Feeding the Flock: The Foundations of Mormon Thought: Church and Praxis by Terryl L. Givens
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I suppose I am not likely the intended audience for this book. I believe it was written primarily for non-Mormons who are interested in Mormon studies. This is the second volume of Terryl Givens' history of Mormon thought, the first being Wrestling the Angel. Whereas the first volume dealt with the key theological concepts of the nature of God and man and the relationship between them, this volume lays out the history of Mormonism's ecclesiastical structure and religious practices. Such a topic might seem dull to a born and bred Mormon--a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints--who is well-acquainted with such things, but I happen to love the study of religion, including my own tradition. I like to read what respected scholars--both insiders and outsiders--have to say. I appreciate the perspective of this particular author because he places Mormonism within the broader context of Judeo Christian history. He takes Christian church practices, organizational structures, and the theology behind them and traces them from their early roots in Judaism to early Christianity. He follows the often heated debates that led to the Reformation and modern sectarianism. Mormonism can be seen as a response to this splintering of the Christian church into bitter competing sects. Established in 1830 as the restoration (as an ongoing process) of the "true and living" church of Jesus Christ by the founder, Joseph Smith, and his followers, it centers on the Christ of the New Testament, but with twists that other Christians deem heretical. Many of the twists go back to Old Testament concepts and practices. Givens compares and contrasts Mormon practices as they developed over time with those of Judaism and different Christian sects. I love getting the big picture!


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A Gentleman in Moscow

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this book on Audible. The narrator was first-rate, and the storyline, characters, writing, and historical background well-crafted and engaging. I loved the premise of a Russian gentleman having to remake his life after being sentenced to house arrest in the aftermath of the Bolshevik Revolution. He has been living in a luxurious suite in a fancy Moscow hotel, but now he finds himself booted upstairs to a tiny room away from any important guests. It is fascinating to watch him try to come to terms with the narrowing of his choices, where the hotel becomes his entire world. A former man-about-town with no more family, he is now confined and facing loneliness. He is gregarious and charming, intelligent and clever, very well-read and a great storyteller and conversationalist, and yet he can no longer go out to meet friends and discuss his ideas, but instead must wait for them to come to him. If he is to bear this exile, he must be open to finding new companions among the hotel guests and staff and find meaningful ways to keep himself busy and useful. He has definite flaws and eccentricities that often hold him back, but maybe for that reason, I loved watching him navigate this new world of surprises and conundrums, unlikely friendships and loves, as well as of painful conflicts. The outside world inevitably intrudes into his inner sanctum, but he also finds that what happens in the small space he occupies can sometimes have significant affects on the world beyond the hotel doors. It is interesting to see that as his world contracts in some ways, it expands in others, and as he experiences so much loss, he also grows and gains much. What I loved most about this gentleman was his response to the turmoil of revolutionary ideals clashing with the corruption of power that he has witnessed himself in the hotel and that he learns from knowledgeable sources from the outside. As the picture becomes clearer to him, he begins to sift through the traditions and experiences of his own privileged upbringing, measuring them against the new ways of the revolution, rejecting from both what he comes to recognize as harmful and holding fast to that which he deems noble and worth fighting for.


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Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Personal stories are so critical when you've had no life experiences to help you understand another culture. The Appalachian culture that J.D. Vance describes is totally foreign to me, a New Englander born and married within the professional class of academics and scientists. I've driven through all the Appalachian states and even got lost once with weird Google directions that took us into the woods where we encountered a few hillbilly shacks with "No Trespassing" signs. That's the extent of my experience. That's why I appreciated this book. It's not just a memoir, it's also Vance's attempt to understand his own family, friends, and culture. He wants to understand his own life struggles and what allowed him to beat huge odds to stay away from drugs, get an education, a law degree, a well-paying job, a nice home, and least expected of all, a patient and loving wife to share all of it with. He mourns the self-defeating, but deeply entrenched worldview of his people, but he also knows their strengths, and sees hope in the channeling of those strengths toward a better life. He shares both his love and his shame and in doing so, chips away at the hardened perceptions of readers like me.


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Goodreads review of As Iron Sharpens Iron

From Goodreads
As Iron Sharpens Iron: Listening to the Various Voices of Scripture
Author/Editor: Julie M. Smith
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I loved the premise of this collection of essays: Invite several different Mormon scholars to each take two characters from different times and places in scripture, find a topic on which they have opposing views, and invent a dialogue between them respectfully disagreeing with each other. Some of the essays were better-written or closer to my own level of understanding than others, but I loved partaking of this exercise in thinking out of the box.

For those who insist that there are no real contradictions in holy writ--even though these books were penned by often inspired but flawed, as are all human beings, from different cultures over thousands of years, then chosen as canon by other flawed human beings from among other similar writings--I entreat you to take even just the four Gospels and try to make them match, detail for detail. And you know what? It's perfectly fine--in fact, it's wonderful that they don't fit harmoniously together! For these writers, historical or ideological accuracy was an alien concept to them. They had a perspective to share--a story to tell--that helped them make sense of the culturally meaningful stories that had been passed down (mostly by word of mouth) to them.

This collection of essays shows the richness and complexity of the scriptures--as rich and as complex as every human life. Coming to terms with paradox--two opposing ideas that are equally true, like two sides of a coin--is what challenges us to grow up to maturity. Stephen Peck's dialogue between Abraham and St. Thomas about faith and doubt is a particularly effective example. Julie Smith brings Mark and Luke together to express how Jesus honored women in ways that seem to oppose each other. Each of the essays brings out a different paradox for their scriptural characters--and us--to grapple and grow with.

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