Almighty

If you are looking for an easy-to-read book about Heavenly Father and your relationship to Him, look no further than the book Almighty by David Butler. This book, written primarily to a teen audience, is simple to read, but full of an engaging writing style. Fun doodles fill the book, giving the reader the feeling that this is meant to be read as a friendly conversation.

The author talks about lessons he has learned. For example, once while serving as a missionary a man he was teaching asked why God sent us to earth. If our whole purpose is to make it back to live with Him someday again, why did He ever make us leave in the first place? This stumped the author. He imagined a parent driving his young children to a park in another state, dropping them off, and then telling them he'll be waiting back at home for them. This doesn't sound like a loving father!

After a lot of study and reflection, he realized this isn't the way it was at all. It is more similar to someone being sent off to a prestigious university. The parents cheer for the student. They know it will be hard, full of stressful days and sleepless nights, living on hardly anything, dealing with tough assignments and professors and more. But the parents know how much the experience will enrich their child's life. That is more how Heavenly Father thinks of our mortal journey.

There is a lot about the book I could talk about, but I will just touch on one more thing. The author relabels the parable of the Prodigal Son to be the parable of the Prodigal Father (he also points out Jesus didn't give most of His parables titles--other people did). I always thought the word "prodigal" meant wasteful, but it literally means "spending money or resources freely and recklessly" or "having or giving something on a lavish scale."

Yes, the son in the parable is prodigal. He demands his inheritance early (something that would have been highly offensive), and then wastes it all rapidly in riotous living. That is why we always think he is the prodigal. But then notice what the father does when the son returns home.

The father is watching for him. He runs up to him, falls on his neck and kisses him--all before the son even tries to make an apology. When the son does try to apologize, the father calls for his servants to put a robe upon him and put a ring on his finger. He kills the fatted calf--something that would have only been done on the most special of occasions (a daughter's engagement party didn't even necessarily warrant the fatted calf). He throws a party. Doesn't this treatment of the wayward son seem prodigal?

But that is how our Heavenly Father is. He is just. He expects a lot from us. But He is so merciful and so eager to shower blessings upon us. We deserve so little because we are all so imperfect in our obedience to Him. But He loves us so much that He blesses us with far more than what we could ever deserve, or ever hope to earn.

This book is great for people working on building their testimony of God, but really, it's a great book for anybody.

Because of the Messiah in a Manger

I love Brad Wilcox. I love the person he is, and I love what he writes. According to one of my fellow managers, Because of the Messiah in a Manger is the author's favorite of all the books he's written so far. Knowing this beforehand, I was eager to dive in and see what he had to share.

First, I think I need to talk about the author's humor. Anybody who has heard Brad speak knows he has a great sense of humor. He is candid about his own faults and weaknesses, but he writes about them in a way that is not demeaning to himself, but rather humorous. I think my favorite story he told was a time he got on a line at the last minute, full of packages for Christmas. He happened to sit down next to Gene R. Cook of the Seventy. He informed Brad he had passed right by the prophet, who was sitting up front. Brad's reaction was concern that he had probably whacked the prophet with his many bags. Just read the book. The way he tells it is hysterical.

But the best part of this book were the messages that Brad shares regarding parts of the Christmas story, or symbols of Christmas. For example, he talks about Christmas trees, and how they remind him of four other trees important to the Savior's mission: the trees of the Garden of Eden, the trees in the Garden of Gethsemane, the cross, and the trees in the Sacred Grove.

Another thought he shared that I found really interesting was the star that the wisemen followed to find the Christ Child. The sign of a star does not appear anywhere in the Old Testament, and yet the wisemen clearly understood this to be a sign of the Savior's birth. This alone proves there is more scripture than what is in the Bible. We don't know who these wisemen were, but we know they had access to scriptures which are not available to us.

 I enjoyed every chapter of this book, and it is rightfully selling out quickly. I'm grateful that the author was willing to share so many personal experiences and insights. This book can only enrich a person's Christmas.

The Gateway We Call Death

Having read several books about death and the spirit world, I wasn't actively looking for another book on the subject to read. But The Gateway We Call Death was available and is by the current prophet, so I thought I ought to read it. I am so grateful I did! I wonderful feeling accompanies this book. Russell M. Nelson was an apostle when he wrote this book, but he also had decades of experience as a surgeon. Using these two important aspects of his life, he was able to share some wonderful insights and truths.

First he talks about the purposes of life, death, and mourning. He talks about the difference between healthy mourning, which is ordained of God, and unhealthy mourning. The example he used was comparing it to the bounds in sports games. If there were no boundaries in a sports game, the game would get out of hand, confusing, and hard to follow. Likewise, we need to set boundaries on our mourning. Although mourning is therapeutic, it can become toxic if left unchecked, much like helpful medicines become fatal when overdosed.

He then talks about the different ages that people may die, such as young children, young adults and teenagers, and adults. He boldly talks about Euthanasia and strongly condemns it, supporting the Church's position on the subject wholeheartedly. His exact wording on the subject is, "I mention it here only to condemn it."

