“Falling in Love with Joseph Smith” by Jane Barnes
“Falling in Love with Joseph Smith” by Jane Barnes c.2012, Jeremy P. Tarcher Penguin $25.95 / $27.50 Canada 288 pages BOOK REVIEW by TERRI SCHLICHENMEYER The magazines reminded you of a different time. There they were, moldering in a pile in the attic where your mother found them, dozens of them, dog-eared and well-loved. Why did she save them? You’ll never know, but as you wistfully fingered the fragile paper, memories of a crush you had on a teen idol came flooding back. You’d almost forgotten that obsession. You’d never forget his songs. For author Jane Barnes, the obsession started in adulthood and grew, until the subject of her fascination asked her to change her life. In her book “Falling in Love with Joseph Smith,” she explains… The obsession began with another obsession: following some innocent religious exposure, Jane Barnes began to irrationally fear the deaths of her two young daughters. It was a fear she couldn’t stop, so she called on her childhood God for help. He didn’t answer. Seeking religion that offered comfort, Barnes tried other churches and rejected them all – until she read about Joseph Smith. Smith was born in Vermont in 1805 to churchgoing parents who allowed their children to choose their own religions. At age fourteen, young Joseph went into the woods to ask God to help him decide, when he was bathed...
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