If I Were In A Book Club . . .

If I belonged to a book club I would want everyone to read "The Silence of God". I loved this book and wish I had other women to discuss it with.

The book is loosely based on the only Mormon family living in Russia during the Bolshevik Revolution. Although the family really did exist, most of what happens to them in the book is fictional. However, the author Gale Sears, does a superb job telling the story of the revolution through the eyes of the family members and their associates.

There are so many great topics to discuss after reading this book. The historical period in which the book is set is a fascinating time that could easily occupy a lengthy discussion. This is the time when imperialist Russia was overthrown and Lenin and communism came into power under the pretense of offering peace, land and bread for all. There are so many parallels between what happened there and the war in heaven, our daily personal battles between good and evil and what we see happening in our country today with the willingness to sacrifice freedom for “security”.

One thing I really enjoyed about the book is how the author wove the message throughout that Satan’s way of forced obedience and compulsion hardens hearts and builds hatred between people, while the Savior’s way of willful obedience, softens hearts and unifies.

And of course another topic begging to be discussed is how we can maintain our faith during extremely difficult times and when prayers, even those offered by an apostle, seem to go unanswered.

Other Books I Read This Week
I also just read “The Road Show” by Braden Bell. To be honest, I was a little uncomfortable with parts of the book and probably would not have finished it were it not due to a sense of loyalty to blog friends who posted about it. The main character has an addiction to pornography and although it is delicately handled, it still bothered me. There were a few other events in the book that were uncomfortable for me as well.

HOWEVER, that said, in the end I was very glad I read it. Although it is not realistic that all our problems will be neatly solved during a road show, I don’t believe that was the author’s point anyway. The show is simply a tool to teach us about the atonement and that all physical, emotional and spiritual wounds are only healed when we turn our hearts over to the Savior and apply the atonement in our lives. And our healing results in a greater love for others, which helps bring them to the Savior and allows them to be healed as well.

That message rang very true throughout the book.

I have another more personal reason for being glad I read it. It really helped open my eyes to the people around me. Although I consider myself a nice person who wants to serve others, after reading this book I realized there are many times I am insensitive to the needs of people I know. I hope I can now always remember that realization and change my behavior.

The third book I read this past week was , “My Fair Godmother” by Janette Rallison.

This is the perfect book for a rainy afternoon when you want something to read that doesn’t require a great deal of concentration, but is completely entertaining. It is a fairytale though, so if you are not into those, you will not like this. I have read reviews of the book that said the first four chapters were slow but then it picks up. Although I didn’t think the beginning was boring, after chapter 5 I did not want to put it down.