Sheen brings together Christ's Sermon on the Mount with his Seven Last Words. From the Mount of the Beatitudes to the Hill of Calvary, Our Lord's public ministry and statements centered on the themes of love and forgiveness, which are explored here with Archbishop Sheen's characteristic insight and passion.

    Smith was so long in the public service of the Church that his published sermons and writings would fill many volumes. The difficult problem of the compilers of this volume has been to make a collection of extracts that would do full justice to the man and that, at the same time, could be contained in a volume of moderate size. Every reader who knows Church literature will note the shortcomings of the work; and none more than the compilers. However, incomplete as it may be, this collection is well worth while, for it contains a wealth of gospel wisdom, to instruct, comfort, and inspire the Saints. The literature of the Church has been carefully and systematically searched to discover all of President Smith's public writings and sermons. Those of a historical nature have not been used in this collection, as they may well be made into another volume.

    it has become synonymous with the establishment. In reevaluating its preoccupation with issues of church and state, Abanes uncovers the political agenda at Mormonism's core: the transformation of the world into a theocratic kingdom under Mormon authority. This illustrated edition has been revised and offers a new postscript by the author.

    This book shows that these doctrines did not originate in a vacuum but were rather prompted and informed by the religious culture from which Mormonism arose. Early Mormons, like their early Christian and even earlier Israelite predecessors, brought with them their own varied culturally conditioned theological presuppositions (a process of convergence) and only later acquired a more distinctive theological outlook (a process of differentiation).In this first-of-its-kind comprehensive treatment of the development of Mormon theology, Charles Harrell traces the history of Latter-day Saint doctrines from the times of the Old Testament to the present. He describes how Mormonism has carried on the tradition of the biblical authors, early Christians, and later Protestants in reinterpreting scripture to accommodate new theological ideas while attempting to uphold the integrity and authority of the scriptures. In the process, he probes three questions: How did Mormon doctrines develop? What are the scriptural underpinnings of these doctrines? And what do critical scholars make of these same scriptures? In this enlightening study, Harrell systematically peels back the doctrinal accretions of time to provide a fresh new look at Mormon theology.“This Is My Doctrine” will provide those already versed in Mormonism’s theological tradition with a new and richer perspective of Mormon theology. Those unacquainted with Mormonism will gain an appreciation for how Mormon theology fits into the larger Jewish and Christian theological traditions.

    This book is a step-by step guide for women everywhere who want to improve physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually

    . . combined. A man who believed from a blessing he received from Joseph Smith that if he never cut his hair he could never die in a fight. Assassins ambushed him, but no one could kill him, as confirmed by the Deseret News in 1918, stating he had passed through dangers "unscathed, as numerous as those recorded in the most lurid fiction" after it had interviewed numerous settlers who had known him. Gunfighters traveled hundreds of miles to "get him" - none succeeded. Outlaws actually sang compfire ballads about him. Latter-day Saints are proud to view him as a folk hero. Reading this book allows us to see what a real hero is. Famed British journalist Jules Remy wrote in 1861, "He is the stuff from which heroes are wrought. It is he who is ever at hand where there is a sacrifice to be made which can be of advantage to the oppressed." Richard Lloyd Dewey quotes hundreds of original sources - journals, letters, and court records - some from sources never before tapped - and weaves them all together in fascinating form. In the process he clarifies the controversies, dispels the shadows, and melts away the myriads of anti-Mormon myths. Journalistic, fast-flowing writing sweeps you through explosive early Mormon history with charm and style. He reports little known events and unravels a bizarre yet faith-promoting tale. The Deseret News of 1986 reports, "The writing is slick and the pace is fast. Dewey has done his homework." It's a story told with breadth and feeling . . . the most intriguing, ACCURATE account yet of Orrin Porter Rockwell. Also the most comprehensive, by far. As the definitive work on him, this fascinating, epic biography is as exciting to read as a first-rate novel. Beautifully illustrated by western artist Clark Kelley Price.

