{"id":53067,"date":"2026-04-14T03:23:55","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T09:23:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/?p=53067"},"modified":"2026-04-14T08:54:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T14:54:09","slug":"a-review-40-questions-about-mormonism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/2026\/04\/a-review-40-questions-about-mormonism\/","title":{"rendered":"A Review: 40 Questions About Mormonism"},"content":{"rendered":"

Understanding the perspectives of those outside our faith tradition is an essential exercise for any Latter-day Saint seeking to navigate the broader religious landscape. For decades, much of the literature written by traditional Christians about the Restoration felt less like a conversation and more like a caricature. However, in recent years, a more rigorous and informed brand of interfaith dialogue has begun to emerge. The latest entry in this category is 40 Questions About Mormonism<\/i><\/a> (Kregel Academic, 2026) by Kyle Beshears.<\/p>\n

Beshears, a pastor in Mobile, Alabama, and a graduate of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, does not write as an insider or a neutral observer. He is a true believer in the Baptist tradition, and that theological commitment provides the structural scaffolding for the entire book. While Latter-day Saints are not the primary audience, the volume offers value to Latter-day Saints willing to engage with a fair-minded, well-informed neighbor.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Cover<\/a><\/p>\n

A High Standard of Research<\/h2>\n

My primary objective in reviewing this volume, as a Latter-day Saint, was to assess whether Beshears accurately describes our faith. Too often, outside observers rely on outdated tropes or surface-level misunderstandings. Beshears, however, has clearly done his homework. His writing is accessible and engaging, demonstrating a familiarity with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (and its sister faiths in the Mormon tradition).<\/p>\n

His footnotes reveal a deep engagement with the Joseph Smith Papers Project<\/i> and a broad range of contemporary scholarship in Mormon Studies. This is not a “counter-cult” pamphlet of the 1980s; it is a well-researched academic and pastoral resource. Because of this rigor, Latter-day Saints could actually use this text as a reference for historical sources and information about their own faith\u2014provided, of course, that they keep the author’s theological lens and biases in mind.<\/p>\n

The Evangelical Prism<\/h2>\n

The book is part of Kregel\u2019s “40 Questions” series, which utilizes a catechism-like format to explore complex topics. Beshears deftly weaves traditional Christian apologetics throughout his answers. He frequently lays the groundwork by outlining the Evangelical position as the correct one before diving into the Latter-day Saint departure from that norm.<\/p>\n

For the traditional Christian reader (at least within the Reformed Christian tradition), this approach makes the book unthreatening and reassuring. It reinforces their own orthodoxy while explaining a complex neighbor in a fair-minded and thoughtful manner. Conversely, Latter-day Saint readers will likely feel their beliefs being challenged throughout. Beshears does not pull punches when it comes to differences in the views about the nature of God, authority, or the role of extra-biblical scripture. Yet, Beshears is not seeking to misrepresent; he is seeking to categorize and contrast based on a specific set of theological convictions with a specific audience in mind.<\/p>\n

Situating the Restoration<\/h2>\n

For a Latter-day Saint seeking to understand where our theology fits within the wider Christian world, this book serves as a useful map. While it may not offer the same level of exhaustive comparative depth as Grant Underwood\u2019s recent Latter-day Saint Theology among Christian Theologies<\/i>, it excels in its specific focus on the Evangelical-Latter-day Saint divide and is geared more towards a lay audience rather than a technical audience.<\/p>\n

Beshears provides a clear window into why<\/i> our Evangelical friends ask the questions they do and why certain points of our doctrine remain so jarring to their sensibilities. Understanding these friction points from a source that is both accurate and honest is a rare and valuable find.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/h2>\n

40 Questions About Mormonism<\/i><\/a> is a notable entry in the field of comparative religion. Kyle Beshears has managed to write a book that stays true to his Baptist roots without descending deeply into the polemical unfairness that has characterized this genre for far too long.<\/p>\n

For the Latter-day Saint, reading this book is an exercise in seeing oneself through a neighbor\u2019s prism\u2014one that may be tinted by a different theology, but that is polished by careful research and a spirit of good-faith inquiry. It is a recommended read for anyone looking to bridge the gap between the Latter-day Saint tradition and the wider world of traditional Christianity.<\/p>\n

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For info on more books being published in 2026, see\u00a0Mormon Studies Books in 2026<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Understanding the perspectives of those outside our faith tradition is an essential exercise for any Latter-day Saint seeking to navigate the broader religious landscape. For decades, much of the literature written by traditional Christians about the Restoration felt less like a conversation and more like a caricature. However, in recent years, a more rigorous and informed brand of interfaith dialogue has begun to emerge. The latest entry in this category is 40 Questions About Mormonism (Kregel Academic, 2026) by Kyle Beshears. Beshears, a pastor in Mobile, Alabama, and a graduate of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, does not write as an insider or a neutral observer. He is a true believer in the Baptist tradition, and that theological commitment provides the structural scaffolding for the entire book. While Latter-day Saints are not the primary audience, the volume offers value to Latter-day Saints willing to engage with a fair-minded, well-informed neighbor.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10397,"featured_media":53069,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[52],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-53067","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-book-reviews"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/40-questions-about-mormonism-beshears.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53067","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10397"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53067"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53067\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":53359,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53067\/revisions\/53359"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53069"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53067"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53067"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53067"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}