My son and I have just read and thoroughly enjoyed Martha Beck’s Leaving the SAINTS — How I lost the Mormons and Found my Faith(Crown Publishers, New York, 2005). The book is a long, extraordinarily well-written expose of Martha’s totally dysfunctional Mormon family and her rather ignominious leaving of the Mormon faith.
This reading of Beck’s book has led to some interesting discussions between my son and me about religion, memory and truth-telling.
LEAVING THE SAINTS centers on Hugh Nibley, Martha’s powerful, scholarly father and his deep influence on Martha’s life — both good and bad. Until his death this past February (2005), Nibley was the foremost scholar and apologist in the whole of Mormonism.
Martha, like her father, is certifiably brilliant (PhD in Social Sciences from Harvard University) and a darn good writer. She weaves her family story well and, quite frankly, tells all, including her so-called sexual abuse when she was a child. Memories of the abuse were recovered when she was about 30 years old. (Yes, the whole controversial issue of recovered memories play prominently in the book.)
You will learn a lot about the Latter Day Saints and especially about Martha Beck — a woman who is a total genius, a very funny writer and a person who, in many ways, is entirely weird. Beck insists that her memory is trustworthy and her story completely (So help her, God…) true. Others, including some of her own equally smart siblings, dispute her tell-all tale.
You’ll have to read it yourself and make your own judgment. If you’re a reader like I am, and even if you aren’t a person who reads lots of books, you’ll like this book. It would be a good summer read, but read it with your eyes wide open…
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