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.

Chapter 9 - The Screwtape Letters

"My dear Wormwood..." Thus begins every chapter in this delightful little book. It’s more a collection of letters, really. The letters are sent to Wormwood, a young devil, from his "affectionate" uncle Screwtape, a more experienced devil who is training his nephew in all the intricate ways of being a tempter. Like other devils, Wormwood has been assigned a "patient", a human being that he is to spend his time tempting and leading astray. Screwtape has written these letters to Wormwood giving advice on what will or won’t work in this endeavor. The book is called The Screwtape Letters and it’s written by one of the most well known Christian writers, C.S. Lewis. If you haven’t yet read any C.S. Lewis, this is a great place to start. For today’s review, I decided to simply share a few of my favorite quotes from this book. This is only a sampling as this book provides some brilliant insight and analysis on why we do what we do, and how Satan tries to get us to do what he wants. It’s really a fantastic book. I think there is an incredible amount to learn by evaluating these ideas and C.S. Lewis does a marvelous job with this task and makes some wonderful points about human behavior, the gospel, sin and temptation, and the devil's ultimate strategies to keep us from what is good. So, on to some examples (and remember, these are two devils corresponding, so when they say "Enemy" they mean God):

1. Screwtape is telling Wormwood about the ups and downs that all of us humans experience. He calls them "troughs" and "peaks" and explains how theses ups and downs teach us. After explaining to Wormwood how God sends humans His spirit to bless and guide them he says, "But He never allows this state of affairs to last long. Sooner or later He withdraws…He leaves the creature to stand up on its own legs." He continues, "It is during such trough periods, much more than peak periods, that it is growing into the sort of creature He wants it to be. He wants them to learn to walk and must therefore take away His hand; and if only the will to walk is really there He is pleased even with their stumbles." And then, Screwtape delivers a caution to Wormwood, and for us, on the other side of this story, a beautiful image: "Do not be deceived, Wormwood. Our cause is never more in danger than when a human, no longer desiring, but still intending, to do our Enemy’s [God’s] will, looks round upon a universe from which every trace of Him seems to have vanished, and asks why he has been forsaken, and still obeys." Isn’t that really the ultimate sign of faith and obedience? When all apparent evidence of God is missing, yet we still obey? Nothing must please God (or frustrate the devil) more than when our commitment to God and obedience to his laws is complete and unwavering, even in extremely difficult or trying times. It is easy to understand why Screwtape would issue such a warning to Wormwood.

2. In a lecture on the impact of "large" or "small" sins, Screwtape has this counsel to give: "You will say that these are very small sins; and doubtless, like all young tempters, you are anxious to be able to report spectacular wickedness. But do remember, the only thing that matters is the extent to which you separate the man from the Enemy [God]. It does not matter how small the sins are provided that their cumulative effect is to edge the man away from the light and out into the nothing. Murder is no better than cards if cards can do the trick. Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one – the gentle slop, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts." This paragraph reminded me of the scripture that describes how Satan "leadeth them by the neck with a flaxen cord, until he bindeth them with his strong cords forever." We must be careful and cautious to be ever diligent in the "little" things. We often hear people explain that people don’t often trip over boulders. It’s the small stones and pebbles that cause us to trip up. I love that last line from Screwtape..."without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts." Wonderful imagery.

3. Later on, Screwtape discusses the nature of ownership, namely who is the owner of our souls. In other words, do we humans own our souls, or do we belong to someone or something else? Screwtape explains, "...the joke is that the word "Mine" in its fully possessive sense cannot be uttered by a human being about anything. In the long run either Our Father [Satan] or the Enemy [God] will say "Mine" of each thing that exists, and specially of each man. They will find out in the end...to whom their time, their souls, and their bodies really belong – certainly not to them, whatever happens." In other words, we are not our own. We are either God’s or Satan’s. They would each like to claim us. Screwtape goes on to explain that while God has proper reason to call us His since He made us, Satan, on the other hand "hopes in the end to say "Mine" of all things on the more realistic and dynamic ground of conquest." Satan and his devils will try to conquer us and gain ownership of us during this battle we call life. They have no rightful claim to us, so they will take what they can by cunning, deceitfulness, and vigilant effort. I am reminded of a talk by D. Todd Christofferson where he says, "Our choice in this life is not whether we will or will not be subject to any power. We will be. Our choice is to which authority will we yield obedience: God's or Satan's?"

These are a few tidbits just to whet your appetite. This is a short book that you can read quickly, but will think about for much longer. There are some great quotes, thoughts and insights in this wonderful book. So, if you haven't read it already, I encourage you to Buy the Book!...you’re certain to enjoy it! (There is also a great boxed set of C.S. Lewis' religious books that you can check out here).

