What is Mormonism? A Student’s Introduction is an easy-to-read and informative overview of the religion founded by Joseph Smith in 1830. This short and lively book covers Mormonism’s history, core beliefs, rituals, and devotional practices, as well as the impact on the daily lives of its followers. The book focuses on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Salt Lake City-based church that is the largest and best-known expression of Mormonism, whilst also exploring lesser known churches that claim descent from Smith’s original revelations. Designed for undergraduate religious studies and history students, What is Mormonism? provides a reliable and easily digestible introduction to a steadily growing religion that continues to befuddle even learned observers of American religion and culture.

Organized in a simple and easy-to-read format, this book aims to answer dozens of common questions concerning the people, practices, history, and culture of the Mormon faith. Are Mormons Christians? What is the Book of Mormon? How does Mormonism contrast with the world's other religions? What exactly do today's Mormons believe? The book offers readers of all backgrounds an accessible and informative Q&A session that covers all facets of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Although sometimes misunderstood, Mormonism is the fastest growing religion in the world. Johanson's clear and concise volume shows us the ideas, beliefs, and rites behind this faith.

A non-Mormon theologian explains how Mormonism is a branch of the Christian family tree that extends well beyond what most Christians have ever imagined.

Introducing a major new doctrinal work written by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland who shares his apostolic witness of the central figure of the Book of Mormon-the Lord Jesus Christ. For most of a decade, Elder Holland has read the Book of Mormon repeatedly and thoroughly, focusing on all references to the Savior and his teachings. The result is an intelligent observation and thorough study of the Book of Mormon's contribution to our understanding of Christ. On the illustrated edition: Elder Holland's classic examination of Jesus Christ as the "principal and commanding figure" in the Book of Mormon is now available as an illustrated keepsake. This landmark book explores what the Book of Mormon reveals about the character, attributes, and mission or our Savior. In his warm and thoughtful style, Elder Holland explains why, more than any other book, the Book of Mormon "has taught me to love the Lord Jesus Christ and to consider the full wonder and grandeur, the eternally resonating power of the atoning sacrifice he made for us." Stunning full-color illustrations by Walter Rane, Robert Barrett, Simon Dewey, Joseph Brickey, and others bring vibrant new life to this beloved volume.

"Few religions have grown more rapidly in recent years or attracted as much notice as the Mormon Church. Yet despite the growth and attention, most people know little about that church, and misinformation about its beliefs abounds. [This book] succinctly introduces the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (the official name for the Mormon Church). Rex E. Lee, president of Brigham Young University and former Solicitor General of the United States, explains what members believe and why, from the viewpoint of a believer."--Dust jacket flap.

Reproduction of the original: History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints by Joseph Smith

In the closing decades of the nineteenth century, college-age Latter-day Saints began undertaking a remarkable intellectual pilgrimage to the nation's elite universities, including Harvard, Columbia, Michigan, Chicago, and Stanford. Thomas W. Simpson chronicles the academic migration of hundreds of LDS students from the 1860s through the late 1930s, when church authority J. Reuben Clark Jr., himself a product of the Columbia University Law School, gave a reactionary speech about young Mormons' search for intellectual cultivation. Clark's leadership helped to set conservative parameters that in large part came to characterize Mormon intellectual life. At the outset, Mormon women and men were purposefully dispatched to such universities to "gather the world's knowledge to Zion." Simpson, drawing on unpublished diaries, among other materials, shows how LDS students commonly described American universities as egalitarian spaces that fostered a personally transformative sense of freedom to explore provisional reconciliations of Mormon and American identities and religious and scientific perspectives. On campus, Simpson argues, Mormon separatism died and a new, modern Mormonism was born: a Mormonism at home in the United States but at odds with itself. Fierce battles among Mormon scholars and church leaders ensued over scientific thought, progressivism, and the historicity of Mormonism's sacred past. The scars and controversy, Simpson concludes, linger.