Free Online e-books on Mormonism by Jerald and Sandra Tanner

As I was researching various questions about Mormonism, a few of the authors I was reading recommended the research of the late Jerald and his wife Sandra Tanner. Upon checking out their website I found a wealth of helpful information and their story, which is as follows:

"Jerald and Sandra Tanner were raised in the LDS faith, both with a strong Mormon family history. Jerald is the great-great-grandson of John Tanner, well known for his sizable financial contributions to Joseph Smith and the LDS church in 1835 when the church was deeply in debt. Sandra Tanner is a great-great-granddaughter of Brigham Young, the second president of the Mormon Church. As teenagers, before they met, Jerald and Sandra were challenged by different people and events to examine the origins of Mormonism. Soon after their introduction, they jointly began researching Mormonism and became engaged. Both accepted Christ during these early years of study and have left the Mormon church. They are both active members of a local Christian church in Salt Lake City.

The Tanners are authors of over forty books on the subject of Mormonism. They are well known for their extensive research into Mormon history and doctrine. Utah Lighthouse Ministry provides these books and research, as well as photocopies and reprints of original Mormon documents to the public."

Their website boasts numerous resources such as FAQS, Topical Index, Testimony, Newsletters, Online Resources, Book list, and links!

In this post I want to highlight their free e-books dealing with Mormonism and it's various doctrines.

• The Changing World of Mormonism by Jerald and Sandra Tanner [Also available in PDF]

• Curse of Cain? Racism in the Mormon Church by Jerald and Sandra Tanner
  

• Tracking the White Salamander: The Story of Mark Hofmann, Murder, and Forged Mormon Documents by Jerald Tanner
  

The Tanners' website also includes e-books written by various authors such as:

• Mormon Claims Answered by Marvin Cowan

• Hoth Diary- This important and moving diary gives a candid first person view of early America and Mormon migrations to Utah by Mr. Hans Peter Emanuel Hoth from Schleswig, Germany. Written in 1853-1857.

Finally, you may want to check out the following articles:

• Introduction: 3, 913 Changes in the Book of Mormon

• An Address to Believers in the Book of Mormon by David Whitmer

We hope you find these resources helpful!

Be sure to check out the Tanners' website, Utah Lighthouse Ministry.

Their ministry will be added to our Apologetics Arsenal located here.

We will also add their e-books to our Free E-book Apologetics Library located here.

Courage and Godspeed,
Chad

DVD Preview: The Bible vs. Joseph Smith

"In this unique documentary, produced entirely in Israel, a Christian and a Mormon sit down to dialogue about one of the most important questions of faith: How do we know if a prophet is speaking the truth? Listen in on their fascinating discussion and follow along as they travel throughout the Holy Land in search of the facts. They will put Biblical prophets and Mormon prophets to the test in order to find out if their predictions actually took place in history. If even one prediction fails to come true, then that prophet fails the test!"

Wide-screen-118 Minutes.

ENDORSEMENTS:

"Epic! From the makers of the DVD The Bible vs. The Book of Mormon comes this new DVD that will equip Christians to talk to Mormons and will serve as a powerful witnessing tool. I dare Mormons to watch this! If they watch it with an open mind, they will surely have their faith challenged. Highly recommended."

–Charlie Campbell

You can order your copy here.

Find more links on Mormonism here.

*** The text in this post was taken directly from here.

Courage and Godspeed,

Chad

Free Online E-book: Letters to a Mormon Elder by James R. White

James White engages in scholarly debate with leading apologists, seeking not only to show the clear light of truth upon error, but to encourage the Christian in their faith and their own apologetic responsibility. Dr. White is the director of Alpha and Omega Ministries, based in Phoenix, Arizona. He is a professor, teaching Greek, Hebrew, and apologetics. He has authored more than a dozen books, including Letters To A Mormon Elder, The King James Only Controversy, The Forgotten Trinity, The Potter's Freedom, and The God Who Justifies. He is an elder of the Phoenix Reformed Baptist Church, and is married to Kelli, and has two children, Joshua and Summer.

The entire book can be found here and is as follows:

Preface- Introduction

Letter 1- What is Truth?

Letter 2- But is IT translated correctly

Letter 3- Errors in God's Word?

Letter 4- The Doctrine of God: Monotheism vs. Polytheism

Letter 5- Elohim and Jehovah: One God

Letter 6- Latter Day Revelation and the "First Vision"

Letter 7- Further Testing of Joseph Smith, "the Prophet"

Letter 8- The Book of Mormon and the Book of Abraham

Letter 9- Come Let Us Reason Together

Letter 10- Meet the Awesome God of the Bible

Letter 11- But the Bible says...

Letter 12- The Truth about Jesus Christ

Letter 13- The Atonement of the Lord Jesus

Letter 14- The Gospel of Grace of the Grace of God in Jesus Christ

Letter 15- Faith, Works, Justification

Letter 16- Questions from a Friend

Letter 17- Grace, Grace, Grace

Letter 18- The Mission President Speaks

Letter 19- Conclusion

Bonus Article- The LDS position on the Virgin Birth

You can find more articles on Mormonism by James White here.

This book has been added to our Free Apologetics E-book Library located here.

Courage and Godspeed,
Chad

Apologetics 315: 7 Factors for Testing a Historical Hypothesis

Brian, over at Apologetics 315, has posted an excerpt from William Lane Craig's book Reasonable Faith entitled 7 Factors for Testing a Historical Hypothesis.

Those who are interested in historical investigation will find this extremely valuable.

If you are not familiar with Brian's blog, you should be. Check it out here. It's one of the best apologetic resources on the entire Internet.



Courage and Godspeed,
Chad

Don't Forget to Live...

