A Stranger in Zion: a Christian’s Journey through the Heart of Utah Mormonism
A Stranger in Zion was published in 2003 by my company, ProWrite Communications. In other words, it was a self-published book because no publisher wanted to publish it. It was considered a “hot potato” due to the nature of the topic: Mormonism or more formally it was about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Mormon Church was – and still is – a powerful organization, and publishers didn’t want to have their names associated with a book of this nature.
I wrote this book because my ten-year odyssey through Mormonism – specifically in Utah – as a convert to the Church was a story that needed telling. I told it not to hurt the Mormon Church in any way or any of the people I knew on this journey, but to help people understand the dangers that can lie in wait when they trust too deeply in an organization that tells them that all the truth lies within that religion.
Seekers are prone to falling into this trap. We are looking for someone to tell us the truth of things. Early on in our journeys we haven’t yet understood that the truth lies within – not out there somewhere with some preacher or some religious denomination, or some book of scripture. All of those things can be helpful on our journey, but trouble lies in our path when we trust in the person or the organization so much that we come to believe that what they say to us is really the “TRUTH.”
As a seeker, I know this first hand. My journey into and out of Mormonism after moving to Utah with my Mormon husband, taught me how easily one can fall prey to those who can convince us that they truth lies with them and the “only true Church of God on the face of the Earth.”
Since I wrote and published this book, which won the 2003 Glyph Award for Best Religion Book by the Arizona Book Publishers Association, many things have changed within the Mormon Church. However, they continue to try to be more “mainstream” in their attitudes and want to be thought of as Christians, even as their dogma that the Mormon Church is built upon remains much the same. They want to be different, but not too different. Some of the programs of the Church have been modified or dropped. But overall, Mormonism continues to live true to its history that reaches back in time to the Second Great Awakening in the New England region of the United States from about 1796 to 1835, a time when religion was hot and people were on fire with many new religions that befit a new nation.
I am offering this book free of charge on this site. My hope is that it will help seekers on their paths to understand this unique religion and how my journey through this truly American denomination led me to my own inner truth. All of our experiences can give us insight into our hearts and help us find that which we desire most and we seek the truth within.
