"I, Nephi, having been born of goodly parents..." So begins the first book in the Book of Mormon. In this brief theological introduction, philosopher and theologian Joseph M. Spencer investigates the central themes and purposes of a book he calls a "theological masterpiece". What was Nephi trying to accomplish with his writings? How can readers/listeners today make better sense of Nephi's words? What can an ancient seer offer readers/listeners in the 21st century? Spencer introduces a Nephi for our moment, a complex prophet with an urgent message for a world in turmoil.

Eugene England (1933–2001) — one of the most influential and controversial intellectuals in modern Mormonism — lived in the crossfire between religious tradition and reform. This first serious biography, by leading historian Terryl L. Givens, shimmers with the personal tensions felt deeply by England during the turmoil of the late 20th century.

Founder of the largest indigenous Christian church in American history, Joseph Smith published the 584-page Book of Mormon when he was 23 and went on to organize a church, found cities, and attract thousands of followers before his violent death at age 38. Richard Bushman, an esteemed cultural historian and a practicing Mormon, moves beyond the popular stereotype of Smith as a colorful fraud to explore his personality, his relationships with others, and how he received revelations.

"Whether by design or by chance," Terryl and Fiona Givens write, "we find ourselves in a universe filled with mystery. We encounter appealing arguments for a Divinity that is a childish projection, for prophets as scheming or deluded imposters, and for scripture as so much fabulous fiction. But there is also compelling evidence that a glorious Divinity presides over the cosmos, that His angels are strangers we have entertained unawares, and that His word and will are made manifest through a sacred canon that is never definitively closed."

What if we understood faith crisis as part of a natural cycle of spiritual growth, a breaking open to make room for new life and new faith? In the new book Navigating Mormon Faith Crisis, Thomas McConkie draws on the study of adult development to provide a map for people who find themselves in faith crisis, fearing they might have taken a wrong turn in their spiritual progression.

The Book of Mormon is a religious record of three groups of people who migrated from the Old World to the American continents. These groups were led by prophets who recorded their religious and secular histories on metal plates. The Book of Mormon records the visit of Jesus Christ to people in the Americas following his resurrection. A 200-year era of peace followed that visit of Christ.

In this first volume of his magisterial study of the foundations of Mormon thought and practice, Terryl L. Givens offers a sweeping account of Mormon belief from its founding to the present day. Situating the relatively new movement in the context of the Christian tradition, he reveals that Mormonism continues to change and grow.

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.

America’s Choice asks, “What is the greatest challenge facing our society today?” The economy, national security, immigration, gun control, poverty, racism, crime, national pandemics, climate change? While each of these is a valid concern and deserves attention, none of them strikes at the heart of our greatest challenge, namely, finding a way to build stronger homes and in the process bringing about a return to family, God, and moral values. To put our prime focus on challenges other than these is to strike at the leaves, not the root of the problem.

In 1820, a young farm boy in search of truth has a vision of God the Father and Jesus Christ. Three years later, an angel guides him to an ancient record buried in a hill near his home. With God’s help, he translates the record and organizes the Savior’s church in the latter days. Soon others join him, accepting the invitation to become Saints through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. But opposition and violence follow those who defy old traditions to embrace restored truths.

What is the nature of God? How can we recapture a real sense of God's majesty and truly live in the Spirit? This beloved book, a modern classic of Christian testimony and devotion, addresses these and other vital questions, showing us how we can rejuvenate our prayer life, meditate more reverently, understand God more deeply, and experience God's presence in our daily lives.

Sixty-five million adults in the US have dropped out of active church attendance, and about 2.7 million more are leaving every year. Faith After Doubt is for the millions of people around the world who feel that their faith is falling apart. Using his own story and the stories of a diverse group of struggling believers, Brian D. McLaren, a former pastor and now an author, speaker, and activist, shows how old assumptions are being challenged in nearly every area of human life, not just theology and spirituality.

The Restoration began in the spring of 1820, when Joseph Smith saw God the Father and Jesus Christ in a grove of trees in upstate New York. Joseph had questions, and Jesus had answers. That was 200 years ago. As the Restoration enters its third century, the world has new questions. A loving God has answers. In Restoration, scholar and author Patrick Mason reflects on what it means for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to participate in the ongoing Restoration.

