Feeding the Flock: The Foundations of Mormon Thought; Church and Praxis

Givens (When Souls Had Wings), author of numerous books on Mormon history and theology, has completed an excellent duology with this companion volume to Wrestling the Angel. Here, Givens moves away from the philosophical background and religious tenets of Mormonism to discuss the day-to-day practice of Mormon believers. He divides his text in three: the structure of the church itself as a working hierarchy, and then the salvific and non-salvific ordinances offered by the church. Those looking for the historical or scriptural foundations of modern-day Mormon positions on issues such as sexual orientation or gender expression will be disappointed; Givens gives the role of women in the church, for example, no more than a cursory mention. Issues of sexual identity receive even less attention. As in his previous volume, Givens comes to no conclusions at either chapter or volume level, choosing instead to stop where the discussion of his final element stops; the academic reader, particularly, may find this an unusual gap, and both books would have benefited from some sort of closing overview. Givens does, however, provide rich notes that should serve the interested reader well in locating additional reading. (July)