The scope of the subject presented in this work is expressed on the title page. It will be readily seen that the author has departed from the course usually followed by writers on the Life of Jesus Christ, which course, as a rule, begins with the birth of Mary's Babe and ends with the ascension of the slain and risen Lord from Olivet. The treatment embodied in these pages, in addition to the narrative of the Lord's life in the flesh comprizes the antemortal existence and activities of the world's Redeemer, the revelations and personal manifestations of the glorified and exalted Son of God during the apostolic period of old and in modern times, the assured nearness of the Lord's second advent, and predicted events beyond-all so far as the Holy Scriptures make plain.

It is particularly congruous and appropriate that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints-the only Church that affirms authority based on specific revelation and commission to use the Lord's Holy Name as a distinctive designation-should set forth her doctrines concerning the Messiah and His mission.

The author of this volume entered upon his welcome service under request and appointment from the presiding authorities of the Church; and the completed work has been read to and is approved by the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve. It presents, however, the writer's personal belief and profoundest conviction as to the truth of what he has written. The book is published by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

A characteristic feature of the work is the guidance afforded by modern scriptures and the explication of the Holy Writ of olden times in the light of present day revelation, which, as a powerful and well directed beam, illumines many dark passages of ancient construction. The spirit of the sacredness inherent in the subject has been a constant companion of the writer throughout his pleasing labor, and he reverently invokes the same as a minister to the readers of the volume.

JAMES E. TALMAGE
Salt Lake City, Utah,
September, 1915.

About the Author: James E. Talmage was born in Hungerford, Berkshire, England, on 21 September 1862. In 1876 the family moved to Provo, Utah, where James attended Brigham Young Academy and was a student of Dr. Karl G. Maeser. He later attended Lehigh University (1882-83), Johns Hopkins University (1884), and Illinois Wesleyan University (1896). Talmage was professor of chemistry and geology at Brigham Young Academy from 1888 to 1893, and was president of the University of Utah from 1894 to 1897. He resigned as professor of geology at the latter institution in 1907 to pursue a private practice as a consulting mining geologist.

His scientific work brought him national and international recognition. In February 1891 he was made a Fellow of the Royal Microscopical Society of London. In December 1894 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, an honor conferred on few Americans. Two days after his election to the Royal Society, he was made a Fellow of the Geological Society of London. In December 1897 he became a Fellow of the Geological Society of America. He was also a member of the Victoria Institute, or Philosophical Society of Great Britain; a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science; and a corresponding member of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society.

Aside from institutional scientific study, Talmage was instrumental in promoting popular scientific study with his work at the Deseret Museum. Under his guidance, this museum grew rapidly and was regarded as one of the finest of its kind in the West.

Talmage held many church and civic offices including city councilor, alderman, and justice of the peace. On 7 December 1911 he was ordained an apostle in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and from then until his death gave great service to his church.

Among his more important writings, scientific and religious, are: First Book of Nature (1888), Domestic Science (1891), The Articles of Faith (1899), The Great Salt Lake, Present and Past (1900), The Story of "Mormonism" (1907), The Great Apostasy (1909), The House of the Lord (1912), Jesus the Christ (1915), The Vitality of "Mormonism" (1919), and Sunday Night Talks (1931), first given as radio speeches. In addition to these published works, he was the author of numerous scientific papers for journals, and was a prolific writer for church papers and magazines for a period of many years. Many of his scientific works were used as university textbooks.