James E. Talmage (1862–1933)

I've read this front to back three times, and I enjoy it more each time. This is by a Mormon writer, and so has a Mormon bias, but there are many references to other scholarly and historical works on the life of Christ by non-Mormons. It can certainly be appreciated by any Christian looking to learn more about Christ and his life. I highly recommend this and any of Talmage's other books.

Talmage takes each of the LDS Church's Articles of Faith and goes through the doctrine behind each one. The book was based on a series of lectures Talmage gave while teaching. The Church then asked if Talmage would collect these into a book, which was first published in 1910, I think.

My biggest problems with the book were first, that it wasn't clear who the intended audience was. If it was for members of the church like myself, then the basic doctrines don't need so much explanation. I know show more who Joseph Smith is. If it is intended more for others to learn about what we believe, as I think it was the basic intent, then I think there is too much detail. I just can't see many outsiders picking this up for a little casual reading to learn more about the Mormons.

The other problem I have is that it is so old. For instance, when talking about the gathering of Israel, the modern nation didn't exist yet. The Church was still somewhat officially calling everyone to migrate to the West. The only temples were in Utah. So much of that has changed.

All that said, I did learn a lot from this book. One of the most interesting parts was about how and why the Bible is organized the way it is. I had never heard that before. I also really enjoyed the part about the 11th Article of Faith, which is about religious tolerance. I liked this quote, although the wording is old-fashioned:

"Happiness is foreign, liberty but a name, and life a disappointment, to him who is denied the freedom to worship as he may desire. No person possessing a regard for Deity can be conent if restricted in the performance of the highest duty of his existence. Could one be happy, though he were housed in a palace, surrounded with all material comforts and provided with every facility for intellectual enjoyment, if he were cut off from communion with the being whom he loved the most?"

I'm not sure who I would recommend this for. Members of LDS Church would surely learn a lot from it, but it is a little out of date. Those not of our faith and wanting to learn what we believe would be better off just reading the articles themselves. My rating might be a little high, but I did enjoy this book. It was just a little dense at times.

For those who are interested, here is a link to the Articles of Faith under discussion:
http://scriptures.lds.org/en/a_of_f/1/ show less

I am so pleased to be finished with this book! I really enjoyed it, but it was dense - lots of information, small print, end notes after every chapter with even smaller print, cross references. I think I've been reading this since February, and that's a really long time for me to be reading the same book.

It's a hard book to talk about, since it is so personal, but I really enjoyed it. Several times, I would have to put the book aside and think about it. My favorite part has been how it takes show more the 4 gospels and goes chronologically by what happened. It helped me sort of put things into place, when events happened. show less

Part gospel harmony, part historical explanation, and part doctrinal interpretation, Jesus the Christ follows the pre-mortal, mortal, and post-mortal mission of the Savior by interpreting the scriptures.

I really did enjoy the outmoded writing style. While Talmage’s scholarly tone makes it difficult to read quickly at first, I found it beautiful (and not as difficult) once I got used to it. It is clear Talmage is a Bible scholar, and he clarifies the context of the parables, the Jewish show more dissension, and other aspects of New Testament life with which I was unfamiliar: Talmage puts the New Testament events in context.

Talmage is also a scholar of Mormon doctrine, as his research and commentary gave me insights into the continuing nature of the mission of Jesus Christ. While he only briefly referred to the pre-mortal and post-mortal ministry of the Savior, he did regularly complement his New Testament commentary with references to Latter-day scripture.

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