This little prayer book is thorough. It contains the Breviary, as well as prayers for all occasions. I especially like the commentaries on spirituality and prayer by those who have formed our heritage--Teresa of Avila, John Henry Newman, and many others. All of this in a compact little book.

Told with awesome humor & detail. Excellent Book!

I have borrowed this book from friends to look at and now have one from my church as I plan my wedding. The one I have I can't keep so I decided to get my own copy! I love the information and readings in it and the "comments for couples" are great to read with your future spouse to discuss things.

What I appreciate about these men who wrote the book is the understanding they have of Sukuma culture. The proverbs, parables, and illustrations are priceless. What I like about this book is they share HOW they contextualized the Gospel to the Sukuma. Very practical book with much insights. It was GOLD when I found it. Praise God for these men sharing this helpful info who have served for over 25 years. I plan on using many of the insights as I work in the Mwanza area in the slums and squatter areas.

If you are looking for an in-depth history of the life of Joseph Smith, Jr., the founder of the LDS Church, then this book is a good choice. It covers his life from birth until death. What's more; the book is also very entertaining....some of the material is comical! Besides being a biography, the book also contains some discussion as to the sources, accuracy and divine origin of the Book of Mormon. ( The copy I read is from the Branigan Library in Las Cruces, NM - I provide this info since it appears to be hard to find.)

This is an excellent study of John Paul II's difficult encyclical on faith and reason. Most of the contributions deal with the vexed issue of "Christian philosophy," a much disputed topic in the 1930s which has been given new life by our reigning philosopher-pope. Highlights are the fine essays by Avery Cardinal Dulles, placing the current issues in historical context, and the remrkable essay by David Meconi on the Marian dimension of philosophy.

Written in the 15th Century and directed towards monks, this is a devotional for Christian living and Monastic life. While noting the time period helps give depth to the historical backdrop of when Thomas was writing this book, it is perhaps more important to know the audience. The intended audience for The Imitation of Christ was monks. This is obvious in the text and it should be kept in mind while reading this work.

This highly influential work has a very simple message: live like Christ. Presented in this book, it is a very strict message. Thomas takes a very strict interpretation of following Christ and the message is very much rooted in the idea of works. It is the actions that one must perform, and not so much the inner state (though he does stress that the inner state is important). This would be a difficult message to take or to give, but again, we must consider the audience: monks living in a monastery. They must live a harsher life and because of their vows, this devotional makes perfect sense.

This can be read as a historical document in Christianity or as a devotional. Either way, one can find great value and and some illumination of the words of Christ through this volume.

Thomas a Kempis was medival monk and priest (1380-1471) who served as chronicler of the monastery at Mt. St. Agnes. During his long life of scholarship, he wrote several biographies of church fathers and a number of devotional works. The "Imitation of Christ" remains his most famous work and the one that has best stood the test of time. Indeed, one of the wonderful things about this work is that it reminds us that the life of the mind is not a creature of the Enlightenment. Even during the so-called Dark Ages there were brilliant scholars with a wide knowledge of both scripture and philosophy. Reflecting its vibrant insight into the human condition, the "Imitation of Christ" remains influential on both sides of the Reformation divide. It reportedly was, for example, one of John Wesley's favorite devotionals.

The "Imitation of Christ" is divided into 4 books, each undertaking a basic theme for development. They are, respectively, the Spiritual Life, the Inner Life, Inward Consolation, and the Blessed Sacrament (i.e., the Eucharist). In turn, each book is sub-divided into numerous chapters, each a page or two long. All of which makes the "Imitation of Christ" a useful book for daily devotionals. One can skip around freely within the book, dipping in as the mood strikes. Yet, I think one is well-served by reading it through at least once. Only then does one see Thomas' thought in its fully-developed form. Do be sure to get a good translation. I am fond of the one by Leo Sherley-Price.

