Leisure reading

'Mission to America'

By Walter Kirn

Doubleday, $23.95.

Walter Kirn, a self-described "lapsed Mormon," is perhaps best known as a critic — and a very good one — often for GQ and the New York Times. He has also written four other novels, the most recent being "Up in the Air."

In "Mission to America," he has taken some of his youthful experiences and parlayed them into the religious extremism that is found in pockets all over the country. Because Kirn lives in Montana, his characters also live in a remote Montana town, where Mason LaVerle has been influenced by his youth in the church of the Aboriginal Fulfilled Apostles, a matriarchal, new-age kind of sect that keeps its distance from mainstream American life.

Because the Apostles have a dwindling membership, LaVerle and another young man are sent on a mission to attract converts — especially women. They talk religion at malls, pass out leaflets in parking garages, and finally find a Colorado ski town they like. LaVerle courts a young woman who used to pose for Internet porn sites.

The story accelerates when they learn that their church leader, "The Seeress," is nearing death. The dialogue is quick and funny, although the characters are not quite believable. — Dennis Lythgoe

'Heart Petals'

Edited by Mary Jane Woodger

University of Utah Press, $21.95.

Mary Jane Woodger, who has devoted considerable study to the life of David O. McKay, the white-maned charismatic president of the LDS Church for 19 years, has assembled the personal letters from McKay to his wife, Emma Ray. The result is a fascinating array of "Heart Petals," McKay's term for his love letters to his "true love," which he wrote for more than 70 years.

These letters are very personal and sweet — but one of the most interesting aspects they convey is a literary quality of personality that McKay displayed quite naturally. McKay was an educator and well-read, and it shows in his impressive vocabulary and literary allusions. He was also extremely observant of the world around him, so he describes much of what he has done, as well as what he has seen in his travels.

This priceless correspondence opens a window into the intellect and the emotional life of one of the most beloved of LDS prophets. — Dennis Lythgoe

'Just Another Soldier'