    Richards, a Presiding Bishop and Ordained One of the Twelve Apostles, offers an outline prepared to assist missionaries in their study and presentation of the gospel in a systematic and logical manner. Contents: The Position of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; The Visit of the Father and the Son; Personality of the Father and the Son; False Doctrines and Universal Apostasy; A Marvelous Work and a Wonder to Come Forth; The Coming Forth of the Book of Mormon; The Book of Mormon Fulfills Bible Prophecies; Evidences of the Divinity of the Book of Mormon; Restoration of Priesthood Authority; The Ordinance of Baptism; The Mission of the Holy Ghost; Setting up the Kingdom of God Upon the Earth; The Mission of Elijah; Marriage for Time and for All Eternity; The Gathering of Israel; Israel in the Latter Days; The Coming of Elias; The True Church, A Missionary Church; Fundamental Differences Between Salvation and Exaltation; Whence Cometh Man?; Why Is Man Here?; Where Is Man Going?; The Sabbath Day; Predestination and Foreordination; The Word of Wisdom; The Law of Tithing; and By Their Fruits Ye Shall Know Them.

    Many of the three thousand hardy souls who trudged across thirteen hundred miles of prairie, desert, and mountain from 1856 to 1860 were European converts to the Mormon faith. Without funds for wagons and oxen, they carried their possessions in two-wheeled carts powered and aided by their own muscle and blood. Some of the weary travelers would finally be welcomed by their brethren in Salt Lake City; others would go to wayside graves or get caught in early winter storms in the Rockies and hope to be rescued by the parties sent out by Brigham Young. The migration is described in Handcarts to Zion, which draws on diaries and reports of the participants, rosters of the ten companies, and a collection of the songs sung on the trail and at "The Gathering." LeRoy R. Hafen and Ann W. Hafen dedicated the book to his mother, Mary Ann Hafen, who wrote about the long journey in Recollections of a Handcart Pioneer of 1860: A Woman’s Life on the Mormon Frontier, also a Bison Book.

    His key role in the downfall of communism in Europe, as well as his apologies for the Catholic Church’s treatment of Jews and to victims of the Inquisition, racism, and religious wars, won him worldwide admiration. Yet his papacy has also been marked by what many perceive as misogyny, homophobia, and ecclesiastical tyranny. Some critics suggest that his perpetuation of the Church’s traditional hierarchical paternalism contributed to pedophiliac behavior in the priesthood and encouraged superiors to sweep the crimes under the carpet. The Pontiff in Winter brings John Paul’s complex, contradictory character into sharp focus. In a bold, highly original work, John Cornwell argues that John Paul’s mystical view of history and conviction that his mission has been divinely established are central to understanding his pontificate. Focusing on the period from the eve of the millennium to the present, Cornwell shows how John Paul’s increasing sense of providential rightness profoundly influenced his reactions to turbulence in the secular world and within the Church, including the 9/11 attacks, the pedophilia scandals in the United States, the clash between Islam and Christianity, the ongoing debates over the Church’s policies regarding women, homosexuals, abortion, AIDS, and other social issues, and much more. A close, trusted observer of the Vatican, Cornwell combines eyewitness reporting with information from the best sources in and outside the pope’s inner circle. Always respectful of John Paul’s prodigious spirit and unrelenting battles for human rights and religious freedom, Cornwell raises serious questions about a system that grants lifetime power to an individual vulnerable to the vicissitudes of aging and illness. The result is a moving, elegiac portrait of John Paul in the winter of his life and a thoughtful, incisive assessment of his legacy to the Church.

    Revisiting historical documents and scripture from this novel perspective, Brown offers new insight into the origin and meaning of some of Mormonism's earliest beliefs and practices. The world of early Mormonism was besieged by death--infant mortality, violence, and disease were rampant. A prolonged battle with typhoid fever, punctuated by painful surgeries including a threatened leg amputation, and the sudden loss of his beloved brother Alvin cast a long shadow over Smith's own life. Smith embraced and was deeply influenced by the culture of "holy dying"--with its emphasis on deathbed salvation, melodramatic bereavement, and belief in the Providential nature of untimely death--that sought to cope with the widespread mortality of the period. Seen in this light, Smith's treasure quest, search for Native origins, distinctive approach to scripture, and belief in a post-mortal community all acquire new meaning, as do early Mormonism's Masonic-sounding temple rites and novel family system. Taken together, the varied themes of early Mormonism can be interpreted as a campaign to extinguish death forever. By focusing on Mormon conceptions of death, Brown recasts the story of first-generation Mormonism, showing a religious movement and its founder at once vibrant and fragile, intrepid and unsettled, human and otherworldly.A lively narrative history, In Heaven as It Is on Earth illuminates not only the foundational beliefs of early Mormonism but also the larger issues of family and death in American religious history.

