As a confirmed bibliophile, I frequently find myself in search of books to devour. In fact, I was brought into the church through Gerald Lund’s LDS series, “The Work and the Glory.” Since I live on the east coast, that means my primary brick and mortar source for similar books is the LDS bookstore. However, my favorite bookstores have always been used bookstores, and I have a hard time paying full price for novels. Similarly, my fallback, the library, rarely carries these books. This puts me in a difficult position; how do I find good, uplifting books to read without breaking my budget?
This question led me to the Christian section of our local library a few months back. Before I joined the church, I turned up my nose at ‘spiritual’ books because I thought they were too heavy on God. As I began searching, however, I came to realize that many of these books by those of a different faith were still uplifting and a joy to read. I began to check them out of the library, and look forward to adding several to my bookshelves. The scriptures tell us to “seek ye out of the best abooks words of wisdom, seek learning even by study and also by faith” (D&C 109:7), and many of these books certainly have enhanced my faith in God.
Many of the beliefs in these books do not exactly coincide with LDS beliefs. This means that when you hit doctrinal points, you need to do so with a watchful eye, particularly if your kids read them. For instance, I gave my five year old a book of bible stories that my grandmother gave me when I was about her age, thinking they would help her familiarize herself with the stories in the scriptures. We talked about some of the major differences – that Jesus created the earth, that we do not carry the stain of Adam’s sin, and so on – but I didn’t consider the minor points. A few weeks ago, she told me that Satan had created the star of Bethlehem, since that’s what let Herod know that Jesus had been born. That led to an interesting discussion! On the plus side, she has a great familiarity now with the stories of the Old and New Testament.
However, most of the adult novels do not preach and are not used as missionary tools. Much as LDS novels, they simply involve Christian characters who try to do God’s will and find themselves in difficult situations. Furthermore, I had always thought – even before joining the church – that most “Christians” believed that all they had to do was say a prayer and they would be assured of a place in Heaven. As I have read, I have come to realize that many if not most believe that they need to continue to live righteously even after they ‘come to Jesus,’ and my respect for them has grown. I have also been able to find genres that don’t usually get written in a careful way; for instance, I love murder mysteries but find most of them overly sensationalistic (those that aren’t seem to me to be overly dull). Terri Black, however, does a great job of leaving out the gore while still keeping in the intrigue.
In addition, I have found some great historical novels that have given me fantastic perspective, though I make sure to remember to separate the scriptures from the novel. For instance, Francine Rivers does a great job of exploring several of the lesser-known scriptural players; in The Priest, she explores the life of Aaron and what might have motivated him choose to act as he did. Rivers also explores the lives of women of the Old Testament (plus Mary, mother of Jesus) in her Lineage of Grace series. These stories led me back to the scriptures to examine what details were real and which were fiction. That said, as a fan of (LDS writer) Orson Scott Card, I found myself in the same position in his biblical fiction books (which I also love dearly).
Finally, I have found some wonderful interpretations of the scriptures that have left me nodding and smiling – and thumbing through my Bible. Though these are many times given in a more modern translation, I love to see what others take them to mean.
As we look for uplifting things to read, we should be aware of the great possibilities found by those of other faiths. We can still feel the Holy Spirit as we read, can still be inspired and uplifted as we are entertained. Just because the writers don’t have the fullness of the gospel doesn’t mean they are completely wrong.
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