Among the Mormons: A Survey of Current Literature

“Of all the religious sects to emerge out of nineteenth-century America,” as Newsweek’s religion editor Kenneth L. Woodward recently observed, “only the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has developed into a worldwide faith.” Those who have not taken the time to read Woodward’s insightful September 1, 1980 scrutiny of “What Mormons Believe” should do so soon. Equally important from our vantage point is Peggy Fletcher’s inter view with Woodward which appeared in Sunstone this past fall. Only after reading that interview is it possible to understand what prompted Wood ward to write on Mormon theology for a “national magazine which primarily deals with the controversial and timely.” 

Other periodicals such as Americana, Saturday Evening Post and U.S. News & World Report were content in 1980 with reporting the Church’s 150th anniversary. 

A broad spectrum of writers continue to regard Sonia Johnson and the struggle over ERA as Mormonism’s number one story. 

Mormons have embarked upon the 1980s with the assurance that their story will be important to the media for sometime to come, but they should also know that perilous times may be ahead. Even in scholarly works there is a growing tendency toward the critical and the sensational. Favorable press so frequently enjoyed during the past decade has already begun to wane.