For Zion: A Mormon Theology of Hope, now available! June 02 2014


For Zion: A Mormon Theology of Hope

by Joseph M. Spencer

$19.95
Paperback, 188 Pages
  ISBN 978-1-58958-568-3

Greg Kofford Books is pleased to announce that Joseph Spencer's For Zion: A Mormon Theology of Hope is now available in print and e-book (Kindle, Apple, Nook, and Kobo). 

The book explores key questions in Mormon theology and history:  
 
  • What is Hope?
  • What is Zion?
  • What does it mean to hope for Zion? 

Joseph Spencer, whom Terryl Givens describes as “one of the most astute readers of sacred texts working in Mormon Studies,” examines these questions through the scriptures of two continents separated by nearly two millennia. In the first half, Spencer engages in a rich study of Paul's letter to the Romans to better understand how the apostle understood hope and what it means to have it. In the second half of the book, he jumps to the early years of the Restoration and Joseph Smith's various revelations on consecration to understand how Latter-day Saints are expected to strive for Zion. Between these halves is an interlude examining the hoped-for Zion that both thrived in the Book of Mormon and was hoped to be established again.

Early reviewers have praised For Zion:

  • “[A] new benchmark for solid, innovative Latter-day Saint scholarship that is at once provocative and challenging.” — Eric D. Huntsman, author, The Miracles of Jesus
     
  • “For Zion proves that there can be such a thing as genuinely Mormon theology.” — Mark Ashurst-McGee, Joseph Smith Papers
     
  • “Blending theological savvy, historical grounding, and sensitive readings of scripture, he has produced an original and compelling case for consecration and the life of discipleship.” — Terryl Givens, author,Wrestling the Angel: The Foundations of Mormon Thought

 

You can preview the introduction and opening chapter of For Zion here.

And read a Q&A with author Joseph Spencer here. 

____________________________________

Joseph M. Spencer is a PhD candidate in philosophy at the University of New Mexico, where he studies contemporary French thought. He is the author ofAn Other Testament: On Typology (Salt Press, 2012; Neal A. Maxwell Institute reissue, 2014), as well as of numerous essays on both philosophy and Mormon Studies. He is currently the associate director of the Mormon Theology Seminar and an associate editor of the Journal of Book of Mormon Studies. He and Karen, his wife, live in Albuquerque, New Mexico, with their five children.