This work focuses on a reality central to each human life and basic to every branch of theology; namely, the immanent transcendence of God. This study begins by exploring that theme of mystery hidden yet revealed from the perspective of the interrelationship of transcendence, self-actualization and creative expression. The book goes on to describe the interplay of those three elements in the lives and the works of,Thomas Merton, monk and writer, and Georgia O'Keeffe, artist. People from a wide variety of backgrounds and traditions will find this study a stimulating source of insight for their spiritual quest.

An important part of discipleship is knowing what questions to ask-and which ones have not yet been adequately answered. From the beginning to recent times, prophets have reminded the Saints that the Restoration is ongoing, not an event. Our purpose in assembling this collection of essays is simple: we wish to celebrate the miracle of continuing revelation, and the promise of more to come, that God will "yet reveal many great and important things." This means that the essays selected for inclusion represent only a few of the hundreds of possible subjects.Ours is an effort to clarify some of the hazy borders of orthodoxy and to honor the dynamism, the richness, and the possibilities of a Restoration still very much in process of unfolding. Joseph Smith taught, "By proving contraries truth is manifest." A fuller understanding of truth can come by keeping multiple perspectives in mind and letting them work themselves out in patience and God's own time, like fruitful leaven.Topics include:What is the nature of God's progress?Where did Book of Mormon events take place?What is women's relationship to priesthood?Is God subject to or the creator of eternal law?Will things get better or worse before the Second Coming?Was Jesus married?Is the Song of Solomon scripture?How was the Book of Mormon translated?

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 twentieth century. Drawing on unprecedented access to England's personal papers, Givens paints a multifaceted portrait of a devout Latter-day Saint whose precarious position on the edge of church hierarchy was instrumental to his ability to shape the study of modern Mormonism. A professor of literature at Brigham Young University, England also taught in the Church Educational System. And yet from the sixties on, he set church leaders' teeth on edge as he protested the Vietnam War, decried institutional racism and sexism, and supported Poland's Solidarity movement—all at a time when Latter-day Saints were ultra-patriotic and banned Black ordination. England could also be intemperate, proud of his own rectitude, and neglectful of political realities and relationships, and he was eventually forced from his academic position. His last days, as he suffered from brain cancer, were marked by a spiritual agony that church leaders were unable to help him resolve.

Ten years ago, Emma Malloy fled Dublin for Boston as a battered woman, escaping the husband who scarred her beautiful face. The physical and emotional wounds have faded with time, and her life is finally full of purpose and free from the pain of her past. But when she falls for her friend Charity's handsome and charming brother, Sean O'Connor, fear and shame threaten to destroy her. Could Sean and Emma ever have a future together? Or is Emma doomed to live out the rest of her life denying the only true love she's ever known? Filled with intense passion and longing, deception and revelation, A Heart Revealed will hold readers in its grip until the very last page.

--WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER-- The Gospel of Mary Magdalene reveals a very different love story from the one we've come to refer to as Christianity. Harvard-trained theologian Meggan Watterson leads us verse by verse through Mary's gospel to illuminate the powerful teachings it contains. A gospel, as ancient and authentic as any of the gospels that the Christian bible contains, was buried deep in the Egyptian desert after an edict was sent out in the 4th century to have all copies of it destroyed. Fortunately, some rebel monks were wise enough to refuse-and thanks to their disobedience and spiritual bravery, we have several manuscripts of the only gospel that was written in the name of a woman: The Gospel of Mary Magdalene. Mary's gospel reveals a radical love that sits at the heart of the Christian story. Her gospel says that we are not sinful; we are not to feel ashamed or unworthy for being human. In fact, our purpose is to be fully human, to be a "true human being"- that is, a person who has remembered that, yes, we are a messy, limited ego, and we are also a limitless soul. And all we need to do is to turn inward (again and again); to meditate, like Mary Magdalene, in the way her gospel directs us, so that we can see past the ego of our own little lives to what's more real, and lasting, and infinite, and already here, within. With searing clarity, Watterson explains how and why Mary Magdalene came to be portrayed as the penitent prostitute and relates a more historically and theologically accurate depiction of who Mary was within the early Christ movement. And she shares how this discovery of Mary's gospel has allowed her to practice, and to experience, a love that never ends, a love that transforms everything.

Jesus Revealed reintroduces readers to the true Son of God, helping them see him with clear vision, so that they can love him more fully and follow him more completely Readers will be surprised and delighted as they get to know the Jesus whose face is clearly revealed through the titles God gave him and the names used for him by his earliest followers. A sense of comfortable familiarity with the Savior can cloud people’s vision–and even prevent them from drawing closer to Jesus as he really is. His titles and descriptions are heard so often that it’s easy to miss the impact of their true meaning. Even the name Jesus is so well known that it has lost much of its power in believers’ lives. In these pages, readers will encounter a Jesus who surprises and unsettles, who comforts and empowers, in astonishingly authentic ways. Each chapter focuses on one aspect of Jesus’ identity–such as Rabbi, Son of Man, Light of the World. As pastor and scholar Mark Roberts explores what’s behind each of these titles, he brings insight into the theological and historical meanings, and then relates them to life today. Readers will travel back to first-century Palestine, meet the God-man we know as Jesus, and experience a soul-changing encounter with him. Because to know him is to love him.

The final book of the Bible, Revelation prophesies the ultimate judgement of mankind in a series of allegorical visions, grisly images and numerological predictions. According to these, empires will fall, the "Beast" will be destroyed and Christ will rule a new Jerusalem. With an introduction by Will Self.