Chapter 5 - The Prophet Joseph Smith

I apologize for the month-long break. I have been busy at school/work, but am happy to report that I was successful in completing my thesis proposal on March 28th. Hooray! Next big step will be my thesis defense in 18-24 months or so, if things go as planned.

Today I decided to review some biographies of Joseph Smith that I have read. I think everyone should read at least one biography of the Prophet. He has such a fascinating life and we get so much more appreciation for what he accomplished when we learn about all he went through during his lifetime. He truly was a remarkable man! There are a lot of biographies of Joseph Smith out there, but I would like to mention three that I have read. While all three are quite different in approach and style, I enjoyed each of them in their own way.

Life of Joseph Smith the Prophetby George Q. Cannon was the first of the three that I read. George Q. Cannon was called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles at the age of 33 and was later a counselor to four church presidents – Brigham Young, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, and Lorenzo Snow. His biography is unique compared to most others in that he was a contemporary of Joseph Smith, having met the Prophet and known many of the people who were intimately involved in the early history of the church. Cannon’s biography is full of praise and admiration for Joseph Smith, and serves as a testimony-of-sorts to the divine call and work of the Prophet. Of the three biographies, Cannon’s is certainly the most biased, with a pro-church, pro-Joseph Smith stance. This, I should say, is not a bad thing; it’s just the nature of the writing style of the book. I read this book a few years ago and really enjoyed the stories and descriptions in it. It is a wonderful biography of the Prophet of the restoration.

Joseph Smith An American Prophet by John Henry Evans was the next biography I read. I don’t know anything about the author other than that John Henry…he could hammer…he could sing. Oh wait, different John Henry. So, no, I don’t know anything about the author other than that he wrote several books on church-related topics. (If anyone does know more about him, please let me know!). Besides his biography of Joseph Smith, I also have a book of his entitled One Hundred Years of Mormonism. His biography of the Prophet was printed around 1933 (I don’t have my copy with me right now to check) and had a much more ‘scientific’ style to it than Cannon’s. By scientific, I mean it was unbiased, with the facts presented clearly, and interpretation often left to the reader. I really enjoyed the style of this book and felt like I was reconfirming my faith in the prophet throughout the book, but not because of any convincing that Evans did. Rather, he presented the facts in such a way that I drew my own testimony-building conclusions throughout. I’m not sure if the style of this book will be enjoyed as much by everyone, but for me and my scientific mind it was a delight to read.

Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling by Richard Bushman was the last biography of the Prophet that I read. Bushman is an emeritus professor of Columbia University and a patriarch in the church. He wrote one early biography of Joseph Smith called Joseph Smith and the Beginnings of Mormonism but Rough Stone Rolling is a more complete, full account. This book is fairly new, having come out at the end of 2005. The subtitle of this book is “a cultural biography of Mormonism’s founder,” which is a good description of what the book seeks to accomplish. The book tells all about the life of Joseph Smith but also presents the historical and cultural context in which he lived. By providing a more complete picture of the people, places and ideas that surrounded him, Bushman is better able to help us understand events in the Prophet’s life. I really enjoyed learning more about the cultural environment of the early 1800s and I think it does give significant insight to understanding Joseph Smith and what he did. Another thing I really enjoyed about this book is that no stone is left unturned. Bushman doesn’t hide or shy away from any of the ‘controversial’ or complicated aspects of Joseph Smith or the early Church. Rather, he discusses these topics but then gives his interpretation or understanding, which always seemed to strengthen my view of the topic. I read somewhere that Bushman said he wanted to present Joseph Smith as he was, “warts and all.” But he does so in a very intelligent, positive way. (If you happen to like this book, you should also check out David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism by Gregory Prince and Robert Wright, a fascinating biography of David O. McKay that I’ll review sometime in the future).

So, in conclusion, there are some great biographies out there on the life of the Prophet Joseph Smith. I have given a few comments on three of these, all of which were quite different in style, but all very enjoyable to read. I would highly recommend any of these three to anyone. If you’re interested in reading one, I would suggest picking the one that seems to match your style most. Whether you pick one of these three or not, if you haven’t yet read a biography of the Prophet Joseph Smith, I would highly recommend you Buy the book!

At this point, I should mention that I am far from being an expert on Joseph Smith or Church history and many of you are much more knowledgeable than me. I would love to hear feedback or comments from any of you who would like to add to my thoughts on these three biographies. (Especially you Ben Pykles, who worked with Bushman and who’s work is referenced in Rough Stone Rolling!). AND, if any of you have read other biographies of Joseph Smith, please write up a short summary/review that I can post on the blog for others to read. It would be most appreciated and would be really great to have reviews of additional biographies.

(If you are looking for earlier copies of either of the first two books, I recommend Eborn Books or Benchmark Books in SLC.)