Thomas a Kempis was medival monk and priest (1380-1471) who served as chronicler of the monastery at Mt. St. Agnes. During his long life of scholarship, he wrote several biographies of church fathers and a number of devotional works. The "Imitation of Christ" remains his most famous work and the one that has best stood the test of time. Indeed, one of the wonderful things about this work is that it reminds us that the life of the mind is not a creature of the Enlightenment. Even during the so-called Dark Ages there were brilliant scholars with a wide knowledge of both scripture and philosophy. Reflecting its vibrant insight into the human condition, the "Imitation of Christ" remains influential on both sides of the Reformation divide. It reportedly was, for example, one of John Wesley's favorite devotionals.

The "Imitation of Christ" is divided into 4 books, each undertaking a basic theme for development. They are, respectively, the Spiritual Life, the Inner Life, Inward Consolation, and the Blessed Sacrament (i.e., the Eucharist). In turn, each book is sub-divided into numerous chapters, each a page or two long. All of which makes the "Imitation of Christ" a useful book for daily devotionals. One can skip around freely within the book, dipping in as the mood strikes. Yet, I think one is well-served by reading it through at least once. Only then does one see Thomas' thought in its fully-developed form. Do be sure to get a good translation. I am fond of the one by Leo Sherley-Price.

I read this book in a last minute panic for my term paper on John Paul II. It was extremely helpful. Most of the authors got at the reasons behind the pope's positions on moral and political issues. They did a fine job showing how the Pope's view of Christ or of the law or the person influences his positions on abortion or on economics. My complaint though is that the book seems very tilted toward the right. These Jesuit authors don't seem very typical of the Jesuits I know in my college and in my parish. The authors don't seem open to any real changes in the church. Although the intro talks about theoilogical pluralism, I think that most of the authors probably find Ratzinger too liberal.

John Paul II has changed the face of the world. The rebirth of democracy in Eastern Europe, in Latin America, and in the Philippines is in large measure his work and the work of his church. The Jesuit writers of this book explain the moral vision behind the Pope's titanic political struggle---and they are clearly cheering him on!

This is an impressive book on the moral thought of John Paul II. The Jesuits write with verve about the moral views of the pope. The viewpoints go from liberal to conservative. The most interesting chapters talk about how the Pope's moral theory affects the political activism of the church.

The author is up front about his devout belief in the holy calling of Joseph Smith, Jr. as a modern-day prophet. He, therefore, takes Mr. Smith at his word as it relates to the chronology of many of the important LDS claims. He is otherwise reasonably critical and respectably analytical with the context of Joseph's arrival in the world up through the movement of the early Mormons to Kirtland, Ohio in 1831. Mr. Bushman confirms contemporary belief of the final composition of 1 & 2 Nephi after the rest of the Book of Mormon, as well as contrasting the early Mormon view of "restoration" being simply restoring Israel to its rightful place to the later, more fundamental "restoration" that the LDS Church holds today. I would have loved to read more of his analysis of the development of the early Mormon priesthood hierarchy, from Joseph and Oliver Cowdery as 1st and 2nd Elders of the Church, respectively, to the later Rigdonite, full-blown priesthood. Still, there's only so much one can cover in a "Beginnings" book. A great read for students, faithful LDS/Community of Christ/etc. or otherwise, of early Mormon history.

Richard L. Bushman is possibly the best historian on the subject of the Mormons. This book is thoroughly documented. Bushman focuses very much on the culture that Joseph Smith grew up in, he duscusses Joseph Smiths parents and grandparents on how they may have influenced him. Bushman is very honest and objective in his approach to the early life Joseph Smith. Bushman does not get caught up in verifying or disproving the claims of Joseph Smith. Bushman just states the facts and interprets when necesary. Richard Bushman is writing a full biography about Joseph Smith which I believe will become the definitive biography of Joseph Smith. Bushman also gives a very fair explanation on the Book of Mormon which is the most important work by Joseph Smith.

