Explores the power and artistry of prophecy among the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, who use predictions about the future to interpret the world around themThis book challenges the common assumption that American Indian prophecy was an anomaly of the 18th and 19th centuries that resulted from tribes across the continent reacting to the European invasion. Tom Mould’s study of the contemporary prophetic traditions of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Ind...

Chosen as Mississippi’s 2026 Great Read for Adults by the Mississippi Center for the BookThere are thousands of books that record the oral traditions of Native peoples, documenting their myths, legends, folktales, and tribal histories. Yet, there are almost none that pay the same attention to the oral traditions that make up the other 95 percent of Native American storytelling: the personal, familial, humble stories that convey the depth of cultural knowledge, trad...

From the earliest stories recorded among the Choctaw in the 1700s to the most recent stories being told today, Choctaw Tales: Stories from the Firekeepers amasses the most comprehensive collection of oral traditions of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians ever published. Originally published in 2004, Choctaw Tales was a celebration of the art of storytelling, including myths, legends, supernatural tales, prophecies, historical anecdotes, tall tales, and animal stories....

Folklore is often positioned at the center of critical social issues. While folklorists have acknowledged this power and explored how folklore has been used for political ends, far less attention has been paid to the role folklorists and folklore scholarship can play in addressing contemporary social issues in public discourse. Folklore in the Public Square explores how folklorists apply their research to engage general audiences and address the challenging issues we face daily.

Latter-day Lore gathers nearly thirty seminal works in Mormon folklore scholarship from its beginnings in the late nineteenth century to the present in order to highlight the depth, breadth, and richness of that scholarship. This examination of LDS folklore studies reveals theoretical, methodological, and topical shifts that also reflect shifts in the field at large. Areas for future research are also suggested.The thorough introduction by the volume editors elucidates the...

Including stories from the 1700s to today, Choctaw Tales showcases the mythic, the legendary and supernatural, the prophecies and histories, the animal fables and jokes that make up the rich and lively Choctaw storytelling tradition. The stories display intelligence, artistry, and creativity as Choctaw narrators, past and present, express and struggle with beliefs, values, humor, and life experiences. Photographs of the storytellers complement the text. For sixteen tales, the Choc...

Religious people have been known to push their beliefs onto others; in fact several religions require it. This book utilizes reason, logic, some psychology, and the experiences of someone who has been in several hundred religious debates with believers, mainly those of the Judeo-Christian faiths. Throughout this book, you will be presented with several of the most common arguments that believers utilize in order to attempt to convert people to followers; then you will be given a response t...

In the first edition of The Mormon Mirage, Latayne C. Scott shared her remarkable journey out of Mormonism as she uncovered shocking inaccuracies, inconsistencies, and contradictions in the faith she had loved and lived. Thirty years later, Mormonism and Mormon scholarship have evolved with the times. In this third, revised and updated edition of her well-known book, Scott keeps pace with changes and advances in Mormonism, and reveals formidable new challenges to its claims and teachings. ...

Contending with Christianity’s Critics is book two in a series on modern Christian apologetics that began with the popular Passionate Conviction. This second installment, featuring writings from eighteen respected apologists such as Gary Habermas and Ben Witherington, addresses challenges from noted New Atheists like Richard Dawkins (The God Delusion) and other contemporary critics of Christianity concerning belief in God, the hi...

This book is about my familys journey out of the LDS church into Christianity - a journey that only God could have done. This book is proof that God decides and then takes us on miraculous journeys. My husband and I wrote this book originally for our friends, since they werent allowed to talk to us. It developed over time. Through our experiences, we realized that it helped people who were considering leaving the LDS church and wanted to know the consequences, and others dealing with LDS m...

At a time when popular atheism books are talking about the irrationality of believing in God, Willard makes a rigorous intellectual case for why it makes sense to believe in God and in Jesus, the Son.

For all its advances, our secular age has also weakened ties to religious belief and affiliation, and Latter-day Saints have not been immune. In recent years, many faithful Church members have encountered challenging aspects of Church history, belief, or practice. Feeling isolated, alienated, or misled, some struggle to stay. Some simply leave. Many search for a reliable and faithful place to work through their questions. The abundance of information online can leave them frustrated. P...