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truliec's review against another edition
5.0
This book might have been intended mainly for a youth audience, but I loved it as a 30- something woman. The truths he talks about aren't new to me, but he presents them in a beautiful way that helped remind me of what I believe and to think about it in a deeper way.
dillanmissyhart's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this one. I think I need to get a physical copy so my teens can read it. It's not deep doctrine but is a sweet reminder that we have a Heavenly Father who loves us.
bethgiven's review against another edition
4.0
This short book, geared toward teens, was an inspiring read for me as an adult. Sometimes we need reminding of the essential truths of the gospel, and this book does that in a readable, conversational way. Looking forward to reading the others in the series.
alaciamaloy's review against another edition
5.0
This is a quick, sweet read about our Father in Heaven. It has some great stories and includes some activities that you can do directly in the book. I have so many highlights and notes on each page, and was brought to tears many times. I loved this book and think it would make the perfect gift!
tpaulschulte's review against another edition
5.0
David Butler is such a wonder. This book is the companion to Redeemer and there are a few stories that are repeated , but it doesn't detract from how good this book is. Butler writes with a carefree and whimsical style even when dealing with weighty subjects.
Just a joy to read.
Just a joy to read.
lakasmoose's review
I’m reading this book with a friend and so I want to write out my thoughts as I’m reading so when we talk about it I have all my thoughts in one place.
So, ummm, don’t mind me... just journaling on Goodreads :/
‘If you had ten seconds to say just one statement about what you believe, what would it be? There is not a wrong answer to that question. You believe whatever you choose to believe. There are, however, some truths that are more important than other truths. Wouldn’t you agree?’
There’s no wrong answer... although there is. Because ‘some truths are more important than others.’ Hmmm.
I don’t feel we should be told, in a way, to memorize a list of beliefs... the most important to the least... just so we can tell people. Instead, I feel we should know and live what we believe so, if we are ever asked, we have an answer. An answer we can express with confidence because we know it to be true. A belief we truly believe and live by.
‘[God] has many names and titles. Each of them teaches us something about who He is and His relationship to us.’
How I choose to speak to Him, what name I choose to use, can show me the kind of relationship I currently have with Him. Do I feel connected? Do I feel seen? Do I feel provided for? Do I feel abandoned? Do I feel respect? Do I feel obligation?
‘... the word thy shows us that He is not just a God, but He is your God. You have claim on each other.’
‘He is the source of all strength, wisdom, goodness, and love that can be found in any person, place, or thing in all of existence.’
‘Somehow, the Spirit has a way to ease the homesickness we all have for heaven...’
I feel homesick for heaven... Every. Single. Day. I miss the relationships I had. The people I loved and who I knew loved me in return. My Heavenly Mother. Speaking; actually speaking to my Heavenly Father and hearing Him speak back to me. I miss His voice. I miss every single feeling that I don’t feel here... love, happiness, joy, acceptance, trust, companionship... all things my soul craves to an extent that isn’t capable for me here on Earth to experience. It’s like a giant void. Earth, and what it is capable of giving me, is not enough. It’s not what my spirit... what I... am used to. My heart hurts and I feel exhausted by the enormity of emotions I’m not used to feeling... then add on the enormous lack of the ones I did have and desperately need but can’t seem to be blessed to experience.
‘Our Heavenly Father did not just want us to live with Him; He wanted us to live like Him.’
Honestly, I’m all for the former at this point in time. Hahaha...
‘Wait a minute,’ he said. ‘Did you just tell me I lived with God before I was born?’ ‘Yes!’ I answered enthusiastically. ‘And I was happy there?’ he clarified. ‘Absolutely,’ I said back. ‘And you just said that while we are on earth, we are trying to return to live with God again?’ he asked as a follow-up question. ‘Yes, sir,’ I beamed back. ‘Well,’ he said with some hesitancy, ‘if we already lived with God and were happy, then why would God send us away just to see if we could make it back? I mean, if we were already happy and with God, why even have this middle circle at all? Why come to earth?’
Amen. Although, I do get it. But still, Amen.
‘The most sacred of all our divine powers is to become a co-creator with Heavenly Father in providing physical bodies for His spirit sons and daughters and in establishing a righteous and Christ-centered family. Nothing is more holy; nothing deserves more reverence; nothing is more central to the plan of happiness.
- David A Bednar
Why isn’t becoming a righteous and Christlike individual holy, reverent, and central to the plan of happiness? Why do I have to be married and having children? I don’t know how I feel about statements like this because it makes those who aren’t able to achieve this standard less than... and that doesn’t come from God. Okay, so it makes me feel less than. Sorry for throwing others in the mix. Who knows, maybe others don’t mind at all. But why not focus on what we have been told is the most important thing we could be doing by God Himself... to love God and to love others?