    And for Latter-day Saints, the Jesus Christ revealed through the Prophet Joseph Smith is, in some very significant ways, a different kind of Christ than the Jesus of modern Christianity. The Christ of the restored gospel collaborated with Heavenly Parents for our salvation even before the foundation of the world, "does not anything" save it be for our benefit (2 Nephi 26:24), and is determined to patiently guide and nurture every one of God's children into an eternal heavenly family. Most significantly, this Christ does not rescue us from a condition of original sin or depravity. Rather, He is primarily a healer of the wounds incident to a long-planned sojourn, one intended to immerse us in the trials, pains, and soul-stretching of this mortal schoolroom. He is not only the most remarkable being in the history of religious thought; He is, in fact, The Christ Who Heals.

    In Kingdom of Nauvoo, Benjamin E. Park excavates the brief, tragic life of a lost Mormon city, demonstrating that the Mormons are essential to understanding American history writ large. Using newly accessible sources, Park recreates the Mormons’ 1839 flight from Missouri to Illinois. There, under the charismatic leadership of Joseph Smith, they founded Nauvoo, which shimmered briefly—but Smith’s challenge to democratic traditions, as well as his new doctrine of polygamy, would bring about its fall. His wife Emma, rarely written about, opposed him, but the greater threat came from without: in 1844, a mob murdered Joseph, precipitating the Mormon trek to Utah. Throughout his absorbing chronicle, Park shows that far from being outsiders, the Mormons were representative of their era in their distrust of democracy and their attempt to forge a sovereign society of their own.

    Ostling and fellow journalist Joan K. Ostling navigate the Mormon Church's complex origins and inner workings. They explore the dramatic changes in its policies on polygamy, its conviction in its manifest destiny as the true religion of America, its vocal dissenters, and the ways in which the church handles its vast financial, media, and educational resources.Richard and Joan Ostling give readers a comprehensive and insightful look into this intriguing religion, complete with the church's history, beliefs, culture, and plans for the future. They shed light on the church's phenomenal success and the strong appeal of its teachings, and provide previously unreported details about its financial investments, worldwide missions, and internal politics.In Mormon America, Richard Ostling picks up where his widely read 1997 Time magazine cover story, "Mormons, Inc.," left off, by illuminating the church's continuing surge in power and popularity. The Ostlings assemble through their reportage the complete story behind the most prosperous religious group in contemporary America.

    This remarkable volume collects the best available evidence and presents it with unmistakable clarity. The material is detailed enough to appeal to gospel scholars, yet accessible enough to benefit any member of the Church. Centering on thirteen powerful arguments for the reality of the Great Apostasy, this book will forever heighten your appreciation of the Restoration.

    Hunter asked members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, "How often do we think of the Savior? How deeply and gratefully and how adoringly do we reflect on his life? How central to our lives do we know him to be?"    Living a more Christlike life has long been a theme of President Hunter's messages to the Saints. That We Might Have Joy presents thirty-two of these messages, each expressing his testimony that "Christ's way is not only the right way, but ultimately the only way to hope and joy."    The book is arranged in four parts"Making Christ Our Exemplar," "A Plea for Unity," "Facing Trials and Tribulations," and "Becoming Disciples of Christ." Each chapter within these sections draws from the scriptures an important message illustrating how using the Savior's life and teachings as our guide can lead to greater peace of mind and joy.    President Hunter summarizes well this theme in his talk entitled "Facing Trials and Tribulations": "Our task is to have the gospel in our lives and to be a bright light, a city set on a hill, that reflects the beauty of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the joy and happiness that will always come to every people in every age who keep the commandments."