The Pearl of Greatest Price narrates the history of Mormonism's fourth volume of scripture, canonized in 1880. The authors track its predecessors, describe its several components, and assess their theological significance within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Four principal sections are discussed, along with attendant controversies associated with each. The Book of Moses purports to be a Mosaic narrative missing from the biblical version of Genesis. Too little treated in the scholarship on Mormonism, these chapters, produced only months after the Book of Mormon was published, actually contain the theological nucleus of Latter-day Saint doctrines as well as a virtual template for the Restoration Joseph Smith was to effect. In The Pearl of Greatest Price, the author covers three principal parts that are the focus of many of the controversies engulfing Mormonism today. These parts are The Book of Abraham, The Book of Moses, and The Joseph Smith History. Most controversial of all is the Book of Abraham, a production that arose out of a group of papyri Smith acquired, along with four mummies, in 1835. Most of the papyri disappeared in the great Chicago Fire, but surviving fragments have been identified as Egyptian funerary documents. This has created one of the most serious challenges to Smith's prophetic claims the LDS church has faced. LDS scholars, however, have developed several frameworks for vindicating the inspiration of the resulting narrative and Smith's calling as a prophet. The author attempts to make sense of Smith's several, at times divergent, accounts of his First Vision, one of which is canonized as scripture. He also assesses the creedal nature of Smith's "Articles of Faith," in the context of his professed anti-creedalism. In sum, this study chronicles the volume's historical legacy and theological indispensability to the Latter-day Saint tradition, as well as the reasons for its resilience and future prospects in the face of daunting challenges.

The Pearl of Greatest Price: Mormonism's Most Controversial Scripture

History

Givens, Terryl

Hauglid, Brian

Americas

Oxford University Press

Mormonism: What Everyone Needs to Know® (What Everyone Needs To KnowRG)

Product Description Mormonism, or the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is America's most successful-and most misunderstood-home grown religion. The church today boasts more than 15 million members worldwide, a remarkable feat in the face of increasing secularity. The growing presence of Mormonism shows no signs of abating, as the makeup of its membership becomes progressively diverse. The heightened contemporary relevance and increasingly global membership of the Church solidifies Mormonism as a religious group much deserving of awareness. Covering the origins, history, and modern challenges of the church, Mormonism: What Everyone Needs to Know offers readers a brief, authoritative guide to one of the fastest growing faith groups of the twenty-first century in a reader-friendly format, providing answers to questions such as: What circumstances gave rise to the birth of Mormonism? Why was Utah chosen as a place of refuge? Do you have to believe the Book of Mormon to be a Latter-day Saint? Why do women not hold the priesthood? How wealthy is the church and how much are top leaders paid? Written by a believer and the premier scholar of the Latter-day Saints faith, this remarkably readable introduction provides a sympathetic but unstinting account of one of the few religious traditions to maintain its vitality and growth in an era of widespread disaffiliation. Review "I will be grateful to have Givens's Mormonism on my shelf." -- Jill Peterfeso, Mormon Studies Review"From one of the most prominent of Mormonism's contemporary intellectuals comes an exhaustive, detailed, and handy compilation of questions and answers that addresses both the Mormon tradition broadly and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in great detail. Both insiders and outsiders will find much of interest here, delivered with Givens's characteristic style and erudition, and covering everything from the visions of Joseph Smith to contemporary science fiction authors." -- Matthew Bowman, author of The Mormon People: The Making of an American Faith About the Author Terryl Givens is Neal A. Maxwell Senior Research Fellow at the BYU Maxwell Institute in Provo, Utah.

Religion & Spirituality

Christian Books & Bibles

Mormonism, or the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is America's most successful - and most misunderstood - home grown religion. The church today boasts more than 15 million members worldwide, a remarkable feat in the face of increasing secularity. The growing presence of Mormonismshows no signs of abating, as the makeup of its membership becomes progressively diverse. The heightened contemporary relevance and increasingly global membership of the Church solidifies Mormonism as a religious sect much deserving of awareness.Covering the origins, history, and modern challenges of the church, Mormonism: What Everyone Needs to Know offers readers a brief, authoritative guide to one of the fastest growing faith groups of the twenty-first century in a reader-friendly format, providing answers to questions such as: Whatcircumstances gave rise to the birth of Mormonism? Why was Utah chosen as a place of refuge? Do you have to believe the Book of Mormon to be a Latter-day Saint? Why do women not hold the priesthood? How wealthy is the church and how much are top leaders paid? Written by a believer and the premierscholar of the Latter-day Saints faith, this remarkably readable introduction provides a sympathetic but unstinting account of one of the few religious traditions to maintain its vitality and growth in an era of widespread disaffiliation.

