worth the read for those who want to better understand the founding prophet of Mormonism.

Polygamy

5. In Sacred Loneliness by Todd Compton

There are a number of good books on the polygamy, but this is one of my favorites. With more and more LDS apologists claiming that Smith never practiced plural marriage, this resource needs to be considered. Compton takes the 33 wives of Joseph Smith, one by one, and gives their stories. It helps place faces to the names. One third of Smith’s wives were teens, and another third were married to living husbands, which is called polyandry. Compton points out that there was no such thing as marriages for “eternity only” in Smith’s day and insists that Smith had sexual relations with most, if not all of, these women.

6. Mormon Enigma by Newell and Avery

Doctrine

7. This is My Doctrine by Charles R. Harrell

Retired BYU professor Charles Larson wrote an honest book that details how certain doctrinal prooftexts used by Latter-day Saints are taken out of their context. It is a breath of fresh air to hear someone from a Mormon persepctive say that verses like James 1:5, 1 Cor. 15:29 and Jeremiah 1:5 should not be used to support LDS teaching. Harrell remains a faithful Latter-day Saint despite his admission that many verses are misued. His scriptural index in the back allows the reader to look up these verses. This book is a must.

8. Second-Class Saints: Black Americans and the Struggle for Racial Equality by Matthew L. Harris

This 2024 book provides a readable history of the doctrine of the banning of blacks to the LDS priesthood until 1978. I have learned many things reading this book. Published by Oxford Press, Harris seems fair and provides history that is very informative. Truly, I have learned many new things about an issue I thought I already knew everything. Needless to say, the ban on blacks was less about doctrine and more about internal politics among the “Brethren” who fought behind the scenes for their belief.

Scripture

9. by his own hand upon papyrus by Charles Larson

Charles Larson is a Christian author who has done a stupdendous job with this history of the Book of Abraham. One of my favorite things about the book is the pull-out photos of the papyri Smith had. If you want to get a better idea of all that the Book of Abraham entails, this is the book I recommend.

Sociology

10. The Next Mormons by Jana Riess

Jana Riess is a Mormon blogger who worked with Oxford to produce the best sociological book on Mormonism. The best part about this resource is the professional survey done in 2016 that show why Mormons leave the church. Riess shows how 45% of all who leave the church end up believing in nothing at all or who even become atheists and agnostics. Another 22% call themselves “just Christian” despite the fact that they may not even believe in God. This is a book everyone in Christian ministry to Latter-day Saints ought to study.

10 Christian Apologist Books

Doctrine

1. Mormonism: Shadow or Reality by Jerald and Sandra Tanner

This is the most important book that every Christian interesed in Mormonism ought to own. It is not a resource you will necessarily want to read cover to cover but rather consult when studying a particular issue. Whatever the topic–including the Book of Mormon, the Book of Abraham, polygamy or Blacks and the priesthood–there is original research in this 770-page book on it. Tens of thousands of copies of this book have sold over the past five decades and, as I like to say, more people have left Mormonism because of this tome than any other book except the Bible. It is no longer available in hard copy form, though you can go to the Tannerl’s website and get the free PDF. Or make a visit the Utah Christian Research Center where a reprint is carried.

2. Major Problems of Mormonism by Jerald and Sandra Tanner

If Shadow or Reality listed above is too weighty, then I recommend this more condesed work. This is more of a synopsis of what Shadow covers. The research done by the Tanners can be earth-shattering for a Latter-day Saint who has never heard of the information described in a book like this.

3. Jesus’ Resurrection/ Joseph’s Visions by Rob Bowman

Christian apologist Bowman shows the strength of the historicity of the resurrection of Jesus as compared to the visions of Jospeh Smith. When the evidence is considered, the objective observer will have to admit that there really is no comparison.

4. New Mormon Challenge

This was supposed to be the first of several volumes, but it turned out to be the only book published. From a philosophical sense, there are some solid chapters written by some important thinkers. One of my favorite chapters in the book is chapter 3: “Craftsman or Creator? An Examinaton of the Mormon Doctrine of Creation and a Defesne of Creatio ex nihilo” by Paul Copan and William Lane Craig. If you look at the index, there will probably be something that resonates with you.

Evangelism/Sharing our Faith

5. Reasoning from the Scriptures with Mormons by Ron Rhodes

This book is a great place to start for those who want to share their faith with Latter-day Saints. One of the tools used are boxes with questions that can be used with the Latter-day Saint to guide to a good conversation.

6. Answering Mormons’ Questions by Bill McKeever / Eric Johnson 2013 ed.

Not to be self-serving, but I think this book can be very valuable if you have conversations with Latter-day Saints. It was originally authored by Bill McKeever in 1980 (self-published) and again in 1990 (Bethany House), but Bill and I combined our efforts in 2013 with Kregel Publishers. We tackle 38 of the most common questions, such as “Aren’t evangelism efforts aimed at Mormons just another act of persecution?” and “Doesn’t the book of James said that ‘faith without works is dead’?” Each chapter begins with questions that can be asked to the Mormon in an attempt to clarify the original question. A quote from an LDS leader and a one-paragraph summary statement follows before the writing of the chapter. There are questions for discussion at the end along with an evangelism tip.

7. Introducing Christainity to Mormons by Eric Johnson

This is a book I wrote during the COVID year in 2020, Published by Harvest House in 2022, this book was meant to help Christians deliver the basics of Christianity to someone who holds an LDS worldview. It has been more successful than I could have imagined, as there have been a handful of Latter-day Saints who have read it and left their religion for a relationship with Jesus. Each chapter starts with a biblical quote along with a summary. The end of the chapter has discussion questions. At the end is a glossary of LDS terms to help the Christian better understand what is meant by doctrinal terms we use on a regular basis.

8. Witness to Mormons in Love by Chip Thompson

Each chapter of Witness to Mormons in Love utilizes a glossary of LDS terms so the Christian can understand just what is meant when a certain word is used. There are a wealth of topics, including issues involving scripture, God, and salvation. This is not really a book you will want to read cover to cover but rather this is a resource to be studied. You might not use every chapter in your witnessing tactics, but you will be able to choose your favorites and go in that direction. Many mission teams coming to Utah often utiize this book.

9. Understanding your Mormon Neighbor by Ross Anderson

10. In Their Own Words by Bill McKeever

I don’t know where I would be without this resource of compiled quotes by Bill McKeever. Having written many dozens of articles and several books on the topic of Mormonism, I have depended on this resource regularly. Bill and I don’t do our podcast Viewpoint on Mormonism without having this resource in our laps. The nice thing is that it comes with a PDF file of the book, allowing the researcher to search for partial quotes. You can also copy and paste to put the quote in an email or document. Very valuable!

Conclusion

These are some resources you ought to consider adding to your personal library if you do not already have them. You can’t go wrong with any of them.