Chapter 14 - The Peacegiver and The Holy Secret

Hey you! Yes you, the one reading this blog posting right now. I want you to listen very carefully to what I’m about to say. You know that book you are reading right now? Yes, that classic bit of literature, or thrilling non-fiction tale, or that vampire book, or whatever it is that you are currently reading. Put it down. For just a minute. And don’t worry, you can come back to it. But I have a book that you absolutely must read now. Right now. Well, I actually have two books. But you must read at least one of them (preferably both) right this minute. They are the two books by James L. Ferrell, The Peacegiver and The Holy Secret. Put down your current book and pick up one of these. Trust me, you’ll thank me later. (If you’ve already read them both, you are off the hook…unless you want to reread them already. Which is what I recently did). These two books are fantastic little stories that will open your eyes to some absolutely beautiful aspects of the gospel. Both are very short books (around 200 pages each), but neither book is short on content, meaning, or thought-provoking depth. You could easily read through each of these books in an afternoon, but you may find yourself rereading passages, underlining sentences or paragraphs that jump out to you, or stopping to ponder specific points along the way. I found that for me, reading through one time and then going back a second time to underline key points worked well. “Well, what are these books about?” you may ask. “Get to the point already, Spence.” Okay, okay. But I’m not going to tell you much. I don’t want to spoil anything. But here are some teasers…

The Peacegiver tells the story of a man in the midst of a strained marriage who dreams of seeing his deceased grandfather, whom he greatly admires. His grandfather takes him on a journey of sorts where he is able to witness firsthand a few scriptural stories as they take place. The grandfather uses these experiences to teach him about, primarily, the atonement of Jesus Christ and how it can heal his heart, his marriage and his home. Scriptural stories that you may or may not be familiar with are brought vividly to life and used to illuminate inspiring, but often overlooked, aspects of the atonement. These stories not only demonstrate the beauty and majesty of the atonement, but they are fascinating, motivating, and inspiring.

The Holy Secret, on the other hand, tells the story of a man who has realized that he doesn’t love holy things. He faithfully attends church, is obedient to the commandments and has a testimony of the gospel. But he doesn’t have a great desire or love for holy things, namely the scriptures, the Sabbath, and the temple. The danger of his situation is made clear one Sunday at church when he hears an elderly man testify that “if we don’t love that which is holy here and now, we are not going to love that which is holy in the hereafter.” He visits this man to ask him how he came to love these things, and ends up learning lessons to last a lifetime. In a short time, the things he learns from this humble, wise man help him to heal a painful situation that completely changes his life for the better.

The thing I love about these books is that they are very readable (which isn’t always the case with “spiritual” or “doctrinal” books) and that they use very plausible stories to demonstrate the application of the atonement and the gospel. Sometimes we are content to know “what” the commandments are and “what” the atonement means, but somehow don’t get “how” the gospel applies to our specific life situations and “how” the atonement can heal us. These books give us a sense of “how.” So, do me a favor. And do yourself a favor. If you haven’t read these books, take a few hours out of your week and read these books. You’ll be glad you did. I also recommend that you Buy the Books so that you can underline key points, write comments in the margins, and go back and reread these fantastic books.