Believing Christ by Stephen E. Robinson

Believing Christ by Stephen E. Robinson
 In a talk with his bishop, a man kept dwelling on his shortcomings.  He finally said, “Look, I’m just not celestial material.” The bishop responded, “The problem is not your shortcomings.  All of us have them. The problem is, you believe in Christ; you just don’t believe Christ.  He says he can make you celestial material, and you say, ‘No, he can’t.’”
 On his mission, a young man set up a plan to become perfect by age thirty.  He said, “We don’t believe in being saved by grace.  We have to earn salvation.” How would he answer these questions: Whose merit gets us to the kingdom? and, Whose good works perfect us?
 A woman had led a rough life.  When younger, she rode with a motorcycle gang, and when older, she drank heavily and hung around bars.  Many were amazed when she joined the Church.  Years passed, though, before she could completely give up alcohol and cigarettes, and more years went by before she got her swearing and temper under control.  But she never gave up, and at last she was able to go to the temple.  Can such a person expect to inherit the kingdom of God? Of course.  The harder question is, however, at what point did this woman become a candidate for exaltation?
 Another woman went through a stressful year.  She graduated from college, passed the CPA exam, took a job, was Relief Society president, and gave birth to her fourth child.  But she burned out.  She stopped everything. “I can’t do all the things I’m supposed to do,” she said, “and I can’t do them as well as others can.  I’m never going to be perfect, and I just can’t pretend anymore that I am.” Somewhere she had lost sight of the central core of the gospel: she believed in Jesus Christ a the great Coach, as the Eternal Advisor, but not as Savior.  She was trying to save herself.
 In Believing Christ, Stephen E. Robinson eloquently discusses the marvelous news of the gospel: what Jesus Christ has done for us.  Using examples from people’s lives and modern-day analogies and parables to illustrate scriptural principles, he explains the doctrines of atonement, grace, justification, salvation, and perfection so clearly and understandably one need never be confused by them again.
 “The good news of the gospel is good news to me not because it promises that other people who are better than I am can be saved-wretched, inadequate, and imperfect me.  And until I accept that possibility,…I have not really accepted the good news of the gospel.”

The Great Apostasy by James E Talmage

The Great Apostasy by James E Talmage
James E. Talmage's thorough discussion of the significance of the great apostasy as a condition for the reestablishment of the Church in modern times. A summary of the most important evidences of the decline and final extinction of the primitive church. Helpful for missionaries and investigators. Offers a clear understanding of the apostasy and the restoration of the priesthood.

Jesus The Christ by James E. Talmage

Jesus The Christ by  James E. Talmage
 Since it was first published in September 1915, Jesus the Christ has been a classic text on the life and ministry of the Savior.  Elder Marion G. Romney has said, “ One who gets the understanding, the vision, and the spirit of the resurrected Lord through a careful study of the text Jesus the Christ by Elder James E. Talmage will find that he has greatly increased his moving faith in our glorified Redeemer.”
 In his preface to the first edition, Elder Talmage wrote: “The author has departed from the course usually followed by writers on the Life of Jesus Christ, which course, as a rule, begins with the birth of Mary’s Babe and ends with the ascension of the slain and risen Lord from Olivet.  The treatment embodied in these pages, in addition to the narrative of the Lord’s life in the flesh, comprises the antemortal existence and activities of the world’s Redeemer, the revelations and personal manifestations of the glorified and exalted Son of God during the apostolic period of old and in modern times, the assured nearness of the Lord’s second advent, and predicted events beyond-all so far as the Holy Scriptures make it plain.
 “It is particularly congruous and appropriate that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints-The only Church that affirms authority based on specific revelation and commission to use the Lord’s Holy Name as a distinctive designation-should set forth her doctrines concerning the Messiah and His mission.”
 Dr. Talmage first presented his study on the Savior as a series of lectures delivered under the auspices of the Deseret Sunday School Union Board at the LDS University in Salt Lake City from September 1904 to April 1906.  He was subsequently asked by the First Presidency of the Church to publish the lectures in book form.  Because of other commitments, he was unable to complete this assignment for several years.
 On December 8, 1911, Dr. Talmage was ordained a member of the Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Less that three years later he was able at last to continue his work on the manuscript, writing in longhand in a council room on the fourth floor of the Salt Lake Temple.  As chapters were completed, he presented them to the First Presidency, members of the Twelve, and Sunday School board members.
 In his journal under date of April 19, 1915, Elder Talmage wrote: “Finished the actual writing on the book ‘Jesus the Christ,’ to which I have devoted every spare hour since settling down to the work of composition on September 14th last.  Had it not been that I was privileged to do this work in the Temple it would be at present far from completion. I have felt the inspiration of the place and have appreciated the privacy and quietness incident thereto.  I hope to proceed with the work of revision without delay”
 Published nearly a century ago and translated into many languages, Jesus the Christ has become a truly classic volume in Mormon literature