Book Review - Real vs Rumor: How to Dispel Latter-Day Myths

Growing up as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, I heard many rumors ranging from the mundane to the outrageous.  Some were presented by people trying to convince me that the church was lead by wicked frauds and others were presented during Sunday classes as potential faith building experiences.  Still others were just presented as random nuggets of information just considered interesting.

When I picked up this book, Real vs. Rumor, I mostly expected it to be a listing of dozens or even hundreds of stories that would then either be proven as fact or debunked as fake.  What I found was somewhat different.

The true content and intent of the book is elaborated by its subtitle: "How to dispel latter-day myths".  While the book does use a handful of rumors and stories as examples, the real purpose of the book is to present readers with a sort of blueprint or methodology for evaluating these stories and rumors on their own to try and determine their veracity.

The author, Keith A. Erekson, is a historian who worked for many years as director of the Church History Library and so he had many opportunities to hone his research methods and to uncover truth and error.  He shares some of his experiences and points out some of his findings related to a handful of the well known myths but mostly he wants readers to come away from this book with a better strategy for finding and accepting truths.

In any religious setting, it is important that we take things on faith.  But blind faith is often counter productive and can sometimes be dangerous to our long term beliefs.  Erekson presents a number of "sniff tests" to help us decide if something we hear should be believed on face value or if it warrants further investigation.  And if it does require additional investigation, he provides advice for how and where to seek out that information.  

In this age where anything and everything can be shared at the tap of a button, there is more information that we can possibly digest.  So when we come across something that seems a little off or a little too "share-worthy", before we hit the "share" button, we should pause and do a little bit of digging to validate the accuracy.  Otherwise, we just continue stirring the pot of confusion and diluting the faith and beliefs of those around us.  Good advice not only for the truths of the LDS Church but for any type of information we find and share.

3 out of 5 stars