Wrestling with the Restoration: Learning to Think Slow So You Know How You Know What You Know

In a world obsessed with speed, what if the answers we need come only when we slow down and listen? In this episode, Professor Steven C. Harper invites us to pause, reflect deeply, and attune ourselves to the voice of God. Drawing from his book Wrestling with the Restoration: Why This Church Matters, Dr. Harper combines rigorous scholarship with faith to thoughtfully address critiques of the Restoration. He explores complex questions–such as the translation of the Book of Mormon and the origin of the Book of Abraham–and counsels us to slow down and carve out time to ask, “What do I know?” and “How do I know it?” Ultimately, Dr. Harper offers practical ways for us to develop our own personal of witness of Jesus Christ and the Restoration through careful study, sincere reflection, and spiritual seeking. 

Publications:

• Wrestling with the Restoration: Why This Church Matters, Deseret Book (2024)

• Let’s Talk About The Law of Consecration, Deseret Book (2022)

• “‘That They Might Come to Understanding’: Revelation as Process,” in Raising the Standard of Truth: Exploring the History of Teachings of the Early Restoration, Religious Studies Center (2020)

• First Vision: Memory and Mormon Origins, Oxford University Press (2019)

• Making Sense of the Doctrine & Covenants, Deseret Book (2012)

• The Joseph Smith Papers, Revelations and Translations, Volume 1: Manuscript Revelation Books, Church Historian’s Press (2011)

• Website: https://www.stevencraigharper.com/

Click here to learn more about Steven C. Harper