Putting On Christ is a road map of our heroic journey to spiritual rebirth, also referenced in the holy writ as “the gate” that leads to eternal life. This gate is the first comforter which is received and initiated through a “baptism of fire” and the manifestation of the Lord’s spirit. The Savior said, “Strive to enter in at the strait gate: For many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able” (Luke 13:24). For the true seeker and truth seeker, Putting On Christ may prove a valuable guide for the journey.

Born After Midnight stirs us toward renewal. Be it in the realm of money, worship, worry, or prayer, A. W. Tozer applies God's high wisdom to our everyday living to show sin bitter and Christ sweet, helping us crave heaven and lose our taste for the world. If you will take God for who he says he is, trust his promises as true, and forsake the world in clutching for heaven, it will cost you everything. But it will give you eternity. Born After Midnight invites you to seek what cannot be lost.

Daily readings drawn from every century and every tradition of the Christian faith. Christianity through the ages... Ignatius, C.S. Lewis, John Calvin, Augustine, Catherine of Siena, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Thomas Aquinas, Martin Luther, Polycarp, John Wesley, Karl Barth, and Billy Sunday. These names, and so many others, fill the pages of church history. Yet they remain strangers to most of us. How Great Is Our God will introduce you to Christianity’s most influential thinkers from every century and every tradition—modernized for today’s reader.

The Old Testament is one of the most carefully studied books in the world’s history. It is also one of the most misunderstood. This founding text of the world’s three largest religions is also, Erich Fromm argues, an impressive radical humanist text. He sees the stories of mankind’s transition from divided clans to united brotherhood as a tribute to the human power to overcome. Filled with hopeful symbolism, You Shall Be as Gods shows how the Old Testament and its tradition is an inspiring ode to human potential.

The weight of glory is a happy burden. Thus God is the happiest Being in the Universe. To know Him in His pleasures is to see Him as He is - and to have a fresh encounter with His transforming presence. If you are hungry for this deep delight, consider the gladness of His great heart. The things that make God glad are the measures of His greatness. Christ and the cross. Choosing His people and bruising His Son. Creating the world and revealing His worth. The gladness of His people in the greatness of His glory.

The central issue of Jesus' death is not the cause, but the meaning - God's meaning. That is what this book is about. John Piper has gathered from the New Testament 50 reasons. Not 50 causes, but 50 purposes - in answer to the most important question that each of us must face: What did God achieve for sinners like us in sending his Son to die?

Doubt as to moral and spiritual truth is distilled through a score of channels. Our seats of learning are hotbeds of agnosticism. Our literature, with rare exceptions, makes light of God and jokes about sacred things. The newspapers, the radio broadcasts, public utterances, and private conversations are steadily but surely removing the foundations of righteousness and destroying what little faith in spiritual things still remain.

Why does God allow suffering? In today’s world of convenience and comfort, suffering can seem senseless. This idea has even crept into the church, where many believe that if we make the right choices and do the right things, pain can be avoided. So it’s little wonder that when we do encounter tough situations, we face even tougher questions: Why does God allow suffering? Where is God when I’m hurting?

In AfterLife, Hank Hanegraaff, one of the most remarkable theological minds of our time, explains how life in the present intersects with life after life and, ultimately, life after life after life. With laser-sharp clarity, this surprisingly insightful audiobook demonstrates that death is not the end - in fact, it’s just the beginning. AfterLife will forever change the way you view your eternal destiny!

What is Christianity? It is Christ. Nothing more, nothing less. Christianity is not an ideology and not a philosophy. Christianity is the Good News that beauty, truth, and goodness are found in a Person. And conversion? It's more than a change in direction; it's a change in connection.

In What to Do on the Worst Day of Your Life, Brian Zahnd reveals the steps you must take to recover and to recover all. In this audiobook you will hear about David, a man who wept but did not get bitter. You'll listen in as David reorients his vision and regains his passion. Throughout this journey you will be reminded that God's great work in David's life was not an odd, one-off miracle but rather a pattern of faith for you when you face the worst day of your life.

Written between A.D. 413 and 426, The City of God is one of the great cornerstones in the history of Christian thought, a book which is vital to the understanding of modern Western society. Augustine originally intended it to be an apology for Christianity against the accusation that the Church was responsible for the decline of the Roman Empire, which had occurred just three years earlier. Indeed, Augustine produced a great amount of evidence to prove that paganism was responsible for this event. However, by the time the work was finished, the book had taken on a larger theme.