Gentile Girl: Living with the Latter-day Saints

by Carol Avery Forseth

Fort Collins: Crossroads Press, January 2002.
175 pages.  $11.95.
ISBN 0-9714782-0-1
www.gentilegirl.com

 Many Americans have not noticed the rising religious power in their midst, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  But the Mormon capital of Salt Lake City is about to play host to the Winter Olympics. For two weeks in February 2002 the world’s attention will be fixed on this religion-dominated city.  The Mormon Tabernacle Choir will perform during the Opening Ceremonies, and the Salt Lake Temple spires will provide the backdrop for the medal presentations.  In the evenings, a Mormon cast of 1,500 will perform a musical light show called “Light of the World” for Olympic visitors.

 The Latter-day Saints have put the finishing touches on their public image, insisting that they be regarded as Christians.  In spite of this claim, Newsweek notes the Mormon faith has a “distinctive theological profile” that defines God as a finite being with a body who is married and eternally procreative (September 10, 2001 page 49).

 In Gentile Girl: Living with the Latter-day Saints, a young woman tells the story of living as a Christian among Mormons.  Carol Forseth, the author, attended Brigham Young University and in a straightforward, transparent style provides an inside look at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

 It becomes apparent that there is more to Mormons than meets the eye.  Under their wholesome exterior lies a fierce devotion to their Church and a relentless effort to convert Gentiles to their faith.  Faith comes by feeling, they insist, and anyone who prays for a “burning in the bosom” will realize that this Church is the only true Church on the face of the earth.

 Carol Forseth writes from the depths of her soul about the trauma and the joy of living as a minority in Utah. However different the doctrines may be, she concludes, it is possible to earn the respect of Latter-day Saint neighbors and live peacefully among them, mainly, in the words of St. Paul, by avoiding “foolish and stupid arguments, knowing that they produce quarrels” (2 Timothy 2:23).

 Gentile Girl: Living with the Latter-day Saints provides a gentle, entertaining look into Mormon life that is neither pro-Mormon nor anti-Mormon propaganda.