‘There are [some] who treat their bodies with disrespect. This happens when we forget that our bodies were a gift...’
Actually, there are many different reasons why our bodies are treated the way they are. Some of them are for reasons not of our own choosing. Some because of trauma. Some because we weren’t taught how to deal with our emotions in a healthy way. Some because... we live in a fallen world and life is hard. It isn’t our job to judge why individuals treat their bodies the way they do, or the way we think they should, or make statements like this that can cause individuals to experience extreme shame or guilt as they are figuring it out... because those emotions tend to push people away rather than bring them closer to their Heavenly Father. We are in charge of our own bodies, no one else’s, and we need to be compassionate with ourselves and others as we all try to learn about our bodies and work through our own individual struggles, addictions, trauma, and issues.
‘[Adam and Eve] did not have the choice to be good [in the Garden of Eden] because there was no chance to be bad. [They] were just in neutral.’
Neutral. I wonder... about my life before I chose to come to Earth. Was it also a neutral existence?
‘God will not force us to be righteous, love Him, return to Him, or become like Him. We must choose it for ourselves... It would not be true agency if God stopped us from making wrong choices—even though those choices can cause negative consequences in our lives and the lives of others.’
I find it so interesting... hypocritical maybe... when Christians teach this doctrinal truth and then try to force other people to make a choice according to their own standard of what they believe right and wrong to be. If God will not force us to do anything, then why do we feel the need to force other people to live and be a certain way? I’m thinking of those within the LGBTQ+ community, those who for whatever reason choose to have an abortion, those within our prison/jail system that we refuse the opportunity for change or give them a chance to reintegrate back into society... We don’t offer acceptance, compassion, and forgiveness very readily anymore. Instead it feels as though we judge, demean, humiliate, and fight those who chose differently from us... and try to make them live what we believe is best. That’s not what we are meant to do. We are meant to choose, let others choose, and try our very best to love God and love those around us. Hopefully, if we live in such a way, others may see the Light of Christ within us and come to learn of Jesus Christ for themselves.
‘If someone decides to drink and drive and gets into a car accident, that was not God’s fault (even though sometimes God gets blamed for our bad choices). It was the fault of the person who decided to drink and drive. That decision will distance a person from God...’
There’s this other book I’m reading called Altogether You by Jenna Riemersma, and in it she says, ‘... God is way bigger than sin, than evil, than wickedness. Not only can He stand in the presence of it, He even supersedes it. He is present always - the divine quality of omnipresence - even when it doesn’t seem like He is.’
I love how she states that God is bigger than the choices we make that aren’t in line with our divine self, because this life is full of them, and that He is able to stand in the midst of all our ugliness and sin and bad decisions because He is God, He loves us, and He has promised that He will never leave us alone. Although we may feel distanced from Him, we aren’t. He has told us so Himself.
So, the last sentence about our bad decisions distancing us from God... that leaves me feeling hopeless. And that’s not a feeling that comes from God. Whereas knowing that He is with me throughout it all... before I make a bad choice, in the middle of making a bad choice, as I work through the consequences of that choice, and as I try to learn and grow and change because of what I’ve chosen... gives me hope. It shows me that He is with me because He is God and He loves me. It may feel like we are distanced... but we’re not. He is with me and helping me throughout it all.
‘The ability to choose is more important than the pain it causes when people choose badly. ‘
The ability to choose is more important. This statement makes me feel uncomfortable... and I’m grateful for that feeling as it makes me look deeper to figure out why.
I feel that so many people have this statement reversed in their mind. So many individuals feel that people are choosing badly (and they are) and that we need to implement laws to stop people from making those bad choices when we ourselves aren’t even able to make just laws, follow them, and uphold them. And then we unjustly punish people without fully knowing. We unjustly punish people because they don’t have the same beliefs. We are trying so desperately to be in charge and we are failing... because that was never our role. We need to remember that every single person’s ability to choose is more important than the pain that person causes when they choose badly.
‘When the lady of justice gives her punishment to balance out the scales, she does it only based on the crime, not on the person. Justice does not care what you look like, how you are dressed, how much money you have, or who your friends are. Punishments balance out the crimes for everyone.’
If only this were true.
‘Sometimes we may look at others and make assumptions about why God is blessing them in the way that He is. We assume He is unfair or picking favorites, when in reality, we just do not know the whole story.’
Always remember that we never know the whole story.
‘Is there a commandment you can promise to always obey to show God your love?’
I wish we could teach doctrine differently than we do. I wish we would explain how it’s okay to make mistakes, and then teach, without shaming, what repentance really looks like and how it can change a person.
