By describing his own struggle to find a basis for belief in a skeptical world, Bushman poses the question of how scholars are to write about subjects in which they are personally invested. Does personal commitment make objectivity impossible? Bushman explicitly, and at points confessionally, explains his own commitments and then explores Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon from the standpoint of belief.Joseph Smith cannot be dismissed as a colorful fraud, Bushman argues, nor seen only as a restorer of religious truth. Entangled in nineteenth-century Yankee culture--including the skeptical Enlightenment--Smith was nevertheless an original who cut his own path. And while there are multiple contexts from which to draw an understanding of Joseph Smith (including magic, seekers, the Second Great Awakening, communitarianism, restorationism, and more), Bushman suggests that Smith stood at the cusp of modernity and presented the possibility of belief in a time of growing skepticism.When examined carefully, the Book of Mormon is found to have intricate subplots and peculiar cultural twists. Bushman discusses the book's ambivalence toward republican government, explores the culture of the Lamanites (the enemies of the favored people), and traces the book's fascination with records, translation, and history. Yet Believing History also sheds light on the meaning of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon today. How do we situate Mormonism in American history? Is Mormonism relevant in the modern world?Believing History offers many surprises. Believers will learn that Joseph Smith is more than an icon, and non-believers will find that Mormonism cannot be summed up with a simple label. But wherever readers stand on Bushman's arguments, he provides us with a provocative and open look at a believing historian studying his own faith.

    Wirthlin, who turns 90 this year, is known among his colleagues as a wise man, a resilient man, and a man of complete integrity. He is also known for telling wonderful stories. In Press On, he shares lessons and insights he has gleaned during his life. His messages focus on the three virtues spoken of so eloquently by the Apostle Paul--faith, hope, and charity--virtues that fit us for service in the kigdom here and also prepare us to reurn to our Heavenly Father's presence. He talks of following the Savior's example, of cultivating divine attributes, and of becoming modern pioneers by being "true to the truth." Readers will find profound counsel on many vital gospel principles, together with memorable stories, from the mind and heart of a leader who has shown--in word and deed--how to "press on."

    Jet-powered aircraft streaked toward specified targets, cannons roared, tanks lumbered, men fought and died, women wept, and children cried. The Holy Land, once the personal province of the Prince of Peace, was engulfed by war. This troubled land has witnessed much conflict throughout its history; its peoples have suffered terrible trials and tribulations. No single battle is better remembered, however, than occurred in the Valley of Elah during the year 1063 B.C. Along the mountains on one side, the feared armies of the Philistines were marshalled to march directly to the heart of Judah and the Jordan Valley. On the other side of the valley, King Saul had drawn up his armies in opposition. Historians tell us that the opposing forces were about evenly matched in number and in skill. However, the Philistines had managed to keep secret their valued knowledge of smelting and fashioning iron into formidable weapons of war. The sound of hammers pounding upon anvils and the sight of smoke rising skyward from many bellows as the smiths went about the task of sharpening weapons and fashioning new ones must have struck fear into the hearts of Saul's warriors, for even the most novice of soldiers could know the superiority of iron weapons to those of brass. As often happened when armies faced each other, individual champions challenged others from the opposing forces to single combat. There was considerable precedent for this sort of fighting; and on more than one occasion, notably during the tenure of Samson as judge, battles had been decided by individual combat. Now, however, the situation was reversed as far as Israel was concerned, and it was a Philistine who dared to challenge all others-a veritable giant of a man called Goliath of Gath. Old accounts tell us that Goliath was ten feet tall. He wore brass armor and a coat of mail. And the staff of his spear would stagger a strong man merely to lift, let alone hurl. His shield was the longest ever seen or heard of, and his sword a fearsome blade.

    This is not as easy as one would imagine: She was born in the church, educated at BYU, married in the temple, and is raising more Mormons. She faced a serious conundrum: keep quiet (and avoid losing everything dear to her), or tell the world what being raised LDS does to a person's psyche, especially when they realize that everything they were taught and everything they hoped to believe is a lie. To expose the difficulty faced by Mormons who leave the Church and to seek support for their plight, Regina offers a first-person confessional memoir recounting her many atrocious experiences, managing to weave in enough humor to keep you turning pages, and enough brutal honesty to bring you to an understanding of what it is to be a Mormon, and to try to leave it behind...

    Unflinchingly honest yet unfailingly hopeful, Rev. Sarah is a genre unto herself. You've never had this much fun going to church

    Sometimes change is necessary when we are broadsided by events such as an unexpected financial crisis, an unrepented sin, a relationship problem, or the premature death of a loved one. Because the Savior has engraven our image on the palms of his hands, he can heal us--emotionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually. In this insightful talk on CD, Sister Dew and Sister Nelson teach us how to receive God's aid in making meaningful change and help us understand the power of the Savior to heal without a scar.

