Joseph F. Merrill became the first native Utahn to earn a PhD. Working at the University of Utah, he labored to reconcile the secular world with the spiritual world of his youth. In 1912 he helped establish the first Latter-day Saint seminary at Granite High School. As Church commissioner of education, he helped establish the institutes of religion, with a mission to allow college students to reconcile the secular truths learned in university settings with the truths of the gospel. He created the Religion Department at Brigham Young University and encouraged young scholars to produce professional studies of the Latter-day Saint religion. In 1933 Merrill was called as an Apostle, where he continued his work to modernize the Church. In the final years of his life, Merrill continued to work to show that science and religion could be reconciled.
We live in an age of skepticism. Our society places such faith in empirical reason, historical progress, and heartfelt emotion that it’s easy to wonder: Why should anyone believe in Christianity? What role can faith and religion play in our modern lives? In this thoughtful and inspiring new book, pastor and New York Times bestselling author Timothy Keller invites skeptics to consider that Christianity is more relevant now than ever. As human beings, we cannot live without meaning, satisfaction, freedom, identity, justice, and hope. Christianity provides us with unsurpassed resources to meet these needs. Written for both the ardent believer and the skeptic, Making Sense of God shines a light on the profound value and importance of Christianity in our lives.
The lyrical story of a woman's existential crisis, the end of seeking, and the willingness to lose everything to find true, lasting freedom. A combined off-the-beaten path India travel adventure, bittersweet romance, and deeply personal spiritual memoir, this book shares the profound, inexpressible grace of encountering one's spiritual teacher, or guru, and is an homage to the absolute faith and fearlessness required to be released from the shackles of suffering. Truth Seeker is the long-awaited follow-up to the spiritual travel adventure, The Adventures of Bindi Girl: Diving Deep Into the Heart of India (2012). PRAISE FOR TRUTH SEEKER "Erin Reese's excellent new book is a deep dive into the heart, dedication, and courage required while on the spiritual awakening journey. This book isn't merely about truth seeking; it's about truth finding. The book is far more than a journey into the spiritual cornucopia of India; it's an inspirational nudge into the deepest depths of your own heart. Do you have the courage? The dedication? I highly recommend this book to both glistening spiritual newbies and jaded old-timers. After reading I was left in a beautiful, resonant, heartfelt state. This alone is worth the price of admission." -J. Stewart Dixon, author of Spirituality for Badasses: How to Find Inner Peace and Happiness Without Losing Your Cool "So often overlooked on today's spiritual path is the mystical bond with a guru to support the journey to self-realization. Ramesh Balsekar was a laser beam of integrity and a fountain of peace. This book shows the transformative blessing of meeting such a master on one who is passionate and sincere. One that has the power to surrender." - Prajnaparamita, spiritual master, author of Wings of Freedom "If you read a lot of "spiritual" books, as I do, you can be filled to the brim with theory. Truth Seeker is what happens in one woman's life when the theories become fact in the day-to-day. There's romance - human-to-human and human-to-India - and courage and humor and an incredible degree of acceptance of life as it comes and where it is. And that might be the essence of those spiritual books, after all."-Victoria Moran, author of The Good Karma Diet, cofounder of The Compassion Consortium "With razor-sharp wit and breathtaking pace, Truth Seeker immerses readers in the India few travelers see-the authentic India in all its beauty and abomination. Equal parts love story, spiritual quest, and travelogue, Truth Seeker, ultimately, is an homage to India itself and the extraordinary teacher Erin Reese found-and lost-there. This book is exactly what many of us need right now-spiritual sustenance, a glimpse of the majestic potential of humans, and a good, hard laugh." -Lynn Braz, author of Flying Free: Life Lessons Learned on the Flying Trapeze "Erin Reese's Truth Seeker is a true gem! It relates both her journey through the land of India and her spiritual search culminating in spiritual awakening. As I read this beautifully written account, I could feel the heat, hear the sounds, and smell the scents of her Mother India. I could feel her emotions as she struggled along the way. I felt her devotion for her beloved guru. Her description of spiritual awakening is honest, clear, and genuine. To paraphrase Christ's words about his disciple Nathanael, "Here is a woman in whom there is no guile." -Marshall Davis, author of Experiencing God Directly: The Way of Christian Nonduality
Women are turning up dead, and Lisa O'Malley has a habit of walking into crime scenes, curious. She's a forensic pathologist, and mysteries are her domain. U.S. marshall Quinn Diamond has found loving her is easier than keeping her safe. Lisa's found the killer, and now she's missing too. Introducing the O'Malleys, an inspirational group of seven, all abandoned or orphaned as teens, who have made the choice to become a loyal and committed family. They have chosen their own surname, O'Malley, and have stood by each other through moments of joy and heartache. Their stories are told in CBA best-selling, inspirational romantic suspense novels that rock your heart and restore strength and hope to your spirit.
Disillusioned with organized religion, some people escape into New Age movements and others retreat from their spiritual moorings altogether. A more satisfying and transformative option is to embark on a quest to discover God on your own. Using time-tested tools of spiritual investigation, it becomes possible to examine your present beliefs, explore the nature of God and sense of self, and ultimately expand your identity. This book is a classic and introduces readers to an age-old approach to spiritual inquiry. Included are seventeen universal techniques for developing a personal relationship with God and broadening your view of yourself, others, and all of life.
Christianity Unshackled follows the development of Western thought over the last 2,000 years, showing how Christianity has grown up side-by-side with Western philosophy. Great errors have resulted from that entanglement, primarily because Western philosophy has its roots in the ancient Greek worldview. After untangling that mess, Harold R. Eberle rebuilds a Christian worldview, laying biblical truths on the ancient Hebrew foundation. This yields a worldview which is liberating, answers the questions of today's society and stands up against the most fearsome attacks from Christianity's modern opponents.
Spirituality.The search for happiness --Religion, East and West --Mindfulness --The truth of suffering --Enlightenment --The mystery of consciousness.The mind divided --Structure and function --Are our minds already split? --Conscious and unconscious processing in the brain --Consciousness is what matters --The riddle of the self.What are we calling "I"? --Consciousness without self --Lost in thought --The challenge of studying the self --Penetrating the illusion --Meditation.Gradual versus sudden realization --Dzogchen: taking the goal as the path --Having no head --The paradox of acceptance --Gurus, death, drugs, and other puzzles.Mind on the brink of death --The spiritual uses of pharmacology.
