Distilled from his personal experiences in teaching Jesus to the hard-to-reach, this professional educator has produced a tender testament to the incomparable Jesus. It describes a Savior who walked with him through the halls of the county jail where he served as chaplain, succoring those in need. In this slim volume, Palmer sensitively shares his understanding of what it means to know Jesus by doing his works. He lists the qualities of divine character attested to by the Apostles Peter and Paul, and also those that Jesus revealed about himself in his masterful Sermon on the Mount, particularly in the beatitudes. With reverence Palmer shares personal spiritual experiences that were life-changing assurances of Jesus’s love for him—a love poured out unstintingly in equally life-changing blessings on prisoners whose crimes had not stopped short of sexual abuse and murder. Reading this book offers a deeper understanding of the Savior’s mercy, a stronger sense of his love, and a deeper commitment to follow him.

The Incomparable Jesus

Religion & Spirituality

Palmer, Grant H.

Christian Books & Bibles

Greg Kofford Books, Incorporated

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormon Church) has generally been viewed by the public as anti-evolutionary in its doctrine and teachings. But official statements on the subject by the Church’s highest governing quorum and/or president have been considerably more open and diverse than is popularly believed. This book compiles in full all known authoritative statements (either authored or formally approved for publication) by the Church’s highest leaders on the topics of evolution and the origin of human beings. The editors provide historical context for these statements that allows the reader to see what stimulated the issuing of each particular document and how they stand in relation to one another. About the editors:William Evenson is a physics professor at Utah Valley University. Previously, his thirty-four year tenure at Brigham Young University included service as dean of the College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences;Duane E. Jeffery is a professor of integrative biology at Brigham Young University.

Mormonism and Evolution: The Authoritative LDS Statements

Children's Books

Evenson, William E.

Religions

Mormon Polygamous Families: Life in the Principle

Mormons and non-Mormons all have their views about how polygamy was practiced in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Embry has examined the participants themselves in order to understand how men and women living a nineteenth-century Victorian lifestyle adapted to polygamy. Based on records and oral histories with husbands, wives, and children who lived in Mormon polygamous households, this study explores the diverse experiences of individual families and stereotypes about polygamy.The interviews are in some cases the only sources of primary information on how plural families were organized. In addition, children from monogamous families who grew up during the same period were interviewed to form a comparison group. When carefully examined, most of the stereotypes about polygamous marriages do not hold true. In this work it becomes clear that Mormon polygamous families were not much different from Mormon monogamous families and non-Mormon families of the same era. Embry offers a new perspective on the Mormon practice of polygamy that enables readers to gain better understanding of Mormonism historically.About the author: Jessie L. Embry is the associate director of the Charles Redd Center for Western Studies and an associate research professor at Brigahm Young University. She is the author of eight books and over 100 articles on oral history, western American history, and ethnic Mormon history. She has just published a book, Mormons and Polygamy, as part of a series to answer questions about Mormonism.Praise for Mormon Polygamous FamiliesEmbry has brought together a plethora of information on many aspects of polygamy untouched by previous inquiries. In a straightforward and scholarly manner, she deals with the intricacies of household economy, social activity, church activity, and other aspects of the diurnal life in the principle. She compares polygamous life with life in monogamous families. Her somewhat surprising conclusion is: life inside the principle was not much different from life outside the principle. . . .Basically positive in its approach, it provides a balance to the negative sensationalism of polygamy’s detractors and uncritical wishfulness of its proponents. Polygamy was one of the greatest single factors that made Mormonism what it was in the nineteenth century. If it is lost from our consciousness, we give up much of that heritage. Embry’s work gives us a chance to reflect again on a legacy we ought not forget. —Kahlile Mehr, BYU StudiesEmbry has written a book which has no rival in exploring the living dynamics of late nineteenth-century and early twentieth-century Mormon families, both polygamous and monogamous. . . . Mormon Polygamous Families should be on the reading list of everyone who is interested in what it meant at a personal level to be a Mormon during that time period. —D. Michael Quinn, Sunstone

History

Embry, Jessie L.

