The Beloved Works of C.S. Lewis

7/10

Another Clive Staples Lewis post? There's a lot more where that came from.

This book gathers 4 of his books. They are: Surprised by Joy, Reflections on the Psalms, The Four Loves, and The Business of Heaven. I read Surprised by Joy probably about 9 years ago. I then read the other three about 7 years ago. It's good stuff, and it really, honestly, truly doesn't get better than C.S. Lewis when it comes to Christian writing.

I remember not loving Surprised by Joy (his biography which focuses on his conversion from atheism to Christianity) for some reason, which was a surprise indeed. But looking over it again, I'm not sure what's not to like. I probably fell victim to the trap of unrealistically high expectations after having somewhat recently read Mere Christianity and The Screwtape Letters. I should read it again. Maybe some day. The others were good too as far as I can remember. The Business of Heaven is probably the best for classic C.S. Lewis quotes because it is actually various writings of his presented in small samplings for each day of the year, calendar-quote style. So there's lots of good ones from lots of different sources.

As per usual, many good quotes. I'll try not to go overboard.

From Surprised by Joy:

"I was at this time living, like so many Atheists or Antitheists, in a whirl of contradictions. I maintained that God did not exist. I was also very angry with God for not existing. I was equally angry with Him for creating a world."

"Where courage is not, no other virtue can survive except by accident."

"What I like about experience is that it is such an honest thing. You may take any number of wrong turnings: but keep your eyes open and you will not be allowed to go very far before the warning signs appear. You may have deceived yourself, but experience is not trying to deceive you. The universe rings true wherever you fairly test it."

From Reflections on the Psalms:

"Where we find a difficulty we may always expect that a discovery awaits us." (I've actually kept this quote written on a piece of paper and carried it in my scripture case ever since reading this quote. I think it's great).

"Of all bad men religious bad men are the worst."

"I am inclined to think a Christian would be wise to avoid, where he decently can, any meeting with people who are bullies, lascivious, cruel, dishonest, spiteful and so forth. Not because we are 'too good' for them. In a sense because we are not good enough. We are not good enough to cope with all the temptations."

From The Four Loves:

"A man's spiritual health is exactly proportional to his love for God."

"When we see the face of God we shall know that we have always known it."

From The Business of Heaven:

"Faith, in the sense in which I am here using the word, is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods.... That is why daily prayers and religious readings and churchgoing are necessary parts of the Christian life. We have to be continually reminded of what we believe. Neither this belief nor any other will automatically remain alive in the mind. It must be fed. And as a matter of fact, if you examined a hundred people who had lost their faith in Christianity, I wonder how many of them would turn out to have been reasoned out of it by honest argument? Do not most people simply drift away?"

"We should, I believe, distrust states of mind which turn our attention upon ourselves. Even at our sins we should look no longer than is necessary to know and to repent them; and our virtues or progress (if any) are certainly a dangerous object of contemplation. When the sun is vertically above a man he casts no shadow: similarly when we have come to the Divine meridian our spiritual shadow (that is, our consciousness of self) will vanish. One will thus in a sense be almost nothing: a room to be filled by God and our blessed fellow creatures, who in their turn are rooms we help to fill."

"Wherever the will conferred by the Creator is thus perfectly offered back in delighted and delighting obedience by the creature, there, most undoubtedly, is Heaven, and there the Holy Ghost proceeds."

Lectures on Faith

8/10

I read this in September, 2003. I know this because there was a very brief time where I wrote the date that I completed the book on the inside of the front cover. Not sure why I stopped doing that, but I did. And we have all had to live with the consequences.

This here is a nice little compilation of seven lectures originally prepared in connection with the school of the elders and was even published as part of the 1835 D&C. The preface discusses the mystery of who authored these lectures and says that there is strong evidence that the majority of the writing was by Sidney Rigdon.

It is actually only 78 pages but feels like it's twice that length (not in a bad way) because of the depth of the doctrinal discussion. Some of it can drag (I'm looking at you Lecture Second), but it is worthwhile and most definitely worth a perusal. It is also from these lectures that comes one of the greatest quotes of all time which I will here quote prior to and apart from the other quotes because of its awesomeness: "A religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things never has power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and salvation."

Some more quotes about faith:

"It is faith, and faith only, which is the moving cause of all action."

"Let us here observe, that three things are necessary in order that any rational and intelligent being may exercise faith in God unto life and salvation. First, the idea that he actually exists. Secondly, a correct idea of his character, perfections, and attributes. Thirdly, an actual knowledge that the course of life which he is pursuing is according to his will. For without an acquaintance with these three important facts, the faith of every rational being must be imperfect and unproductive."

"Those who know their weakness and liability to sin would be in constant doubt of salvation if it were not for the idea which they have of the excellency of the character of God, that he is slow to anger and long-suffering, and of a forgiving disposition and does forgive iniquity, transgression, and sin. An idea of these facts does away doubt, and makes faith exceedingly strong."

"It is in vain for persons to fancy to themselves that they are heirs with those, or can be heirs with them, who have offered their all in sacrifice, and by this means obtained faith in God and favor with him so as to obtain eternal life, unless they, in like manner offer unto him the same sacrifice, and through that offering obtain the knowledge that they are accepted of him."