I must admit that much of my life is spent thinking about the past or planning the future. Many times, whether I'm spending time with my wife or playing with my 2 young daughters, my mind is elsewhere, thinking of the "next thing" I need to do.

The Bible clearly warns us against this type of thinking:

"So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom" (Psalm 90:12; NKJV; Emphasis mine).

Further, James tells us:

"Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit"; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that" (James 4:13-15; NKJV).

These verses were brought to the forefront of my mind when I stumbled upon the following poem:

First I was dying to finish high school
and start college
And then I was dying to finish
college and start working
And then I was dying to marry
and have children.
And then I was dying for my children
to grow old enough for school
so I could return to work.
And then I was dying to retire.
And now, I am
dying...
And suddenly I realize that I forgot to live.

- Anonymous

Just wanted to encourage each of you- don't forget to live...

Courage and Godspeed,
Chad

Helpful Resources dealing with Mormonism

On a recent Reasonable Faith podcast, Dr. William Craig discussed the Mormon doctrine of creation and highlighted an exciting movement that is currently going on among a small number of Mormon scholars.

You can listen in here.

To hear apologist James White's thoughts on the Reasonable Faith podcast, listen here.

Further, over at Always Be Ready Apologetics Ministry, Charlie Campbell has recently added the following link entitled Some Questions for our LDS Friends that could prove extremely helpful when chatting with your LDS friends and relatives.

For more on Mormonism and what Mormons believe, see here or here.

Courage and Godspeed,
Chad

Another Free E-book: Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

I added a new e-book to the Philosophy Section of our Free Online Apologetics E-book Library.

It is as follows:

1. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

I recently finished Huxley's book and found it to be a faithful telling of where we could be headed in the future. What happens when pleasure becomes mankind's god? What happens when truth is set aside so that the illusion of happiness can rein? Finally, what happens when man and science become the measure of all things?

This fictional piece addresses these questions in a most provocative way. Although Huxley originally wrote it in 1932, it's relevance eerily applies today.

You can check out the library here.

Courage and Godspeed,

Chad

Audio on the Bible from Wayne Grudem

The Necessity of Scripture

The Inerrancy of Scripture

The Canon of Scripture

The Authority of Scripture

Sufficiency of Scripture

How to Interpret the Bible

Clarity of Scripture

You can find more great audio here.

Courage and Godspeed,
Chad

Resource: Faith + Evolution

Faith + Evolution is a site designed to aid you in finding the answers to your questions about the relationship between faith and evolution:

"Here you will find articles, debates, video and audio, discussion questions, and other free resources as you explore the issues surrounding faith and evolution. This site is designed to be especially helpful for pastors, lay leaders, Sunday School teachers, and students."

This site boasts:

• Answers to common questions regarding faith, evolution, Darwin, and theistic evolution

• Answers to some of the most hotly contested topics within the Intelligent Design vs. Evolution Debate

• A Glossary of Terms- Here you will find short definitions of key terms in the debate over faith, evolution, and intelligent design.

• Audio and Video

• Events- information regarding upcoming events related to Faith and Evolution

• Websites- Here you will find links to various websites that deal with topics such as Charles Darwin, Intelligent Design, and Evolution.

• Curricula- a variety of ideas and curriculum resources to help you better inform your congregation about the issues surrounding evolution and intelligent design

Check out the site in it's entirety here.

This resource has also been added to our Apologetics Arsenal found here.

Courage and Godspeed,
Chad

Author Jim Spiegel answers a reader's question

Lavinia4truth asked:

"Thank you for the book review. I respectfully wish to ask the author a question regarding atheism. How can followers of Christ effectively reach atheists with God's truth if one of the primary reasons that they have become atheists is because they have rejected that truth? If atheists choose their worldview not because of lack of evidence of God but because they desire to do so, then what is your perspective on how to effectively reach them?"

Jim Spiegel answered:

"In a word, I think the key is to reaching others is love. And I don’t mean that in the sense of mere affection or kindness, but full-bodied Christian love, which entails all of the virtues described by Paul in 1 Corinthians 13: humility, patience, generosity, courtesy, compassion, and forgiveness. As an apologist and philosopher of religion, I strongly believe in the importance of being prepared to answer anyone who seeks evidence or explanations for aspects of our faith (cf. 1 Peter 3:15), but I see this as fitting within the broader context of persuasion by love and virtue. I know that’s what melted my heart and prompted my conversion, and it’s been the case for multitudes of others as well. Notice that this approach is more spiritually demanding, which might explain why it’s so easily overlooked. As difficult as apologetic arguments are to master, it’s harder to grow in virtue and practice the spiritual disciplines (e.g., prayer, fasting, sacrifice, etc.) with a view to having an impact on the lives of others. For more on this, check out J. P. Moreland’s powerful book, Kingdom Triangle, which argues for this point: We must devote ourselves to spiritual formation and the life of the Spirit as much as to training the intellect."

For those of you who are interested in learning more about Jim Spiegel and his new book, The Making of an Atheist, check out our book review here and the companion website here.

Courage and Godspeed,
Chad

Helpful Resource: Responses to JW's "Should You Believe in the Trinity?"

When one of "Jehovah's Witnesses" comes knocking at your door, it is not uncommon to recieve a booklet entitled Should You Believe in the Trinity?

There are various resources on the web that debunk the claims made therein, but I wanted to hightlight one for the benefit of our readers:

• Yes, You Should Believe in the Trinity by Christina R. Harvey- This is a free online book that consists of a page-by-page response to the JW's booklet.

For more on the falsehood's in this booklet, you may also want to check out this article entitled 10 Questions for Witnesses on the Watchtower Trinity Brochure.

Those who would like to learn more about the JW's and there claims may also find Witnesses for Jesus, Inc. most helpful.

Courage and Godspeed,
Chad