Out of the Best Books

For Latter-day Saints, few promises run deeper than the hope of being sealed to those we love. It's a covenant that stretches beyond the grave, carrying the assurance that families can be bound together forever. And yet, Anthony and Cindy Sweat write that the temple sealing is also one of the most daunting, mysterious, and misunderstood ordinances of the Church. So what makes a temple sealing different from a worldly wedding? Beyond clothing or ceremony, it's a covenant designed for eternity. While modern marriage often centers on romantic love, eternal marriage is anchored in the charity of Christ — a love that endures forever. Today's words come from Anthony and Cindy Sweat's newest book, The Holy Sealing. The third volume in a best-selling series, it explains what sealing accomplishes, why it matters, and the blessings it brings. Whatever your circumstances, it offers clarity, comfort, and confidence in the Lord's plan to unite His eternal family. Find The Holy Sealing: Uniting the Eternal Family of God on Deseret Bookshelf + or at any Deseret Book store.

The world's suffering can feel overwhelming: wars, natural disasters, and cities stricken with poverty. And in the face of it all, it's easy to wonder how we can possibly chip away at such enormous problems. That's the question Sharon Eubank takes on in her book, Doing Small Things With Great Love. Her message is powerful and hopeful for the average person who wants to make a difference. Sharon makes the case that true humanitarian service doesn't require a passport or a plane ticket. More often, it begins with what's right in front of you. Find Doing Small Things With Great Love: How Everyday Humanitarians Are Changing the World on Deseret Bookshelf + or at any Deseret Book store.

The Latter-day temple experience may seem abstract and hard to grasp, but author and professor Anthony Sweat offers a different way in—making the temple endowment more vivid and tangible. In his book, The Holy Invitation, Professor Sweat tells a fictional story that frames the temple endowment as a 'sacred rehearsal,' an intentional preparation for the very real day when we will stand before God Himself.  Find The Holy Invitation: Understanding Your Sacred Temple Endowment on Deseret Bookshelf + or at any Deseret Book store.

In a church that teaches us to "always abound in good works," it might feel a little unusual to also have a commandment to "be still."  We're a people who love to do! And yet, woven deeply into our faith is a divine invitation to stillness. In the chapter you're about to hear, the authors of The Power of Stillness —Carrie Skarda, Jacob Hess, Kyle Anderson and Ty Mansfield—explore how slowing down, helps us connect with God.  In fact, they invite us to experiment with a state of 'non-doing' to find our higher selves. Find The Power of Stillness on Deseret Bookshelf + or at any Deseret Book store.

For many of us, peace is something we imagine as a life void of opposition and tension. A calm home. A quiet heart. A life where nothing rubs, nothing breaks, nothing hurts. And while this is certainly aspirational, we know that life has inevitable conflicts. So as followers of Christ, we want to learn not to avoid conflict but instead transform ourselves into people who can navigate disagree, tension, hurt, and disappointment in the way that the Savior would.  Chad Ford has spent his life in the middle of some of the world's most painful conflicts—from war zones to family disputes—and he's learned that real peace requires work and mediation. And today, he's going to help us see that the call to be a disciple is, at its heart, a call to be a reconciler.  His new book is titled 70 x 7: Jesus's Path to Conflict Transformation and you can read it for yourself on Deseret Bookshelf + or at any Deseret Book store.

In his brand-new book, Learning to Listen, Elder Dale G. Renlund compares hearing the Holy Ghost to the delicate art of listening through a stethoscope. We are diving into Chapter 12: Feeling the Savior's Love.   In this chapter Elder Renlund draws from his career in cardiology and offers a prescription for the Latter-Day Saint who longs to better feel God's love. A patient's heart beats whether the cardiologist is listening or not— just as the Savior's love is constant--whether or not we feel it. But if the stethoscope is placed in the wrong spot, or the settings are off, the heartbeat is easy to miss.  So when we can't seem to feel God's love, it may be time to 'figuratively rotate the stethoscope,' to adjust the way we're listening until His love comes through loud and clear.   For more from Elder Renlund you can download Deseret Bookshelf+. Or find Learning to Listen at a Deseret Book store near you.

