Children of the Promise Series by Dean Hughes

The elders could see nothing but smoke until they turned the corner onto the street where the fire was.  And then, both of them stopped.  "The synagogue!" Elder Thomas said.  It had never occurred to him that anyone - even the Nazis - would do such a thing.Elder Thomas got his camera out.  He snapped the shot but then heard someone say, in German, "What are you doing there?"He tucked the camera inside his coat, under his arm.  He tried to appear normal, but his heart was suddenly beating hard... moreThe elders could see nothing but smoke until they turned the corner onto the street where the fire was.  And then, both of them stopped.  "The synagogue!" Elder Thomas said.  It had never occurred to him that anyone - even the Nazis - would do such a thing.Elder Thomas got his camera out.  He snapped the shot but then heard someone say, in German, "What are you doing there?"He tucked the camera inside his coat, under his arm.  He tried to appear normal, but his heart was suddenly beating hard.  A man was crossing the narrow street and coming toward them."Making pictures?" the man asked as he walked closer.  Elder Thomas took a better look.  He saw what he feared: the black uniform with silver trim and braided hat.  Gestapo.Elder Alex Thomas wants only to teach the gospel to the people of Germany.  But it soon becomes obvious that he will never complete his mission.  War is coming, and that will affect not only Elder Thomas but also his family back home in Salt Lake City.In the family is Wally, Elder Thomas s younger brother, who usually just wants ot have a good time, but lately doesn t seem to care much about anything.  There s his sister Bobbi, who is supposed to marry Phil Clark, the most eligible bachelor in the Salt Lake Valley.  The problem is, she can t ignore her attraction to Dr. Stinson, a University of Utah professor who s not a member of the Church.  And there are Elder Thomas s parents, D. Alexander Thomas, stake president and his wife, Bea, who want their children to be true to the values and ideals they ve taught them.  But President and Sister Thomas are finding they can t just tell their children what to do anymore, and they re worried about what will happen when the United States enters a war that no one seems able to stop.In Rumors of War, the first volume of the series Children of the Promise, author Dean Hughes recreates the era of World War II in stunning detail.  But more than that, he shows how the war affects an ordinary family of Latter-day Saints.  If you re interested in Church or world history, or if you re simply looking for a powerful LDS novel, you won t want to miss Rumors of War.Children of the Promise dramatically portrays the impact of World War II on an ordinary family of Latter-day Saints who are striving, in a tumultuous time, to be true to the values and ideals they have been taught.  If you haven t yet met the Thomas family, you are in for a real delight!  Find out why tens of thousands of people have loved reading about Alex, Wally, Bobbi, Gene, and a whole supporting cast of wonderful characters who find themselves caught in the storms of war.  The new paperback edition of the bestselling epic novels is the perfect format for carrying along as well as sharing with friends.Latter-day Saints often look to Joseph Smith s time in order to understand Church history.  But Church history encompasses all that has occurred in the Church since that vital era, and each age faces its own challenges.Set in World War II, Children of the Promise is an epic series that will take you to the battlefront, to Germany, Japan, and the Philippines.  But it will also take you to the home front in the Salt Lake Valley, where an ordinary LDS family struggles to survive both physically and spiritually.This sweeping saga recreates the spirit of a time: the movies, the music, the love stories, the emotional drama of families being pulled apart - and then brought together again. less

