Books

If you would like to suggest a book that would contribute to this collection, you can reach us at ldsphilosopher@gmail.com. This list below is far from complete, and we hope to turn this into a comprehensive resource for Latter-day Saint thinkers.

Gospel

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Leadership and Self-Deception

This book is published by the Arbinger Institute, and presents a fascinating and enlightening depiction of human nature. The authors explain that we all have a kind of moral sense or a consistent idea of what we should and shouldn’t do. When we resist a moral prompting to do something, we immediately begin to justify our actions by distorting the way we see others and ourselves. This distortion is called self-deception.

Authors who’ve read this book:
Jeff Thayne, Felipe Pinto

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Bonds that Make Us Free

Terry Warner

This book gives an in depth description and explanation of self-deception as described in Leadership and Self-Deception. It describes how our very natures are situated in such a way to feel a moral prompting to respect show kindness to others. “Living means being addressed,” and we must either respond or resist the feelings we have to help others. The book outlines in detail the consequences of resisting our moral promptings, in such a way that leads the reader to believe that all the world’s problems can be traced, to some extent, to what the author calls self-betrayal.

Authors who’ve read this book:
Jeff Thayne

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The Anatomy of Peace

This book is also published by the Arbinger Institute, as is almost exactly identical in theme and content as Leadership and Self-Deception, with the exception of new metaphors and pedagogical techniques. The storyline of the book is different enough that neither book can be recommended above the other. The author claims that every action can be done with either a heart at peace or a heart at war. He also draws on the philosopher Martin Buber’s distinction between I-it and I-thou relationships.

Authors who’ve read this book:
Jeff Thayne

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The Holy Secret

James Ferrill

James Ferrill is a leader in the Arbinger Institute, and in this book invites the reader to love the Holy Scriptures, the Holy Sabbath, and the Holy Temple. He presents a refreshing perspective on scriptural passages and Latter-Day Saint doctrine. From beginning to end, the book points to the Savior Jesus Christ as the only person who can sanctify us, and explains how a love of the Holy Scriptures, the Holy Sabbath, and the Holy Temple are prerequisites for such sanctification.

Authors who’ve read this book:
Jeff Thayne

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Mere Christianity

C. S. Lewis

Lewis was asked to give a series of radio broadcasts that described the basic beliefs of Christianity. Those broadcasts have been compiled into this book, and it is the clearest depiction of the Christian religion available.

Authors who’ve read this book:
Jeff Thayne, Nathan Richardson

Science and Philosophy

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Religion and Scientific Naturalism: Overcoming the Conflicts

David Griffin

Griffin, a process theologian, presents Whitehead’s version of the natural sciences in contrast to the materialism and mechanistic sciences of today. He presents compelling reasons as to why this new permutation of the natural sciences allows philosophers to reconcile religion and science with greater ease. Most valuable in this book, I believe, are his descriptions of the historical development of the mechanistic sciences, and his critique of the mechanistic sciences as an impoverished understanding of reality. For a Latter-Day Saint, Whitehead’s theology provides valuable insights and a fresh perspective, but also has some possible limitations.

Authors who’ve read this book:
Jeff Thayne

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Moral Darwinism: How We Became Hedonists

Benjamin Wiker

It seems as though modern materialism has descended directly from the Epicurean materialism of Greek philosophy. Wiker shows that materialism has had a longstanding animosity for a contemporary, intervening God that threatens the fundamental beliefs of Christian orthodoxy. He ends the book by showing the moral and ethical consequences of materialism, particularly eugenics and sexual promiscuity. While Wiker believes in a different version of Christianity than Latter-day Saints, his critique of materialism provides valuable insight into the ideologies that pervade our modern worldview.

Authors who’ve read this book:
Jeff Thayne

Politics

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An Enemy Hath Done This

Ezra Taft Benson

Economics

Education

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Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Education

John Taylor Ghatto

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The Underground History of American Education

John Taylor Ghatto