Day of the Covenant Books

If you are looking for a book which frankly discusses human intimacy for those of faith who are seeking to figure out where the worldly ideas of it and God's diverge, this is a great book to help you in that quest. It provides a perspective that is rare today.

Does little more than admit that a husband and wife should have sex. Still very conservative. Not much helpful information.

I am LDS and my bishop gave me this book before my marriage. I found the book to be an easy way to approach this serious subject before marriage with someone else who was may be shy to discuss intimate things openly. I specifically liked the section about the purpose of the honeymoon.

I think the people who complain that the book labels oral sex as unnatural and against LDS doctrine, are the LDS members who are guilty of it and don't want to admit that their behavior is against church teachings.

Notwithstanding the severe hatred that some of my fellow readers seem to harbor for this book, in truth it can be a very helpful and educational for those of us entering marriage that are "naive" to matters of sex. Before I get too far into it, I personally know Dr. Brinley and have taken a class at BYU entitled "Marriage Prep" which was fantastic. I do, however, fear that the stance of the book taken on certain topics was not completely accurate. However, I also never felt that topics such as female orgasms were portrayed as negatively as some would have you believe. In fact, during his class he was quite clear that satisfying your wife was just as important as your own pleasure. Unfortunately, the subject of "unnatural" sex (specifically oral sex) is not discussed clearly, and I do believe the implied views are inaccurate because I've yet to hear clear guidance on the subject from actual Church leaders (at least not from this century). In fact, from what I've understood, the church specifically avoids answering these questions because, as the book says, it's between Husbands and Wives.

In conclusion, don't let the extreme negatism pursuade you against reading this book if you really need help understanding yourself and the opposite sex. It was an excellent aid for me and my wife and I believe it encourages sex between couples much more than some critics would have you believe. Do remember, however, that this is NOT doctrine, and these are only the educated opinions of "professionals."

I'm engaged and some of the anatomy type explanations were very helpful, that's where the good parts of the book end. As a man reading this book I felt like every stereotype in society about men being sex-animals with no feeling or regard for anyone was pointed out-and agreed with. If my sex drive is higher that's my problem, and I need to fix myself. If our sexual relationship isn't going right it's always the man's fault. On the flip side, my fiance almost cried as she read the book, feeling that being happy with our sex life and finding satisfaction can't ever happen. While I haven't been married yet, I believe this is a false belief, that a wonderful sex life can be achieved. A relationship where each partner is unselfish and aware and sensitive to the needs of their partner. This book did a poor job of giving anyone who's never experienced a sexual relationship, hope of that ever being a unifying, positive experience for both people.

There is only one better choice of a book to read for those seeking to understand Mormonism and that is The Book of Mormon (Another Testament of Jesus Christ.) The Doctrine and Covenants will have much more meaning once you have become familiar with the Book of Mormon. Combining these two great books with the Bible will elevate you to even greater understanding of the Saviour -- Jesus Christ, and will add strength and depth to your relationship with him.

You will always read a variety of opinions on these books, many of which will try to steer you away from actually reading these books themselves.

Realize that this book is claiming to be scripture from God -- I don't recommend you rest your judgment on the opinions of others (mine included) when it regards something that claims to be scripture from God. Every true prophet that has ever lived on this earth (and even the Saviour himself) has faced opposition from those who disagreed. Cast all opinions aside and formulate your own after you have read -- it will be between you and God.

Here are some of my favorite verses (and a great example of the teachings found in these modern-day scriptures) found in Section 58:

26 For behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward.

27 Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness;

28 For the power is in them, where-in they are agents unto themselves. And inasmuch as men do good they shall in no wise lose their reward.

29 But he that doeth not anything until he is commanded, and receiveth a commandment with doubtful heart, and keepeth it with slothfulness, the same is damned.

These are among the many verses in the Doctrine and Covenants that teach us (as part of our belief in Christ) we should get involved in our communities, do the good deeds, and each use our own unique talents and abilities to bring to pass righteousness in our respective parts of the world.

