While officially intended to preserve the sacredness of the experience, the silence leaves many Latter-day Saints mystified. What are the derivation and development of the holy endowment, and if these were known, would the experience be more meaningful? Modern parishioners lack context to interpret the arcane and syncretistic elements of the symbolism.For instance, David Buerger traces the evolution of the initiatory rites, including the New Testament-like foot washings, which originated in the Ohio period of Mormon history; the more elaborate Old Testament-like washings and anointings, which began in Illinois and were performed in large bathtubs, with oil poured over the initiate’s head; and the vestigial contemporary sprinkling and dabbing, which were begun in Utah. He shows why the dramatic portions of the ceremony blend anachronistic events—an innovation foreign to the original drama.Buerger addresses the abandonment of the adoption sealing, which once linked unrelated families, and the near-disappearance of the second anointing, which is the crowning ordinance of the temple. He notes other recent changes as well. Biblical models, Masonic prototypes, folk beliefs, and frontier resourcefulness all went into the creation of this highest form of Mormon Temple worship. Diary entries and other primary sources document its evolution.

    And you can claim it beginning now. The well know Bible story of David and Goliath is the back drop that Steven A. Cramer uses to show how we can enlist the aid of the Lord in overcoming any of our problems. In our day, we do not have to face nine-foot giants physically, but often our Goliaths come in the form of spiritual giants that will not yield to a stone or sword.

    It places the infamous event at the Carthage jail (1846) and the subsequent murder-conspiracy trial in the context of Mormon and American legal history, and deals with the question of achieving justice when crimes are politically motivated and popularly supported.

    A classic study of an influential American religion....Provides both the specialist in religion and the general reader with a thoughtful history of this complex religion.

    

    Transcripts of lectures present to an Honors Book of Morman class at BYU,1988-1990Has the smallest print I have every seen!!

    Being white equalled access to political, social, and economic power, all aspects of citizenship in which outsiders sought to limit or prevent Mormon participation. At least a part of those efforts came through persistent attacks on the collective Mormon body, ways in which outsiders suggested that Mormons were physically different, racially more similar to marginalized groups than they were white. Medical doctors went so far as to suggest that Mormon polygamy was spawning a new race. Mormons responded with aspirations toward whiteness. It was a back and forth struggle between what outsiders imagined and what Mormons believed. Mormons ultimately emerged triumphant, but not unscathed. At least a portion of the cost of their struggle came at the expense of their own black converts. Mormon leaders moved away from universalistic ideals toward segregated priesthood and temples, policies firmly in place by the early twentieth century. So successful were they at claiming whiteness for themselves, that by the time Mormon Mitt Romney sought the White House in 2012, he was labelled "the whitest white man to run for office in recent memory." Mormons once again found themselves on the wrong side of white.

    In Getting at the Truth, Robert L. Millet demonstrates that we can reach out and build bridges of understanding with those of other beliefs without compromising what we know to be true. Our responsibility to be a leavening influence in society means we cannot completely avoid the troublesome issues of our world. This book helps us put many of those issues in context, clarifying our doctrines and showing how to respond to opposition most appropriately and peacefully.

    This book explores how truth, beauty, and goodness can save our relationships even when we disagree with those we love.This book is for:1) Mormons who want to better understand a family member or friend who doubts2) Unorthodox or former Mormons who are looking for ways to talk about their transition with believing family members and friends3) People who are experiencing a Mormon faith crisis and wondering where to turnExcerpts from this book can be found at jonogden.com

    The path to salvation and happiness is explored and explained.

    By that time he had little energy, but in the last weeks of his life, he was focused intently on two almost-consuming priorities: spending time with his family, including giving blessings to grandchildren who had not yet received one, and finishing his last manuscript. As these priorities exemplify, Neal A. Maxwell was a teacher. He loved the word of the Lord. He believed with the psalmist that the word of the Lord "is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path" (Psalm 119:105). He observed, "When one sees life and people through the lens of His gospel, then one can see forever" ( Ensign,  May 1974, 112). That perspective guided his life's work. Dad often said the gospel was inexhaustible, and his actions underscored that belief. The gospel was for him an endless source of truth and joy; he found the study of it invigorating. He taught it in his daily walk and talk and through his sermons and books. His desire to capture in words the insights and connections his perceptive mind noted stayed with him throughout his mortal life. At my father's funeral, President Gordon B. Hinckley noted: "I know of no other who spoke in such a distinctive and interesting way. When he opened his mouth we all listened. We came alive with expectation of something unusual, and we were never disappointed. . . . Each talk was a masterpiece, each book a work of art, worthy of repeated reading. I think we shall not see one like him again" ( Church News,  31 July 2004, 3). Moving in His Majesty and Power  is the last installment in Elder Maxwell's printed legacy. It includes, in revised form, three talks he gave in the last two years of his life and which he felt were worthy of publication. It also includes a section of succinct, penetrating gospel insights on a wide variety of topics, similar in format to that of his previous work, W hom the Lord Loveth. I hope you will enjoy this book. More importantly, though, I hope my father's objective in writing it will be achieved, namely, to help us resolve to become more committed disciples and to deepen our gratitude for the inexhaustible gospel he loved so deeply and proclaimed so tirelessly. Cory H. Maxwell

    In an honest, methodical way, he traces the origins, the peculiarities common to the midwestern and later Utah periods, and post-1890 new marriages. Drawing heavily on first-hand accounts, he outlines the theological underpinnings and the personal trauma associated with this lifestyle.What emerges is a portrait that neither discounts nor exaggerates the historical evidence. He presents polygamy in context, neither condemning nor defending, while relevant contemporary accounts are treated sympathetically but interpreted critically. No period of Mormon history is emphasized over another. The result is a systematic view that is unavailable in studies of isolated periods or in the repetitions of folklore that only disguise the reality of what polygamy was.Scattered throughout the western United States today are an estimated 30,000 fundamentalist Mormons who still live “the principle.” They, too, are a part of Joseph Smith’s legacy and are included in this study.

    Through complete access to Nibley's correspondence, journals, notes and papers, Petersen has painted a portrait that reveals the man behind the legend. Starting with a foreword written by Zina Nibley Peterson (the author's wife and Nibley's daughter) and finishing with appendixes that include some of the best of Nibley's personal correspondence, the biography reveals aspects of the tapestry of the life of one who has truly consecrated his life to the service of the Lord.