No matter how hard we try, we are going to make mistakes; some more serious than others. And if we make promises like the question above asks us to... I feel that when we do mess up we will be filled with guilt, shame, misery, and hate for what we weren’t able to do. Especially when we made a promise to God to always do it. Whatever we decide to do, whatever promises we decide to make, God is going to love us and be happy that we are trying. I also feel that He is equally impressed with our ability to ask for forgiveness when we make a mistake. Because mistakes are going to happen. All. The. Time. No one is immune. If we can choose to be kind to ourselves as we make mistakes and fail and break promises... all while acknowledging what has happened, asking for forgiveness and help, and then trying and trying and trying again... we will be in a better place. We will be able to understand that life is about learning and growing, loving God and others, and progressing. It’s not about keeping a list of promises.
So, ummm, don’t mind me... just journaling on Goodreads :/
‘If you had ten seconds to say just one statement about what you believe, what would it be? There is not a wrong answer to that question. You believe whatever you choose to believe. There are, however, some truths that are more important than other truths. Wouldn’t you agree?’
There’s no wrong answer... although there is. Because ‘some truths are more important than others.’ Hmmm.
I don’t feel we should be told, in a way, to memorize a list of beliefs... the most important to the least... just so we can tell people. Instead, I feel we should know and live what we believe so, if we are ever asked, we have an answer. An answer we can express with confidence because we know it to be true. A belief we truly believe and live by.
‘[God] has many names and titles. Each of them teaches us something about who He is and His relationship to us.’
How I choose to speak to Him, what name I choose to use, can show me the kind of relationship I currently have with Him. Do I feel connected? Do I feel seen? Do I feel provided for? Do I feel abandoned? Do I feel respect? Do I feel obligation?
‘... the word thy shows us that He is not just a God, but He is your God. You have claim on each other.’
‘He is the source of all strength, wisdom, goodness, and love that can be found in any person, place, or thing in all of existence.’
‘Somehow, the Spirit has a way to ease the homesickness we all have for heaven...’
I feel homesick for heaven... Every. Single. Day. I miss the relationships I had. The people I loved and who I knew loved me in return. My Heavenly Mother. Speaking; actually speaking to my Heavenly Father and hearing Him speak back to me. I miss His voice. I miss every single feeling that I don’t feel here... love, happiness, joy, acceptance, trust, companionship... all things my soul craves to an extent that isn’t capable for me here on Earth to experience. It’s like a giant void. Earth, and what it is capable of giving me, is not enough. It’s not what my spirit... what I... am used to. My heart hurts and I feel exhausted by the enormity of emotions I’m not used to feeling... then add on the enormous lack of the ones I did have and desperately need but can’t seem to be blessed to experience.
‘Our Heavenly Father did not just want us to live with Him; He wanted us to live like Him.’
Honestly, I’m all for the former at this point in time. Hahaha...
‘Wait a minute,’ he said. ‘Did you just tell me I lived with God before I was born?’ ‘Yes!’ I answered enthusiastically. ‘And I was happy there?’ he clarified. ‘Absolutely,’ I said back. ‘And you just said that while we are on earth, we are trying to return to live with God again?’ he asked as a follow-up question. ‘Yes, sir,’ I beamed back. ‘Well,’ he said with some hesitancy, ‘if we already lived with God and were happy, then why would God send us away just to see if we could make it back? I mean, if we were already happy and with God, why even have this middle circle at all? Why come to earth?’
Amen. Although, I do get it. But still, Amen.
‘The most sacred of all our divine powers is to become a co-creator with Heavenly Father in providing physical bodies for His spirit sons and daughters and in establishing a righteous and Christ-centered family. Nothing is more holy; nothing deserves more reverence; nothing is more central to the plan of happiness.
- David A Bednar
Why isn’t becoming a righteous and Christlike individual holy, reverent, and central to the plan of happiness? Why do I have to be married and having children? I don’t know how I feel about statements like this because it makes those who aren’t able to achieve this standard less than... and that doesn’t come from God. Okay, so it makes me feel less than. Sorry for throwing others in the mix. Who knows, maybe others don’t mind at all. But why not focus on what we have been told is the most important thing we could be doing by God Himself... to love God and to love others?
‘There are [some] who treat their bodies with disrespect. This happens when we forget that our bodies were a gift...’
Actually, there are many different reasons why our bodies are treated the way they are. Some of them are for reasons not of our own choosing. Some because of trauma. Some because we weren’t taught how to deal with our emotions in a healthy way. Some because... we live in a fallen world and life is hard. It isn’t our job to judge why individuals treat their bodies the way they do, or the way we think they should, or make statements like this that can cause individuals to experience extreme shame or guilt as they are figuring it out... because those emotions tend to push people away rather than bring them closer to their Heavenly Father. We are in charge of our own bodies, no one else’s, and we need to be compassionate with ourselves and others as we all try to learn about our bodies and work through our own individual struggles, addictions, trauma, and issues.
