Lectures on Faith: Delivered to the School of the Prophets in Kirtland, Ohio, 1834-35

It amazes me how good this book is. I read it over and over and it just gets better. I would recommend this book to anyone, however it is of particular inportance to the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This book gives the reader a better understanding, appreciate and thirst of faith. I have read what other denominations have said it leaves you with questions. This book will leave you with questions, but of a different nature. Questions synonomous with my favorite hymn, "If you Could Hie to Kolob".

Great book, and nice and short. Read it in a week prior to my talk on faith in Sacrament meeting. Two things (relating to other people's comments): 1-Introduction says it was probably not written by Joseph Smith, but Sidney Rigdon; 2-God is a personage of Spirit. What's wrong with that? He is also a personage of flesh and bone. Don't let it shake you, people!

Joseph Smith outlines faith in God the Eternal Father, his Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost in seven lectures. His lectures include doctrine on what faith is, how to obtain it, and the blessings that come from it. It is a must read for anyone seeking to increase their faith in God.

This book is a must have book for every latter day saint! This book contains the "doctrine" of the early church before the martyrdom of the prophet Joseph Smith. It contains lectures for the school of the prophets in Kirtland, Ohio. It teaches the true nature of the Godhead which is that the Father does not have a body of flesh and bones. Only the Son has such a body as the Father is eternal in nature and has always been God. Never was there a time when God was an ordinary man except in the case when he came down as Jesus and became both God and man in one being, thus He was called the Son because of the flesh. This book contains all of these original doctrines of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints which were taught until the death of the prophet Joseph Smith! Every latter day saint should read this and the Book of Mormon by the end of this year! God bless all through Jesus the Christ, the very eternal God in the flesh. Ricky D. Leonard

"Faith."This small word, I think, is the key to everything, since at some point every religious and irreligious person is backed up to the wall of faith, and there they take their stand. I include irreligious, atheists, and antitheists as being faithful since it has been my experience that unbelief takes as much work as belief. You must close your eves to a lot of truth and say that the sun isn't shining at noon in July, which requires as much work as saying God lives in the face of the 9-11 Attacks, or famine, or dying babies. Indeed, C. S. Lewis observed, "A young man who wishes to remain a sound Atheist cannot be too careful in his reading. There are traps everywhere." (Surprised by Joy, ch.12)In the Lectures on Faith, Joseph Smith records seven lessons that the early leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were taught in the Temple at Kirtland. These lessons are a peek into Joseph Smith's mind and reveal his rather extensive understanding of faith.The Lectures are seven and follow this outline:Lecture 1: The nature of faith is discussed. It is a principle of action and a principle of power in the temporal and in the spiritual realm. In fact, "power" is a perfect synonym for faith. In its most unlimited sense, "faith then, is the first great governing principle which has power, dominion, and authority over all things; by it they exist, by it they are upheld, by it they are changed, or by it they remain, agreeable to the will of God."Lecture 2: This lecture show the object upon with our faith exists. Our faith is based on God; and our knowledge of God is reducible to Adam's testimony as recorded in the Bible. Joseph Smith does a complex and sometimes tedious proof to show the internal consistency of the Bible, and that we have an unbroken chain of testimony from Adam to Abraham. In addition to the Adamic testimony, we can get our own person experiences with God, like Abraham, Moses or the Brother of Jared in the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ.Lecture 3: Discusses the character of God. Now that we know that God exists, we need to know what type of God we are dealing with, and have a correct understanding of God. The seven key characteristics are:First, that he was God before the world was created, and the same God that he was after it was created.Second, that he is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abundant in goodness, and that he was so from everlasting, and will be to everlasting.Third, that he changes not, neither is there variableness with him; but that he is the same from everlasting to everlasting, being the same yesterday today and forever; and that his course is one eternal round, without variation.Fourth, that he is a God of truth and cannot lie.Fifth, that he is no respecter of persons, but in every nation he that fears God and works righteousness is accepted of him.Sixth, that he is love. Lecture 4: Discusses the attributes of God. These help clarify the correct nature of God.