Thursday's Tiltles: Mostly Talmage and a little Franklin

James E. Talmage
author of Jesus the Christ

I’ve heard of James E. Talmage all my life and knew at some point he had been an apostle in my church. His books are widely used in our studies. I did a little reading during the week to get better acquainted with the author of Jesus the Christ. I will refer to him as Elder Talmage as that is appropriate.

Elder Talmage grew up in Hungerford England where he became aware of and was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when he was 10. His family then left England and came to America to be with other members of the Church. Elder Talmage enjoyed the sciences and eventually became a geologist. He was also an assistant principal at the Academy (BYU) and the president at the University of Deseret (UofU). He was a highly educated man holding all kinds of degrees to numerous to list here but I was highly impressed. He also taught at many universities across the country.

He married May Booth and they were the parents of eight children. He was called to be an Apostle in 1911 and served until his death at the age of 70. He was buried at Salt Lake City Cemetery.

I read a number of brief bios about him, the abbreviated bio at goodreads seemed the best organized.

Published works :
First Book of Nature (1888)
The Domestic Science, a Book for Use in Schools and for General Reading (1891) online 1892 second edition
Tables for Blowpipe Determinations of Minerals (1898)
The Articles of Faith: A Series of Lectures on the Principal Doctrines of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (1899) online
The Great Salt Lake, Present and Past (1900) online
The Great Apostasy Considered in the Light of Scriptural and Secular History (1909) online
The Story of Mormonism (1910) online 1920 seventh edition
The House of the Lord: A Study of Holy Sanctuaries, Ancient and Modern (1912) online
The Philosophy of Mormonism (1914)
Jesus the Christ: A Study of the Messiah and His Mission According to the Holy Scriptures Both Ancient and Modern (1915) online
Latter-Day Revelations: Selections from the Book of Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Deseret Book Company (1915)
The Vitality of Mormonism, Deseret Book Company (1919) online
Sunday Night Talks by Radio (1930)
The Parables of James E. Talmage, comp. Albert L. Zobell, Jr. Deseret Book Company (1973)
The Essential James E. Talmage, Signature Books, Salt Lake City, 1997, ISBN 1-56085-018-3

(wikipedia)

The first week Mr. J and I read Chapter 1 or the introduction which included the Historicity of Jesus the Christ and the scope and purpose of the present treatise. Sounds a little intimidating right off the bat doesn't it. Elder Talmage is an intelligent man and he uses language that he is comfortable with which is language that will stretch my intellect I hope. Elder Talmage states at the beginning of the introduction:

No adequate biography of Jesus as Boy and Man has been or can be written, for the sufficing reason that a fullness of data is lacking . . . The purpose of the present treatise is that of considering the life and mission of Jesus as the Christ. In this undertaking we are to be guided by the light of both ancient and modern scriptures; and, thus led, we shall discover . . . that the word of God as revealed in latter days is effective in illuming and making plain the Holy Writ of ancient times.

In Chapter 2 Elder Talmage discusses the role of Christ in the preexistence. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I already knew and understood every point he discussed. After reading the second chapter I’m not feeling as intimidated by the work. Elder Talmage has simply gathered together teachings from the scriptures that teach us about different aspects of Christ and organized them in a manner that these characteristics can be studied closely, one characteristic at a time.

So as we get ready to read Chapter 3—The Need of a Redeemer, I am feeling more excited than nervous.

I've also been reading the autobiography of Benjamin Franklin.  I really like it.  Benjamin Franklin was quite a remarkable fellow.  I like how forward thinking he was.  When he saw something that needed to be done he set about doing it.  He was a great organizer and very capable of pulling things together.  Did you know he started the library system?  He also organized the community police system and an effective community militia.  He also organized a fire fighting service to help prevent homes from burning which I guess was a real threat to communities back in his day.  Buildings were wooden and close together and a whole town could go up in minutes.  But I am most impressed with his model for character improvement.  Did you know Benjamin Franklin had a goal to be a perfect person and came up with 12 virtues that he desired to perfect and a plan for achieving perfection?  He added a 13th virtue when an associate told him he was a proud man.  Benjamin Franklin evaluated his actions daily in a little notebook that he carried on his person.  He said towards the end of his life that he knew he had not achieved perfection but he was a better person for trying.