But my absolute favorite chapter was chapter 10: The Veil is Sometimes Thin. At the beginning of the chapter, President Nelson declares that there is communication between this world and the next. He also states that prophets and apostles treat these communications as sacred and rarely speak open about them. That being said, we do have some published experiences, which he then proceeds to share.

One of them was new to me. While accompanying Hugh B. Brown to the dedication of the Washington D.C. temple, one morning President Brown informed President Nelson that he had been visited the night before by Harold B. Lee, the previous prophet who had passed away a year earlier. He described it as a glorious visit, and was able to later share it with President Lee's wife.

Although not included in this book, there is another account from President Nelson that he shared once in General Conference. He told of operating on two young sisters in the early days of his career. Despite his best efforts to save them, both girls died. Embittered, their family stopped attending church. Recently, just a couple years ago, President Nelson awoke in the night. He felt a spiritual presence in the room, and discovered it was these two girls. They wanted him to know they were not sealed to their parents and asked for his help.

President Nelson found the girls' father (their mother had already passed away). He shared with the father the message from his daughters. He helped the father return to church, along with his son. He was present for the vicarious sealings of the father to his wife, and then of the girls to their parents.

Truly, President Nelson knows of these sacred communications from the other side of the veil.

I am glad I got to read this book, despite it not being originally on my reading list. It was worth my time. I felt the Spirit several times throughout the book. I felt closer to my Heavenly Father and more gratitude for his plan. This, again, will be a book I keep on my shelf.

Slave Stealers

I am a fan of Tim Ballard's work and his past books. The Lincoln Hypothesis was probably my favorite book I read that year. So when I found out he was coming out with a new book called Slave Stealers, I knew I had to read it as well. This book was intense, gut-wrenching, and inspiring all at once.

Timothy Ballard, in case you don't know, is the founder of O.U.R. (Operation Underground Railroad). He has dedicated his life to freeing modern-day slaves from human and sex trafficking. I got to read a little about his experiences in his other books, but this new book dives even deeper into the material. He talks about how he got started as a CIA agent assigned to a new division to fight human trafficking. It was torment to him. As he had to examine evidence of children the same age as his own children being abused, molested, etc. it made him sick to his stomach to the point where he would be dry heaving into his trash can at work. He had to learn to create an emotional barrier in order to pursue this line of work.

But all that changed when he met Guesno Mardy. Guesno's three-year-old son was kidnapped taken to a false orphanage that was really in the business of human trafficking. Tim Ballard met with Guesno and during their conversation, Guesno asked him, "Could you get in bed and sleep at night, knowing one of your children's beds was empty?" Here was Guesno, asking Tim Ballard to tear down that emotional barrier--to make the mission personal. And to his credit, Ballard did just that.

Unfortunately, the author soon learned that there was no angle he could use to get involved with the case. As a government agent, he could only get involved if an American citizen were involved, but no matter how hard he tried, he could not make a connection. There was only one thing to do: quit his secure job and paycheck, and start his own organization. Thus was born Operation Underground Railroad.

The book continues with gripping accounts of the search for Gardy, Guesno's son, and the rescue of dozens of children as a result of that search. The book exposes some of the darkest and most heinous crimes happening in our day, even at this very minute. These dark and heinous crimes have centuries-old roots in the evil of slavery.

Told along side this story is the true story of Harriet Jacobs, a black slave in Edenton, North Carolina in the 1800's. Much is learned from the courage and sacrifice of Harriet to escape slavery and secure freedom. But her escape and freedom would have been impossible were it not for the many people, even white people, who stood against the evil of slavery and made many sacrifices of their own to help her. Her history is not just an inspirational story; it is a pattern that we need to follow in order to work together to eradicate slavery in our own day.

Tim Ballard will be the first to say that he is not the hero. He will point to others like Guesno Mardy, Harriet Jacobs, and many others. But to me, he is a hero--a real hero! I was privileged to listen to the audio book, read by Tim Ballard. His passion could not be mistaken. His passion has moved me to make a difference as well. I don't need to go into the darkest infernal pits that exist in our society, but I do need to serve. I need to love. I need to set aside petty differences, disagreements, prejudice, and more. This is something everybody can do. And working together in this way is what will change the world.

The Blueprint of Christ's Church

My first exposure to Tad R. Callister was his book The Infinite Atonement, which is probably the best book on the atonement I had ever read. Because I loved that book so much, I am embarrassed to say that I just now finished his book The Blueprint of Christ's Church. I am glad I finally read it, though.

The main premise of the book is that Christ's church in New Testament times serves as a blueprint to help the modern-day seeker of truth identify the true church today. Any alteration to these blueprints needs to come by revelation. We see this happen in the New Testament itself. One such example is the Savior's instruction to His disciples to only preach the Gospel to the children of Israel, followed by a later revelation to Peter to take the Gospel to the gentiles as well.