It's common for many of us to unconsciously subscribe to a prosperity gospel. That if we follow with exactness God's commands, we'll receive a life void of strife. One where there is no unpleasantness or unmet expectations. Yet this is not taught anywhere in the gospel, and it's actually an incorrect interpretation of what God's love and mercy looks like.  This episode helps reframe what we might have misinterpreted or misunderstood about gospel doctrines. Camille Fronk Olson joins the interview and makes the claim that if we uncover these unfounded interpretations of the Gospel and learn truly what the Savior's grace and love looks like, we'll better come to see that disappointments and unwanted detours will lead us to a life better than what we could've ever imagined.  Camille is a professor emeritus of ancient scripture and former department chair at Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah. She is the author of But if Not: Finding God in Unmet Expectations and Unwanted Detours. You can download the audiobook now by heading to Deseret Bookshelf+

Many of us go through life with certain expectations—about relationships, about blessings, about what it means to live a faithful life. But life often doesn't play out the way we planned. People we love make choices we wouldn't choose. Pain enters in ways we didn't anticipate. And we may start to wonder: If God loves us, why does such opposition exist?  In her new book, But If Not: Finding God in Unmet Expectations and Unwanted Detours, Camille Fronk Olson explores this tension between agency and expectation. This episode features chapter 5, "Agency vs. Expectations," where she offers a deeply compassionate look at how respecting others' agency doesn't mean surrendering our own—and how God's respect for our agency is a sign of His love, not His absence.  Listen to the entire audiobook by downloading Deseret Bookshelf+ in the app store today!

As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we care deeply about agency. It's part of our purpose. We believe we came to earth to choose—to grow, to become, and ultimately to return to God because that's where we want to be. But what happens when our choices bring suffering? Or when suffering finds us through no choice of our own? And what do we make of grace—not just as a backup plan for when we fall short, but as something more foundational?  In Original Grace, Adam Miller invites us to rethink the way we see grace—not as a response to sin, but as the starting point of our relationship with God. Rather than working within the traditional Christian framework of original sin, Miller asks: What if the Restoration is actually calling us to root everything in original grace?  This is Chapter 2 of Original Grace by Adam Miller. If you want to hear the entirety of his book, head to Deseret Bookshelf+ where you can find the audiobook and ebook. You can also find it at your local Deseret Book store or deseretbook.com.

As believers but also as people with natural man tendencies, we sometimes struggle to really know what God's love feels like. We often wrestle with the question, does God love me? Am I loved? That's a question we want to approach in this episode. It's core to the human experience to want—and need—love. God promises us His love. So why does it sometimes feel like we don't have it?   Wendy Ulrich joins the podcast to share her research on how we may not feel God's love at times because we, perhaps unknowingly, have built in some misconceptions about how God's love works based on our own human relationships and experiences. Wendy Ulrich is a psychologist whose book Let God Love You: Why We Don't, How We Can has prompted this discussion. Read Wendy's book on Deseret Bookshelf+ or head to your local Deseret Book store for your copy today.

Theosis, or becoming like God, is the kind of weighty topic that may not come up every week in Sunday School, but has more to do with our daily devotion than you might think. Author Daniel Belnap gives biblical precedent for this belief and in the chapter we are opening to today, he connects that belief with the most basic gospel principles.  Professor Dan Belnap is an educator and author of many books including the new entry in the Let's Talk About… series about the topic we are addressing today. If you want to download his book, head to Deseret Bookshelf+ where you can listen to Let's Talk About Becoming Like God and the rest of the Let's Talk About... series. Or head to deseretbook.com or your local Deseret Book store.

When President Nelson calls on us to stay on the covenant path, it is easy to think about a few steps along that journey, baptism, temple ordinances, marriage. But what is the end point of that lifelong path? Our celestial destination is one of the less understood points of LDS theology, and in this episode, a professor of ancient scripture helps put it into plain words that every member and curious believer can better understand the doctrine of becoming like God. Professor Daniel Belnap is an educator and author of many books including the new entry in the Let's Talk About… series about the topic we are addressing today. If you want to download his book, head to Deseret Bookshelf+ where you can listen to Let's Talk About Becoming Like God and the rest of the Let's Talk About... series. Or head to deseretbook.com or your local Deseret Book store.

