Saints in Babylon: Mormons and Las Vegas

This is a nicely written journalistic account of Mormons and Mormonism in Las Vegas. The author does a fine job showing how the LDS church has managed to secure considerable political power, even in Sin City. (Think what kind of power they must wield in Salt Lake!) Along the way, readers are introduced to the mind set of modern Mormonism, and the methods that the Mormon political machine employs to get its way. A nice, breezy read. You'll have fun with this one.

Saints In Babylon: Mormons And Las Vegas by Kenneth Ward is a truly riveting account of the Mormon community that thrives in the heartland of America's legalized gambling. This is the true story of how a ethically strict, theological-based temperant and anti-gambling oriented Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints established itself and then found ways to earn revenue off of gambling and the self-indulgent pleasures that Las Vegas commercializes and markets to everyone and anyone with the money to play makes for amazing and riveting reading. Saints In Babylon is a unique contribution to the study of contemporary Mormon history.

Saints in Babylon is not just for Mormons or about Mormons. Ward's account of the influence and conflicts associated with the Mormon history in Vegas could just as easily be about any community of faith dealing with Sin City! Truthfully written, and filled with research and documentation, Saints in Babylon is really about the power of worldy influences over anyone struggling with the demands of moral living.As a Catholic, I found Ward's historic look at Mormons in Las Vegas to be a riviting and informative story of the battle (won or lost) for the moral high ground in a city filled with overwhelming temptations and financial attractions. Mormon, Catholic, Prostetant or Jew, this is about, "Does the end justify the means?" Can money derived by sinful means be rationalized as a necessary evil, when those monies are used for good purposes?"I read the book straight through. This is a great book!!

"Saints in Babylon" shatters the stereotype that all Mormons think alike. In Las Vegas, anyway, it appears that the church exerts a lot of influence through its members. But the members themselves don't always see eye to eye -- especially when it comes to politics. This book has me taking a second look at Las Vegas and the Mormon religion in a whole new light. It explains a split personality of the city that most people never see. Bravo!