While D.
Michael Quinn has produced some good works, he is over-rated as a historian,
largely because he has shown himself, on numerous occasions, to be more than
willing to force his (often nonsensical) theories back into historical sources and events. His book on
purported same-sex dynamics in early Mormonism is a prime example. For that reason, I believe Quinn to be highly over-rated as a historian. To read a
thorough refutation of Quinn on this, see:
George L.
Mitton and Rhett S. James, A
Response to D. Michael Quinn's Homosexual Distortion of Latter-day Saint History
(cf. Klaus J. Hansen, Quinnspeak)
On the issue
of the Bible and homosexuality, always a hot-button topic, see Robert J. Gagnon’s
book, The
Bible and Homosexual Practice: Texts and Hermeneutics (Abingdon Press,
2001).
Another thorough-beat down of Quinn (this time, the revised edition of his Early Mormonism and the Magic World View volume), see Bill Hamblin, "That Old Black Magic" (see also John Gee, An Obstacle to Deeper Understanding).
If one reads anything by Quinn, always check the sources he is citing. He does have a habit of padding his sources as Hamblin et al has proven.