This is a great book -- read for your self, but if you want to learn about Mormonism, spend the extra $0.95 and get a copy of the Book of Mormon (or contact church representatives in your area for a free copy) as well because you are doing yourself a great disservice if you don't. (I'd recommend a Bible too if you don't already have one.)

bore such resemblance to each other. It made me think of the form letters I used to do as a secretary. I can just see Joe Smith taking a "master" and adjusting the wording to bring about whatever righteous directive was needed in order to feed the insatiable demands of his ego, greedy ambition and lust.

Forget reading this book for an entertaining read. Even the mormon faithful hardly understand it's flow and they read and re-read the book searching for just exactly what it all means. It is repetition, strange "revelation," and written in a style to mimic the bible so that it will resemble traditional scripture as much as possible. What it really is, is a collection of rules written down by the cult leader Joseph Smith that are meant to manipulate and subjegate faithful members into doing his will. As another reviewer also pointed out, it contains his justification for the practice of polygamy, even over the heated and vehement objections of his own wife. As also mentioned, it opened the door for the mormon version of communism which is still regarded as a holy practice but has long since been abandoned by the mormon religion due to it's ineffectiveness. Nowadays, instead of asking for all of the member's posessions, they ask for a mere 10%.

I'd leave this part out of it but since many of the mormon faithful seem to want to bring up the fact that this book contains true revelations from God, I'll make just a few comments. From the outside looking in, people will see a clean, moral group of happy industrious people that practice the religion, thereby verifying that it is the "one and only true church." Many are good people that are earnestly trying to make the most of their lives and live as they believe God has commanded them. But the good things notwithstanding, there are dark deep secrets and practices in the mormon religion that have their roots in some of the "doctrines" laid out in this book. It is a book threatening fire and damnation to those who don't strictly adhere to it's commands and beliefs. The happy facade of mormonism covers many destructive beliefs such as polygamy (not practiced but still preached as revelation). Women are still subjegated to men in the religion and the views and attitudes of their practices has made Utah the highest state in the nation for prozac and anti-depressant use among women. The child suicide rate is very high and more than alarming (20+ attempts a day throughout the state), child sexual abuse is high and until recent laws and pressure due to lawsuits, well hidden (I believe child molestation will eventually rival the catholic church in scandal). Another weird statistic is that Utah was voted one of the top 10 states for rude drivers?

The mormon religion has a strange habit of re-writing their history. They have a very prevelant habit of buying up historical documents that might embarrass them and storing them in a granite vault deep in the mountains. This habit actually led to a scandal in the 1980's where a member and document forger (Mark Chapman) sold the church many puzzling and embarrasing documents until he was discovered and pipe bombed and murdered 2 or 3 faithful members involved in purchasing the documents for the highest echelons of the church (one of whom is their current "prophet," Gordon Hinckley).

There are countless other scandals recorded throughout history...The mountain meadows massacre being one of them. One does not have to look far. A good beginning for getting a feel of this strange cult started by Joseph Smith is John Karakauer's best selling book, "Under the Banner of Heaven: A History of Violent Faith." It is an engaging book which gives a good feel of the early beginnings of the mormon church and it's past and present practices which have lead to several violent and abusive fundamentalist offshoots of the mormon faith that still practice polygamy. Keep in mind that these are not the larger mormon church but offshoots that still paractice polygamy. But either way it's useful and interesting to know that even though the actual mormon church doesn't practice polygamy, the original "revelation" is still found in the Doctrine and Covenants and the practice is still considered as holy and necessary for the next life.

This book is good only for people tyring to understand Mormon theology, yet it is scary at the same time while reading it to know that people actually believe that what is in it was actually inspired by God. It is blatenly contradictory to the teachings in the Bible. It is interesting to note that the revelations received from God decrease majorly after Jeseph Smith is killed. To those offended, my apologies, but blind exceptence is no excuse for believing something.