Nineteenth-century American writers frequently cast the Mormon as a stock villain in such fictional genres as mysteries, westerns, and popular romances. The Mormons were depicted as a violent and perverse people--the "viper on the hearth"--who sought to violate the domestic sphere of the mainstream. While other critics have mined the socio-political sources of anti-Mormonism, Givens is the first to reveal how popular fiction, in its attempt to deal with the sources and nature of this conflict, constructed an image of the Mormon as a religious and social "Other."

The Viper on the Hearth: Mormons, Myths, and the Construction of Heresy (Religion in America)

The Latter-day Saint Experience in America (The American Religious Experience)

Politics & Social Sciences

Sociology

Greenwood

Scholars have labeled the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or Mormonism as it is better known, both the American Religion, and the next world faith. The Mormon saga includes early persecution, conflict, and pioneer resilience, against a backdrop of revolutionary religious, social, and economic practices. The greatest colonizing force in American history, Mormonism has outgrown its 19th-century isolation and theocratic roots to become one of the most prosperous and respected Christian communities in the country. This book examines the history of the movement, and considers carefully the reasons behind a perennial discord with American culture―and the American government―that only waned in the early decades of the 20th century. Givens also considers the range of Mormon doctrines―both familiar and peculiar―and overviews the background and content of the unique canon of Mormon scripture.
The Latter-day Saint Experience in America examines all aspects of how Mormons live, work, and worship. The book discusses: Mormon worship and Church organization; The intellectual and artistic heritage of the Latter-day Saints; Official Church teachings across a span of contemporary issues, from feminism to race to the environment; The tensions and future directions of the modern Church. Abundant appendices include a glossary of Mormonism, a timeline, a comparison with other Christian creeds, biographical sketches of Mormon luminaries, and an annotated bibliography useful for further study.

Review\n“Headwinds, by definition, oppose the forward motion of an object, usually a plane or boat. Faced with this phenomenon, we need skill to overcome the challenge. Like skilled sailors, Terryl Givens and Nathaniel Givens tack into the winds—in this case, those that challenge religious commitments in a scientific and largely secular age. Their careful and informed navigation takes the reader on a journey that engages contemporary scholarship and thought, and which enables arrival at a destination of faith. As their discussion demonstrates, while belief may at times be hard, secularism’s tempest can be successfully traversed. This book is an informative lighthouse showing the way.” 
— John W. Morehead, director of Multifaith Matters and of the Evangelical Chapter of the Foundation for Religious Diplomacy\n“In an age of so-called secularism and skepticism, the authors skillfully guide the reader back to the heart of faith: a risky, vulnerable response to life that will certainly lead us into unknown lands, and quite possibly to a greater measure of love. I highly recommend this book for all who wish to know themselves at a deeper level or for all those who feel the call of the Unknown drawing them toward more beautiful horizons.” 
— Thomas Wirthlin McConkie, Founder, Lower Lights School of Wisdom\nA deeper look at how people individually and collectively form religious beliefs—and what that means for faith in an increasingly secular culture. 
Secularism is increasingly a fact of life in Western society. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that faith is harder than it has been before. Even in the past when organized religion enjoyed more widespread cultural acceptance, there were still obstacles to true belief. Today, the obstacles are different, but faith is still viable. 
Acclaimed author Terryl Givens and his son, Nathaniel Givens, combine their respective areas of expertise to offer a fresh take on religious belief through the lens of contemporary research on psychology, cognition, and human nature. They also address two of faith’s foremost modern-day antagonists: rationalism, the myth that humans can or should make the majority of their choices based on logical thought, and scientism, the myth that science is the only reliable means of discovering truth. After reckoning with the surprising fact that people often don’t even understand their own beliefs and are influenced in ways they seldom perceive, the authors go on to describe genuine faith as an act of will—an effortful response to the deepest yearnings of the mind and heart—that engenders moral responsibility, the ability to embrace uncertainty, the motivation and means to relate to others, and the capacity to apprehend reality through nonrational means. 
Written for truth seekers who may or may not belong to religious communities, Into the Headwinds is less a work of apologetics than an inquiry into the role that faith can and does still play in a society where participation in institutional religion is declining precipitously. Terryl and Nathaniel Givens propose that to reclaim the power of genuine faith we need to first acknowledge the reality that religious belief is hard. It always has been, and it always will be. But perhaps, instead of a hindrance, that is its most important aspect.

