Description

From back cover:

Between 2013 and 2015 the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints published thirteen Gospel Topics essays to answer historical and theological issues many church members found troubling as they accessed information online. The LDS Gospel Topics Series: A Scholarly Engagement provides an in-depth analysis of those essays. Contributors reflect a variety of faith traditions, including the LDS Church, Community of Christ, Catholic, and Evangelical Christian. Each contributor is an expert in the field, with many having focused their scholarship on Mormon history and/or religious thought in general. The writers probe the strengths and weaknesses of each of the Gospel Topics essays, providing a revealing discussion on the relevant controversies in LDS history and doctrine.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction: Matthew L. Harris and Newell G. Bringhurst

1. Are Mormons Christian?
   Craig L. Blomberg
2. Becoming Like God: A Critique
   Richard Sherlock
3. DNA and the Book of Mormon: Science, Settlers, and Scripture
   Thomas W. Murphy and Angelo Baca
4. The "Book of Mormon Translation" Essay in Historical Context
   John-Charles Duffy
5. The Cultural Work of the "First Vision Accounts" Essay
   David J. Howlett
6. "Things Are So Dark and Mysterious": The Thomas Lewis Case and Violence in Early LDS Utah
   John G. Turner
7. "Through a Glass, Darkly": Joseph Smith and Plural Marriage
   Gary James Bergera
8. Remembering, Forgetting, and Re-remembering: Nineteenth-century LDS Plural Marriage
   George D. Smith
9. Plural Marriage after 1890
   Newell G. Bringhurst
10. Whiteness Theology and the Evolution of Mormon Racial Teachings
    Matthew L. Harris
11. The Continuing Controversy over the Book of Abraham
    Stephen C. Taysom
12. "Mother in Heaven": A Feminist Perspective
    Caroline Kline and Rachel Hunt Steenblik
13. "Joseph Smith's Teachings on Priesthood, Temple, and Women": A Critique
    Margaret M. Toscano

Afterword
Armand L. Mauss

Contributors
Index