Description
Don’t just tend to the branches, but nourish the roots!
Nourishing the Roots: Seeking the Foundations of Latter-day Testimony invites readers to cultivate a faith rooted in the deep realities of the gospel. While many Latter-day Saints wrestle with the “branches” of their faith, such as historical complexities or modern cultural tensions, Walker A. Wright argues that the way forward lies in tending the “roots” of reality itself.
Drawing on insights from philosophy, science, and the foundational claims of the Restoration, Wright guides readers through eight essential inquiries, beginning with the question of why there is something rather than nothing and exploring the mathematical language of the cosmos. He further examines the hard problem of consciousness, the evidence found in widespread supernatural experiences, and the historical reality of the Resurrection. The journey continues as Wright assesses the witnesses and authenticity of the Book of Mormon, explores how the complexity of that sacred text points to divine origins, and concludes by discussing how personal revelation serves as a meaningful way of knowing truth.
This book is a vital companion for those who want to believe but feel intellectually uneasy, as well as for believers who desire to understand why their faith is more than mere habit. With a tone that is calm, candid, conversational, and encouraging, Nourishing the Roots respects the reader’s intelligence and offers a strikingly coherent framework for understanding why the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ remains a source of enduring meaning and truth.
Order on Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0H8PV8RH6
Reviews and Featured Articles
In the contemporary landscape of Latter-day Saint intellectual life, the defense of the Restoration has occasionally suffered from a hyper-localized focus. Apologists and critics alike often become mired in the “branches”—the minute, unresolved details of nineteenth-century polygamy, local administrative missteps, or specific textual variances—while neglecting the deeper, structural assumptions that govern how those details are interpreted. In his timely and accessible volume, Nourishing the Roots: Seeking the Foundations of Latter-day Testimony, Walker A. Wright performs a necessary work. Grounding his approach in a pastoral metaphor offered by Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Wright argues that a resilient, intellectually honest testimony is built not by constant defensive pruning, but by watering the “roots” of a religious worldview: the existence of God, the historical reality of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the authenticity of the Restoration.
The Book of Mormon witnesses offer mutually reinforcing historical testimonies that challenge both secular skeptics and mainstream Christian defenders. While critics often dismiss these eleven men using theories of shared hallucination or physical forgery, their accounts mirror the ancient eyewitness testimony widely used to defend the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Because the Three Witnesses experienced a miraculous angelic visitation while the Eight Witnesses hefted a tactile artifact, their combined statements resist easy dismissals. In this interview, independent historian Walker A. Wright explores this apologetic double standard and his belief in the historical credibility of the gold plates.
Praise for Nourishing the Roots
“Walker Wright has done something extraordinary for the Latter-day Saint community. If you or someone you love struggles with faith, Wright’s profound book, Nourishing the Roots, was written for you. In an accessible but whirlwind tour of a variety of topics, Wright makes an erudite case for why faith, in light of everything we have learned in the last 200 years, is more rational than ever.”
Samuel T. Wilkinson – Yale Professor, Author of Purpose: What Evolution and Human Nature Imply About the Meaning of Our Existence
“At a time when faith feels fragile, Nourishing the Roots offers something rare: a profound explanation for the foundations of faith in the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. With intellectual rigor, spiritual sensitivity, and deep respect for sincere seekers, Wright traces a compelling path from belief in God and Christ to conviction in the Restoration. This is a timely and important book for anyone seeking to build—or help others build—a deeper, more resilient faith.”
Jenet Jacob Erickson – Associate Professor of Religious Education at BYU, Family Fellow at the Wheatley Institute
“With Nourishing the Roots, Walker Wright offers a compelling and carefully reasoned approach to building faith in God and in the Restoration. Beginning by laying a foundation for belief in God, Wright guides readers through the case for a world filled with miracles and divine action, the resurrection of Jesus, the prophetic ministry of Joseph Smith, the inspiration of the Book of Mormon, and the reality of revelation today. For those seeking to strengthen the foundations of a religious worldview generally, or a Latter-day Saint worldview specifically, Nourishing the Roots offers thoughtful, accessible, and faith-building insights.”
Stephen O. Smoot – Adjunct Instructor of Ancient Scripture at BYU; Cohost of the Informed Saints Podcast; Editor of Joseph Smith’s Uncanonized Revelations
“I’m not a Latter-day Saint, and I don’t share many of Walker Wright’s conclusions here. Yet, I find myself commending the book anyway. Much of its ground is common to Christians of all stripes, as Wright guides the reader from the deepest existential questions, through the fine-tuning of the cosmos and the puzzle of consciousness, to the resurrection of Christ—an arc many outside his tradition will follow. Only then does he turn to the distinctive claims of his Church in a manner that is conversational, careful, and rooted in the basics. A believer who judges his convictions incompatible with the claims of other worldviews owes an account of why, and it matters whether he gives it lazily or well, obscurely or clearly. Wright gives it well and clearly. Whether you want to understand the Latter-day Saint case or make it, this is where to start.”
Kyle Beshears – Author of 40 Questions About Mormonism