Into the Headwinds: Why Belief Has Always Been Hard―and Still Is

Givens, Nathaniel

Philosophy

Eerdmans

"I have seen a vision, in which I know that Jerusalem is destroyed . . ." In the wake of epic cataclysm, Nephi launches a second book of writings. Inspired by the prophet Isaiah s remarkable account of the scattering and gathering of God s covenant people, Nephi aches to reassure his family by providing a clear understanding of their unbroken place in God s designs. Interweaving history, theology, and prophecy, Nephi brings together the covenant s ancient roots and its future fulfillment, orienting everything around the person of Jesus Christ. In this brief theological introduction, Terryl Givens echoes Nephi s invitation for readers to keep Christ front and center in their minds, hearts, and wor&#131;&#130;&#130;ship. Givens finds clear emphasis on the Redeemer s healing atonement, the promise of resurrection, the necessity of oppositional strife and of agency wisely employed, and other plain and precious truths lost or obscured by time. Above all, Nephi presents essential elements of the doctrine of

2nd Nephi: A Brief Theological Introduction

Neal A. Maxwell Institute

All Things New: Rethinking Sin, Salvation, and Everything in Between

Robert MacFarlane has written that language does not just register experience, it produces it. Our religious language in particular informs and shapes our understanding of God, our sense of self, and the way we make sense of our challenging path back to loving Heavenly Parents. Unfortunately, to an extent we may not realize, our religious vocabulary has been shaped by prior generations whose creeds, in Joseph Smith s words, have filled the world with confusion. 
 I make all things new, proclaimed the Lord. Regrettably, many are still mired in the past, in ways we have not recognized. In this book, Fiona and Terryl Givens trace the roots of our religious vocabulary, explore how a flawed inheritance compounds the wounds and challenges of a life devoted to discipleship, and suggest ways of reformulating our language in more healthy ways all in the hope that, as B. H. Roberts urged, we may all cooperate in the works of the Spirit to find a truer expression of a gospel restored.

All Things New

Givens, Fiona

Faith Matters

June 28-July 1, 2017 marked the first Mormon Arts Center Festival. Held in the Riverside Church in New York City, the event gathered together eminent scholars, artists, and musicians for an exploration of fine art by LDS members.  The theme of the Festival was a speech given fifty years ago by Spencer W. Kimball, “Education for Eternity” at the beginning of the academic year at Brigham Young University, September 1967. He suggested that Mormon culture might produce our own Shakespeares, Michelangelos, and Goethes. Ten years later, President Kimball wrote a new introduction for the speech, which was published in the Ensign magazine and has become a touchstone for many of the faith’s creative artists. He said, “In our world, there have risen brilliant stars in drama, music, literature, sculpture, painting, science, and all the graces. For long years I have had a vision of members of the Church greatly increasing their already strong position of excellent till the eyes of all the world will be upon us.”  Scholars invited to present papers at the Mormon Arts Center Festival delved into questions of the relevance of such ideas today. Their essays are collected in this volume. As Richard Bushman, who was present at the 1967 speech, writes in the introduction, “The question will remain for people with religious natures: How can faith be integrated with culture? The desire to know God is so powerful that it seeks expression in every realm of life. The arts with their intimate access to our deepest feelings must, we think, inevitably connect with our faith. The speakers in the symposium offer a variety of answers to how this may be accomplished by Mormons. As these essays show, Mormonism may not yet have produced a Michelangelo or a Goethe, but we do believe our religion and our art belong together.”

The Kimball Challenge at Fifty: Mormon Arts Center Essays

Arts & Photography

Hicks, Michael

Mormon Arts Center

Anderson, Paul L.

BUSHMAN, Richard

Gray, Campbell

Haglund, Kristine

Hickman, Jared

Larsen, Kent S.

Miller, Adam S.

Study & Teaching

CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

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