Restoring Christ: Leaving Mormon Jesus for Jesus of the Gospels

Restoring Christ: Leaving Mormon Jesus for Jesus of the Gospels
Author: Grant H. Palmer
Publisher:
Total Pages: 268
Release: 2017-07-18
Genre: Christian life
ISBN: 9781521776360

I have come to greatly prefer the Jesus of the Gospels over the Jesus of Mormonism. This book is an exploration of the foundations of my journey, and what I have chosen to believe, what I hope others might consider. I write on Christianity and I write on Mormonism, with the hope that struggling Latter-day Saints can find a way forward with Christ as their foundation. Looking at both Christianity and Mormonism, my intent is to lift the baby from the bathwater, to restore the Savior, with no desire to save the Jesus of Mormonism. Joseph Smith's Restoration has grave problems. He went astray in my view, because he went beyond the footprint of Jesus' teachings--committing the same mistake he claimed others had made. I suppose this book is a Restoration-type endeav∨ an effort to rediscover what is most basic, most important. How ironic to seek to restore the Christ of the Gospels from Mormonism! So what does a Latter-day Saint do when they discover that the church narrative they were taught all their life has fallen apart? For me, the "revelations" of Mormon Jesus and their practice by Joseph Smith--as especially seen in chapters 9, 17-19--is radically different from the behavior, character and personality of Jesus of Nazareth. For example, Smith produced "scriptures" which depended on nineteenth-century sources, claiming them to be ancient. He initiated a secret "spiritual wife system" which included concubines and slandered women who resisted his sexual advances. He married young teenagers and other men's wives. He cursed his enemies and set up a secret organization, had himself ordained king and sought to violently overthrow the Nation. Comparing the two portraits has been the single most cathartic event since my crisis of faith. I find the Jesus of the Gospels to better reflect God's nature and love, and thus how to clearly respond to others as a disciple.

An Insider's View of Mormon Origins

An Insider's View of Mormon Origins
Author: Grant H. Palmer
Publisher:
Total Pages: 300
Release: 2002
Genre: Religion
ISBN:

Quote: 'Why would God reveal to Joseph Smith a faulty [mistranslated] KJV text?' Chap 4: (Evangelical Protestantism in the Book of Mormon) concludes that numerous theological issues addressed in the Book of Mormon probably derived from Smith's Upstate New York religious environment than from the claimed ancient gold plates. Chap 5: (Moroni and the Golden Pot) examines a long list of parallels between a published story by E.T.A. Hoffmann, and Smith's account of the angel Moroni's visits. The chapter concludes, 'It would stretch credulity to believe that this [long list of parallels between Hoffmann's Golden Pot story and Smith's Moroni story] could be a coincidence, and I therefore think that a debt is owed to E.T.A. Hoffmann and the European traditions ... ' Chap.

Jesus the Christ

Jesus the Christ
Author: James E. Talmage
Publisher: BoD – Books on Demand
Total Pages: 726
Release: 2018-01-28
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 3732625842

Reproduction of the original.

Gospel Principles

Gospel Principles
Author: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
Publisher: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Total Pages: 298
Release: 1997
Genre:
ISBN: 1465101276

A Study Guide and a Teacher’s Manual Gospel Principles was written both as a personal study guide and as a teacher’s manual. As you study it, seeking the Spirit of the Lord, you can grow in your understanding and testimony of God the Father, Jesus Christand His Atonement, and the Restoration of the gospel. You can find answers to life’s questions, gain an assurance of your purpose and self-worth, and face personal and family challenges with faith.

Silas Grey Religious Conspiracy Archaeological Thriller Collection: American God, Grail of Power, Templars Rising

Silas Grey Religious Conspiracy Archaeological Thriller Collection: American God, Grail of Power, Templars Rising
Author: J. A. Bouma
Publisher: EmmausWay Press
Total Pages: 1027
Release: 2019-04-10
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1948545241

