Mormon Philosophy Simplified: An Easy LDS Approach to Classic Philosophical Questions

by Brittney Hartley

Mormon Philosophy Simplified takes a readable approach to the foundational underpinnings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Accessible for members of the Church and non-members alike, this book takes classic questions in philosophy and provides responses based on the philosophical teachings of Joseph Smith and modern Mormon thinkers like Terryl Givens, Adam Miller, Hugh B. Brown, Hugh Nibley, James Faulconer, David Paulsen, and Blake Ostler. Unfortunately, there is a huge gap between the colorful world of Mormon academia and the average member, to the point that the two groups have difficulties engaging with one another. So while most books on Mormon thought rotate around complex Mormon history and require a high academic background, this book exists as a bridge allowing anyone the tools, background, context, detail, and permission to think deeply about the most existential questions we are all faced with. In Mormon culture, we find a sort of caricature of Mormon fundamentalism, but in Mormon thought, we find philosophical gems from the late teaching of Joseph Smith, expanded by the Pratt Brothers, and organized by scholars James E. Talmage and B.H. Roberts. Readers will enjoy exploring the depths of Mormon theology not addressed in modern-day manuals or press releases and will be surprised at what Mormonism has to offer when asking such questions as what is the nature of God, how powerful is God, when does life begin, why do things exist, why does evil exist, what is beauty, what is right and wrong and how can we distinguish between the two, how do we learn, what is the nature of the universe, what is the nature of eternal relationships, what is sin, how much free will we have, what is the nature of man, etc. Philosophy is a study of the good life, and we all need a little bit more good in our lives.

Genres: Religion

283 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 29, 2019

Reviews

[Exponent II · Rating 5 out of 5]

By Dani Addante

I was very excited to read this book! I had studied Philosophy a bit in college years ago and was especially interested in learning about LDS philosophy. This book is very well-researched, well-written, and it will open your mind to many new perspectives and ways to think about things. It definitely did this for me, even though I’d studied philosophy before.

You don’t have to know anything about philosophy in order to understand this book. The book begins by explaining what philosophy is and it does this in a simple way. The entire book is written in a way that’s easy to understand for most people, which I appreciated. Some of the topics it talks about are the nature of God, the problem of evil, free will, and ethics. The author also addresses time and the LDS belief of intelligences, which is something I’ve always found fascinating. This book seems to cover everything: Kolob, calling and election made sure, polygamy, priesthood ban, and other issues from history. The author also covers examples from LDS history and the scriptures as well, such as Nephi murdering Laban.

One of my favorite things in the book is the definition of faith. The author gives a new perspective about faith I’d never heard before. “True faith…is not defined as belief without reason. In the scriptures, faith is more often defined as being true to one’s spiritual experiences….Faith is its own kind of evidence, the evidence of things unseen, but still evidence nonetheless” (19). There are many other pronouncements similar to this throughout this book, which encourage the reader to see beyond, to think about more than the usual church answers we always hear.

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[Sara Casalino · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful! It really enlightened me. Talks about things I'm interested in such as the problem of evil and about ethics. Cons: several typos and non-inclusive language, which was a bit distracting.

[Gwen Ruebush · Rating 3 out of 5]

For the most part I really liked how she explained the understanding of life concepts for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I really appreciated her explanation about children who die before birth and about what we know about whether or not we will have them after death. There were just a couple of things that bothered me, and they bothered me enough to lower the rating sufficiently. 1.There was once or twice that she left her narrative of explanation to say how she thinks the Church needs to adjust in the future. 2. She doesn't understand that God can be all knowing without predestination.