Letters to a Young Mormon

I picked up the second edition of Letters to a Young Mormon by Adam S. Miller after hearing a lot of good things about his other book, An Early Resurrection. It is an interesting book with an interesting format. Each chapter is on a different topic, and is written in a letter format. There were some things I really enjoyed, and others that just seemed off to me, mostly in the analogies and metaphors used.

Right in the first chapter, Miller makes this point: "You are a pioneer. Life has never been lived before in your body." I really liked that thought! The second chapter especially resonated with me. He talks about work and how we sometimes try to earn the love of others through our work. He teaches that love works only as a gift, and never as a reward. He says, "If you try to secure God's love through your excellence, then, no matter how excellent your work, you will fail." But if we accept love as a gift, rather than trying to earn it, we will be able to enjoy the love more fully, and we will be able to enjoy work for the sake of the work.

The chapter on history also had some great points, talking about the danger of wishing we could live in the "good old days." There is no such thing. Every period in history has its problems. In the book of Helaman, Nephi cries from atop his tower how he wishes he lived back in the time of Father Lehi and Nephi, when the people were quick to obey the voice of the Lord. Miller points out that really wasn't the case, but the past had been romanticized. All of us do it. It is better to learn from history and actually live in the present.

His chapter on stewardship talked about how interconnected we all are, and we cannot live our lives thinking we are an island. Even our breath is dependent on other elements around us, and those elements are dependent on us.  To be stewards, we need to realize how interconnected everything and everybody is. We truly all need each other.

While divided into two chapters, he teaches similar principles regarding hunger and sex (which is also a type of hunger). We should not curse our hunger, but we should always not let it control us. He teaches that instead of gorging ourselves, we should eat like we want to eat again, not as if it is our last meal. It is something to be learned. He likewise suggests that chastity is not something we are born with, it is something we must learn. To be chaste is not to be innocent, but it means to have learned to control bodily appetites. In learning to control our hunger, sex drive, etc., we are likely to make mistakes. He reminds us that God knows exactly what it is like (and is perhaps a reason why Jesus was asked to fast for 40 days--to truly understand the power of physical hunger). God wants to help us, not damn us.

Although not every analogy and teaching resonated with me, many others did and I loved Miller's perspective on the many topics he addressed. I am glad I read this book. It gave me a lot of food for thought, but also inspired me to action. To me, that is the mark of a good book.