Religious Classics

In With God in Russia, Ciszek reflects on his daily life as a prisoner, the labor he endured while working in the mines and on construction gangs, his unwavering faith in God, and his firm devotion to his vows and vocation. Enduring brutal conditions, Ciszek risked his life to offer spiritual guidance to fellow prisoners who could easily have exposed him for their own gains.

The book begins in 1521 at the great turning point in the life of St Ignatius, when he was wounded at the battle of Pamplona. It then covers the next 17 years up to the arrival of Ignatius and his early companions in Rome. Those were the years of pilgrimage, travel and searching, and of preparation for the establishment of the great religious order he would found.

Nathan the Wise, a play published by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing in 1779, is a fervent plea for religious tolerance. It was first performed in 1783 at the Döbbelinsches Theatre in Berlin. The narrative is set in Jerusalem during the Third Crusade and describes how the wise Jewish merchant Nathan, the enlightened sultan Saladin, and a Templar Knight bridge the differences between Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. Its major themes are friendship, tolerance, the relativism of God, a rejection of miracles and a need for communication.

Considered by many to be the first autobiography/memoir ever written, Confessions is a retrospective view of a life challenged by uncertainty, doubt, human frailty, and earthly desires. Augustine discovers and cherishes a deeply personal relationship with his God, all while describing the day-to-day dealings of his life in the fading, corrupt days of the Roman Empire.

The Faith-Promoting Series began in 1879 with the publication of this book, My First Mission. At that time George Q. Cannon, who was a member of the First Presidency, desired to produce a series of books that would both teach faith and other important gospel principles as well as be entertaining enough that youth would be willing to read them. The results were some of the most important and widest read books in the early-LDS cannon.

Caliban is a major character in The Tempest by Shakespeare. He is a deformed monster, the offspring of Sycrorax, a witch. Prospero, a magician who presides over the island where Caliban dwells, has made him a servant. This galls Caliban's spirit, as he believes himself to be the rightful ruler of the island. Setebos is the deity who was worshipped by Sycorax and is mentioned by Caliban in two scenes.

In this historic memoir, Lee reflects on her life, her spiritual transformation, and her critical role in the Second Great Awakening - a movement that initiated a number of reforms. Today, it remains an important chronicle of faith and an invaluable record of a pioneer who broke through barriers of race, gender, and institutional inertia.

Der Ring des Polykrates ist eine im Juni 1797 geschriebene Ballade Friedrich Schillers. Sie behandelt das Thema, dass größter Erfolg nur den umso gewisseren tiefen Sturz befürchten lässt. Die Handlung der Geschichte wird auf zwei Tage zusammengedrängt. Zwölf der sechzehn Strophen behandeln ein einzig von Erfolgsmeldungen unterbrochenes, allenfalls mehrstündiges Gespräch des Tyrannen Polykrates von Samos mit seinem Freund, dem auf der reichen Insel Samos zu Besuch weilenden Pharao Amasis.

Un fantástico viaje entre el Cielo y el Infierno En El Gran Divorcio, C. S. Lewis de nuevo utiliza su formidable talento para contar fábulas y alegorías. En un sueño, el escritor se sube a un autobús una tarde lloviznosa y se embarca en un increíble viaje por el Cielo y el Infierno. Este es el punto de partida para la profunda meditación sobre el bien y el mal. "Si insistimos en quedarnos con el Infierno (o incluso la Tierra) no veremos el Cielo: si aceptamos al Cielo no podremos quedarnos ni siquiera con el más pequeño e íntimo souvenir del Infierno."

Peter Hartley wrote the poems in this book in a little over a year but they represent many of the joys and some of the sorrows of a lifetime. They reflect a love of Labrador retrievers and penguins, cryptic crosswords, mountains and travel, wild and lonely places, the poetry of Hopkins, baroque music (especially Handel), a dislike for most modern art and architecture, and an extremely odd attitude towards cats. While nearing completion the author’s partner was struck down by motor neuron disease.

Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American philosopher, lecturer, essayist, and poet, who is best remembered for leading the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. He was a a champion of individualism and wrote dozens of essays. Most criics consider "Self-Reliance" his best. It has the most thorough statement of one of Emerson's repeating themes, the need for each individual to avoid conformity and false consistency.

The King of the Trees is an imaginative and inspirational tale that blends the allegorical richness of C. S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia with the creative depth and realism of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. What do an old wooden box, a jeweled pendant and some mysterious, green-garbed strangers have in common? Solving this riddle takes Rolin, son of Gannon, worlds beyond the walls of his little log cabin.

Upton Sinclair, the muckraking giant of 20th century journalism and Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Jungle, turns his critical eye upon the world of religion. Mind you, he is not critical of God nor of the teachings of Christ, but of the organized religions throughout history and of our times.