Christ and the Inner Life

by Truman G. Madsen

Truman G. Madsen is a philosopher, essayist, teacher and biographer. He is emeritus Professor of Philosophy at Brigham Young University, and was Director of the Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies in Jerusalem. He held the Richard L. Evans Chair in Religious Studies at B.Y.U. He has been guest professor at Northeastern University, Haifa, and Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. He sponsored several symposia on comparative religion published as Reflections on Mormonism, The Temple in Antiquity, and Chosenness and Covenant in Judaism and Mormonism. Among his volumes on Mormon thought are: Eternal Man, Christ and the Inner Life, Four Essays on Love, The Highest in Us, The Radiant Life. Five Classics, Joseph Smith, the Prophet., Defender of the Faith, a biography of B. H. Roberts and On Human Nature. He is one of the editors and a contributor to the five-volume Macmillan Encyclopedia of Mormonism. He is married to Ann Nicholls Madsen. The couple has three children and a Navajo foster son.

Genres: Lds, Religion, Spirituality, Nonfiction

54 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1978

About the author

Truman Grant Madsen was an American professor of religion and philosophy at Brigham Young University (BYU) and director of the Brigham Young University Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies. He was a prolific author, a recognized authority on Joseph Smith Jr., and a popular lecturer among Latter-day Saints. At one point, Madsen was an instructor at the LDS Institute of Religion in Berkeley, California.

Reviews

[Josef Miyasato · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love thin volumes of Christian writings. This is a beautiful book with some profound insights. I appreciate the sprinkling of a seemingly diversely ordered set of topics all lending their voices to the topic of Christ and the Inner Life. This is a subject that is growing increasingly important to me. In fact, this is the most important aspect of my life: Christ in my inner life. This got me thinking of things I hadn't considered before.

[Regan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a brief (54 pages) collection of 6 essays and one short story. Madsen has a unique style that I don't know that I don't think I could quite put my finger on but there is an effort to write about things of great depth and meaning. Often I felt his words were a helpful starting point for further pondering on matters of faith. There's not a singular idea that would stand out to me but his discussion of Jesus - the depths of his suffering and what that means for us - prompted some valuable reflection. One particular insight that I thought was interesting was his simple exploration of the responsibility we have for our thoughts. He quotes the well-known proverb, "As a man thinketh in his heart so is he" and uses that to explain, "You will note that is not the occurrence o ideas in the head but their lodgment in the heart that degrades...The issue is not so much what thoughts occur in our minds, but how we nurture them in our desires - what we aspire toward and recoiled from." Overall, a worthwhile read.

[Rob · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first read this little book about 25 years ago as a missionary, and it has been sitting on my bookshelf ever since. I took it down as a whim and opened it up again. I had forgotten how much Madsen's essays had influenced my thinking about discipleship, but this has gone from a book that I once enjoyed to a book that I could have written, because I have come to many of the same conclusions myself. I love Madsen's honest and candid approach to issues unique to Mormonism and its relationship with traditional Christianity. Very glad that I picked this up again.

[Dail Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Much about Jesus Christ. Also a chapter of historical fiction of the information events in 3 Nephi

[Danny · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of introspective essays by LDS philosopher, Truman, G. Madsen. Although I have been aware of these for many years, and I am sure have read some of them separately in previous settings, I was grateful that I could sit down now and read the whole collection together.
As an aside, many years ago, when I was an undergraduate student at BYU, I had a friend who I palled around with some. One day we were walking on campus, and he mentioned he needed to go drop something off. I knew he was a teaching assistant , but not who for. We went into a building and down a hall and I saw we were in the philosophy department, and then I saw the door that he walked through, and I said, “whoa!” It said Truman G. Madsen on the door.
The professor was not in, so I didn’t get to meet him in person, but I was even more impressed with my friend. He was nonchalant about it, but did share with me a couple of fun incidents, and said that Professor Madsen was really down to earth, and enjoyed meeting and interacting with the young students.
I love these essays. Like the Savior’s parables they can be taken in and absorbed on many levels. They are pretty thought-provoking to me. They give me insight, spiritually. They also cause me to ponder and wonder at the depths of understanding and foundation upon which they are based. I think they would be worth your while.

[Brittany K · Rating 4 out of 5]

At times, the writing in this compilation of essays didn't connect with me, but Madsen has some really interesting insights.

Overall I got a lot out of this book, and I keep going back to re-read certain passages.

[Rae · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is vintage Madsen. Essay topics include the Atonement, controlling thoughts, the sacrament, and twenty questions to determine if the gospel truly "lives" in our lives.

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent collection of articles, talks and writings that discuss the many ways we can draw ever closer to our Savior Jesus Christ.

[Lois · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the first several chapters the most. I love books that bring me closer to Christ