Johnny Townsend: 33 books

In this collection of Mormon short stories, we see a mission president's wife murdered in Rome. A man whose past is filled with abuse learns to love for the first time. A mother plans for her role as a god in the hereafter. A descendant of Enoch tries out Capitalism. A husband nearing his seventh...

In this collection of Mormon short stories, a sadistic mission leader torments a young missionary. An ex-Mormon tries to seduce a faithful member by showing him increasingly suggestive movies. A sister missionary fulfills her community service requirement by babysitting for a prostitute. Two elders...

Decades after the Fall, archeologists excavating ruins discover an abandoned vault deep in a mountainside. The vault has been seriously compromised, but a few documents have been found printed on actual paper, an astonishing recovery after worldwide climate disaster has all but wiped out forests....

Clean-cut Mormons may preach purity and wholesomeness, but sometimes repressing sexual instincts forces those feelings to erupt in unexpected ways. In these stories, two young women vie for the sexual affections of the same missionary. An elderly farmer marries his best friend's mistress in order...

In this collection of Mormon short stories, a disaffected young woman burns her temple clothes while dancing to an old pop song. A teenage boy worried about the future of the planet prays for God to send a devastating plague on humans. An eager polygamist endures a miserable wedding night with his...

A missionary in Italy tries to rescue a woman enslaved in trafficking. A Salt Lake bishop is murdered in his office. A Mormon advice columnist gets into trouble with the Church. Parents arrange to kidnap their missionary son and force him into deprogramming. A disabled woman questions her Patriarchal...

Mental illness can strike the faithful as easily as anyone else. But often religious doctrine and practice exacerbate rather than alleviate these problems. From schizophrenia to obsessive-compulsive disorder, from persecution complex to sexual dysfunction, autism to dissociative identity disorder, Mormons must cope with their mental as well as their spiritual health on a daily basis.

The scriptures tell us that in the Last Days, wickedness will increase upon the Earth. When the Mormon Church sees a rise in the number of gay members, they believe the end is upon them. But sometimes, being gay provides just the right ingredient to create saints.

Gay Mormons certainly have their challenges. In these stories, a repressed man seeks a medicinal cure for homosexuality. A homophobic scientist comes up with a novel theory for why the dinosaurs became extinct. The victim of a gay bashing becomes a serial killer of right-wing preachers. A group of...

What is a gay Mormon missionary doing in Italy? He is trying to save his own soul as well as the souls of others. In these tales chronicling the two-year mission of Robert Anderson, we see a young man tormented by his inability to be the man the Church says he should be. In addition to his personal...

These sixteen stories reveal Mormons with serious problems their church can't always help solve. A young girl has to fight the Klan in 1960's Mississippi. A betrayed husband facing divorce demands the return of the kidney he donated to his wife. A young gay man is forced out of the closet by his dying...

These fourteen tales of gay Mormons reveal abominable yet delightful secrets. A man obsessed with gargoyles battles his own subhuman attitudes on Halloween. A gay couple steals from the rich to provide for their favorite charities. A celibate 38-year-old dates a promiscuous porn reviewer. A schizophrenic...

Jason Kincaid is nearing the end of his three-year term as president of the Washington Seattle mission of the LDS Church. His service has been difficult, and for the first time in his life, he has doubts. During the last zone conference over which he presides, he does something he’s never done before....

A world-weary man becomes a widower for the third time. A non-Mormon couple allow their teenage daughter to be baptized but are then shocked when she rejects them and moves in with a more righteous family. A man awakens to celebrate a milestone birthday only to discover that horrifying world events...