The need to feel seen and heard is something we can all relate to. It's what gives us assurance, love, and even sometimes the endurance to keep going. It's how the Savior ministered. And, it's something Joseph Smith learned to do well.  A few examples of Joseph Smith's abilities to notice others are captured by historian Matt Godfrey in his new book God Knows You: Getting Real About Spiritual Challenges. This episode is chapter 7 where you'll hear about some of those examples from Joseph's life. If you want to hear the entirety of this book, download Bookshelf+

Joseph Smith lamented in Doctrine and Covenants section 121 "Oh God where art thou?" It is a universal experience to have times where you feel like you can't see God or He doesn't see you. And it can make our experience at church complicated when it seems like everyone else talks about miraculous answers when you don't feel like you can get any direction at all. Matt Godfrey is the author of a new book God Knows You: Getting Real About Spiritual Challenges and he joins us today to share some of his real experiences, and most of all remind us that God is there when we seek Him. Listen to or read to the ebook on Deseret Bookshelf+ or head to your local Deseret Book store to pick up your own copy today!

You've heard the phrase "you do you." Now, author Terryl Givens points out that Latter-day Saint theology on Agency elevates our thinking to something like the phrase "you choose you." This discussion is an invitation to consider deeply how we are empowered in Gods plan to make choices that make us very individual, move us forward in everyday life and over time, lift us to a higher version of ourselves. Terryl's book Agency: Themes in the Doctrine and Covenants illuminates the ways we choose and use God's great gift of agency. He is a senior research fellow at the Maxwell Institute and an accomplished author of many books. Terryl shares that at the center of this pursuit of agency is Christ's love. Download the Bookshelf+ app today where you can read the entirety of Terryl's book plus the rest of his catalog of books. Or head to deseretbook.com or your local Deseret Book today!    

Perhaps as curious believers in the gospel of Jesus Christ, we may have all had this question: what is truth? It's a wrestle that many of us have felt, and it's one that is soul-deep as we're seeking to grow closer to Jesus Christ. How do we navigate the quiet and simple truth that comes from God against the noisy onslaught of "untruth" that comes from the world?  It's something that this episode faces head-on. Dr. Aaron Franklin joins the podcast. He is a scientist, professor, and author of a new book What is Truth? Navigating a World of Faith, Science, and Noise. Dr. Franklin promises strategies for discovering, holding on to, and cherishing the most powerful and sacred truth. Listen to or read Aaron's ebook on Deseret Bookshelf+ or head to your local Deseret Book store to pick up your own copy today!

We have been given the gift of curiosity and discovery, and something all of us as Latter-day Saints share is the desire to know truth. It started with Joseph Smith asking that very question, and perhaps we've all had our sacred grove moments. If you've found yourself asking, "what is truth? How do we cut through the noise of the world and the many "untruths" that are out there and find the true peace and rest that comes from placing Christ at the center of all our seeking?" You're not alone. That's the question that Dr. Aaron Franklin set out to break open in his book What is Truth? Navigating a World of Faith, Science, and Noise. He's a scientist, so in his book, he approaches and offers strategies on discovering, holding on to, and cherishing the most powerful and sacred truths—all that come from keeping Christ at the center of his pursuit.  In this chapters episode, you'll hear chapter 6, "Discerning Truth amid the Noise." Dr. Franklin shares strategies for developing discernment, trusting in ourselves, having patience with the Lord, and a few other strategies to help us find peace and calm in today's world.  Download Bookshelf+ now to listen to the entirety of this book, or head to deseretbook.com or your local Deseret Book store!

