Merry Christmas to my wonderful BBB readers!  I hope you all have a safe, fun, joyous holiday filled with friends, family, beauty, wonder, and love.  Bonus if you get some downtime to relax with a book :)

This time of year always has me reflecting on the past 12 months, both the challenges and the triumphs.  No matter what happens in a given year, if I look hard enough, I always find that the good in my life continually outweighs the bad.  In my church, we often sing a hymn about counting our blessings, naming them one by one—all it takes is a little counting to realize how much I have to be grateful for.  Among them, I count you.  Thank you for choosing to spend a few minutes of your precious time here.  I appreciate your thoughtful comments, your amazing reading recommendations, and your friendship.  The book blogging community is a wondrous thing; I'm thankful to be part of it.

I want to share this beautiful video about the birth of the Savior.  Even though I can't understand a word that's spoken in it, it's infused with emotion and a spirit that just touches my soul.  Enjoy!  #LightTheWorld

I use the word "preachy" a lot to describe books. Usually, writers get this criticism when they

Amanda over at A Patchwork of Books wondered about other Christian readers' thoughts on Jodi Picoult's newest book, Change of Heart. I have been thinking a lot about the book since I finished it, and decided I should write this follow-up post in response to some of the issues Picoult brought up in the book. It's going to be a random assortment of thoughts, so beware. If you aren't interested, just skip this post. If you are, I would (as always) love to read your comments. Please be aware, however, that I will not tolerate any bashing of Mormonism or other specific religions. Any offensive comments will be deleted (not that I think you all will make such comments, but religion is one of those explosive issues that can bring out the worst in people!).

Also, there may be spoilers in this post.
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"He'd been a corn-fed Utah boy, pitching subscriptions to benefit the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints" (145). I don't know where Picoult got the idea that members of the LDS Church sell subscriptions door-to-door, but we don't. The church receives its money from its members, who pay a tithing of 10% on all earnings. Even my children donate - if they earn $1 from doing chores, they give a dime. We do not sell magazines to raise funds.

"People were always finding Jesus in jail. What if he was already here?" (83). One of the big issues in this book is whether or not Shay Bourne is literally Jesus Christ. Father Michael comes to believe that he is. Personally, I think the idea is ludicrous. The scriptures tell us that Christ's Second Coming will be preceded by a series of events that will signal His arrival. Thus, I don't believe He is going to sneak back to Earth disguised as a schizophrenic foster kid with a penchant for cold-blooded murder. More importantly, Jesus already fulfilled His mortal ministry. He had to have a body of flesh and blood in order to suffer for us; since He has already atoned for our sins, He no longer has any reason to live a mortal life.

The idea is also brought forth that Shay could be inhabited by Jesus Christ. I do believe that we are all literal sons and daughters of God. As such, we all have a divine spark within us, and we can all become like God, having the spirit of Christ. However, I believe there is only one Savior, and He will return in the manner described in the scriptures.

"As soon as I put him on the witness stand, a quiet pall fell over the people in the gallery ... And there, without me asking a single question, was my answer: no amount of piousness could erase the stain on the hands of a murderer" (338). Another of the book's themes is this: Can we ever perform enough good acts to make up for an evil one? In general, I would answer yes. If we offend someone, we can repent and make restitution. Maybe our reputation will never gain its former luster, but at least we can do our best to rebuild it. As for a murderer making up for the life he took - even by giving his heart so that another can live - I don't know. I think the only one who could truly take away that sin would be God.

"Did it really matter whether you believed that Jesus spoke the words in the Bible or the words in the Gospel of Thomas? Did it matter whether you found God in a consecrated church or a penitentiary or even in yourself? Maybe not. Maybe it only mattered that you not judge someone else who chose a different path to find meaning in his life" (400). I think this statement represents the moral of Change of Heart. It's basically accurate, although it feels like a politically-correct cop out from Picoult. It basically says that as long as you're a good person it doesn't matter what you believe, or where, when and how you worship. I agree with this to a point - the most important thing is to live a life steeped in love, kindness and good works. However, I think most people need some kind of theology to act as a guide to living. Without it, people flounder and are swayed by every new idea that comes along. Most religions seem to teach goodness and tolerance for your fellow man, but "goodness" and "tolerance" are kind of vague terms.


For myself, I would be lost without such a guide. My religion provides me with an example - Jesus Christ - who exemplified a perfect life. When I want to know how to act, I look to Him. Some think that is all He is - an example. I, however, believe that He was a literal being, that He literally walked on Earth, and literally died on the cross. To me, that matters.


I've come by this knowledge through prayer, fasting and experience. In the Bible, James exhorts us to find truth by asking God. This is the way to sort truth from falsehood.

"Who says that if you want to find God on a Sunday morning, you ought to be looking in church?" (124) This is another issue Change of Heart examines - the difference between organized religion and belief. A few paragraphs after the above quoteA, Father Michael makes this observation, "Just because you say you're Catholic, if you don't walk the walk, you're not." I agree with this statement. To me, it's not enough to say, "I believe in Christ," I have to prove it by studying His life, acting as He would, and sacrificing a few hours of my week to worship Him at church. I can say I'm Christian, but if I don't go to church, don't pray, don't help my fellow man - am I really?

That's not to say that following Christ's example is easy. It's not. It's the act of consistently trying that makes us true followers.

"And if I could ask people to take away one thing from my book it would be this: to stop thinking of beliefs as absolutes…and to see them instead as an invitation to have a conversation, and maybe learn something from someone else’s point of view." - Jodi Picoult

I agree that we need to be tolerant of other people's views, and that we can learn things from each other. Of course we can. Sects don't need to criticize or demoralize one another. I've never understood, for instance, why people feel the need to picket and protest at dedications of LDS temples. Why do they care? Certainly all of us could be a little more tolerant.

However, I do think of my beliefs as absolute. I absolutely believe that Jesus Christ died for me. I absolutely believe He will come again. Nothing is going to change those beliefs.

What did you think of the book?

I finally finished one of the two books I've been reading lately, The Peacegiver by James L. Ferrell. On its surface, the book is about an LDS couple that is struggling to keep their marriage together. As Rick stews and frets about his relationship with his wife, he dreams of his beloved grandfather, who had passed away. In the dream, Grandpa Carson takes Rick on a journey of discovery, "showing" him scriptural stories to teach him about Christ's Atonement. As Rick "travels" with his grandfather, he realizes that the only way to save his marriage is to follow Christ's example of unconditional love. The frame story (which is rather cheesy and not very well written anyway) is really only a tool to help us better understand the Atonement and how it relates to our everyday lives. Ferrell analyzes scripture and the Atonement itself in such depth that you will look at the familiar scripture passages in an entirely different way than you have before. And, as you work with Rick to apply these new insights to his situation, you will realize how you can implement them in your own lives. The message of the book is really about turning to the Lord for help with your own sins and shortcomings, then trying your best to see other people as Christ sees them.

My husband and I have had this book sitting in our master bathroom for several weeks now, and we have been reading it simultaneously. We have had many great discussions because of it; it's been amazing to see how differently we interpret the information we've read. We were both deeply impacted by the book, and I think it's helped us to look more closely at our own sins and less judgmentally at others'. Whether or not you're LDS, I think this is a great, thought-provoking read. I highly recommend it!