Here, historian Alexander Ivanov reveals their fears and betrayals, privilege and debauchery, conspiracies and rivalries, love and tragedy as they forged Russia into one of the world's greatest empires. No ruler in history has embodied the oppressive domination of these rulers more vividly than Alexander Ivanov's opening subject, Tsar Ivan IV, the first of all the Russian tsars, known to history as Ivan the Terrible. Although a gifted ruler who did much to unite and improve the conditions in his primitive country, Ivan was also a notorious sadist who delighted in torturing and murdering anyone who displeased him. Ivan's death in 1584 ushered in the Time of Troubles, thirty-five years of famine, plague, and war that crippled the nation. A series of rulers attempted to cope with the devastation, beginning with Ivan's successor Boris Godunov. Finally, grasping for stability, Russia's nobles begged young Michael Romanov, the great-nephew of Ivan's beloved wife Anastasia, to take the throne. Michael successfully united the war-torn and ravaged nation and founded a dynasty that would rule for 300 years. The Romanov line produced Russia's most brilliant yet most unconventional sovereign: Peter the Great, a towering figure of a man whose restless, creative mind led him on an inexorable quest to modernize and civilize the still backward nation. The reforms he enacted so enraged nobles and peasants alike that Peter had to quash a series of rebellions to keep his crown. Ruthlessly stifling dissent and massacring rebels, he ultimately cowed the Russian people into submission, achieving a legacy that nearly equaled his ambitions. It was left to a woman - and a foreigner, at that - to lead the nation further out of the darkness. German princess Sophie Friederike Auguste of Anhalt-Zerbst, known to the world as Catherine the Great, absorbed the principles of the eighteenth-century Enlightenment and applied them to a country built on the backs of millions of serfs. However ineffective some of her policies, in the end, she made Russia a major player on the European stage. Serfdom was finally abolished in the nineteenth century, but it would be decades before Russian peasants could own land of their own and learn to farm it productively. The boyars and tsars clung to power until the Bolshevik revolution of 1917. The sad fate of the last tsar, Nicholas II, and his family, marked the end of the absolute power that Ivan the Terrible had so exploited. The abuses would continue but under a new and drastically different form of government.

    Filled with more than 100 modern liturgies, this book guides you into an intentional conversation with God for your children and the world they live in. From everyday struggles like helping your child find friends or thrive in school to larger issues like praying for a brighter world rooted in peace and truth, these pleas and petitions act as a gentle guide, reminding us that while our words may fail, God never does.At the core of To Light Their Way is the deepest of prayers: that our children will experience the love of God so deeply that their lives will be an outpouring of love that lights up the world.

    John's Story tell His glorious, dramatic story. John's Story: The Last Eyewitness is told by the one whom Jesus called beloved. John, a once-broken man, was forever changed the moment he met the mysterious stranger from Nazareth, his heart opened by the One whom he discovered to be the Son of God.At ninety years old, John is the last of the original twelve apostles still alive, the only one who was not martyred. Committed to spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ, he is called by God to write a gospel in order to set the record straight-as others were teaching that Jesus wasn't the Son of God. Recalling his time with Jesus, John brings to life the miracles and messages of the Man who would change the course of history.The first in a series, John's Story: The Last Eyewitness is a remarkable and thrilling account of the life of the Man who came to fulfill the prophecies of the Old Testament and to save all of mankind. To bring deeper understanding to the story, each of the four books nclude the text of the corresponding gospel as an appendix.John's Story illuminates the times of Jesus, His life, and His messages like never before. Using cutting-edge historical and academic research, as well as biblically based themes, they are first and foremost page-turning novels that could come only from the pens of Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins.

    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.

    

    Are you tired of worrying about things you can't control? Do you feel distracted or overwhelmed by the daily demands of living? Do you wonder if it's even possible to make space in your busy life to become the person you really want to be? In her down-to-earth style, popular author and speaker Merrilee Boyack presents eight pairs of contrasting characterisitics, inviting women to consider their own tendencies: Faithful or fearful? Focused or distracted? Peaceful or worried? She then discusses how we can move from where we are to where we want to be without feeling guilty or discouraged.