Finding a reliable source to learn about the temple can be difficult. We know the temple is meant to bring us closer to God, but how do we study what we learn there? Anthony Sweat's book The Holy Covenants explains the motivations of Covenants in a matter of fact way. For anyone preparing to go to the temple for the first time, or finally looking to analyze what we learn about God in those walls, it is a great companion. Today we are playing an excerpt from Chapter 3: The Why of Covenants. You can pick up your copy of The Holy Covenants at your local Deseret Book store or listen along with Professor Sweat as he reads the audiobook on Deseret Bookshelf Plus. And watch out for a follow up to this book in the fall co-authored by Anthony and Cindy Sweat titled The Holy Sealing: Uniting the Eternal Family of God.

Since it's founding more than 150 years ago, the Young Women organization of the Church has influenced millions of women across the globe. And at the center of their mission is to draw from and contribute to the good things of the world.  Carry On provides an incredible history of the creation and development of the Church's Young Women's program. Lisa Olsen Tait is a co-author on this history and she is the managing historian for women's history at the Church history department. She was also the general editor and historical advisor on the Saints series. You can find more information about this project by visiting the Church Historian's Press website at https://www.churchhistorianspress.org/young-women?lang=eng.  And pick up your copy of Carry On: The Latter-Day Saint Young Women Organization, 1870–2024 at your local Deseret Book store. Or check it out on the new Deseret Bookshelf Plus App.

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.

As we self-examine our own process of conversion, there may be big, miraculous moments that we can point to, but lasting conversion is generally a slower process. That process builds up over time and brings us a continued conversion. And learning to embrace this process, despite the hard, will bring us as much joy as the miraculous big moments. Author Rachel Cope is personally familiar with that formula for conversion through grief, as she explains in the introduction to her book The Slow Work of God. In this episode, you'll hear in her own words, the introduction of her book, which is the perfect starting point to understand where her motivations for writing about loss come from, and how that universal understanding can help us see the hope that comes through patience with the divine. If you want to listen to the rest of this audiobook, download Deseret Bookshelf+ in the app store and search her book The Slow Work of God. You can also head to deseretbook.com or your local Deseret Book to pick up your own copy today.

This episode explores a topic that is going to answer a crucial question of faith many of us have asked before: why does this church matter? And with our study of the Doctrine & Covenants for the Come, Follow Me year, this chapter from Steven Harper's Wrestling with the Restoration: Why this Church Matters will add to your knowledge of prophetic revelation. It will change the way you respond the next time you encounter prophetic revelation. This chapter invites us to be a part of the ongoing restoration, and the book is a salve to any who is deep in their wrestle with the doctrines of the restoration.  If you want to listen to the rest of this brilliant book, download Bookshelf+ app where you can listen to the entirety of Steven's work, plus a library of other really great books. Or head to deseretbook.com or your local Deseret book to get your copy. 

This episode jumps into something that is right the Out of the Best Books alley. It's all about asking this crucial question of our faith: why does this church matter? We'll explore how we can encourage the wrestle of that. Hopefully we can see our study of the Doctrine and Covenants this year in a new light, and it may enlighten the conversations we have around the Sunday dinner table. The perfect person to have this conversation with is Steven C. Harper. He is a professor of Church history and doctrine at Brigham Young University. Steven helps students develop resilient faith and is passionate about them becoming lifelong disciples of the Savior. And his book Wrestling with the Restoration inspired today's conversation.  Get your copy of Wrestling with the Restoration: Why this Church Matters at your local Deseret Book Store or on deseretbook.com, or download the Deseret Bookshelf+ app today!

In time for Valentine's Day this year we have an audio excerpt with a focus on love–real Christlike love. Steve Young's book The Law of Love in Action holds stories and commentary about letting love lead out in all relationships. Heard is a piece from chapter 10: No Expectations, No Transaction. Steve Young is a first ballot NFL Hall of Famer, author, and public speaker. He has written QB: My Life Behind the Spiral, The Law of Love, and the recent Law of Love in Action Learning to love as Christ would love is a life-long persuit, and we are all in it together. Love, as Steve says many times, is undefeated. You can order The Law of Love in Action or check it out on the Deseret Bookshelf Plus app today.