    Christ and the New Covenant

    Women of the Old Testament focuses on twenty remarkable women representing different ages, economic circumstances, family status, and cultures. All of them had challenges, but each had a divine potential to contribute to the Lord s work. Bestselling author Camille Fronk Olson brings these women to life, going beyond the traditional scripture story to provide insights that are amazingly relevant today. Elspeth Young s exquisite, full- color illustrations also reveal something about each woman s life and the customs associated with her culture. A Points to Ponder section at the end of each chapter offers thoughtful questions to consider individually or in a discussion group.

    The New Testament is commonly divided into the Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, Paul’s epistles, the general epistles, and the book of Revelation. The four Gospels—the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—are accounts of the life of Christ. The book of Acts records the history of the Church and the Apostles, especially Paul’s missionary travels, after Christ’s death. Paul’s letters give instruction to Church leaders and members. The other letters were written by other Apostles and give additional counsel to the early Saints. The book of Revelation, which was written by the Apostle John, contains mostly prophecies pertaining to the last days.

    

    He also compiles and extracts practical insights from other notable worship leaders and musicians including Louie Giglio, Mike Pilavachi, Tim Hughes, Chris Tomlin, Brian Doerkson, Darlene Zxchech, Steve Nicholson etc.

    The solution is here with the revised and updated Isaiah Made Easier! Noted gospel scholar David J. Ridges brings Isaiah's symbolism and literary imagery to life in Isaiah Made Easier, turning this often misunderstood book of scripture into a gold mine of truth. As with his other books in the Gospel Studies series, this book includes the full-text of the scripture for quick reference, in-the-verse notes that provide effective and unique teaching tools, and extra explanations that give additional insights into valuable principles and doctrines. Join the tens of thousands of readers who have experienced spiritual growth from reading and pondering this book. Never before has Isaiah been so easy to understand!

    Do you sometimes feel like the Lord thought up the commandments just to keep you from having fun and enjoying life? John Bytheway explains how the Lord's guidelines fit into our lives and how they can help us solve our oproblems.

    Eyes fixed on a mysterious point in the air, they were mesmerized by something which was invisible to everyone else. What the girls said they saw--and heard--sent shock waves that are still reverberating today. The messages the four girls claimed to receive revealed a picture of a Catholic church in crisis and a world that faced an earth-shattering future that would unfold in their lifetime. The girls’ pronouncements about coming trouble in the church and world were met with fierce skepticism from the first. Some charged the girls with being possessed by demons (based on the girls’ strange physical poses and apparent levitation), and others claimed the girls were putting on an act (revealing their true colors when they chose ordinary married lives instead of the convent). There was also a third body of critics: those who believed that a group of girls on the cusp of adolescence in a remote and insular society conjured up a psychodrama which, fueled by the spotlight and mounting frenzy, gained a frightening life of its own. There was one other possibility--that the strange events in Garabandal, Spain actually did occur, and the girls received an apocalyptic warning for both the church and the modern world. The warning to the world included a prediction that a newly militant Russia would rise again. The prophecies of Garabandal also foretell a World-Wide Warning and a Global Miracle, whose purpose is to convince a world reeling from one catastrophe to the next that God exists. But the Warning and Miracle, dramatic as they sound, are not even the most unsettling of the messages. One night, the young girls dissolved into screams. During this so-called “Night of the Screams,” the girls say they were shown a tragic chastisement that would befall the entire world if the Warning and Miracle failed to trigger global change. As disquieting as those messages were, the most shocking message at Garabandal was for the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church. Why were the messages of Garabandal so effectively suppressed? Did it have to do with the fact that the messages presciently warned of coming scandal and turmoil in the Roman Catholic Church itself? Did a portal open between worlds on a Spanish mountaintop in that summer of 1961? And if so, who opened the door--an angel of God or an angel of darkness? Did a young girl's flight of fancy one summer night spin wildly out of control? Or was it a visitation from God? Now that the “girls” at the center of this drama are 60-year-old women, should their claims be discredited or re-examined? Are the apparitions bogus or fast-approaching their fulfillment? If the events are false, Garabandal is a fascinating and perhaps tragic human interest story with several explanations. If the events and warnings are true--then what do we do? By the end of this book, readers can judge whether the visions of four young seers on a mountaintop in Spain were historical fact, a devilish fraud, or the creative confusion of four girls who would spend the rest of their lives trying to escape a human tragicomedy that they themselves had produced.