Section 132 deals with Polygamy and WOW! what an interesting read that is. This isn't really a story like the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon is a story about racial and religious differences between white and red Native Americans between 600 BC and 400 AD.

The Doctrine and Covenants is not a story, it's a list of rules, regulations and instructions given to the early mormon church. These are some of my favorites(warning spoilers):

The handshake test is described in section 129.

4 When a messenger comes saying he has a message from God, offer him your hand and request him to shake hands with you.
5 If he be an angel he will do so, and you will feel his hand.
6 If he be the spirit of a just man made perfect he will come in his glory; for that is the only way he can appear.
7 Ask him to shake hands with you, but he will not move, because it is contrary to the order of heaven for a just man to deceive; but he will still deliver his message.
8 If it be the devil as an angel of light, when you ask him to shake hands he will offer you his hand, and you will not feel anything; you may therefore detect him.
9 These are three grand keys whereby you may know whether any administration is from God.

Section 124 designates stock payouts on the Nauvoo house. I am not sure why this was recorded as scripture:

59 Therefore, let my servant Joseph and his seed after him have place in that house, from generation to generation, forever and ever, saith the Lord.
60 And let the name of that house be called Nauvoo House; and let it be a delightful habitation for man, and a resting-place for the weary traveler, that he may contemplate the glory of Zion, and the glory of this, the corner-stone thereof;....
64 And they shall not receive less than fifty dollars for a share of stock in that house, and they shall be permitted to receive fifteen thousand dollars from any one man for stock in that house.
65 But they shall not be permitted to receive over fifteen thousand dollars stock from any one man.
66 And they shall not be permitted to receive under fifty dollars for a share of stock from any one man in that house.
67 And they shall not be permitted to receive any man, as a stockholder in this house, except the same shall pay his stock into their hands at the time he receives stock;
68 And in proportion to the amount of stock he pays into their hands he shall receive stock in that house; but if he pays nothing into their hands he shall not receive any stock in that house.

And this verse in section 52 got the mormons off on the wrong foot in Missouri:

42 And thus, even as I have said, if ye are faithful ye shall assemble yourselves together to rejoice upon the land of Missouri, which is the land of your inheritance, which is now the land of your enemies.

My favorite is D&C 132. This is the section explaining polygamy. I can see why women were afraid to complain, lots of fire and brimstone in this one. Here are some of the highlights:

4 For behold, I reveal unto you a new and an everlasting covenant (polygamy); and if ye abide not that covenant, then are ye damned; for no one can reject this covenant and be permitted to enter into my glory.

52 And let mine handmaid, Emma Smith, receive all those (polygamist wives) that have been given unto my servant Joseph, and who are virtuous and pure before me; and those who are not pure, and have said they were pure, shall be destroyed, saith the Lord God.

54 And I command mine handmaid, Emma Smith, to abide and cleave unto my servant Joseph, and to none else. But if she will not abide this commandment she shall be destroyed, saith the Lord; for I am the Lord thy God, and will destroy her if she abide not in my law.

61 And again, as pertaining to the law of the priesthood-if any man espouse a virgin, and desire to espouse another, and the first give her consent, and if he espouse the second, and they are virgins, and have vowed to no other man, then is he justified; he cannot commit adultery for they are given unto him; for he cannot commit adultery with that that belongeth unto him and to no one else.

62 And if he have ten virgins given unto him by this law, he cannot commit adultery, for they belong to him, and they are given unto him; therefore is he justified.

63 But if one or either of the ten virgins, after she is espoused, shall be with another man, she has committed adultery, and shall be destroyed

64 And again, verily, verily, I say unto you, if any man have a wife, who holds the keys of this power, and he teaches unto her the law of my priesthood, as pertaining to these things, then shall she believe and administer unto him, or she shall be destroyed, saith the Lord your God; for I will destroy her

So there are some intersting tidbits, but it is mostly monotonous and boring. I don't understand why Joseph Smith felt he needed to write in King James style English. It doesn't help.