My Lord He Calls Me: Stories of Faith by Black American Latter-day Saints edited by Alice Faulkner Burch celebrates the stories of Black Latter-day Saints. It's an essay compilation by active Black American members of the Church whose ancestors were brought to the United States from Africa and enslaved. Because it's Black History month, we wanted to hear about their conversion stories, what life is like as a Black Latter-day Saint, and why they choose to remain in the Church. You will be inspired by the faith, testimony, endurance, wisdom, and spiritual strength of these faithful Saints.  This episode pulls an essay called "Our Roadtrip to Jesus" and it's written by Haley and Millie Fletcher, two teenage sisters who are living in Utah. Their mother, who is white, encourages and plans a cross-country roadtrip with them so that they can connect to their ancestral roots. Their story promises that by finding out our own stories, we learn to connect with Jesus. If you want to listen to the rest of the essays, download Deseret Bookshelf+ where you can hear the entire audiobook. You can also head to your local Deseret Book or deseretbook.com to order your copy today.

Revelation is crucial to the restored gospel and crucial to our lives today. As Latter-day Saints, we know the heavens are open, but perhaps we all want to know how to hear God better and understand what revelation looks like in our own lives.   This podcast episodes features Janiece Johnson who will help us see that revelation is indispensable. She is a church historian and acquisition director at Deseret Book. She specializes in American religious history—specifically Latter-day Saint history and in her new book Revelation: Themes in the Doctrine and Covenants, she focuses on revelatory moments in the D&C. You can pick up your copy of Revelation: Themes in the Doctrine and Covenants now at your local Deseret Book store, or online at deseretbook.com. You can also read now on the Deseret Bookshelf+ app.

Today we're talking all about how to slow down and commune with God. It's a topic that we hope will help remind us how to draw closer to God without doing more.   With so much going on in the world, so much to do and be, why would anyone want to focus on stillness? Because that's what Jesus Christ did.  In this episode, authors of The Practice of Stillness Carrie Skarda and Jacob Hess share their focus on mindfulness and how we can get away from our "frantic doing" and do more with God by doing less. 

In this episode, we're sharing audio from chapter five of Rosalynde Welch and Adam Miller's new book Seven Visions: Images of Christ in the Doctrine and Covenants called, "Christ in the Bosom of the Father." Adam and Rosalynde put President Nelson's call to seek Christ intentionally at the forefront of this effort. Chapter five focuses on Doctrine and Covenants Section 110, providing perspective as we begin our Come Follow me study of the D&C this year. Learning to hear God's voice is the goal of a lifetime, and in their book, Welch and Miller explore the themes of light in the Doctrine and Covenants and how that leads to knowing God. Their book has an important message: that learning how to hear God's voice should be urgent to us all. You can order Seven Visions: Images of Christ in the Doctrine and Covenants now or check it out on the Deseret Bookshelf Plus app.

Deseret Book authors Rosalynde Welch and Adam Miller join this episode to discuss their book Seven Visions: Images of Christ in the Doctrine and Covenants.   Learning to hear God's voice is the goal of a lifetime, and in this episode, Welch and Miller explore the themes of light in the Doctrine and Covenants and how that leads to knowing God. They share an interesting insight that we want to dive more into: that learning how to hear God's voice should be urgent to us all. This book is a great companion to the new 2025 Come Follow Me study of the Doctrine and Covenants. Order Seven Visions now or try a free trial of the Deseret Bookshelf+ app today to hear the audiobook.

In this episode, we're sharing audio from chapter 2 of Tad R. Callister's book A Case for the Book of Mormon called, "Man-Made or God-Given?" A common criticism of the Book of Mormon is that it's man-made. Brother Callister addresses this common argument and addresses many of the critics theories. Plus he shares a testimony of Emma Smith that you'll be thinking about for days.  In this book, author Tad R. Callister presents compelling evidence, both physical and spiritual, for the authenticity of the Book of Mormon. He invites readers on a spiritual journey that promises a witness stronger than any intellectual argument could create. You can order A Case for the Book of Mormon now.  

