There is always a space between the ideal as taught by the gospel and where we are now. Some are more painfully aware of this gap than others. But it is in this space where grace operates.
Book review: “Legacies of Jesus” by Lowell Bennion
"Ye have omitted the weightier matters of the law." In less than 70 pages, Bennion beautifully highlights Christ's divine mission and his commandment to love God and neighbor.
Book review: “The Unknown Testament” by Lowell Bennion
What I would give to have a Sunday School lesson taught by Lowell Bennion. Bennion refers to the OT as "the least known and least understood of the standard works of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints", and this is his attempt to help address that. My favorite part: the prophets' insistence on justice for the marginalized: "relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow."
Book review: “Holy Envy: Finding God in the Faith of Others”
What if the faith of others isn't a challenge to the legitimacy of your own, but an invitation for you to be a better Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, etc? In this wonderful book, Barbara Brown outlines how her faith has changed since stepping down from being an Episcopal priest to teach a world religions course.
The holy envy of Krister Stendahl and the Latter-Day Saint temple
Krister Stendahl, the former Lutheran bishop of Stockholm, Sweden performed an act of such grace to Latter-Day Saints during the dedication of the Stockholm temple. I think Latter-Day Saints could learn a lot in our approach to those from other faiths, and I would hope could also find moments of holy envy in our own lives.
Book review: Abraham Heschel’s “The Sabbath”
Lewis and Chesterton were both authors that helped me realize that my own religious tradition doesn't have a monopoly on truth. Abraham Heschel (and Rabbi Jonathan Sacks) has helped me expand that sphere a little further into the Jewish tradition as well (if you have any recommendations from other faith traditions, please let me know).... Continue Reading →
Book review: “The Viper on the Hearth” by Terryl Givens
My proposed alternate titles: When Mormons Got Their Horns What Religion Are You So I Can Hate On You Correctly Before Fake News: The Penny Press and Portrayals of Mormonism
Book review: “If Truth were a Child” by George Handley
If I took anything away from this book, it is that turning paradoxes into an either/or is an over-simplification that can have dire spiritual consequences. Trying to retain the mystery of paradox isn't to be lukewarm (neither hot nor cold, as the book of Revelation says), as some may accuse. On the contrary, picking a side is the easy way out, and is morally lazy.
Book review: Huntsman’s “Becoming the Beloved Disciple”
According to Huntsman, the gospel of John was designed to read yourself into the text. The Samaritan woman at the well, Nicodemus coming to the Lord in the night, Thomas's doubts-- all were meant to highlight the different routes we take coming to Christ.
Book review: Irenaeus’s “Against Heresies”
Irenaeus is the early Church's head of the correlation department. He wrote Against Heresies as an attempt to checkmate an early Christian heresy, Gnosticism, that put God as one of a long chain of gods (sound familiar?) and considered material existence evil.
