Review: Mette Ramstad. Conversion in the Pacific: Eastern Polynesian Latter-day Saints’ Conversion Accounts and their Development of a LDS Identity. Kristiansand, Norway: Høyskoleforlaget, 2003.

Authors

Amanda Hendrix-Komoto

Keywords

Mette Ramstad, conversion, Polynesia, anthropology, latter-day saints

Abstract

Mette Ramstad’s Conversion in the Pacific: Eastern Polynesian Latter-day Saints’ Conversion Accounts and Their Development of a LDS Identity was published in 2003. Although it is over a decade old, it remains a refreshing, smart contribution to the field. Unlike many scholars of Mormonism, Ramstad is not a historian. Instead, she writes as an anthropologist of religion. The result can be a bit disconcerting for individuals used to narrative histories. Like many social scientists, she categorizes the experiences of her subjects and uses them as case studies for understanding concepts that have been important to the academic study of religion. In one section, she provides an extensive review of academic theories of religious conversion and details each author’s contributions to the field (pp. 19–44). Although the result can be alienating for those wishing for a continuous narrative arc, her writing is easily digested and the many headings and subheadings in her work mean that it is easy to find a specific piece of information. An index would have made her writing even easier to grasp for nonspecialists, but the inclusion of a glossary of Polynesian words is a welcome addition.

BYU ScholarsArchive Citation

Hendrix-Komoto, Amanda (2019) "Review: Mette Ramstad. Conversion in the Pacific: Eastern Polynesian Latter-day Saints’ Conversion Accounts and their Development of a LDS Identity. Kristiansand, Norway: Høyskoleforlaget, 2003.," Mormon Studies Review: Vol. 6: No. 1, Article 11.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/msr2/vol6/iss1/11