Newell, Coke 1958-

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Newell, Coke 1958-

PERSONAL:

Born May 16, 1958; married; wife's name Cindy: children: seven. Education: Colorado State University, B.A. (cum laude); Montana State University, M.S.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Utah. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Began career as a features writer and features editor in CO; then worked for eleven years as a national media relations officer for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, UT; currently teaches communication at Salt Lake Community College, Salt Lake City. Founder, Edaphica, LLC, leadership training company.

MEMBER:

American Society of Journalists and Authors, Society of Professional Journalists, Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Novel of the Year, Association for Mormon Letters, and Whitney Award, both 2007, both for On the Road to Heaven.

WRITINGS:

Dying Words: Colombian Journalists and the Cocaine Warlords, Red Mesa (Ft. Collins, CO), 1991.

Cow Chips Aren't for Dippin': A Guide to Life in the New Wild West, Gibbs-Smith Publisher (Salt Lake City, UT), 1996.

Latter Days: A Guided Tour through Six Billion Years of Mormonism, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 2000.

Journey to Edaphica, BookSurge Publishing, 2006.

On the Road to Heaven (novel), Zarahemla Books (Provo, UT), 2007.

Author of column "The Spiritual Foundations of Fathering." Contributor to periodicals.

SIDELIGHTS:

Coke Newell is a writer and public relations professional who is also the founder of Edaphica LLC, through which he teaches a leadership model that can be applied to business or personal life. Newell has worked for more than a decade for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) in Salt Lake City, Utah, as their media person, and has written a history of that religion entitled Latter Days: A Guided Tour through Six Billion Years of Mormonism.

Beliefnet reviewer Jana K. Riess noted that Newell is "a convert, ‘straight out of the rock-and-roll, vegetarian, whole earth, and homeschool, homeopathic Colorado mountains.’ He once dabbled in Taoism and devoured Thoreau…. In other words, Newell may be a Mormon, but he is cool—at least in his own mind." Riess felt that although Newell claims to be presenting a balanced study, unlike those that are distinctly pro- or anti-LDS, he includes anti-Protestant and anti-Catholic comments. Riess complimented Newell for opening with an examination, if incomplete, of Mormon theology and noted that this is the most neglected aspect of Mormonism. The subtitle of the book refers to the fact that Mormons believe that souls choose to be born into human bodies, but Riess felt that Newell's treatment of this subject is inadequate.

Riess noted that "Newell overzealously embraces Mormonism's claims to its exclusive priestly authority as an opportunity to take potshots at other religions' beliefs and history." Newell asserts that after the Second Coming, people of other religions will convert to Mormonism after they realize that it is the true priesthood recognized by the Savior. Riess commented that Newell writes extensively about the persecution of Mormons but says little about the darker side of LDS history that includes the power exerted by leader Joseph Smith. She also wrote that Newell says little about the LDS history of polygamy, which he claims was limited, but which Riess wrote that experts estimate involved a number close to forty percent.

Newell writes that the doctrines in the book are "clean water," or one hundred percent orthodox. Riess concluded her review with: "Is this book ‘clean water’? Squeaky-clean. No doctrinal cryptosporidium in sight. Was it bottled in Utah? Oh, yes—and sanitized there, too."

A Publishers Weekly contributor noted that Newell focuses on history and theology but doesn't address the practices of abstaining from tobacco, coffee, and alcohol, tithing, and wearing temple garments. Library Journal reviewer David S. Azzolina described Latter Days as being "an engaging read, but the footnotes make it appropriate for both academic and public libraries." Booklist contributor Bryce Christensen found it to be "a short but lively summary of a puzzling faith."

On the Road to Heaven is an autobiographical novel about Kit West, a pot-smoking sixteen-year-old from Colorado who falls in love with Annie Hawk, a Mormon runaway. Love and religion are explored through the two young people in the novel described by a Publishers Weekly reviewer as a "tender love story in this sprawling coming-of-age tale."