This little book is simply DELIGHTFUL! It makes an excellent gift from a Latter-day Saint to another Latter-day Saint. It was written by a Mormon for Mormons. Every LDS person who sees it LOVES it. (The individuals who claim to have hated this book are anti-Mormons who hate all LDS publications. The one gentleman claims he's an "orthodox" Mormon...ROFL! Dead give-way. I've been LDS for 46 years. Latter-day Saints NEVER use the word "orthodox" in connection with their religion.)

I'm an active and orthodox Mormon who came across this little gem in a box of (understandably) cast off books. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. I kept reading little "pearls of wisdom" to my wife, waiting ... hoping for the punch line. The book is beyond funny--but I fear it's author was completely devoid of any sense of humor. It's just a random collection of annoying cliches collected by the Mother-In-Law from Hell. If, Heaven forbid, you stumble across this book somewhere, PLEASE rest assured that I know very few Mormons who would not find it hysterical.

P.S. A reviewer below describes the book as "homophobic." I don't think the book addresses homosexuality at all. I didn't read the whole thing, but read enough that had that been an undercurrent I would have found it. I can only conclude that the reviewer has become so ideologically single-minded that "homophobic" has become synonomous with "me not like." So, if you think the mere absence of homophobia constitutes a virtue, you might like this book. But I doubt it.

P.P.S. This should be obvious, but the same reviewer erroneously thinks this absurdity is an official Church publication. I'm not sure how to respond to that.

I had the unfortunate experience of reading this poor excuse for a book while vacationing at my sister's house. It is filled with hateful "reminders" that do nothing more than reinforce homophobia, elitism, and ignorance. It makes me ill to think that people are reading this book on a daily basis and taking these "reminders" to heart. One more brain-washing technique used by LDS church. Truly offensive and hurtful. Instead of paying the $$$$ for this $$$, why not buy a homeless person a meal? A child a toy? A downtrodden person a tank of gas? Anything would be better than wasting it on this "book".

I LOVED this book--wonderful tips and reminders.

This book is a new take on the life of the prophet Brigham Young. As the cover indicates, he was not just a brilliant leader, but a loving father as well. This is an intimate look into the life of the man, rather than a merely historical account. If you want a bunch of cold hard facts forget this one.

This very sympathetic book on Brigham Young gives an inside look at Young's life through his interaction with his family and his work in LDS. However, the writing proves to be so sympathetic that its almost useless as reference material or even an understanding look at the man's life. The author, Susan McCloud obviously cares much about Brigham Young to a point of almost hero worship. She seem unable to write about the man since she seem to be totally enamor with her subject. Not once did I believed that Brigham Young as so loving, so perfect and so holy as the author painted him to be. McCloud's Brigham Young don't even seem to be human at times. What good is it to point out his greatness without revealing his weakness? Without such contrast, how can you write about such an important man - not only in Mormon history but in the history of the American west???

For once, I would like to read a biography on Brigham Young without someone praising him to heaven or damning him to hell!!

I personally do feel that there is reason to question the veracity of the Books of Mormon. There is apparently a quote from Shakespeare in one of his writings, even though he claims to have gotten them from Egyptian tablets which predate Shakespeare. There also seem to be some things taken from the Scottish Rite Masons. There are a few other odd inconsistencies like this, but then the regular Bible has its share of them too. For the Faithful, it is a must have book. For those who are not, there is some value in studying this religion, because we have its history very well documented about how a religion came into being over time. Whoever Joseph Smith was, he created a large following that exists to this day. What I find interesting is that a friend showed a passage in this particular book where Joseph Smith tells his followers to be vegetarian and if they cannot do this, then to eat as little meat as possible. I could not find the reference to post here, but it could be relevant for Mormon practice. I still give the book five stars, because it is well organized and well printed, has a subject index (though it did not help me find the verse I mentioned above). It reads much like the King James Bible.

