Blog Tour ~ "Day of Defense" by Scott Thormaehlen

Day of Defense by Scott Thormaehlen
Source: Received to Review
Genre: Religious
Rating: 5 of 5 stars

Book Description:  Day of Defense transforms misconceptions and stigmas associated with the LDS Church into opportunities to effectively share the truth.  Discussion is divided into specific topics that place seemingly peculiar LDS beliefs into patterns seen in the Bible and early Christian history. Misunderstandings discussed include:

-The Great Apostasy
-Plural Marriage
-Heaven and Hell
-Man’s Potential and the Nature of God
-The Book of Mormon
-The Restoration

The Bible comparisons of these tough topics will give you the confidence to stand strong in the day of your defense.

My thoughts:  We live in a world where there is a lot of discussion whether favorable or critical of Mormonism.  This book is a well researched look at what other religions teach and the basis of their beliefs from a biblical perspective.  The discussion then turns to what members of the LDS Faith (Mormon) believe and the biblical references pertaining to the LDS church.


I became intrigued with a statement made in the introduction, "The primary goal of Day of Defense is to act as a guide to help Mormons and those interested in Mormonism be aware of common misconceptions and negative commentary that create a wall between the world and the truth of the Restoration."  This is a book for anyone interested in finding out more about the beliefs of the LDS religion.  It is written from an LDS perspective, but is written to find common ground between different faiths and build an understanding of common doctrine as well as differences.

I am impressed with the amount of research that Scott Thormaehlen put into this book.  He uses scriptures from the Bible as the basis for his discussion. I could tell that it is material that is very close to his heart.  It is well written and packed with pertinent information.

About the author: Scott Thormaehlen served honorably for four years in the United States Air Force as a weather forecaster during the Operation Enduring Freedom and the War on Terrorism. He graduated from the University of Texas at San Antonio with a Bachelors of Arts in History. These academic and professional experiences cultivated an already analytical and curious mind. Stationed in the Bible Belt, at Shaw AFB, SC and born in South Texas, Scott has lived in areas where Bible-only belief is the prevailing religious perspective. Having lived in the “Mission Field” for over 29 years, Scott gained a cultural perspective of his religious counterparts in school, among friends, neighbors, and co-workers. Sharing a belief in the Bible and being raised in the knowledge of the Restoration, Scott came to realize the peculiarity of his station in life and the conflict between Mormonism and mainstream Christians. His interest in history, particularly Early Christian history and the differences between Mormons and mainstream Christians motivated this book; particularly that many viewed his faith as a cult and did not fully understand and ofter misrepresented the doctrines of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The book begun in 2003 as a few pages of notes that sought to simply answer Mormon topics with the Bible. Over the years Scott added more notes, and more notes, until he decided to put his work and thoughts into book format.  To learn more about Scott Thormaehlen and Day of Defense, visit: scott-thormaehlen.com.

Purchase Links

Amazon * Book Depository * Barnes & Noble

To follow the tour, see the schedule at Cedar Fort.