Americas

Book Description: These essays reveal how the scriptures, prophetic teachings, history, culture, rituals, and traditions of Mormonism have been, are, and can be used as warrants for a wide range of activities and attitudes—from radical pacifism to legitimation of the United States’ use of preemptive force against its enemies. As a relatively young religion that for much of its early history was simply struggling for survival, Mormonism has not yet fully grappled with some of the pressing questions of war and peace, with all of the attendant theological, social, and political ramifications. Given the LDS Church’s relative stability and measure of prominence and influence in the early twenty-first century, the time is ripe to examine the historical, spiritual, and cultural resources within the tradition that provide a foundation for constructive dialogue about how individual Latter-day Saints and the institutional Church orient themselves in a world of violence. While recognizing the important contributions of previous scholars who had offered analysis and reflection on the topic, these essays offer a more sustained and collaborative examination of Mormon perspectives on war and peace, drawing on both historical-social scientific research as well as more normative (theological and ethical) arguments. Praise for War &amp; Peace In Our Time: "Whatever your current opinion on the topic, this book will challenge you to reflect more deeply and thoroughly on what it means to be a disciple of Christ, the Prince of Peace, in an era of massive military budgets, lethal technologies, and widespread war." -Grant Hardy, author, Understanding the Book of Mormon: A Reader’s Guide "This volume provides a fitting springboard for robust and lively debates within the Mormon scholarly and lay community on how to think about the pressing issues of war and peace." -Robert S. Wood, Dean Emeritus, Center for Naval Warfare Studies, and Chester W. Nimitz Chair Emeritus, U.S. Naval War College "This collection of differing views by thoughtful scholars comprises a debate. Reading it may save us in the future from enacting more harm than good in the name of God, country, or presumption." -Philip Barlow, author, Mormons and the Bible: The Place of the Latter-day Saints in American Religion “I consider this book an absolutely essential resource for any latter-day Saint seeking to understand God’s will regarding war. . . . [Y]ou really ought to buy this book!” — Alan Rock Waterman, Pure Mormonism Contributors: Patrick Q. Mason J. David Pulsipher Richard L. Bushman Joshua Madson Morgan Deane Robert A. Rees F.R. Rick Duran Mark Ashburst-McGee Jennifer Lindell Ethan Yorgason Jesse Samantha Fulcher Robert H. Hellebrand D. Michael Quinn Boyd Jay Petersen Loyd Ericson Eric A. Eliason Gordon Conrad Thomasson Ron Madson Mark Henshaw Valerie M. Hudson Eric Jensen Kerry M. Kartchner John Mark Mattox

War and Peace in Our Time: Mormon Perspectives

Bushman, Richard L.

Quinn, D. Michael

Hudson, Valerie M.

Mason, Patrick Q.

Rees, Robert A.

Ericson, Loyd Isao

Pulsipher, J. David

Petersen, Boyd J.

Ashurst-McGee, Mark

Military

After living with Joseph Smith for seven years, biographer Richard Lyman Bushman went "on the road" for a year. After delivering the final proofs of his landmark study, Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling to Knopf in July 2005, Bushman crisscrossed the country from coast to coast, delivering numerous addresses on Joseph Smith at scholarly conferences, academic symposia, and firesides. This candid memoir concludes eleven months later with an article written for Common-Place in August 2006. Bushman confesses to hope and humility, an unexpected numbness when he expected moments of triumph, and genuine apprehension as he awaited reviews. He frets at the polarization that dismissed the book as either too hard on Joseph Smith or too easy. He yields to a very human compulsion to check sales figures on amazon.com, but partway through the process steps back with the recognition, "The book seems to be cutting its own path now, just as [I] hoped." His favorite review was "not . . . filled with praise, but it seemed to understand what I was up to." For readers coming to grips with the ongoing puzzle of the Prophet and the troublesome dimensions of their own faith, Richard Bushman, a temple sealer and stake patriarch but also a prize-winning scholar, openly but not insistently presents himself as a believer. "I believe enough to take Joseph Smith seriously," he says. He draws comfort both from what he calls his "mantra" ("Today I will be a follower of Jesus Christ") and also from ongoing engagement with the intellectual challenges of explaining Joseph Smith. "I personally think it is never good to let problems like this swim vaguely around in your head," he encourages one disturbed reader. "Take the top three and write them down. . . . Be sure you get all the facts right. . . . Ask yourself, Why does this seem contrary to what a prophet would do? . . . At the same time, . . . be fair. . . . Don't let your feelings swamp you." Bushman sets the example of how to do it.

On the Road with Joseph Smith: An Author's Diary

Biographies & Memoirs

Richard Lyman Bushman

Arts & Literature

A mere two hundred years old, Mormonism is still in its infancy compared to other theological disciplines (Judaism, Catholicism, Buddhism, etc.). This volume will introduce its reader to the rich blend of theological viewpoints that exist within Mormonism. The essays break new ground in Mormon studies by exploring the vast expanse of philosophical territory left largely untouched by traditional approaches to Mormon theology. It presents philosophical and theological essays by many of the finest minds associated with Mormonism in an organized and easy-to-understand manner and provides the reader with a window into the fascinating diversity amongst Mormon philosophers. Open-minded students of pure religion will appreciate this volume’s thoughtful inquiries.These essays were delivered at the first conference of the Society for Mormon Philosophy and Theology.

