This one the product of Truman Madsen's deep love for the subject and years of research illuminates specific facets of Joseph Smith s greatness. The topics discussed include Joseph Smith's First Vision; his personality and character (including perspectives on his family life); his spiritual gifts and attributes; his varied trials; his Kirtland Temple experience; doctrinal developments in the Nauvoo era; and the last months and martyrdom. The book is filled with fascinating detail about key events in the Prophet's life and his impact on people. The result is a vivid, riveting portrayal of this remarkable prophet. Those who knew Joseph Smith best testified that he lived great, and he died great in the eyes of God and his people. This wonderful book by a beloved scholar will serve to confirm and strengthen that conviction for Latter-day Saints today.

    Ecclesiastes is gloomy, skeptical, and irreverent. It is caustic and drolly splenetic. It is unapologetically human. It refuses to abet our hunger for clean narratives and happy endings. It is a hopeless book. Insisting on life’s futility, the world’s capriciousness, and God’s inscrutability, it deliberately cultivates despair. It sees such bone-deep hopelessness as the only cure for what ails us. Ecclesiastes is a hard book full of hard sayings. It is an anvil against which our hearts must be hammered. No wonder we avoid it. But the cost of avoidance is high. As Paul insists, in order to become Christian, we must first learn to be hopeless. Hopelessness is the door to Zion. Hopelessness is crucial to a consecrated life. Before we can find hope in Christ, we must give up hope in everything else." In "Nothing New Under the Sun," Adam S. Miller provides a sharp, contemporary paraphrase of Ecclesiastes, continuing to work in the same vein as the popular "Grace is Not God's Backup Plan: An Urgent Paraphrase of Paul's Letter to the Romans" (2015).

    The book provides simple answers to questions like:How much should I be saving each month for my son's mission?How much should I be saving each month for my children's college education?How can I save enough to be able to retire while I'm healthy enough to serve a mission?Avoiding tips on pinching pennies, the book focuses on opportunities to save thousands or tens of thousands of dollars by making smart moves with big decisions, like home and car purchases. Mormon families will appreciate the gospel-centered, scripture-based focus on putting tithing at the center of a financial plan. Building Wealth for Building the Kingdom will help prepare families to enjoy the benefits of their labor while simultaneously contributing to the growth of Church.About the Author:Devin D. Thorpe brings a broad perspective to financial planning, having owned and operated an investment-banking firm, which included an investment advisory business, a mortgage brokerage and having served in a variety of corporate finance positions. Presently, Devin serves as a business professor at South China University of Technology in Guangzhou, China on behalf of Brigham Young University’s Kennedy Center China Teachers program. Previously, he served as the Chief Financial Officer for the multinational company MonaVie, listed in Inc. Magazine’s 2009 Inc. 500 as the 18th fastest growing company in America and, at $834 million in revenue, the third largest company on the list. Prior experience includes two years working on the staff of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee during Utah Senator Jake Garn’s tenure. He also served briefly in Utah State Government, working at USTAR under Governor Jon Huntsman.He earned an MBA with focus in Finance and Accounting from Cornell University’s Johnson Graduate School of Management. He completed his undergraduate degree in finance at the University of Utah, where he later worked as an adjunct professor of finance. In 2006, Devin was recognized by the David Eccles School of Business at the University of Utah as a Distinguished Alum.

    But just before she sets off for a fun-filled New York hen party weekend, she finds a letter addressed to her sister Caroline. Dated only weeks before Caroline died in a tragic accident, it contains some startling information which forces Ellie to face some truths about herself, Caroline's death - and even her forthcoming marriage. Ellie has spent the three years since Caroline's death running from the truth. But as the weekend in New York comes to a close, she makes a drastic decision. As Ellie finally lays old ghosts to rest, she realises that the truth can set you free. But will she be willing to take the risk?

    The story of High-Ranking Mormon leader Hans Mattsson seeking sincere answers from his church but instead finding contempt, fear, doubt...and eventually peace

     The evolution of church culture has been something that has needed to happen for a long time. Culture, traditions, oral laws, and the status quo can be a good thing... but it can also be a bad thing. Do you remember what was happening in Israel around the time that Christ came on to the scene? Israel started to live by their own set of oral laws and traditions, or what we might refer to today as "culture." The "culture" in Israel when Christ showed up was one of the most judgmental and hypocritical cultures the world had ever seen. It was a very isolated and unaccepting culture. But Christ showed up and cast a net over all types of people. The Greeks, the Romans, the Samaritans, and every other nation across the globe. His net covered even the worst of repentant sinners. The only people that were excluded or "damned" were the unrepentant elite, the "scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites" who "strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel" (Matthew 23:23-24). Christ took the existing covenants and commandments and simplified them. He brought an evolution of love, empathy, and compassion. He built a culture that was geared toward the lowly of heart and revolted against those who spent their lives pointing out the flaws in others. "For ye are like unto whited sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness" (Matthew 23:27). The bulk of Israel was living according to their culture and their superstition instead of their religion. This has been the bane of each and every covenant society, which caused Joseph Smith to say, "What many people call sin is not sin; I do many things to break down superstition, and I will break it down." The doctrine of the LDS church doesn't lose people. It's the culture and superstition that causes unnecessary strife. This book, The Cultural Evolution Inside of Mormonism addresses the changing culture, the unprecedented changes that are taking place in the church, and the historical transparency. The Table of Contents explains where this book will take you: 1. More Extended Hands 2. Fewer Wrecking Balls 3. The Cultural Evolution 4. Not Customizing Christ 5. The Three Types of Mormons 6. A Place Where Doubters Are Welcome 7. The Kindness of Christ 8. Embracing Intellectuals and Scholars 9. Change in The Church Comes Slowly For A Reason 10. The Humble Few 11. Millennial Mormons 12. Making Rash Decisions 13. Giving Volunteers A Break 14. Logical Evidence For The Church Is Mounting 15. From Which All Others Are Derived 16. Temple Workers Galore 17. No Other Religion Provides A Better Hope 18. People Throwing The Book of Mormon Out The Window 19. The Bible That Needed To Be Rescued 20. Looking For Just One Reason To Believe 21. Liberal Conservatives 22. Pageantry In The Church 23. Peeling Back Polygamy 24. Looking At Tithing A Little Differently 25. Not Judging Others Sabbath Day Worship 26. The Place For Gays Inside The Church 27. What I Really Believe 28. Why I Love The Church

