A leap of faith
Sir: I live not far from the ‘London Temple’ of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Most summers, the local streets are trodden by American Mormon missionaries, polite teenagers who occasionally approach to ask if we know Jesus Christ. Some years ago, I read the book on which the new Netflix series Murder Among the Mormons (‘Latter-day sinners’, 3 April) appears to be based. So when I was accosted by a couple of missionaries, I was able to ask them why the practice of polygamy, so avidly promulgated by the founder of their church, Joseph Smith, had been abandoned.
My interviewee explained that Smith had advocated the practice of plural marriage because of the gender imbalance that had arisen as a consequence of the heavy casualties among American men who had fought in the Civil War. The prophet’s policy ensured that single women with no prospect of marriage would find shelter in the homes of the husbands they would share with other Mormon women. When I pointed out to the young woman that Joseph Smith had died in 1844 and that the Civil War did not break out until 1861, she suddenly remembered that they had another appointment and departed.
Mike Doodson
Forest Row, East Sussex
Wrong direction
Sir: Michela Wrong is a respected journalist, but I doubt even she would suggest that Do Not Disturb is a balanced account. Its narrative, based largely on interviews with the Rwandan regime’s enemies, reveals a ruthless and violent feud within the Tutsi family. But Nicholas Shakespeare’s review (Books, 27 March) overlooks two issues which must surely be vigorously contested by any objective observer.
The first is the suggestion that this was not a genocide against the Tutsis but inter-tribal violence with both sides at it.
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