This significant work fills a major gap previously existing in Latter-day Saint literature. With its publication, for the first time there is available a selection from the speeches and writings of Lorenzo Snow, fifth President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A helpful feature precedes chapter one: a list of highlights in the life of Lorenzo Snow. This list not only orients the reader by giving brief biographical detail. In addition, by referring to it and to the dates shown for any one of the selections in the text, the reader can determine in a measure what President Snow's circumstances and calling were at the time. For ease of reference by the reader, President Snow's counsel and comments are classified by subject in twenty-six chapters that embrace a wide range of gospel topics. A notable feature is the focus on essentials which seems to have been a characteristic of this great man and prophet. President Snow, whose experience with the Church spanned seventy years, was the last Church President who as a mature adult knew and worked with the Prophet Joseph Smith. As such he adds in this book a further personal witness to the restoration of the gospel and the divine calling and prophetic powers of Joseph Smith. From those early years came his inspired expression as to man's potential for godhood. His well-known emphasis on tithing, which helped to rescue the Church of his day from serious financial troubles, also shows up in this text. So does his strength of testimony as to the divinity of the mission of the Lord Jesus Christ. While he may be best remembered for those three things, this book offers a host of other gospel insights he expressed. Their timeless significance makes them as timely today as when he uttered them. They embrace such subjects as progression towards perfection, obedience, how to obtain happiness, the power of the Spirit, sacrifice, worldliness, the family, unity, the last days and many more. Reading them against a modern background, one is aware of the growth of the kingdom since his day but conscious of the need for continual strivings on the individual's part as we face the problems of the modern era. Motivations and aids to such strivings are an integral part of this collection. Bookcraft is honored to be the publisher of this landmark volume to which Church members everywhere will turn for inspiration and guidance. -- amazon.com
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