All Abraham's Children: Changing Mormon Conceptions of Race and Lineage

By Armand L. Mauss

All Abraham's Children is Armand L. Mauss's long-awaited magnum opus on the evolution of traditional Mormon beliefs and practices concerning minorities. He examines how members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have defined themselves and others in terms of racial lineages.
Mauss describes a complex process of the broadening of these self-defined lineages during the last part of the twentieth century as the modern Mormon church continued its world-wide expansion through massive missionary work.
Mauss contends that Mormon constructions of racial identity have not necessarily affected actual behavior negatively and that in some cases Mormons have shown greater tolerance than other groups in the American mainstream.
Employing a broad intellectual historical analysis to identify shifts in LDS behavior over time, All Abraham's Children is an important commentary on current models of Mormon historiography.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0252028031
• ISBN13: 9780252028038
• Release Date: April 2003
• Publisher: University of Illinois Press
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 1.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.2" x 9.7"

Customer Reviews

Caroline

Misconceptions clearly didn't read the whole book. Or else he simply didn't understand it. Mauss masterfully discusses the LDS church's decision to extend the priesthood to black men in 1978. Thorough and expertly researched, this is THE definitve treatment of race in the LDS church.

Uh, Mauss is a Mormon

And he's not talking about how Mormon conceptions go down in Africa, but in America, the land of our religion's birth. This is an excellent book, thought-provoking yet fair. If you want to get a better grasp of the history of race and lineage within Mormonism from it's beginnings up to the present, this book is the one to order.

a thoughtful blend of Intellictual and Practical

Mauss' book is a treasure for thinking LDS and any others who seek knowledge and understanding. while the LDS hierarchy might never disown the racism of leaders (BY, others), books like this are not an attempt to soften LDS racism. A.M. is 'a thinking persons' Lund.