Discourses in Mormon Theology: Philosophical and Theological Possibilities

Politics & Social Sciences

Philosophy

Jedediah Morgan Grant was a man who knew no compromise when it came to principles--and his principles were clearly representative, argues Gene A. Sessions, of Mormonism's first generation. His life is a glimpse of a Mormon world whose disappearance coincided with the death of this "pious yet rambunctiously radical preacher, flogging away at his people, demanding otherworldliness and constant sacrifice." It was "an eschatological, pre-millennial world in which every individual teetered between salvation and damnation and in which unsanitary privies and appropriating a stray cow held the same potential for eternal doom as blasphemy and adultery." Updated and newly illustrated with more photographs, this second edition of the award-winning documentary history (first published in 1982) chronicles Grant's ubiquitous role in the Mormon history of the 1840s and '50s. In addition to serving as counselor to Brigham Young during two tumultuous and influential years at the end of his life, he also portentously befriended Thomas L. Kane, worked to temper his unruly brother-in-law William Smith, captained a company of emigrants into the Salt Lake Valley in 1847, and journeyed to the East on several missions to bolster the position of the Mormons during the crises surrounding the runaway judges affair and the public revelation of polygamy. Jedediah Morgan Grant's voice rises powerfully in these pages, startling in its urgency in summoning his people to sacrifice and moving in its tenderness as he communicated to his family. From hastily scribbled letters to extemporaneous sermons exhorting obedience, and the notations of still stunned listeners, the sound of "Mormon Thunder" rolls again in "a boisterous amplification of what Mormonism really was, and would never be again."

Mormon Thunder: A Documentary History of Jedediah Morgan Grant

Sessions, Gene A.

Historical

Excavating Mormon Pasts: The New Historiography of the Last Half Century

Winner of the Special Book Award from the John Whitmer Historical Association Includes Mormon History Association Award Winning Essay by Roger Launius. Excavating Mormon Pasts assembles sixteen knowledgeable scholars from both LDS and the Community of Christ traditions who have long participated skillfully in this dialogue. It presents their insightful and sometimes incisive surveys of where the New Mormon History has come from and which fields remain unexplored. It is both a vital reference work and a stimulating picture of the New Mormon History in the early twenty-first century. “[Excavating Mormon Pasts is] a valuable tool in the ongoing quest for clarity, for truth, for certainty. It is one of several volumes I’ve seen in the past few years that qualify for a ‘must have’ rating.” —Jeffrey Needle, Association for Mormon Letters

Bringhurst, Newell G.

Historical Study & Educational Resources

The enduring saga of Mormonism is its great trek across the plains, and understanding that trek was the life work of Stanley B. Kimball, master of Mormon trails. This final work, a collaboration which he began and which was completed after his death in 2003 by his photographer-writer wife, Violet, explores that movement westward as a social history, with the Mormons moving as "villages on wheels." Like a true social history, this fascinating account in fourteen chapters explores both the routines of the trail-cooking, cleaning, laundry, dealing with bodily functions-and the dramatic moments: encountering Indians and stampeding buffalo, giving birth, losing loved ones to death, dealing with rage and injustice, but also offering succor, kindliness, and faith. Religious observances were simultaneously an important part of creating and maintaining group cohesiveness, but working them into the fabric of the grueling day-to-day routine resulted in adaptation, including a "sliding Sabbath." The role played by children and teens receives careful scrutiny; not only did children grow up quickly on the trail, but the gender boundaries guarding their "separate spheres" blurred under the erosion of concentrating on tasks that had to be done regardless of the age or sex of those available to do them. Unexpected attention is given to African Americans who were part of this westering experience, and Violet also gives due credit to the "four-legged heroes" who hauled the wagons westward.

Villages on Wheels: A Social History of the Gathering to Zion

Kimball, Stanley B.

Kimball, Violet T.

From the arrival of the first Mormon missionaries in New Zealand in 1854 until stakehood and the dedication of the Hamilton New Zealand Temple in 1958, Tiki and Temple tells the enthralling story of Mormonism's encounter with the genuinely different but surprisingly harmonious Maori culture. Mormon interest in the Maori can be documented to 1832, soon after Joseph Smith organized the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in America. Under his successor Brigham Young, Mormon missionaries arrived in New Zealand in 1854, but another three decades passed before they began sustained proselytising among the Maori people--living in Maori pa, eating eels and potatoes with their fingers from communal dishes, learning to speak the language, and establishing schools. They grew to love--and were loved by--their Maori converts, whose numbers mushroomed until by 1898, when the Australasian Mission was divided, the New Zealand Mission was ten times larger than the parent Australian Mission. The New Zealand Mission of the Mormon Church was virtually two missions --one to the English-speaking immigrants and their descendants, and one to the tangata whenua-- "people of the land." The difficulties this dichotomy caused, as both leaders and converts struggled with cultural differences and their isolation from Church headquarters, make a fascinating story. Drawing on hitherto untapped sources, including missionary journals and letters and government documents, this absorbing book is the fullest narrative available of Mormonism's flourishing in New Zealand. Although written primarily for a Latter-day Saint audience, this book fills a gap for anyone interested in an accurate and coherent account of the growth of Mormonism in New Zealand.

Tiki and Temple: The Mormon Mission in New Zealand, 1854–1958

Newton, Marjorie

Australia & Oceania

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