"And what constitutes the real difference between a saved person and one not saved is - the difference in the degree of their faith - one's faith has become perfect enough to lay hold upon eternal life, and the other's has not."

"If we find one saved being in all existence, we may see what all others must be, or else not be saved. We ask, then, where is the prototype? Or, where is the saved being? We conclude, as to the answer of this question, there will be no dispute among those who believe the Bible, that it is Christ: all will agree in this, that he is the prototype or standard of salvation."

"[The] teaching of the Savior most clearly show unto us the nature of salvation, and what he proposed unto the human family when he proposed to save them - that he proposed to make them like unto himself, and he was like the Father, the great prototype of all saved beings; and for any portion of the human family to be assimilated into their likeness is to be saved; and to be unlike them is to be destroyed; and on this hinge turns the door of salvation."

Answers for Young Latter-Day Saints

4/10

This little ditty is a book I randomly unearthed in a box full of odd and ends inside the closet of some missionaries apartment on the mission. And I said, "Don't mind if I do." My favorite is the cover.

So it's a collection of 108 questions, to be exact, which were answered in the New Era by Church leaders and random members I've never heard of. There are some big name dudes who provide their wisdom, namely: Spencer W. Kimball, Gordon B. Hinckley, and Stephen R. Covey, among others. It's got some good stuff, but mostly ok stuff mixed in with funny topics. Some of my favorites being the classic 1977-era concerns about playing cards, hypnotism, and hitchhiking. Ha ha.

One quote from a question about temple recommend requirements:

Person's answer quoting Harold B. Lee, "When you enter a holy temple, you are by that course gaining fellowship with the Saints in God's eternal kingdom."

Our Search For Happiness by M. Russell Ballard

8/10

In honor of Ballard's general conference talk today, I am making this post. I read this on the mission, way back in the year 2002. In the yeeeeaaaaar 2002 (Conan O'Brien joke).

This is a quick , 124-page book about the Church and written as a kind of introduction to the founding and basic teachings of the Church. I remember liking it. Not as much as the Talmage Missionary Reference Library books of course. But it was probably a more useful book to me as a missionary wanting to introduce the Church to others. But yes, it was good and helpful, but less memorable than the two Talmage and Legrand Richards ones. Do read it, though, if you haven't.

Quote:

"[A]fter the spirit of Christ enters our hearts and our souls, we can never be the same again."

Forrest Gump by Winston Groom

8/10

I read this book six or seven years ago. It was written about eight years before the movie came out. The movie is probably my favorite of all time, at least top three. The book isn't in my top three but it is still amazingly hilarious. And it's actually quite different than the movie. It has mostly the same characters, but Forrest's adventures are different. For example, Forrest actually becomes an astronaut and goes to space with a monkey who becomes his pal. They then crash in the ocean somewhere just off an island and become prisoners to these cannibals. There he learns to play chess and becomes super amazing at it (instead of ping pong). There are other examples as well, such as the circumstances of his relationships with his best-good friend Bubba (they meet at college, not the army) and Jenny (they are off and on in both but never marry in the book).

If you love the movie then you will love the book and enjoy Forrest's other adventures. I imagine if I had read the book first though that I would maybe have been upset with how different the movie was. So I'm glad I read it after seeing the movie. And I guess there's a second book called "Gump and Co." which was written after the movie came out. I guess I'll have to put that on my books to read list.

Truth Restored by Gordon B. Hinckley / Gospel Principles

7/10

I read this on the mish many moons ago. It was the last of the 5 Missionary Reference Library books that I read, for obvious reasons. Not that this one is bad or unappealing, but because the other ones are way more awsomer. It was a good book. Truth Restored is a little recap of the the foundation of the church and such. Gospel Principles is several lessons about basic doctrines of the church. My true fans will know that I have already made a separate post about Gospel Principles.

I would recommend this book, but not before other fun Missionary Reference Library books such as Jesus the Christ, A Marvelous Work and a Wonder, and Articles of Faith.

For some reason I didn't underline much in this book so I couldn't locate too many quotes, but I will leave you with this one from the Gospel Principles portion of the book:

"When we choose to live according to God's plan for us, our agency is strengthened. Right choices increase our power to make more right choices."

Shadow Puppets by Orson Scott Card

7/10

I read this probably about 4 years ago, and made hilarious shadow puppets on the wall a few days ago much to Mallory's delight. It is the third of the four books about Bean. And, for some reason, I still haven't read the last book.

This one was enjoyable enough, although no where near as good as Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow, obviously. I don't recall a whole lot of specifics from the book other than Achilles from battle school plots a whole bunch of different traps in an attempt to kill Bean (and others). He gets his come-uppins. It's a fun enough read for those who like learning about the goings on of the various battle schoolers.

Quotes:

"To know and refuse to know what you know, that is foolishness."

"Self-delusion dies hard."

"It's better to believe that some high purpose guides our steps than to think that nothing matters except our own small miseries and happinesses."

"It's hard to stand when you have no spine."