Man: His Origin and Destiny
By Joseph Fielding Smith
Synopsis: A treatise against the theory of evolution as well as other destructive views such as higher criticism and doubts about the historicity of Jesus, written by gospel scholar and doctrinal expert Joseph Fielding Smith in 1954 while he was president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
Strong Points: While it was written it 1954, I found this book to be surprisingly current in its treatment of the issues of evolutionary theory. A modern reader could still get very much out of this aspect of the book, so don't feel worried that it might seem too dated. Where President Smith was not qualified, he referred to experts on the subjects at hand. The book also covers many peripheral topics which tie in to the falsehood of evolution, such as material on "higher criticism" and the historicity of Jesus. A chapter about the defense of the Flood as a literal event is also included and I thought it was quite well done. As expected, in every case President Smith maintained a view that was faithful and consistent to the scriptures, a thing which I of course appreciate very much. This is an excellent book and fulfills a great need in the Church. It should be read widely by members of the Church and respected as a great support to their belief in the scriptures.
Weak Points: I think the book would have flowed better if each of the chapters were broken up into subheadings. Instead, each chapter ran continuously and often incorporated very long quotations for pages at a time. Also, unfortunately this book is out of print and therefore not easy to acquire.
Interesting: 4/5
Must Read: 4.3/5
Overall: 4.7/5