    A perfect way to live Lent to the full this year - Lent is a time to refocus our hearts and revive our love of the Lord and one another.A Companion for the Forty Days of Lent, featuring original meditations on the Gospel reading of each day by fifteen gifted authors.Each issue of the Lenten Companion is never the same as the last and contains these one-of-a-kind extras that you won’t find anywhere else:- Inspiring reflections from some of the most gifted Catholic writers for each day- Faith-filled essays- Prayers, poetry, and devotions- Meditations for the Way of the Cross- A treasury of spiritual insights

    It is the mercy of God at work.

    Yet the Savior instructed His followers in this dispensation to "doubt not, feat not" (D&C 6:36). How do we move forward in faith and focus on the good when rage, calamity, and commotion swirl around us?We know from scripture and the words of modern-day prophets that these latter days are a time of great turmoil—but also a time of great miracles. In this timely book, Elder Ronald A. Rasband shares a beautiful message of hope and light, reminding us what we can do to fortify ourselves and receive heavenly guidance. As Elder Rasband teaches, "By divine design, we have been called to the Lord's service leading up to His Second Coming." His apostolic counsel helps us recognize the ways the Lord guides us through the troubled times in our lives to build a greater sense of hope and peace with our foundation fixed on Christ, that ultimately we might accept the Savior's invitation: "Be not troubled" (D&C 45:35).

    It is a letter written to a Muslim cleric, a violent opponent of the Bahá'ís who, along with his father (called by Bahá'u'lláh "the wolf"), also a Muslim cleric, had put to death a number of Bahá'ís. In this work Bahá'u'lláh quotes extensively from his own previously revealed scriptures. This makes a large portion of the work a summary of excerpts on critical concepts expressed in previous works in a condensed form.-"Baha'u'llah (November 12, 1817 - May 29, 1892), born Mirza Husayn-'Ali Nuri, was the founder of the Baha'i Faith.He claimed to fulfill the Babi prophecy of "He whom God shall make manifest", but in a broader sense he also claimed to be the "supreme Manifestation of God", referring to the fulfillment of the eschatological expectations of a prophetic cycle beginning with Adam, and including Abrahamic religions, as well as Zoroastrianism, the Indian religions, and others. Baha'is see Baha'u'llah as the initiator of a new religion, as Jesus or Muhammad - but also the initiator of a new cycle, like that attributed to Adam.Baha'u'llah authored many religious works, most notably the Kitab-i-Aqdas and the Kitab-i-lqan. He died in Bahji, Palestine, present-day Israel, and is buried there.

    These pages are filled with insights into Joseph, but most have not yet been shared in a way that makes the accessible to a broader audience. This collection of short essays will help close this gap and bring insights into Joseph to Latter-day saints, both those who are struggling with questions about Joseph and those who simply want to understand the founding Prophet of the Restoration better. These essays look at Joseph Smith's life, character, personality, and relationships with others. Know Brother Joseph, is an accessible and faith-promoting look at Joseph Smith, his life, and its relevance to us in our daily walk.

    

    At last, she was marrying the man she loved, Ted Kimble—a fellow Christian and son of a local preacher. But little did she realize her new husband had a dark side. Shock waves rocked the small, North Carolina town of Pleasant Garden when Patricia’s charred body was discovered inside the Kimble’s burned-out home. Soon family and friends learned an even worse truth—Patricia had died from a bullet wound to the head. Now, in Unholy Covenant, North Carolina journalist Lynn Chandler-Willis uncovers the story behind the crime. Taking readers from the crime scene to the courtroom, she delivers a passionate account of a crime that forever changed the lives of many in the small North Carolina community.

    After all, it is the only one of the standard works that does not tell its own story.Making Sense of the Doctrine and Covenants addresses this challenge in a creative new way. Rather than giving a verse-by-verse commentary, author Steven C. Harper takes readers on a guided tour through the revelations. Drawing on the earliest manuscripts of those revelations, he provides historically grounded insights into why each revelation was given, what it means, and why it matters.Chapters on every section of the Doctrine and Covenants begin by delving into the historical record to recreate the question or problem each revelation was given to resolve and end by showing readers the outcomes for individuals and the Church.Families and scholars alike will relish the depth and accessibility of Making Sense of the Doctrine and Covenants. It is an invaluable addition to any gospel library and a fascinating resource for anyone who wishes to become more closely acquainted with this marvelous book of scripture.

    In this compilation all focused around the four letter word that has ended more wrestling careers than steroids, pills and alcohol combined: HEAT!HEAT: A dark cloud that follows a wrestler after a personal conflict or misunderstanding between two individuals or more backstage.JTG will take you, the reader, on a journey, from the beginning of his career, to the final curtain call; sharing stories on how he battled Heat from day one. Join JTG on this epic pilgrimage through this blazing inferno that was his career, while managing to piss off more people for writing this book!!!