Just Launched: Introducing Mormonism with Jana Reiss

We just launched Introducing Mormonism with Jana Reiss For Individuals and For Groups.

Many people outside The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (usually called Mormons) have heard of Mormonism and know a little bit about it, but what is Mormonism really about? What is fact and what is fiction in terms of how the public understands Mormonism? How does Mormonism break down in terms of subcategories? What are the current challenges the Mormon church faces? Where and how is it looking to grow in the future?

In this course, Jana Riess, a leading authority on Mormonism, brings her extensive understanding of this faith tradition to help us understand the basic principles of Mormonism, as well as how it differs from traditional Christianity, although it is a Christian faith. She takes us on a journey exploring the diverse beliefs and practices of Mormonism, and the vibrant cultural expressions that have emerged from its followers.

Jana holds a Ph.D. in American religious history from Columbia University. She speaks often to media about issues pertaining to religion in America, and has been interviewed by the Associated Press, Time, Newsweek, People, The Boston Globe, USA Today, The Los Angeles Times, and Newsday, among other print publications, as well as Voice of America, The Today Show, MSNBC, and NPR’s All Things Considered, Tell Me More, and Talk of the Nation. She is the author or co-author of many books, including, The Next Mormons: How Millennials Are Changing the LDS Church, The Prayer Wheel, and Flunking Sainthood. She is a senior columnist for Religion News Service.

This course is ideal for anyone who would like to learn more about the basics of Mormon beliefs. For a course preview, please click below.

Just Launched: Keeping Your Daily Devotions Fresh with Peter Wallace

We just launched Keeping Your Daily Devotions Fresh with Peter Wallace For Individuals and For Groups.

If you live in Atlanta or enjoy the Day1 podcast and radio program from a distance, you know who Peter Wallace is. For those of you who don’t follow it, Day1 is a program that has been on the air since 1945 and presents preaching from outstanding preachers in mainline Protestant denominations. Peter is its executive director and has been hosting since 2001. He is the author of many books, including several on daily spirituality, and is an Episcopal priest in the Diocese of Atlanta.

If you want advice on daily spirituality, Peter is the person to ask. In this course, he gives advice about what to do to establish a practice of daily devotions — and to keep it going when it starts to feel rote or like an empty ritual, as happens to many worship practices over time.

Peter starts out by explaining why daily devotions are an important spiritual practice. We need to spend time with God, but we’re so busy and so overwhelmed with responsibilities and noise and people and businesses trying to snag our attention that we sometimes ignore the “still, small voice” of God speaking to us. At the same time, we recognize that something is missing. We want to spend time in the presence of God, even when we don’t realize that that’s what we need. That’s where a practice of daily devotions comes in — making a habit of setting aside time to listen to and focus on God. Peter also offers advice about what to include and reviews many resources to help us make our devotional time rich.

But what if the practice loses heart? Peter has many suggestions for how to handle it if you drop the habit and need to restart it or it starts to feel like an empty ritual. How do we keep it going? How do we ensure it retains meaning for us? That it truly is an experience of listening to God? This course offers dozens of suggestions for ways to handle that.

Peter’s course is ideal for anyone wishing to begin or refresh a habit of daily spiritual practice. For a course preview, please click below.