Review
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Title: What Happened to the Cross?
Author: Robert L. Millet
Publisher: Deseret Book
Genre: Doctrinal
Year Published: 2007
Number of Pages: 207 plus notes and index
Binding: Hardcover
ISBN: 978-1-59038-789-4
Price: $21.95(US)

Reviewed by Jonathan Neville

According to the inside flap on the cover of "What Happened to the Cross," the book "clearly describes the Church's crucial teachings in a way that's easy to understand--and to explain to those of other faiths." However, the tone of the book is mixed; some sections lay out Church doctrines and practices, some sections relate personal testimony about various subjects, and other sections seem more confrontational with respect to non-LDS positions. Consequently, this is probably not the type of book one would give to non-LDS readers as an introduction to LDS beliefs.

Here's one example from the chapter "God and Human Tragedy." "Because we know that God will win, we need not fret about the future. Because we know that the great and abominable church will crumble, we need not be discouraged as organized evil spreads its mischief. Because we know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will indeed be found in every nation and kingdom under heaven, we need not worry about a slanderous remark or a misrepresentation of our faith and way of life. The Lord lives. This is his work, and he will bring it to consummation. He will not be defeated."

Another chapter, "Living Doctrine," deals with statements by previous LDS leaders that are not consistent with current Church doctrine and practices. Millet responds to critics this way: "Those of other faiths who leap to criticize the Church and question its truthfulness because of past teachings from Church leaders that are not accepted as doctrine today would do well to ask themselves if they are prepared to apply the same standards of judgment to their own tradition, their own prominent speakers, or their own past. This is like asking, 'Would you like to better understand Roman Catholicism today? Then study carefully the atrocities of the Crusades or the horrors of the Inquisition.'" To me, this doesn't seem like a very productive approach, but others may see it as useful.

The title chapter, "What Happened to the Cross," reviews Paul's teachings about the cross and emphasizes that LDS teachings also focus on the cross, while reminding the reader of President Hinckley's statement that "the way we live our lives... is the great symbol of our Christianity." Millet suggests that there is no doctrinal prohibition against displaying crosses; perhaps LDS churches don't display crosses because many of the early Saints shared the Puritan opposition to ceremony and ornamentation, which would include displaying crosses.

There are a few editorial oddities in the book. For example, the chapter on "God and Human Tragedy" opens with a quotation from John G. Stackhouse, Jr., a theology professor at Regent College. Two pages later, Millet quotes Stackhouse again, but identifies him only by saying "As one theologian pointed out..." Then he quotes C.S. Lewis, followed by another quotation by Stackhouse that starts "Someone else observed..." I had to look at the footnotes in the back of the book to see that these two subsequent quotations were also by Stackhouse.

Millet relates several meaningful and insightful personal experiences, but like many books from this publisher, this one consists largely of quotations from the scriptures and from LDS general authorities. For example, in the chapter on the Book of Mormon titled "Setting the Keystone," Millet quotes Brigham Young, Joseph Smith, Gordon B. Hinckley, Harold B. Lee, Ezra Taft Benson, Jeffrey R. Holland, and Bruce R. McConkie, often at length. More than half of this chapter consists of quotations. Consequently, the book works well as a useful reference for LDS readers who may want to review teachings of Church leaders on topics that arise in conversations with non-LDS people. Someone looking for a book to share with non-LDS friends that explains LDS doctrines will have to keep looking if, like me, they want something that explains our positions in a manner that seeks common ground.