Joseph Smith must have thought himself to be quite the prophet. This book is a compilation of this conman's 'revelations' from God.

The revelations are all self-serving, ranging from heavenly messages giving the dimensions of a home his followers were to build for him to a revelation telling him to live polygamy.

This book details over a hundred revelations given to him from God. What a joke. The book is pretty boring, but there are parts that will make you burst out laughing at the ridiculous, outrageous lies he tells his followers as he shines in his free-form revelations.

A must have for every Mormons, I am sure. But for the casual reader, I would suggest you have some strong coffee nearby as this book can put you to sleep quickly.

If you are looking for a good book on mormonism, this is not it. I would suggest An Insider's View of Mormon Origins by Grant Palmer.

I would have never ordered this book if I would have known the author considered John Smith as on the same as Mathew' Mark and Luke. It is very clear He is a Mormon.
I do not believe in the Mormon religion which is not Christian. It is not that I dislike Mormons but that I do not believe there's is the true religion.
Ruth Houston, Tx

21 AD Pontius Pilate stooped to bribery and theft and executed Jews without trial. Pilate built a new aquaduct and funded his construction by seizing money from the temple treasury. The Jews were strongly opposed to this treachery, yet he pillage against their resistence.

64AD Gessius Florus engineered and pushed the people into rebellion as a coverup. Florus had been running a scam by using personal guards to systematically raid the houses of wealthy Jews and hearing the governor was coming to Judea, he feared reprisal, so he provoked a rebellion leading to the destruction of Judea.

AD 44-46 Theudas gathers 400 followers on the east side of Jordon. Later Fadus the Judean Procurator captured the band.

67 AD John of Gishala posed himself as a freedom fighter for the people; however, "he had set his heart on war in order to attain supreme power". Gishala terrorized any who would not join his cause; ransaked the wealthy; violated the women; acted out blamphamous behavior dressing like a woman and taking unlawful pleasure; and launching a murderous killing spree.

66 AD Eleazer conspires to gain religious power; he does this by filling lesser church offices with sympathizers and then he proceeds to rob the city. Eleazer aligns with Idumeans, who destroy 8,000 Jews in one night and another 12,000 who resisted the take over.

Simeon, Son of Gioras wants also to take over the city and be crowned the king and he rallies an army of 20,000 taking the city of Hebron. The consequence is three factions fighting each other for control of the city.

Mathew 24: 1-2

1. And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple; and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.
2. And Jesus said unto them, see ye not all these things? Verily I say unto you. There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.

The city of Jerusalem sits on limestone. Underground passages provide water into the city. However, under seige, the underground passages filled with sewage as septic tanks could not hold so much sewage. Plaques broke out because of the raw sewage and during the three year seige, thousands of Jews died. It was estimated that 600,000 bodies were thrown over the wall. When the Romans took the city, they immediately killed all the leaders, sold the Jews into slavery, began to burn the Temple - after looting treasure. Once the fire started Titus allowed his troops to plunder the temple. Titus order all the walls be torn down and the troops pushed rubble of the temple and its courts over the sides of the hill. The top of the hill was bear down to bed rock and dirt.

Draper does an excellent job analyzing Christ prophecies found in D&C 45, Math 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21. Furthermore, I was intrique with his decision to bring historical account by the historian Josephus. After Christ death, the Holy Land would be raped by the Romans, pillaged by the robbers, and mislead by the images of the archtyrant.

Let the buyer beware! I ordered this book for a friend's birthday.

I Checked the ISBN, and it is for a black genuine leather bound Doctrine and Covenants published by Herald House for the Reorganized Church, now known as the Community of Christ.

What I received was the large print paperback D&C. Not the black leather bound, and not a $45 book. Needless to say my friend did not get his birthday present!

On a positive note, Amazon graciously accepted the return and gave me a full refund.

So, sometimes even checking the ISBN is no guarantee that you're getting the right thing.

