Out of the Best Books

In our restored gospel, it’s crucial to understand the doctrine of the priesthood. And it’s something that matters to all members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The fact that women are not ordained to the priesthood has been a wrestle for many, but we also have trusted teachings from apostles and prophets that help us better understand and explore this topic. In Women and the Priesthood, Sheri Dew discusses these eternal truths: women are vital to the success of the Lord’s Church, God expects women to receive revelations, and both men and women have access to God’s highest spiritual blessings. In this episode, Sheri Dew herself reads chapter 5 called, “Women Are Vital to the Success of the Lord’s Church.” If you want to order a copy of Women and the Priesthood: What One Latter-day Saint Woman Believes, head to your local Deseret Book or download the Bookshelf+ app and find the audiobook or ebook today!

When the scriptures tell us that “men are that they might have joy”, do we believe it? Learning and growing from trials are a part of life and today we are focusing on the intersection between joy and the hard things. Sunny Mahe has seen her fair share of tough moments and has kept her sunny disposition throughout it all. She shared some of her experiences in a message captured in Made for This. It’s a compilation of talks for women by women including words from Sheri Dew, Patricia Holland, Melissa Inouye and more.  You can pick up your own copy of Made for This: Inspiring Messages for Women now! Or download the Deseret Bookshelf Plus app for more podcasts, audiobooks, and ebooks from these authors and more.

The house of the Lord is just that, His house. In her new book An Endowment of Love, author Mindy Brown talks about the temple, our attitudes toward it, and the sacred covenants we make there, with that mindset. Reminding us all that we have Heavenly Parents that will welcome us lovingly back home.  We introduce that idea with Chapter 1: Feeling at Home in the House of the Lord. You can find An Endowment of Love at your local Deseret Book store or on the Deseret Bookshelf Plus App!

We often look at the temple as sort of a finish line, but can we reframe our temple experience so that it feels like a starting point? In this episode, you'll hear a fresh approach to the temple experience. Melinda Brown, author of An Endowment of Love joins and shares this revolutionary message: "if the temple is making your life better now, then the concerns for the eternities will figure themself out." Melinda is an author, teacher, speaker, mother, friend, and recently got her Masters degree from Duke Divinity School in Christian education. She wrote this book because she saw a need for young people to better understand the temple when she started teaching a class called Temple Plus when she was called to serve in a YSA down in Provo. You can pick up your own copy of An Endowment of Love today! Also head to LDS Living's YouTube to hear more from Melinda and deepen your understanding of the temple!

In the whole of the Doctrine and Covenants there are only two women mentioned by name. The first being Emma Smith, whose story most of us are familiar with. But the second is a woman provides an insight into what life was like as a saint in the early Church. Today's conversation is all about Vienna Jaques. And her story will help illuminate our study of the Doctrine and Covenants this year. Joining in this episoe is Brent Rogers, a historian and the author of The Lord Spoke Her Name: The Remarkable Story of Vienna Jaques in the Restoration. Brent shares how Vienna's story has helped his testimony of the restoration, and why it matters to learn of the everyday saint. Order your copy of The Lord Spoke Her Name today or head to Deseret Bookshelf+ to listen to the audiobook!  

In preparation for the Easter Season we are spending this episode learning about the Atonement of Christ. Elder Cook said in this weekend’s General Conference that “The Atonement of Jesus Christ provides the ultimate rescue from the trials we face in life.” And doesn’t that sound like the kind of saving we all need. Tad R. Callister’s book The Infinite Atonement teaches about many principles of the Atonement. In this episode you'll hear chapter 16 titled "The Blessing of the Resurrection." Order your copy of The Infinite Atonement today! Or head to your local Deseret Book store or download Deseret Bookshelf+ to listen to the audiobook with your family this Easter.

We might have all at one point asked ourselves, “Why do we have prophets? Why should we listen to them?” In the restored gospel, we believe that the counsel we receive from prophets prepares us for all that lies ahead. The revelation they receive is for us today—revelation that takes into account the unique circumstances in the world now. In Prophets See Around Corners, Sheri Dew shares from her own experience working closely with prophets, seers, and revelators throughout her life and career. She answers common questions about prophets and affirms the myriad ways they point us to Jesus Christ. In this episode, you'll hear chapter 6, "Why Follow Prophets?" which helps answer one of those common questions and in it we see that God prepares us when we listen. Order your copy of Prophets See Around Corners now! Or head to your local Deseret Book store or download Deseret Bookshelf+ to listen to Sheri Dew read the entirety of her book.

As Latter-day Saints, we’re connectors. We care about creating and maintaining relationships both on earth and after death. And we want to better understand our unique doctrine of eternal relationships so we can better love and appreciate our relationships now, across the veil, and in the eternities.  Which is something Professor Amy Harris has a passion for. She’s a historian and genealogist who coordinates the Family History Bachelor’s program at BYU. Her enthusiasm for family history and her study of temple work in the D&C will help us see God’s abundant love and careful attention to all his children.  Her book, Redeeming the Dead: Themes in the Doctrine and Covenants can be found at your local Deseret Book, or on deseretbook.com, or on the Deseret Bookshelf+ app.

Forgiveness is a principle of the gospel that serves as a salve to any and all of our relationships. We hope to receive it from the Savior, and we are promised that through His divine atonement, it is possible. Elder Anderson writes, "As surely as the sun will rise tomorrow, the Savior's divine gifts of repentance and of forgiveness, offered in the beauty of His encompassing love, are certain for those who come unto Him with full purpose of heart." In this book, Elder Andersen writes especially to those who are "awakening" unto God—those who are just beginning to discover or who seek the divine gifts and power of repentance and forgiveness in their lives. The Divine Gift of Forgiveness is organized in such a way that readers can choose the section or chapter that applies most to them and study it without having to have read from cover to cover. In this episode, we dive into chapter 7: Joy or Remorse of Conscience. This work will help all readers become more devoted disciples of the Savior. If you want your own copy of this book, head to deseretbook.com or find it now on Bookshelf+.

In the Church, we often colloquially refer to a trial as something we're “going through.” As if there is a finish line, or even a moment in time that we just need to get by. But perhaps the real need is to slow down in our hard times and find out what it is we can learn when we simply sit with them. Author Rachel Cope invites us to this very thing in her book The Slow Work of God. In it, she makes the case that sitting with grief, loss and hardship can bring us into a deeper conversion. She joins this conversation to share how a very personal loss taught her about God's nature, and that we are His slow work. Rachel teaches Church History and Doctrine at BYU. She holds a PhD in American history with an emphasis in women’s history and religious history. You can find Rachel's book The Slow Work of God on the Bookshelf+ app or at your local Deseret Book or head to deseretbook.com.