3 Bestselling Religious Conspiracy Archaeological Thrillers for 40% off Full Price AMERICAN GOD The separation of Church and State. The authentic Christian faith. Never more at risk. Silas and the Order's SEPIO operatives embark on a timely mission ripped from the headlines to protect the integrity of the authentic Church. In a race against the election clock, will they succeed before that separation is breached and religious confusion floods the nation? GRAIL OF POWER A mythic grail. A legendary quest. Blood with the power to save. Is the mythical Holy Grail so mythical? And why is the Church's archenemy so desperate to find it? Those two haunting questions launch the SEPIO agents on their most harrowing mission yet with a clock ticking to find answers just before Christmas. Spanning historic Europe and Medieval Church history, the agents race to solve this threatening puzzle until the final pieces are brought together in a final showdown that will leave readers all at once breathless and inspired. TEMPLARS RISING A legend 900 years in the making rises again to protect the Church. When the Church is embroiled in a series of devastating, coordinated attacks during Holy Week without any answers, SEPIO launches its most harrowing operation yet—to not only protect the Church and bring the perpetrators to justice, but to confront the mysterious men in white avenging Christian persecution once again—the Knights Templar. Enter the second set of three explosively inventive adventures of the bestselling Order of Thaddeus action-adventure, religious conspiracy series by J. A. Bouma — combining the familiar elements of Dan Brown's religious conspiracy with James Rollin's special-ops suspense, informed by Steve Berry's historical insights. As one reader says: "If you like the sigma force novels by James Rollins or Steve Berry's Cotton Malone series you might like this series. It provides plenty of rollicking action adventure while also giving insights into the Christian faith."

Restoration

Restoration
Author: Patrick Mason
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2020-10-30
Genre:
ISBN: 9781953677044

Can We Trust the Bible on the Historical Jesus?

Can We Trust the Bible on the Historical Jesus?
Author: Bart D. Ehrman
Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press
Total Pages: 114
Release: 2020-09-22
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1646980018

This book features a learned and fascinating debate between two great Bible scholars about the New Testament as a reliable source on the historical Jesus. Bart Ehrman, an agnostic New Testament scholar, debates Craig Evans, an evangelical New Testament scholar, about the historical Jesus and what constitutes "history." Their interaction includes such compelling questions as: What are sound methods of historical investigation? What are reliable criteria for determining the authenticity of an ancient text? What roles do reason and inference play? And, of course, interpretation? Readers of this debate—regardless of their interpretive inclinations and biases—are sure to find some confirmation of their existing beliefs, but they will surely also find an honest and well-informed challenge to the way they think about the historical Jesus. The result? A more open, better informed, and questioning mind, which is better prepared for discovering both truth and contrivance. The debate between Ehrman and Evans along with Stewart's introductory framework make this book an excellent primer to the study of the historical Jesus, and readers will come away with a deeper appreciation for the ongoing quest for the historical Jesus.

Hidden Gospels

Hidden Gospels
Author: Philip Jenkins
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 269
Release: 2002-12-05
Genre: History
ISBN: 0199760705

This incisive critique thoroughly and convincingly debunks the claims that recently discovered texts such as the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Mary, and even the Dead Sea Scrolls undermine the historical validity of the New Testament. Jenkins places the recent controversies surrounding the hidden gospels in a broad historical context and argues that, far from being revolutionary, such attempts to find an alternative Christianity date back at least to the Enlightenment. By employing the appropriate scholarly and historical methodologies, he demonstrates that the texts purported to represent pristine Christianity were in fact composed long after the canonical gospels found in the Bible. Produced by obscure heretical movements, these texts have attracted much media attention chiefly because they seem to support radical, feminist, and post-modern positions in the modern church. Indeed, Jenkins shows how best-selling books on the "hidden gospels" have been taken up by an uncritical, drama-hungry media as the basis for a social movement that could have powerful effects on the faith and practice of contemporary Christianity.

Cold-Case Christianity

Cold-Case Christianity
Author: J. Warner Wallace
Publisher: David C Cook
Total Pages: 288
Release: 2013-01-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1434705463

Written by an L. A. County homicide detective and former atheist, Cold-Case Christianity examines the claims of the New Testament using the skills and strategies of a hard-to-convince criminal investigator. Christianity could be defined as a “cold case”: it makes a claim about an event from the distant past for which there is little forensic evidence. In Cold-Case Christianity, J. Warner Wallace uses his nationally recognized skills as a homicide detective to look at the evidence and eyewitnesses behind Christian beliefs. Including gripping stories from his career and the visual techniques he developed in the courtroom, Wallace uses illustration to examine the powerful evidence that validates the claims of Christianity. A unique apologetic that speaks to readers’ intense interest in detective stories, Cold-Case Christianity inspires readers to have confidence in Christ as it prepares them to articulate the case for Christianity.

Saints: The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days

Saints: The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days
Author: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Publisher: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Total Pages: 676
Release: 2018-09-04
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1629737100

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. The women and men who join the church must choose whether or not they will stay true to their covenants, establish Zion, and proclaim the gospel to a troubled world. The Standard of Truth is the first book in Saints, a new, four-volume narrative history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Fast-paced, meticulously researched, Saints recounts true stories of Latter-day Saints across the globe and answers the Lord’s call to write history “for the good of the church, and for the rising generations” (Doctrine and Covenants 69:8).