Worth the Wrestle by Sheri Dew

 I bought this classic for a dollar at the Santa Clara branch of the St. George Library. It is under a hundred pages, and I remember everyone raving about it when it came out. I hoped it would light me up.

There are very good parts. It's sound doctrine, of course. But...it did not light me up. Maybe because it's old? 2017 is a long time ago. The stories are good. The illustrations didn't have a lot of connection with the content which was a little odd. I found it very hard to finish and to stay focused. I'm just not in the mood for this type of preaching, I guess. 

And, maybe I just need to wrestle? Maybe the proof is in the pudding!

Peace Like a River by Leif Enger

I loved this book. The story is beautifully told and the characters are intriguing. The story is told from a boy's point of view and his family is fascinating. His sister is a gifted poet and their relationship is a wonder to behold. The faith of their father is lyrically described and observed. It's such a beautiful read and somehow not preachy or overly religious. I liked it so well, I immediately ordered another one of his books. I hope I like it half as much.

The setting of the Badlands in North Dakota is also a fascinating part of the story. I need to research and see if the hot spots described are real or fiction!

Navigating Mormon Faith Crisis - A Simple Developmental Map by Thomas Wirthlin McConkie

This title is rather off-putting. I probably would have never bought this book if I hadn't heard the author interviewed by Jody Moore, a life coach. She interviewed him on her free podcast, "Better Than Happy" and he was fascinating to listen to. His basic premise is that adults continue to develop along a trajectory in a similar way that children do. Yet in our culture, we often consider adults as a group as "done," developmentally. And this book relates a lot of adult developmental research to adults who are religious and at times become questioners or strugglers in their faith journey. He calls this absolutely normal and gives a framework for development that is reasonable and reassuring.

McConkie himself left the LDS church for twenty years before returning with a new perspective. He has a wide view of the world and beyond that is very appealing to me and very inclusive. He chooses words carefully and respectfully. Here are some quotes that particularly resonated with me...

Page 15 - "We might redraw the cultural maps of Mormonism proper in order to allow different kinds of faith to flourish."

Page 33 - "A central premise in the study of adult development is that meaning making is an essential function of all human beings. The patterns we draw on to make meaning evolve over time in sequential and hierarchical unfolding. Put simply, meaning develops through stages."

Page 108 - "If properly recognized and assimilated, doubt can become an indispensable nutrient for a more robust faith."

Page 124 - "With an understanding that each stage of development comes with its strengths and challenges, its healthy and unhealthy manifestations, church leaders have an opportunity to recognize and reinforce the healthy aspects."

He names the 5 stages of Adult Development; from "highest" to "lowest" in this way:

• Strategist - essence: integrate
• Individualist - essence: include
• Achiever - essence: choose
• Expert - essence: defend
• Diplomat - essence: obey

We do not develop through all stages; they are not linear.  He writes a chapter describing the strengths and challenges of each stage. He also relates each stage to what he calls the "faith-doubt polarity" which is an intriguing way to think about each stage's manifestation of questioning. A fascinating way to organize complex information.

He cautions: (page 142) - "The names for the stages, the categories, the whole theory--it's all just a map. It's distinct from the actual landscape--from who we are. And yet a good map can help us get where we're going. We need good maps."

I find this all reassuring. I feel validated that my view is sometimes large and sometimes small...And that my tension in some situations where members' word choices reflect very narrow thinking is entirely normal. I don't need to judge, just reassure myself that there is room for all. As McConkie puts it: "It's beautiful to me that any stage can serve as a healthy and vibrant station." page 146

He writes on page 148: "...a faith crisis may simply be a developmental shift unrecognized, unsupported."

And I love this, from 149 -- "Development shows us that establishing Zion isn't simply a matter of converting others to our way of seeing so much as more deeply converting ourselves to seeing more of the Whole." WOW! Just wow. My kind of thinking and believing.

The Crucible of Doubt by Terryl Givens and Fiona Givens

This is an amazing book that came to me at precisely the right time. My wonderful friend (and LDS counselor) Trish prepared a presentation for us Stake Welfare Specialists to adapt and use in our Stake on dealing with questions of faith and doubt. She based much of her presentation on another book, Planted (by Mason), and as I considered buying it, I kept reading reviews that referred to this Givens book that intrigued me. I eventually ordered both of them, but it's this one, the Givens' book, that I return to again and again.

Essentially, this book opened up my view to the breadth and depth of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. My view was limited by my lack of knowledge and history and probably other things as well! I am not a particularly deep or disciplined thinker. These authors opened up my thinking and helped me throw off chains that were holding me back! And they do it in such a faith-promoting and wonderful way...

I suggested to our great friend Levi that he read it, and we spent a rich Sunday afternoon discussing it among the four of us -- his wife, and Len. We all came away uplifted and revived by the ideas and the discussion as we sampled some of our favorite parts and discussed them. He said, "This book changed my life!"

I lent it to my deep friend Christy, and she graciously underlined her favorite parts...but we haven't had a chance to discuss it together yet. She underlined some amazing passages that I missed, so I'm looking forward to a walk and talk with her.

I read an excerpt to my friend Ramona, who promptly asked me to copy it into her hospital log so she could share it with her family. I have read enough of it to Leonard that he has become a big advocate as well! We have realized our study of church history has been too shallow. This book helps us uncover how we could more faithfully and appropriately move forward.