Bushman truly lives up to his reputation as a historian with this book. This work is both fair and engrossing, and it seems a very even way to learn about a man who was important in both helping to define American religious feeling and adding yet another dimension to the dynamic world of the early American republic. Another reviewer on this site declared Bushman's insights as dry, politically correct, and biased. This review demonstrated an amateur approach to history. As an academic historian, Bushman tries and succeeds to weigh all facts and give a needed view of Joseph Smith. Bushman is not the first professional historian to write a serious work for his peers about the history of his own faith, although he may be one of the first Mormon to do so. As any conscientious historian writing from such a perspective, he admits to his reader his biases and how he dealt with them to offer an accurate portrait of Joseph Smith. "Obsessively footnoted," said that reviewer. Spare me. That's what professional historians do. A person glancing at those footnotes would see how Bushman's thorough use of sources has helped him be a judicious historian. Read this book. It's a great read and a very important contribution.

I really liked this book. It explains the history of the Book of Abraham, and how it came about, within the context of LDS church history. There are beautiful pictures of the papyrus (this is the original document Joseph Smith used to translate and write the Book of Abraham) and many useful captions for explaining what the figures and characters mean. Larson has done a really great job as far as explaining what the original papyrus really says and how LDS members have avoided confronting it.

This book will be of interest to anyone studying Mormonism, Mormon history, doctrine, or if they are looking at the role that Egyptian culture has played in American history. It is very honest, accurate, and for the most part is well-written.

The reason I gave it four stars is because of those two darn chapters in the back. He basically says, (in so many words) "Now that you've been exposed to the errors in Mormonism, become a Christian!" Which may or may not be a bad idea, but the problem is that hardly anyone who reads this is going to agree with him, based purely on these few chapters. The falseness (or truth!) of Mormonism doesn't affect the truth (or falseness!) in mainstream Christianity, and I wish Larson had realized this. Instead, it may give Mormons a psychological reason to make ad hominem attacks on the writer and thus ignore the good, logical arguments he made. And that's a shame, because Larson's conclusion on the Book of Abraham is right.

But I still think it's a good book and I recommend it. It's easy to read and very clear, and this makes up for the shortcomings.

Besides the excellent research, Larson writes a book that is readable. His conclusions are damning for those who claim that Joseph Smith had the ability to interpret the Egyptian language. Although Larson comes from a Christian perspective, I believe that he is very objective about his findings. A follower of Smith's might point to the author's Christian beliefs as a reason why this book is tainted, but this is ridiculous. Instead of attacking the messenger, the critics should go after the message...and I don't think this is so easy in this case. I especially like the fold-out color charts of the original papyrii--the book is worth its price just for these alone--and this makes it very easy to follow his explanations throughout the analysis. Visual learners will love it! I believe that this book is very important, for if Joseph Smith were a true prophet of God, and if he did indeed translate the Book of Mormon (the plates from this 1830 book are missing, so we cannot check his interpreting ability here), then we should expect the translation from the "Book of Abraham" to be very accurate. Alas, Smith did not know Egyptian (as proved by Larson); he was able to get away with so much because he lived when the science of translating the language was in its infancy. This is something every Mormon should think about.

As far as those reviewers who do not like the last two chapters where the case for Christianity is presented: Larson is not trying to give the definitive case for his faith. That's not what this book is about. Rather, he was trying to say, If Mormonism is not true, then what is? This is a legitimate question, and I think these chapters were very appropriate where they were placed. To the Mormon, Christian, and atheist alike, I give By His Own Hand my highest recommendation.

A fundamental claim of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) is that modern-day prophets who receive revelation from God lead the Church. Accordingly, the Church lists as scripture (in addition to the Bible) several other books, including the Book of Mormon, The Book of Moses, The Book of Abraham, and the Doctrine & Covenants (D&C).

Charles Larson's book is the story of how the Book of Abraham came to be.

Each of Smith's creations has a story to tell. The Book of Mormon describes the ancient voyages of Hebrews to the American continent, and their establishment of a vast civilization that smelted iron, cultivated old-world crops, and used domesticated horses to pull chariots (see "Quest for the Gold Plates," by Stan Larson). The Book of Moses claims to be a direct revelation from God regarding the creation of the earth and some aspects of its early history. The D & C contains revelations pertaining to the day-to-day organization and operation of the Church, along with many important revelations about specific and unique doctrines held by the Church, such as polygamy.