Please pay no attention to this book full of false prophets and thier prophecies. It is more likened to a guidebook for a dungeons and dragonesque game where you can find out what prophecies may gain you power or destroy you, but as a book of facts???...forget it. Fantasy and FALSE!

This books touches on relegious aspects of the modern days. It touches on important points of the Gospel of Jesus Christ that the New and Old Testament leave out. For anyone who has the desire to better themselves this book is the one for you.

The fuzzy-headed Christian, specifically. A person with a firm grip on logical rigor will not be impressed with the argument presented in Abraham's Seed and Covenant; nor, I suspect, would a strong Bible scholar of non-Mormon denomination. Or a high school English teacher, for that matter. In this book, Mr. Bentley takes the reader on a rickety tour of the story of the biblical patriarch Abraham, whose descendants are supposed to have been given special privilege and responsibility by God. Along the way he lays out the creaky planks of his argument for conversion to the LDS faith, centering them around the concept that the most sacred portion of the lineage of Abraham corresponds directly to the current membership of the Church of Latter-day Saints.

Though this premise is broadly hinted at in the book's jacket description and elsewhere, it nonetheless seems a bit jolting when Mr. Bentley steps out of the Bible's timeline (wherein the story of the sacred lineage seems to break off rather uncertainly) and smoothly picks things up again in the Book of Mormon. Bentley seems unaware of any impact this shift will have on the reader--at first, he goes on blithely quoting scriptures without even mentioning that his source material has changed. But this is more a matter of clumsiness than of subterfuge; the author's desire to convert his reader soon becomes explicit enough, and the book gradually shifts focus toward that end over the remainder of its length.

Clumsiness, it turns out, is a highly effective missionary tool, at least if the blurbs on and inside the book's cover are to be believed. Mission presidents and PhDs alike register their admiration for Mr. Bentley's hucksterish approach to religious persuasion. Indeed, despite the man's frequent grammatical errors, consistently weak storytelling, and occasional tasteless jokes, the strengths of his church shine through clearly in his writing--particularly, its cynical use of argumentative logic as a warm-up act for gently insistent evangelism. In one chapter, Bentley presents a variation on Pascal's Wager to the would-be convert, and then encourages the skeptical reader to test any objections by personally asking God whether the Book of Mormon really is true. Like a busy CEO hiding behind his secretary, he uses the deity to muffle any return arguments, neatly sidestepping the need to defend his own claims. Earlier in the book, he supports a point with the reasonable argument that the writings of the apostle Paul shouldn't always be taken at face value, separated from us as they are by thousands of years and multiple translations; yet in an anecdote from his own life, the author shows only helpless puzzlement at the words of a psychology professor who once tried to tell him that truth was in the eye of the beholder. "I believe he was actually serious about his definition of truth," says the hapless Mr. Bentley, who caps off three decades of thought about the incident with a four-line paragraph that dismisses the professor's way of thinking as "ludicrous." Somehow this man can navigate his empathy through the vast shrouds of time and culture that separate him from Paul, but cannot even begin to understand what any precocious twelve-year-old can tell you after having watched "The Matrix" a couple of times: that people base their personal truths at least partly on their personal, subjective perceptions.

Abraham's Seed and Covenant is an interesting book, even a fascinating one, insofar as it reveals the seductively half-logical method by which Mormon missionaries attempt to win converts. To a person for whom half-logic is enough, and who already believes in the early, Bible-based parts of Mr. Bentley's tale, this book may indeed motivate conversion. But those in search of effective argument, serious scholarship, or decent writing in support of the LDS church will have to look somewhere else.

...

[Endnote from the future: Now, quite some time after I originally posted this review, I feel badly about having written it in such a scornful way. That wasn't my intention. I think there's some good substance in my review, but it's sort of obscured by all that bile that somehow snuck in there. As many of you LDS folks out there surely already know, it's awfully easy to present an aspect of your worldview in a way that makes it seem like you think you're better than everybody else. Lesson learned, I guess.]