Doctrinal Dimensions
By Duane S. Crowther
Synopsis: A compilation of the written transcripts of Crowther's popular missionary-oriented audio talks. The book includes the transcripts of the following audio talks: "Biblical Proofs of the Restored Church," "Biblical Proofs of the Book of Mormon," "God Speaks Through Prophets Today," "Joseph Smith - A True Prophet of God," "A Latter-day Saint View of Christ and the Trinity," "Doctrinal Evidences That Mormons Are Christians," "God's Eternal Plan of Salvation," "Are You Saved? - A Mormon's View of Faith, Works, Grace, and Salvation," and "Recognizing Techniques of Deception in Anti-Mormon Literature."
Strong Points: Crowther is very well-versed with the scriptures, a thing that I respect very much. And it shows in this book. The collected topics are each unique and interesting in their own right. There are a wide range of subjects covered, and they are covered well in the allotted space. There are a lot of Bible passages used skillfully to defend the doctrine of the Church, but other LDS scriptures are also appealed to throughout the book. It is a good book for learning the scriptural evidences of our religion, and for defending it against critics. It would make an excellent gift for missionaries, new converts, and for members interested in solidifying their faith and knowledge of the scriptural basis of our religion.
Weak Points: While the quality of Crowther's work is generally excellent, I did find two glaring doctrinal errors and one doctrinal disagreement which unfortunately marred the quality of the book. The doctrinal errors were: 1) Peter, James, and John restored the sealing power to Joseph Smith when they gave him the priesthood in 1829. (Actually, Peter, James, and John restored the priesthood and the apostleship. The sealing power was not restored until April 3, 1836 by Elijah in the Kirtland temple.). 2) The United Order was a "communal" system. (This common misconception is incorrect, and has been taught by the leading General Authorities of the Church to be incorrect. The United Order is an individualistic system that respects the rights to personal property.). My doctrinal disagreement was: Crowther taught that Jesus, and not the Father, created man. I find the evidence to be clear that man is the literal offspring of the Father. In addition to these weak points, the edition I read seemed hastily put together, and was rife with typos. And, I must admit, I did find some of Crowther's scriptural interpretations somewhat on the dubious side, despite the excellent overall quality of the book.
Interesting: 4.3/5
Must Read: 4/5
Overall: 3.9/5