Mormons claim that Smith translated the Book of Mormon from plates of gold that he acquired from an angel. After translating the Book of Mormon, Smith said the angel retrieved the plates. Consequently, the gold plates have never been available for skeptical or scientific examination. The other books came directly from the mind of Joseph Smith. So they, too, have no original text with which they can be compared.

The Book of Abraham stands unique among Smith's creations because Joseph Smith claimed to have translated it directly from ancient Egyptian scrolls that were purchased from a man named Chandler, who sold them to LDS Elders (along with other artifacts) for $2,400. Unlike the vanished gold plates, the documents from which Joseph Smith claimed to have translated the Book of Abraham actually exist, and Joseph Smith's "translation" can be compared with the professional opinions of modern-day Egyptologists.

The Book of Abraham thus stands as a unique and direct test of Joseph Smith's self-proclaimed ability to translate ancient documents "by the gift and power of God." The main thrust of Charles Larson's book is that the Book of Abraham, and Joseph Smith, fail the test.

Larson begins by describing how Joseph Smith and the early LDS Saints came across the Egyptian papyri, how they were purchased, and how Joseph Smith began and finished his work of translation. According to Joseph Smith none other than Abraham authored the writings on the papyrus. They tell of the creation of the world and the universe, as well as important information about unique LDS beliefs such as the pre-mortal existence. After Smith's murder, and the subsequent struggle for control of the Church, the collection of papyri became separated from the Saints, found their way to Chicago, and were presumed lost in the great Chicago fire.

Smith, however, included facsimiles of drawings from the papyri in the Book of Abraham. These allowed some measure of scientific examination which, unfortunately for the Church, resulted in early Egyptologists identifying them as nothing more than common Egyptian funerary documents. Although devastating from a scholarly point of view, the Church was sequestered in the Utah frontier and the Saints and their leaders simply ignored these scientific opinions with their typical disdain for "the learning of the world." Furthermore, since the papyri had been presumed lost in the great Chicago fire, apologists for the Church argued that, without the entire collection available for examination, speculation based on the reproductions in the Book of Abraham were premature.

That changed in the spring of 1966 when Professor Aziz S. Atiya found eleven tattered pieces of Egyptian Papyri that matched the description of the Joseph Smith Papyri exactly. On November 27, 1967 the Mormon-owned "Deseret News" announced that:

"A collection of papyrus manuscripts, long believed to have been destroyed in the Chicago fire of 1871 was presented to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints here Monday by the Metropolitan Museum of Art ... Included in the papyri is a manuscript identified as the original document from which Joseph Smith had copied the drawing which he labeled "Facsimile No. 1" and published with the Book of Abraham."

At first there was euphoria among Church scholars at the prospects of Joseph Smith's final vindication. This hope was soon dashed to bits, however, as it became almost immediately obvious that nothing written on the papyri resembles anything in the Book of Abraham. Undeterred, LDS apologists began a campaign of misinformation and apologetics. Their campaign was so effective that in 1974 (nearly ten years after their discovery) when I served a mission for the LDS Church in British Columbia, we were still telling converts that the papyri had been destroyed in the great Chicago fire.

Not only does Larson assemble an air-tight argument that the found documents are the very same ones Smith gazed upon when he translated the Book of Abraham, he does a good job of assembling various other apologetic arguments, and discrediting them one by one.

In writing this book Larson has provided perhaps the most comprehensive examination of the Book of Abraham available to the average reader. It includes the first published full color photographs of the Papyri collection in a foldout glossy photograph. It also has line-by-line translations by Egyptologists side-by-side with the "translation" given by Joseph Smith, an exhaustive appendix, notes section, and index. All of which make this an useful book for future reference after its been read.

For anyone who is honestly committed to the truth about the LDS Church, this is a book that simply cannot go unread.