Callister focuses on organization and doctrine to lay out a blueprint for Christ's church, then carefully demonstrates how the only church that follows this blueprint is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Towards the end of the book, he tells of an experience where he was talking with someone who was considering leaving the church because of some issues he had with its history. The author asked him if he believed in a pre-mortal life, in three degrees of glory, in salvation for the dead, and many more things. The man declared that he did believe all these things firmly. The author then explained that the only church that teaches all these doctrines is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Was he willing to give all that up because of some issues he had with the Church's history?

Callister not only opens the scriptures to highlight key doctrines of the Church of Jesus Christ, but he also provides many examples from the first century or two of Christianity from surviving records. These records sometimes reinforce doctrines unique to the restored Church of Jesus Christ, and at other times they provide insight to the beginning of false doctrines prevalent in other churches today. It was so neat to me to be able to learn from these additional witnesses.

One of my favorite quotes in the whole book comes from the chapter on faith. He says, "Every time we are negative, it is like throwing water on the fire of faith; every time we are positive, it is like adding fuel to the flames of faith. Negativism is Satan's tool; optimism is God's" (page 135).

I borrowed this book from our store library, but I liked it so much that I will be purchasing my own copy to have in my personal library.

1-2-3 Magic for Christian Parents

This is my first time reviewing a parenting book, and that thought is a little weird to me. Welcome to adulthood, I guess. Amy found this book at the library and then eventually bought her own copy. After she finished reading it, she asked me to read it as well. It was really well written and taught some great principles that both Amy and I have begun to put in practice.

1-2-3 Magic for Christian Parents is written by Thomas W. Phelan and Chris Webb. It is an expanded idea on an original book by Phelan, but tailored for a Christian audience. I found some humor in this, because a few times the authors say something to the effect of, "It isn't really magic. It just seems like magic because it works." It made me laugh each time because it was almost as if they were worried some people would think the book contained witchcraft or something. There is definitely none of that in this book.

The main principle behind 1-2-3 Magic is that when children exhibit some sort of undesirable behavior, you count them. When they do it three times, they are told to "take five" and they go to timeout. But more than just counting, the crucial part of this is for the parent to do no other talking and to show no emotion. This removes all the fuel for a child who is misbehaving in order to get attention.

But counting is only for stopping behaviors and it should not be used for children who need to start good behaviors. Other methods should be used instead. One such method is getting a child to start doing their chores. If they don't, then they need to pay you to do it. This can be through allowance, time spent with electronics, toys, friends, etc. But this is just one of many ideas to help children start good behaviors.

That being said, counting and starting good behaviors are not the only parts of parenting. An essential part of that is to also provide one-on-one time with each children and create positive moments with them. These moments are crucial for healthy relationships with the children.

Most of the advice in the book was really good. Some of it, not so much. The part that made both me and Amy laugh was the suggestion to just not take small children to church because they are too young to behave. As tempting as that might be some weeks, we know that is not the right choice. But overall this book was very helpful, and I think it is safe to say that I will be referring to it many times throughout the next several years.

Dragonwatch: Wrath of the Dragon King

I have enjoyed Brandon Mull's Fablehaven series for many years now. Book two, Rise of the Evening Star, is the book that really hooked me into the series, especially with the cliffhanger ending (read it, if you haven't yet). His new series takes place less than a year after the end of Fablehaven, and it is always so much fun to jump back into that world. That is why I was excited for the release of the second book in his new series: Dragonwatch: Wrath of the Dragon King.

It's always hard to write about a fictional book, because I don't want to give away anything in case the reader of this blog wants to read the book for themselves. So, with that being said, I will try not to spoil anything too important, but I can't help but discuss certain parts of the book.

Both Kendra and Seth seem to have matured in this book, even more than the last book. Seth was much less willing to do brash and foolish things, even when tempted by a dark creature at one point. I thought it was fun with one part of the book where the brother and sister had to be without their special powers for a certain time.

I loved the way that Brandon Mull built up suspense about Stormguard Castle. At first it was just casually mentioned, but already as a reader I wanted to learn more about it. Then it kept coming up again and again, building more suspense each time. Finally, it became a crucial part of the plot line, and I loved every minute of it!

The pacing of this book was very fast! All of the events in it take place in about two days. Because of that, there weren't really any slow parts, and yet so many of the characters were still very well developed. That being said, there were a few times where I felt like things were rushed a little too quickly, especially scenes involving the cousins Knox and Tess. I have no trouble accepting magic, dragons, fairies, etc. But the reaction and treatment of these two children seemed a little unrealistic regarding the circumstances of the book.

As I neared the end of the book, I couldn't believe I had so few pages left, and yet so much more than I felt still needed to happen! And then it happened--Brandon Mull gave the cliffhanger of all cliffhangers! Obviously I can't tell you what it is, but I did NOT see it coming! It was extremely well done. The only problem? I probably have to wait an entire year for the next book! Hats off to the author for making me care this much, and making me so invested in the story!

I definitely recommend this book and this series. I'm glad Brandon Mull decided to return to the Fablehaven world. I am looking forward to the next three books!