‘[Adam and Eve] did not have the choice to be good [in the Garden of Eden] because there was no chance to be bad. [They] were just in neutral.’
Neutral. I wonder... about my life before I chose to come to Earth. Was it also a neutral existence?
‘God will not force us to be righteous, love Him, return to Him, or become like Him. We must choose it for ourselves... It would not be true agency if God stopped us from making wrong choices—even though those choices can cause negative consequences in our lives and the lives of others.’
I find it so interesting... hypocritical maybe... when Christians teach this doctrinal truth and then try to force other people to make a choice according to their own standard of what they believe right and wrong to be. If God will not force us to do anything, then why do we feel the need to force other people to live and be a certain way? I’m thinking of those within the LGBTQ+ community, those who for whatever reason choose to have an abortion, those within our prison/jail system that we refuse the opportunity for change or give them a chance to reintegrate back into society... We don’t offer acceptance, compassion, and forgiveness very readily anymore. Instead it feels as though we judge, demean, humiliate, and fight those who chose differently from us... and try to make them live what we believe is best. That’s not what we are meant to do. We are meant to choose, let others choose, and try our very best to love God and love those around us. Hopefully, if we live in such a way, others may see the Light of Christ within us and come to learn of Jesus Christ for themselves.
‘If someone decides to drink and drive and gets into a car accident, that was not God’s fault (even though sometimes God gets blamed for our bad choices). It was the fault of the person who decided to drink and drive. That decision will distance a person from God...’
There’s this other book I’m reading called Altogether You by Jenna Riemersma, and in it she says, ‘... God is way bigger than sin, than evil, than wickedness. Not only can He stand in the presence of it, He even supersedes it. He is present always - the divine quality of omnipresence - even when it doesn’t seem like He is.’
I love how she states that God is bigger than the choices we make that aren’t in line with our divine self, because this life is full of them, and that He is able to stand in the midst of all our ugliness and sin and bad decisions because He is God, He loves us, and He has promised that He will never leave us alone. Although we may feel distanced from Him, we aren’t. He has told us so Himself.
So, the last sentence about our bad decisions distancing us from God... that leaves me feeling hopeless. And that’s not a feeling that comes from God. Whereas knowing that He is with me throughout it all... before I make a bad choice, in the middle of making a bad choice, as I work through the consequences of that choice, and as I try to learn and grow and change because of what I’ve chosen... gives me hope. It shows me that He is with me because He is God and He loves me. It may feel like we are distanced... but we’re not. He is with me and helping me throughout it all.
‘The ability to choose is more important than the pain it causes when people choose badly. ‘
The ability to choose is more important. This statement makes me feel uncomfortable... and I’m grateful for that feeling as it makes me look deeper to figure out why.
I feel that so many people have this statement reversed in their mind. So many individuals feel that people are choosing badly (and they are) and that we need to implement laws to stop people from making those bad choices when we ourselves aren’t even able to make just laws, follow them, and uphold them. And then we unjustly punish people without fully knowing. We unjustly punish people because they don’t have the same beliefs. We are trying so desperately to be in charge and we are failing... because that was never our role. We need to remember that every single person’s ability to choose is more important than the pain that person causes when they choose badly.
‘When the lady of justice gives her punishment to balance out the scales, she does it only based on the crime, not on the person. Justice does not care what you look like, how you are dressed, how much money you have, or who your friends are. Punishments balance out the crimes for everyone.’
If only this were true.
‘Sometimes we may look at others and make assumptions about why God is blessing them in the way that He is. We assume He is unfair or picking favorites, when in reality, we just do not know the whole story.’
Always remember that we never know the whole story.
‘Is there a commandment you can promise to always obey to show God your love?’
I wish we could teach doctrine differently than we do. I wish we would explain how it’s okay to make mistakes, and then teach, without shaming, what repentance really looks like and how it can change a person.
No matter how hard we try, we are going to make mistakes; some more serious than others. And if we make promises like the question above asks us to... I feel that when we do mess up we will be filled with guilt, shame, misery, and hate for what we weren’t able to do. Especially when we made a promise to God to always do it. Whatever we decide to do, whatever promises we decide to make, God is going to love us and be happy that we are trying. I also feel that He is equally impressed with our ability to ask for forgiveness when we make a mistake. Because mistakes are going to happen. All. The. Time. No one is immune. If we can choose to be kind to ourselves as we make mistakes and fail and break promises... all while acknowledging what has happened, asking for forgiveness and help, and then trying and trying and trying again... we will be in a better place. We will be able to understand that life is about learning and growing, loving God and others, and progressing. It’s not about keeping a list of promises.
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