Wally Thomas didn t know how many days and nights he had been marching up the coast of the Bataan Peninsula.  He was almost too numb to think, too full of pain.  He tried to keep a steady pace, but the guards pressured the prisoners to keep moving, forced them close together, and in their exhaustion the men stumbled and knocked each other off stride... moreWally Thomas didn t know how many days and nights he had been marching up the coast of the Bataan Peninsula.  He was almost too numb to think, too full of pain.  He tried to keep a steady pace, but the guards pressured the prisoners to keep moving, forced them close together, and in their exhaustion the men stumbled and knocked each other off stride.  When that happened, the extra effort was almost overwhelming; there were times when Wally though he would go down - and not get up - the way so many other prisoners had already done. With each day getting worse in the Bataan death march, Wally could die of hunger, exposure, or even violence.  Will his growing faith be enough to pull him through?Bobbi, now a nurse in the navy, meets a handsome young officer.  She s not sure how she feels about him, however, or whether he feels anything at all for her.Alex is in training as a paratrooper, but can he stick it out?  And even if he can, how can he bring himself to fight the German people, whom he learned to love on his mission?Even young Gene knows he ll be joining the service, but he wonders what kind of a soldier he ll make.In Since You Went Away, the second volume of the Children of the Promise series, author Dean Hughes continues his saga of the Thomas family as they struggle to survive World War II.   If you re interested in Church of world history, or if you re simply looking for a powerful LDS novel, you won t want to miss Since You Went Away.Children of the Promise dramatically portrays the impact of World War II on an ordinary family of Latter-day Saints who are striving, in a tumultuous time, to be true to the values and ideals they have been taught.  If you haven t yet met the Thomas family, you are in for a real delight!  Find out why tens of thousands of people have loved reading about Alex, Wally, Bobbi, Gene, and a whole supporting cast of wonderful characters who find themselves caught in the storms of war.  The new paperback edition of the bestselling epic novels is the perfect format for carrying along as well as sharing with friends.Latter-day Saints often look to Joseph Smith s time in order to understand Church history.  But Church history encompasses all that has occurred in the Church since that vital era, and each age faces its own challenges.Set in World War II, Children of the Promise is an epic series that will take you to the battlefront, to Germany, Japan, and the Philippines.  But it will also take you to the home front in the Salt Lake Valley, where an ordinary LDS family struggles to survive both physically and spiritually.This sweeping saga recreates the spirit of a time: the movies, the music, the love stories, the emotional drama of families being pulled apart - and then brought together again. less

"All right. Let's go." Alex saw the terror in Howie's eyes as he took off before Alex could. Howie ran hard, angling back and forth only a little, mostly just getting as far away as fast as he could. Alex was a faster runner, and he could make a few more zings and zags in his path and still keep up. For a time it all seemed unnecessary. The two were keeping away form the road, and no one else was nearby... more"All right. Let's go." Alex saw the terror in Howie's eyes as he took off before Alex could. Howie ran hard, angling back and forth only a little, mostly just getting as far away as fast as he could. Alex was a faster runner, and he could make a few more zings and zags in his path and still keep up. For a time it all seemed unnecessary. The two were keeping away form the road, and no one else was nearby. But then bullets began to thump into the plowed ground around them, and suddenly Howie went down. In Far from Home, the third volume in Dean Hughes's best-selling series, Children of the Promise, Alex Thomas is still battling the Nazi forces. He's also worried about whether or not he can preserve the lives of the men in his company, especially Howie, a particularly young and inexperienced soldier. But his biggest concern is staying alive for his new bride, Anna, in England. In Japan, Wally is still a prisoner of war. abused by his captors, he's forced to work long hours in the coal mines. Will he learn from his experience, or will it just make him bitter? Or will he even survive? In Hawaii, Bobbi is hoping for word from her boyfriend, Richard. When she learns that his ship has gone down, she wonders if he's gone down with it — and as the days pass, the odds of his survival don't look good. In Germany, Heinrich Stolz is working as a spy for British intelligence. But as much as he can, he's also looking for his missing son, Peter. When he loses his identification papers, he wonders if he can escape from Germany alive. On the home front, stake president Alexander Thomas is becoming wealthy from his weapons factory — which is actually being run by his wife, Bea. but their teenage daughter LaRue is asserting her independence more and more, and they're not sure what to do about it. They're also wondering if they'll ever be together as a family again. Far from Home is a moving, powerful novel about the effects of adversity and about the love of family members for each other. If you're interested in World War II, or if you simply enjoy a great story, you won't want to miss this third volume of Children of the Promise. This eagerly-awaited book is set in 1944 and takes the reader through the Battle of the Bulge. less

The Thomas family members face ongoing challenges in the dark years at the close of WW2. Alex's values are tested as he works to complete an intelligence assignment in Germany while wondering if he'll ever see his beloved Anna and their son again. Wally struggles to survive the torture he endures as a POW, and Bobbi has to make a difficult choice between the men in her life. Back home in Utah, LaRue and her father, President Alexander Thomas, have drawn their own battle lines.

The war is over, and the Thomas family is slowly coming back together at home in Salt Lake City. But that doesn't mean all is well in Zion.In As Long As I Have You, the final volume of the Children of the Promise series, author Dean Hughes presents a moving picture of what life was like for an ordinary LDS family at the end of World War II.