    As a blogger, social media personality, and award-winning public speaker, her message has reached millions. This moving biography and up-close account of her life and membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (sometimes called the "LDS" or "Mormon" church) will show you what it means to truly trust in the Lord."Don't go, Al. You won't fit in." Being baptized and following the Lord has made Al's life harder than it ever was before. She endured criticism from friends and family for becoming a Mormon. She faced harsh judgments from Church members for her appearance. She gave up everything and felt more alone than she ever had in her life. All because she chose God. Now she shares an up-close look at how trusting God has led her to places she never expected. As a blogger, YouTuber, and award-winning public speaker, her message has reached millions. Sharing her love of the Savior, Al goes beyond her own conversion and encourages readers to choose God above anything else. This uplifting book inspires readers to build a true relationship with the Lord that will bring them real, lasting happiness.

    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.

    But when owner Dai Morgan is killed in an air raid, his daughter Megan is determined to continue in her father's footsteps and she braves the ravaged streets alone to do his milk round by horse and cart. Megan finds comfort in the knowledge that her twin girls are tucked away in a Welsh village, but she worries about her husband, Will, abroad with his platoon. And when Will's best friend, Doug Reynolds, returns, wounded and disfigured, she doesn't hesitate to take the poor man in. However, Doug is not the man she thinks he is. And when the boys come home, Megan has battle scars she can't allow Will to see...

    His wife, Miriam, is expecting their first baby, but complications threaten to take the lives of both mother and child. In desperate need of God s help, Joshua journeys to the temple in Jerusalem to make an offering and to pray. What follows is a compassionate, emotional story about God s love as Joshua becomes one of the shepherds chosen to greet the Christ child on the night of his birth. Torn between concern for his wife and a desire to follow the angel s directive-- to go and find the babe lying in a manger-- Joshua makes a startling discovery that will change his life forever. What sets this Christmas story apart from many others is that although it is written as fiction, the descriptions of time, place, and circumstances are based on fact. This is a story that will penetrate your heart and remind you why the shepherds rejoiced on that wondrous night in Bethlehem.

    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 will grip your imagination—as you explore the Temple and experience the drama of ancient Hebrew traditions with the boy Messiah. It’s a story for the child in all of us.

    Brother Parry, who has spoken about angels at BYU Education Week, has painstakingly researched what we can learn from the scriptures and from statements of modern prophets about angels and their missions. Chapters in this book focus on such topics as what angels are, what powers and abilities they are given, how they communicate with mortals (including their interaction with little children), what missions and roles they are assigned, how they restore priesthood and keys, how they reveal truth and teach the doctrines of the gospel, and what their roles will be in the Second Coming and during the Judgment. It includes a discussion of how angels minister to and comfort mortals, and about the role of guardian angels.

    Now Christian Scharen provides a thoughtful look at the driving force behind the band. Bono and other band members are marked by the Christian faith of their Irish backgrounds. Scharen reflects on how U2 "fits within the longer Christian tradition of voices that point us to the cross, to Jesus, and to the power of God's ways in the world" as he explores the music's honest spiritual questioning. Music lovers, pastors, and anyone on the path to God will value this book.

    Both goals prove more difficult than she could imagine as her brother and sister are lured by the city's dangerous freedom and a missionary-turned-gambler stakes a claim on her heart. Rachel won't give up without a fight though, and soon all will learn an eloquent but humorous lesson about what truly makes a lady. *Speak Politely. Even when you're the only respectable woman around, protesting the decadence of a city lost to gold fever. *Dress Modestly. Wear your sunbonnet at all times. Ensure nobody sees your work boots muddied by the San Francisco streets. *Remain Devoted to Family. Protect your siblings from the lures of the city, even against their wishes. *Stand Above Reproach. Most difficult when a wonderful man turns out to be a saloon owner. *Rise Above Temptation. No, not even just a little kiss.... When these rules become increasingly difficult to uphold, can Rachel Van Buren remain a beacon of virtue in a city of vice?