The Theological Foundations of the Mormon Religion (Signature Mormon Classics) [Paperback]

M. McMurrin Sterling (Author), L. Jackson Newell (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 6, 1965 | Series: Signature Mormon Classics (Book 6)

A Philosopher, Sterling M. McMurrin (1914-96) appreciated the similarities between Mormonism and Hellenistic Christianity. For instance, Church Fathers of the fifth century admired Plato, who taught that there is one God, coexistent with such eternal entities as Justice and Loveâ€"to which Joseph Smith added Priesthood and Church. Where Augustine modified Plato, Mormonism would tend to side with his critic, the Stoic-leaning Pelagius. In this broad context, what is Mormonism's contribution to the overall pursuit of life's fundamental, ontological questions? Herein lies McMurrin's intentâ€"an invitation to join him on a wide-ranging search for purpose. He finds his church's synthesis of heresy and orthodoxy to be refreshing and impressive in this light, in its treatment of evil, sin, and free will. Belief in a personal God may run counter to traditional faith, but it is nonetheless emotionally satisfying and accessible to the human imagination.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

This book also contains The Philosophical Foundation of Mormon Theology as an apendix.

About the Author

McMurrin was E. E. Ericksen Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at the University of Utah and U. S. commisioner of Education under President John F. Kennedy. Of his nine books, Theological Foundations is considered to be his masterpiece.

Product Details

• Paperback: 220 pages
• Publisher: Signature Books Publishing, LLC; Trade paperback edition edition (April 6, 1965)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 156085135X
• ISBN-13: 978-1560851356
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #764,436 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hands down the best book on LDS Theology, November 26, 2001

By 

pacetbird (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Theological Foundations of the Mormon Religion (Signature Mormon Classics) (Paperback)

Sterling is comprehensive in his introductory comparisons of LDS theology to the history of philosophical theology in the West. This book explores the important inovations and contributions LDS theology makes to the larger framework of Christian theology. The book is a bit technical for those with no background in philosophy or theology, but perfect for the student of these subjects who wants to understand LDS philosophical perspectives. Included is an excellent appendix on the LDS concept of God.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A RARE WORK OF "LDS/MORMON THEOLOGY", August 30, 2011

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Steven H. Propp (Sacramento, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The theological foundations of the Mormon religion (Paperback)

Sterling Moss McMurrin (1914-1996) was a Mormon theologian and Philosophy professor at the University of Utah, who also served as United States Commissioner of Education in the administration of President John F. Kennedy. He is also the author of books such as Matters of Conscience: Conversations With Sterling M. McMurrin on Philosophy, Education, and Religion, Religion, Reason and Truth: Historical Essays in the Philosophy of Religion, Sterling M. McMurrin Lectures on Religion and Culture, The Tanner Lectures on Human Values (Tanner Lectures in Human Values) (Volume 1), etc.

He wrote in the Foreword to this 1965 book, "The intention of this essay is to exhibit the distinctive character of Mormon theology that resides especially in the finitistic concept of God and the denial of the traditional doctrines of original sin and salvation by grace... It is not my purpose here to present a systematic statement of Mormon doctrine or either to justify or criticize it. Rather I have composed a comparative commentary that is intended simply to differentiate Mormon doctrine from the classical Christian theology..."

Here are some additional quotations from the book:

"Mormon theology is a modern Pelagianism in a Puritan religion. Mormonism is a Judaic-like community religion grounded in the Puritan moral doctrine that the vocation of man is to create the kingdom of God. Its fundamentalism is rooted in the biblical literalism native to American religion. Its heresy is the denial of the dogma of original sin." (Pg. x)
"It is perhaps not entirely inaccurate to describe Mormonism as a kind of naturalistic, humanistic theism." (Pg. 3)
"Mormonism teaches a strict dualism of the spirit and body; though they are both material, they are two different entities." (Pg. 6)
"God is a being among beings rather than BEING as such or the ground of being, and that he is therefore finite rather than absolute." (Pg. 29)
"Both the existence and nature of God are known by revelation only. In this way the primacy of revelation is protected." (Pg. 48)
"...the good of Adam's transgression lay not primarily in the setting of the stage for the abundant grace of Christ, but in the implementation of the moral freedom of human souls." (Pg. 74)
"Mormon theology is young and unsophisticated and is not overencumbered with creeds and official pronouncements." (Pg. 112)

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating but incomplete, August 21, 2005

By 

M. Young (Boise, Idaho) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Theological Foundations of the Mormon Religion (Signature Mormon Classics) (Paperback)

I am not a philosophy student, but I found the book fascinating and well-written. It is best to carefully read the terminology definitions at the beginning and then read the book sequentially. The later chapters build on the earlier ones, culminating in a discussion of the nature of evil. The last section of the book contains a reprint of an earlier paper which mostly duplicates the first part of the book.

Two topics were most interesting to me. The first was the comparison of the nature of God between Mormon and Catholic or Protestant theology. The second was the explanation of evil in the world.

Dr. McMurrin explains that the Mormon belief is that the most basic part of each person, his or her "intelligence" or essential being, existed with God from the beginning and was not created by Him. This places Mormonism on a very different theological foundation than Catholic or Protestant religions. It also provides for a much different explanation of why "moral" evil and "natural" evil exist. It is clear that he was very interested in the question of evil and he deliberately structured the book so that the earlier chapters build the foundation for that final topic.

What is left out of the book, though, is a discussion of the meaning of revelation and its part in Mormon theology. I don't see how a book on Mormon theology is complete without dealing with the implications of God speaking to Man and telling him directly about His nature and the nature of His creations.

The book's strength is in its remarkable explanations of how Mormanism compares to other religions on several key theological points. That should be enlightening to both Mormon and non-Mormon readers. However, as a true theological explanation of Mormanism, I'm left thinking that something fundamental is missing and you'll need to turn to other books to fill the gap.