New Mormon Books

…from my experience as a Mormon missionary, I have found that virtually every philosophy presented by the world contains at least some truth and can be related to the gospel. This sister, however, decided it would be her job to completely erase everything the investigator had learned from her professors and then replace it with the missionary lessons. The climax of her story came when she finally convinced the woman that secular teachings were derived from the adversary, and that all the truth she needed, she could find in the church.

A summer reading list for the thoughtful Mormon reader
By McKay Coppins
Mormon Times, Jul. 18, 2009.
http://mormontimes.com/mormon_voices/mckay_coppins/?id=9716
Books by Mormon authors included were:
* The Innovator’s Dilemma by Clayton M. Christensen
* To Draw Closer to God by President Henry B. Eyring

Though it might be common for a reader to turn to a commentary in search of a particular doctrine or passage of verses, the two volumes’ construction also gives them a format friendly to reading chapter to chapter. Nyman even suggests portions that might be skipped in each chapter for a reader who is continuing from chapter to chapter.

Monte S. Nyman’s latest commentaries: 2 volumes on the D&C
By Steve Fidel
Mormon Times, Jul. 17, 2009
http://mormontimes.com/arts_entertainment/books/?id=9524

Every faith and denomination has an approach for balancing faith and reason. In Chapter Two of the book, Bushman briefly outlines the LDS approach. The context, of course, is how a faith or denomination defends its claim to have possession of religious truth or correct doctrine. If reason alone suffices, it’s not a religious approach. Faith or revelation alone might seem like the religious ideal, but faith or revelation always, at the very least, needs reason to make the system of doctrines hang together with a minimum of contradiction and to interpret the written texts. So what is the Mormon approach?

Reason and revelation in Mormonism
By Dave Banack
Mormon Inquiry on Beliefnet, July 17, 2009.
http://blog.beliefnet.com/mormoninquiry/2009/07/reason-and-revelation-in-mormo.html

“Latayne Scott is a gifted writer with a thorough knowledge of Mormonism. The book is filled not only with excellent information, but keen analysis. Moreover, she demonstrates genuine kindness and empathy toward Latter-day Saints, based on her positive experiences growing up in the LDS Church.”

Red River Writers Live – Tell Us About You 7-01-2009
Red River Writers, July 04, 2009
http://redriverwriters.typepad.com/red_river_writers/2009/07/red-river-writers-live-tell-us-about-you-7-01-2009.html

When it comes to books on scriptural studies, there are a few questions that I want to know. Does the author engage in the larger field of studies regarding their subject? Have they studied the work in the original Hebrew or Greek, or at least used reliable translations? What is their stance on redaction and biblical criticism in general? Even though I didn’t expect Crowther to fall within the larger field of biblical critics and be able to answer affirmative to my above questions, I was hoping for something a little more than what I got.

Title: How to Understand the Book of Ezekiel: The Latter-day Warnings by Duane S. Crowther
By Dallas Robbins
Confetti Book Reviews, 30/06/09
http://www.confettiantiques.com/book-reviews/title-how-to-understand-the-book-of-ezekiel-the-latter-day-warnings-by-duane-s-crowther/

As each of us goes about our daily business at the office, store, and elsewhere, it is likely that we will rub shoulders with a Mormon at one time or another. Heck, sometimes they even show up right at the front door. During these encounters, the conversation can at times be confusing at best. While Christians and Mormons may use some of the same words, the theological meaning each side places on these words are often oceans apart. In order to be better prepared for these occasions, I’d encourage you to educate yourself on the history, theology, and practices of the Mormon Church.

Book Review – The Mormon Mirage by Latayne C. Scott
By Shaun Tabatt
Bible Geek Gone Wild, June 30, 2009.
http://biblegeekgonewild.com/?p=1778

I had my “reconversion” to the Book of Mormon (to use the word I have chosen for the experiences of life-long Mormons) when I was a missionary in Hawaii in 1956. Yes, I had read the book and studied passages for talks, but I had not been brought to Christ by it.

Eugene England’s “Reconversion” to the Book of Mormon
By Jared
LDS Alive in Christ, June 29th, 2009.
http://www.ldsaliveinchrist.com/2009/06/eugene-englands-reconversion-to-the-book-of-mormon/

In our communication of the good news to Latter-day Saints (as to anyone), we must ask basic questions like: In this culture, how do these people communicate? How do they make spiritual decisions? What do you value? How do they view themselves and others? What is their epistemology? What forces shape their religious identity? And how are the answers to those questions different in LDS culture compared to my own cultural norms, and compared to biblical norms?

Understanding the Book of Mormon by Ross Anderson
How Latter-day Saints experience the Book of Mormon, part 1
By Ross Anderson
Koinonia, June 08, 2009
http://www.koinoniablog.net/2009/06/understanding-the-book-of-mormon-by-ross-anderson.html

So now I have read the book. I did not like it very much. Most of my religious reading is unashamedly of Mormonism, by Mormons, for Mormons. There is a directness to this commentary that appeals to me. As I read the book, I felt that I was not Robinson’s intended audience. It seemed like he was writing about interfaith dialog, by a Mormon, for Evangelicals. It was almost like I was reading a book that belonged to somebody else.

Okay, So I Read ‘How Wide the Divide?’
By Eric Nielson
Blogger of Jared, June 26th, 2009.
http://www.bloggerofjared.com/2009/06/26/okay-so-i-read-how-wide-the-divide/

Well-known LDS author Larry Barkdull (another contributor to forthcoming book, Famous Family Nights) has written a 5-volume book series on becoming Zion people. This series is heavily documented with over 3,800 references. It is titled, The Three Pillars of Zion.

FREE Pillars of Zion Sampler!
By Anne Bradshaw
Not Entirely British, June 19, 2009
http://annebradshaw.blogspot.com/2009/06/free-pillars-of-zion-sampler.html