Recently Andrew Rogers wrote the following article about me in Prodigal Magazine. It was also published in at least one secular print magazine.
From Mormon to Christian author: Latayne C. Scott
Thu, May 14, 2009
Reviews
http://prodigalmagazine.com/from-mormon-to-christian-author/
Former Mormon, Latayne C. Scott, recently published two new books: Latter-Day Cipher, A Novel (Moody Publishers) and The Mormon Mirage, 3rd Edition: A Former Member Looks at the Mormon Church Today (Zondervan). In each of these books Scott’s passion to challenge Mormonism’s teachings and expose its inconsistencies rings true.
Her ten year history as a devoted member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), and her subsequent conversion to Christianity, are the initial focus of The Mormon Mirage.
“It wasn’t easy to leave. I owed, and still owe, The church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its members a great debt of gratitude,” Scott writes in a chapter called, “A Gentle Apostasy.” “But [now] I am regarded by them as a traitor and an apostate. I left Mormonism after tasting some of its sweetest fruits.”
Scott was raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico by Baptist parents. After her father encountered Mormon missionaries he converted. Though her mother did not, Scott’s adolescent years were spent as a committed member of the LDS church. She was involved in numerous church programs and actively sought to understand everything she could about her new LDS faith.
“I was never lukewarm. What I believed, I lived,” Scott writes of her time at Brigham Young University, the LDS church’s premier university, located in Provo, UT. It was during her sophomore year at Brigham Young that she decided to make the hard decision to leave the church. Her mother’s prodding, and a dating relationship with a Christian, Dan Scott (whom she would eventually marry) led Scott, eventually to Christianity.
The process was not an easy one. Scott recounts numerous hours spent debating Dan, speaking with Christian ministers, and scouring over Mormon scriptures, and painful prayers before her conversion.
“I finally came to an impasse in my spiritual progress. I was struggling against the bonds of Mormonism – tradition and heritage, doctrinal comfort and love. Yet I felt that that something was terribly wrong there – why did my teaching and background in Mormonism conflict so sharply with my new knowledge of the Bible? Why the inconsistencies in LDS historical accounts and early documents?”
Her abrupt departure from school in the middle of a semester it did not go unnoticed.
“I received many letters, most anonymous and many cruel, which persuaded and threatened, pleaded and rejected. All had one object in mind – my return to Mormonism. ..Some of the letters told of the punishments awaiting apostates, and one ended by saying, “don’t you realize that you’ll never see the inside of a temple again?”
Since her conversion thirty years ago, Scott has made reaching out to Mormons her life’s mission. She has also published thirteen books and written widely in journals and online.
Latter-Day Cipher is Scott’s first published novel. It tells the story of an agnostic journalist, Selonnah Zee’s, trip to Salt Lake City, Utah. She’s researching the murder of a Utah heiress and visiting her cousin, Roger, who is a well-known Mormon figure. As Selonnah covers the story mysterious deaths occur, each seemingly unrelated, except for distinct Mormon symbolism included with each corpse. In her hunt to decipher the serial killer’s motive, Selonnah learns dark secrets of Mormonism that shock her, and likely, the reader.
Scott’s prose is engrossing and detailed. Not only does her deep knowledge of Mormon doctrine shine through, but also her studies in representational research add a welcome intellectual element to the story. Selonnah Zee and the killer are authentic, absorbing characters from their first paragraphs.
Scott also avoids the traps of making her story too violent, or too preachy. Not as dark and aggressive as a Ted Dekker novel, nor as light and easy as one of Lori Wick’s stories, Scott has found a comfortable middle ground that most readers will enjoy.
To learn more about Latayne C. Scott and her ministry to Mormons visit: www.latayne.com.
For more information, see The Mormon Mirage 3rd Edition: A Former Member Looks at the Mormon Church Today (Zondervan, 2009). Also available as an audiobook and as an expanded-text E-book for Nook, Kindle and other reading devices.
