A casual journey into any evangelical Christian bookstore will demonstrate the popularity of books and tapes, fiction and non-fiction, dealing with the rather esoteric subject of eschatology -- the study of last things. As the so-called new millennium approached, the markets were flooded with all sorts of prognostications of how the earth would end, how society would come crashing down on our heads, and how God would somehow rescue the faithful and utterly demolish the wicked. On May 17 2000, I found a book at a local Barnes and Noble store explaining, with startling clarity and accuracy, how the world would come to and end on May 5, 2000, when the planets would be in alignment. I wondered if the world HAD ended and no one bothered to tell me.

There have been surprisingly few works of fiction in the LDS market promoting such a sensationalistic view of eschatology. While there are several good volumes discussing the Second Coming of Christ, the LDS fiction market seems to be more focused on looking back than on looking forward. Frankly, I think this is a good idea.

And now Kenneth R. Tarr brings us "The Last Days - Volume 1 - The Gathering Storm." I purchased the book mainly to see how a fiction writer would pull together the disparate ideas and writings of LDS leaders and scholars. How would Tarr bring the whole thing together?

The story takes place sometime in the future. It's not clear exactly when, but technology has moved nicely along, allowing for such things as widely-used picture-phones and alternative-energy vehicles. The protagonist of this book is Steven Christopher, a translator by trade. (Tarr, by the way, holds degrees on both Spanish and French.) His wife, Selena, abandoned their family when she joined a polygamist cult in Arizona. Steven's brother, John, has long been preaching that the end is near, that Church members ought to be getting ready, but most view him as a fanatic and an alarmist. Their younger brother, Paul, has just returned from his mission and is ready to get on with his life.

Soon into the story, natural disasters begin to wreak havoc on the residents of Utah -- earthquakes, floods, etc. The Provo area is nearly destroyed. A giant earthquake nearly destroys Japan. Soon a pair of asteroids are spotted heading toward earth. One lands in Canada, another in the Atlantic Ocean, the latter causing a tsunami effect, wiping out much of the East Coast.

Through all this, a violent anti-Semite neo-Nazi lunatic is gathering his forces to bring about the destruction of the United States. His minions maneuver the Russians to launch nuclear bombs on Detroit and Chicago, causing extraordinary destruction.

And a deadly disease, first thought to be a new strain of the Ebola virus, is running rampant, killing millions. And a plot to kill more than 50 of the top leaders of the United States, including the President, the Vice President, and the entire Cabinet, comes off without a hitch.

The nation is in chaos. Militias have taken over the country, commandeering federal facilities and closing roads.

I think you get the picture.

I wasn't at all sure how all these factors worked together. It was a challenge keeping all the disasters straight. One thread that ran through the whole story was Steven's budding love affair with a young woman in his ward. They both follow the rules of propriety, and thus never quite reveal, until the end, their affection for one another.

Problems With The Book

As mentioned, it took a great deal of concentration to keep track of all the disasters. I tried to picture the globe turned upside-down by the intensity, and close proximity, of these dreaded events. But more, I tried to zero in on where LDS scripture, or the teachings of the Prophets, gives us such a dire view. Yes, there are warnings, and word-pictures of a coming judgment, but the intensity of the concurrent events in this book seemed a bit over the top to me. It became, not a picture, but a caricature, of the very serious subject of end-time events.

I thought there was also a problem with continuity. Perhaps a few examples will illustrate. The first hundred pages of the book are populated with good, loyal LDS folks discussing the crises at great length. We even get to travel to the polyg settlement in Arizona where Steven and his friends rescue Steven's daughter, who had been kidnapped by her mother.

We then switch to Washington D.C. where the President is meeting with his advisors. The Pres. advises that all American citizens should be implanted with a microchip, so that their whereabouts can be monitored continually. When the V.P. objects on the basis that the American people would never go along with such a plan, the Pres. informs him that tens of millions of Americans were already implanted, something the V.P knows nothing about.

Now, given that this program has already implanted tens of millions, how likely is it that the V.P. knew nothing about it? And even more puzzling, with all the extended discussions of government scheming to deprive the people of their rights, why is this the first time we've heard of these implants? The Mormons seem to know nothing of the program. It just didn't wash.

During this same meeting, the Pres. announces that all privately-owned firearms would be confiscated. Several chapters later, a guard comes across Steven holding a shotgun. He asks, "Do you have a permit for that? I don't know why the government issues permits to you Mormons." But how could Steven have a permit for a firearm if they've all been confiscated? Yes, he could have hidden one, but when the guard discovered it, why on earth would he ask if Steven had a permit to own something that had been outlawed? Puzzling indeed.

Merits of the Book

In its favor, the book raises some interesting questions about how seriously Mormons take the words of warning of their leaders. It is clear that Mr. Tarr is raising "a witness and a warning" to his readers. Interesting questions are raised about food storage, knowledge of natural remedies, and the dependence we all have on electricity and modern conveniences. Could we survive if a disaster really did hit? Or do we panic when we can't watch the evening news because the electricity is off for an hour?

Steven makes several personal journeys in this volume. One of them is his acknowledgment that he really didn't have a clue about how to survive. His "fanatic" brother John knew just what to do -- how to build a generator, how to make an outhouse, etc. -- and Steven soon learns to appreciate his brother's "fanaticism." He also finds himself in a difficult situation when his ex-wife leaves the polyg colony and attempts a reunion with Steven and their children. These story lines were quite interesting.

Summary

I thought "The Last Days - Volume 1 - The Gathering Storm" was a little like a stew with too many ingredients. While the component parts of the story aren't entirely beyond belief, the concurrence of the events transformed the overall impact from a helpful warning to a comic-like presentation of coming events. It simply wasn't believable.

And when it comes to books presenting an end-time scenario, they must be, at the very least, believable.

There are more volumes in the series. I hope Mr. Tarr brings the story back into the arena of credible discourse. The subject of the end times is a serious one, and deserves some study.

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Jeff Needle
jeff.needle@general.com