In this episode, we're sharing audio from chapter four of Gerald Lund's To Always Have His Spirit: A Divine Promise for the Latter Days. This is a fresh look at the covenants we take part in every Sunday and how we can strive to take the sacrament from routine to remarkable.  Chapter Four is aptly titled, "The Voice of the Lord: Key concepts about personal revelation," and in this excerpt, you'll hear this compelling idea: that understanding the Spirit leads to having Him abide with us. Gerald Lund is an acclaimed author of The Work and the Glory series available at Deseret Book. He has also written several non-fiction books, served as a general authority, and been a lifelong teacher with the Church Educational System. You can order To Always Have His Spirit now or listen to the full audiobook on Deseret Bookshelf+.

Deseret Book author and artist Kate Lee joins this episode and opens up about how her artwork has helped her connect with the Savior. Her book, Connecting with Christ, features her artwork as well as some contemplative questions for the reader to ponder about how these images of the Savior bring you peace and draw you closer to Him. Lee's artwork is a staple of Latter-day Saint art, and you can find it now at your local Deseret Book store or online at deseretbook.com. In this episode, you'll hear how light plays a key role in her work, and how you can put yourself into the scene. Order Connecting with Christ now or try a free trial of the Deseret Bookshelf+ app today.

In this episode, we're sharing audio from chapter two of Elder David A. Bednar's book The Rock of Our Redeemer: Facing the Future with Faith, Hope, and Power. This chapter, "The Blessings of Direction and Strength" is less than 10 minutes of audio read by Elder Bednar himself. But in that short time, you'll hear a promise that every covenant making and keeping member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has available to them remarkable gifts and opportunities all around.  Elder David A. Bednar is a member of the quorom of the twelve apostles. His previous published books include The Spirit of Revelation; One by One; The Parable of the Cheetah; and the bestselling trilogy Increase in Learning; Act in Doctrine; and Power to Become. You can listen to him read the rest of his audiobook The Rock of Our Redeemer on Deseret Bookshelf+ or order it online here!

Deseret Book author Adam Miller joins this episode to explore the question, "Why did Christ come to the earth as a baby?" which is a theme in his new book The Christ Child. Miller explores the attributes of a child that we should aspire to because they are also attributes of the Savior: awe, imagination, and love. This conversation also explores tapping into a new perspective of the scriptural invitation to become like a child. This book will make your Christmas! Order The Christ Child now or try a free trial of the Deseret Bookshelf+ app today.

In this episode, we're sharing audio from chapter three of Tyler Johnson's When Church Is Hard. The title of this chapter, "What does it mean to believe?" Is a question that many young adults grapple with in the Church. This excerpt puts some compassionate understanding behind the common need to have absolute answers right now. And then it turns to a truly compelling idea: that doubt doesn't have to be negative. It is the start of something much more.  Author Tyler Johnson is an oncologist who served as a YSA bishop in northern California. His hours spent counseling and observing young adults led him to conclusions about the reasons so many young adults find it difficult to stay in the Church. You can order When Church Is Hard now or listen to the full audiobook on Deseret Bookshelf+.

In this episode, we're sharing a sneak peak into chapter six from Steven Collis's Habits of a Peacemaker: 10 Habits to Change our Potentially Toxic Conversations into Healthy Dialogues. This chapter is called "Be open to change" and it's one key habit that takes very little effort. It's an important handbook for anyone wanting to build bridges of understanding, be more Christlike in conversations, and take down fear of offense. Author Steven Collis is a professor of law at the University of Texas. You can order Habits of a Peacemaker: 10 Habits to Change Our Potentially Toxic Conversations into Healthy Dialogues now or listen to the full audiobook on Deseret Bookshelf+.  

Deseret Book author Steven T. Collis joins this episode to share the formula for getting along in contentious times from his book Habits of a Peacemaker. After listening, you'll have the confidence to engage in dialogue about hard topics while building and strengthening relationships. Collis encourages personal responsibility in a pursuit of peace through ten habits including "assume you know nothing," "don't feed into people's worst fears," and introduce "a sliver of humor." Order Habits of a Peacemaker: 10 Habits to Change Our Potentially Toxic Conversations into Healthy Dialogues now or try a free trial of the Deseret Bookshelf+ app today.