While negative meanings are often attached to the words rite and ritual, these terms simply mean “with correct religious procedure; in the manner required, properly, duly, correctly, rightly, fittingly.” Thus, the term perfectly describes an array of practices within our church, including baptism, the laying on of hands, and temple ordinances. This book explores the relationship between the performance of priesthood ordinances (or rituals) and the power of godliness that is mentioned in Doctrine and Covenants 84. Just as in biblical and Book of Mormon times, rites are an essential part of God’s plan for his children. The messages in this book help us understand ritual and its profound role within the Church so that we are able to recognize the transforming power of our rites of worship.
Upcoming Books
Karl G. Maeser has rightfully been called the spiritual architect not only of Brigham Young University but also of the Church Educational System. As the first superintendent of Church Education, he helped found and maintain over fifty academies and schools from Canada to Mexico. He helped develop the public education system in Utah and helped establish the Utah Teachers Association. The students he taught personally included future United States senators and members of the House of Representatives, a United States Supreme Court justice, university presidents, and many General Authorities. He translated twenty-nine hymns and about a third of the Doctrine and Covenants into German and founded Der Stern, the Church’s German magazine (now called the Liahona). Based on extensive research, Called to Teach describes the life of this remarkable man and outlines the impact of his legacy.
The letters included herein are a treasure-trove of personal insights into the lives of early Church leader Joseph F. Smith and his sister Martha Ann Smith Harris during a unique era of Latter-day Saint history.
Seven decades of correspondence help demonstrate the tremendous devotion between the orphaned children of Hyrum and Mary Fielding Smith as they share their innermost feelings, joys, heartaches, determinations, and family happenings. The letters range from 1854, when Joseph F. Smith was a fifteen-year-old missionary in Hawaii, to 1916, just two years before his death.
There were 164 letters written by Joseph F. Smith and 48 letters from Martha. This book contains a transcript of all the letters and includes a large sampling of photographic images of the originals. Some compelling information found within the letters include reflections on the death of his parents and remarks about the visit of the Prophet’s sons, David and Alexander (Joseph F.’s first cousins), who traveled from Nauvoo to Salt Lake City.
This book is a compilation of presentations from a BYU Church History Symposium. It features more than twenty messages about the life of Joseph F. Smith, including chapters by Elder M. Russell Ballard and Joseph Fielding McConkie. Elder Ballard, great-grandson of Joseph F. Smith, describes how the Lord prepared President Smith to lead the Church. Several scholars, historians, educators, and researchers highlight aspects of President Smith’s life, including his boyhood and adolescence, his family and personal relationships, his doctrinal contributions, Church government, and initiatives taken during his presidency in education, building construction, building the Laie Temple, creating the seminary program, and public outreach.