A History of Mormon Landmarks in Utah: Monuments of Faith

by Andy Weeks

The home state of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a land of rugged mountains, deep canyon lands and majestic rivers. Utah and Mormon history are entwined, as so many early followers of the faith settled the region beginning in 1847. They preserved their values and heritage in the numerous temples, forts, tabernacles and cemeteries that serve as historic sacred monuments for the modern church. Author and LDS member Andy Weeks explores the history behind the landmarks that exalt the rich, deeply rooted history of Mormonism in the Beehive State.

Genres: History, Religion

176 pages, Paperback

First published November 30, 2015

Reviews

[J · Rating 2 out of 5]

Having never been to Utah but being a member I was a bit and still am leery of the book. What made it furthermore a bit more suspicious towards me is that the author did (and I appreciate the honesty from him) in fact announce upfront that there were some places that he hadn't been to while the majority of the work since he was writing the book on the side came from other sources such as websites of the locations, the LDS.org website and so much more thus making the book rather secondary in most of its presentation.

Furthermore the author had so much room to cover that it made it quite hard to truly keep up with him since he was trying to address the lack of information that comes with nonbelievers as well as address the believers at the same time. As a result the reader will find some of the information presented to be heavily awkward in some places, especially if they are not wanting to learning more about the Mormon beliefs.

At the same time with this book it was suppose to be a historical guidebook so I would have wished to have seen more pictures for each entry that way we can get to know what we are reading of, especially as Mormon buildings are usually quite fancy in their presentation even when otherwise simple. Furthermore it would have also been nice to have seen them in color as well, especially when certain care was taken to mention the color of the building material.

At the same time I did bring up a few stories to my bishopric but they hadn't heard of them so the information is at best something to be read with caution for the believer. Otherwise there were parts when the author was blatantly referring to one of his other works.

All in a decent and okay book but I am sure there are better books of church history as well as even better state guidebooks to be had by the curious reader instead.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading about church monuments and history that I didn't know much about. I'm excited to visit these places and learn more.