Over the past few years, my worldview and perspective have shifted in so many profound ways. While nothing has impacted me more than the word of God, there have been a lot of really significant books that have shaped my perspective and understanding.

These are all books that I highly recommend. I want to write a short description of how they impacted me and why you might want to give them a read:

Dominion: How the Christian Revolution Remade the World – Tom Holland

Dominion is powerful exploration of how Christianity changed the world. Holland’s core thesis is that Christianity has shaped the world that we live in in so many powerful ways that we take for granted. In particular, Holland focuses on the development of charitable benevolence organizations, universities and institutions of higher learning, and the idea of universal human rights and how all of those flowed from Christian ideals. I read Dominion in 2022 when I was still a faithful member of the LDS Church and really enjoyed it at the time. The biggest impact that it had on me was leading me to reconsider the narrative of the “great apostasy.” Holland’s thesis was consistent with a growing impact of Christianity on the world like a flourishing mustard seed rather than a period of apostasy, darkness and decay. It made me feel connected to a broader Christian history and tradition.

The Air We Breathe: How We All Came to Believe in Freedom, Kindness, Progress, and Equality – Glen Scrivener

This book is in many ways a counterpart to Dominion. While Dominion is a historical work focused on historical events, The Air We Breathe is more of an intellectual and spiritual history. It is focused in particular on how our notions of human rights and equality are shaped by Christianity and how these ideal form the “air we breathe” even in a post-Christian culture. This is also a much shorter and more succinct work than Dominion, but it is quite inspiring. I think the two can be be read very profitably together.

The Forgotten Trinity: Recovering the Heart of Christian Belief– James White

James White lays out a powerful scriptural argument for the Christian doctrine of the Trinity. Although there are other excellent books on the Trinity, I really appreciated the depth of White’s exegetical analysis. I read this book in 2022 at the recommendation of a friend who had recently left the LDS Church and become an Evangelical. At the time when I read this book, I actually mostly the similarities between his description of the Trinity and my belief in the LDS idea of a Godhead. But this was a really key development as it helped to refute a lot of my misconceptions of the Trinity and show me the difference between the trinity and modalism. I left the book understanding that the belief in the Trinity was both eminently reasonable and grounded primarily in a firm commitment to reconciling what the Bible says about Christ and the Holy Spirit with strict monotheism.

Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers – Dane Ortlund

Dane Ortlund’s pastoral and devotional work is a moving look at how compassion towards the sinner is at the heart of Christ’s nature and mission. I read this book in late 2022 after my wife had started attending an Evangelical Church even while I was still an active and faithful LDS member. I was touched in particular by Ortlund’s focus on how God welcomes and even pursues sinners. This book stirred within me a longing for Ortlund’s portrayal of Christ’s free flowing grace. This is one of the books that I come back to most frequently for comfort and assurance. I’ve also really enjoyed other works by Ortlund including Deeper, Surprised by Jesus, and his collection of devotionals from the Psalms. But Gentle and Lowly is a particularly rich and rewarding treasure of a read.

The Prodigal God: Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith – Tim Keller

Tim Keller’s powerful discussion of the parable of the Prodigal Son had a profound impact on me. Most LDS interpretations of this parable that I had read focused on the younger brother and his rebellion. But Keller focuses heavily on the Elder Brother and shows how he was ultimately just as lost and alienated from the father as the younger brother. This book exposed for me how religiosity and a focus on performance can actually alienate us from God. It pushed me to stop trying to earn my salvation in any way and to rely fully on grace.

The Knowledge of the Holy – AW Tozer

Tozer’s classic exploration of the nature of God opened my eyes to the holiness of God and had a profound impact on me. This book begins with an iconic quote that rocked my world, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” Tozer speaks powerfully of the holiness and purity and self-existence of God, all traits that I had not previously fully comprehended.

12 Things God Can’t Do – Nick Tucker

This book caught me by surprise because I knew nothing about the author and didn’t know what to expect. But I was blown away by how succinctly and clearly Tucker conveyed his points. Tucker describes 12 things that are impossible for God to do, and also explores in interludes how when Jesus came into the world God seemed to defy these rules. The chapter headings for this book convey Tucker’s points really well, but I highly recommend reading the whole thing since Tucker is very approachable and readable.

• 1. God Can’t Learn
  2. God Can’t Be Surprised
  3. God Can’t Change His Mind
  Interlude: But… God Went to School
  4. God Can’t Be Seen
  5. God Can’t Bear to Look
  Interlude: But… God Came Close
  6. God Can’t Change
  7. God Can’t Be Lonely
  8. God Can’t Suffer
  9. God Can’t Die
  Interlude: But… God Suffered and Died, Alone
  10. God Can’t Be Tempted
  11. God Can’t Lie
  Interlude: But… God Was Tempted
  12. God Can’t Deny Himself