Wikipedia

Martha Beck: Difference between revisions

Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
Orangemarlin (talk | contribs)
30,771 edits
→‎Leaving the Saints: Rewriting for clarity and ignoring rude fucking comment from an anonymous IP.
Orangemarlin (talk | contribs)
30,771 edits
→‎Leaving the Saints: Actually, too many clauses.
Line 25:
In 2005, she received national attention for her bestselling<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/27/books/bestseller/0327besthardnonfiction.html |title=The New York Times Books Best-Seller Lists—Hardcover Nonfiction|date=March 27, 2005 |work= |accessdate=2011-04-19}}</ref> book, ''Leaving the Saints: How I Lost the Mormons and Found My Faith''.<ref name="Leaving">{{cite book|isbn=978-0307335999|publisher=Three Rivers Press|title=Leaving the Saints: How I Lost the Mormons and Found My Faith|year=2006|last=Beck|first=Martha N}}</ref> According to the magazine, Sunstone,<ref name="Lyon">{{cite news|url=http://www.sunstoneonline.com/zJUNKpile/mag/book-review.pdf|title=AN EXHAUSTED MEMOIR OF READING LEAVING THE SAINTS|last=Lyon|first=Tania R|year=2005|publisher=Sunstone Magazine|pages=70–75|accessdate=2007-04-02}} {{Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref> the book may have originally been conceived as a [[novel]], loosely based on her life (with a male main character), but was changed to recount her personal experiences, with the encouragement of her publishers. Ultimately released in March 2005, the book is a narrative in which Beck describes [[recovered memory|recovered memories]] of alleged [[sexual abuse]] by her father,<ref name="Wyatt">{{cite news|url=http://www.azcentral.com/ent/arts/articles/0225Mormon-Memoir-ON-CP.html|title=Daughter accuses Mormon scholar of sexual abuse|publisher=New York Times|last=Wyatt|first=Edward|date=2005-02-25|accessdate=2007-04-02}}</ref> prominent [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints|LDS]] academician [[Hugh Nibley]]; her experiences teaching at [[Brigham Young University]]; [[cultural dissonance]] and anomalies in [[Utah]]; her spiritual journey leaving the LDS church. Prior to and after publication of the book, several national newspapers in the [[United States]] reported that Beck's memoir had quickly become controversial in Mormon circles.<ref name="Wyatt"/><ref name="Post">{{cite news|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/07/AR2005050700981.html|title=Daughter's Denunciation of Historian Roils Mormon Church|author=Reid TR|publisher=WashingtonPost.com|date=2005-05-08|pages=A03|accessdate=2007-04-24}}</ref>
 
Numerous articles were published in response to the book, including a critical essay by the Mormon author, [[Boyd Jay Petersen]], who is the author of Hugh Nibley's biography as well as being his son-in-law. Petersen states in his conclusions, "Throughout this book, as with her other books, it is obvious that she distorts the record as much as or more than she reports it, jumps to conclusions more than provides evidence leading to conclusions, and blurs fact and fantasy. But to stick to the facts requires more than simply assuring readers that you do. You actually have to stick to them, something it seems Martha seldom does."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fairlds.org/Reviews/Rvw200504.html|title=As Things Stand at the Moment: Responding to Martha Beck's Leaving the Saints|last=Petersen|first=Boyd Jay|year=2005|publisher=FAIR: Defending Mormonism|accessdate=2007-04-24}}</ref> Beck responded to some of these criticisms by stating that she began having memories of her traumatic events prior to the use of any therapy (including hypnosis), that her vagina had scarring that may have been the result of sexual abuse, and that her memories were vivid and intrusive.<ref name="Record">{{cite web|title=Setting the Record Straight: Physical Evidence & Memories From My Childhood|url=http://leavingthesaints.com/settingrecord.htm|last=Beck|first=Martha|year=2005|accessdate=2007-04-24}}</ref> Family members have also pointed out the impossibility of activities such as Beck described being carried out in the tiny Nibley home, where there was little or no privacy and multiple children shared every bedroom. Some members of Nibley's surviving family also challenge Beck's allegations by pointing out inconsistencies in her descriptions of events to various media sources.<ref>{{cite web|author=Peterson, Boyd|year=2005|publisher= The Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research |url=http://www.fairlds.org/Reviews/Rvw200506.html |title=As Things Stand at the Moment: Responding to Martha Beck's 'Leaving the Saints' |work= |accessdate=2011-04-19}}</ref> Hugh Nibley's family, including Beck's siblings, have claimed the book's accusations against their father are false<ref>{{cite web|url=http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/publications/nibleyfamilystatement.php|title=NIBLEY FAMILY RESPONSE TO MARTHA BECK’S “LEAVING THE SAINTS”|year=2005|publisher=Brigham Young University|accessdate=2007-04-02}}</ref> and have expressed "outrage" at the book and accusations.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,600109810,00.html|title=Nibley siblings outraged over sister's book|first=Dennis|last=Lythgoe|publisher=Deseret News|date=2005-02-05|accessdate=2007-04-24}}</ref>
 
Although most of the criticism centered around Beck's allegations of sexual abuse, a substantial portion of the book involves a discussion of the LDS church and its policies. BYU professor [[Robert L. Millet]] criticized some of her portrayals as "nonsense", "ludicrous", or "paranoia", saying that she "seems to be a magnet for improbable happenings" and "equate[s] weird anomalies in Mormon culture with the norm."<ref>{{cite journal | author=Millet, Robert L. | authorlink=Robert L. Millet | title=They Leave It, But They Can't Leave It Alone | journal=Books & Culture | publisher=[[Christianity Today]] | date=July 1, 2005 | url=http://www.christianitytoday.com/bc/2005/julaug/12.33.html | accessdate=2010-01-19}}</ref> The book also mentions that her father intentionally misinterpreted certain Egyptian hieroglyphics in order to support some of the writings of early church leaders, including [[Joseph Smith, Jr.|Joseph Smith]].<ref name="Leaving"/>
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martha_Beck"