"We seldom get into trouble when we speak softly. It is only when we raise our voices that the sparks fly and tiny molehills become great mountains of contention."
If you’re looking
for a readable gift for someone, here are a few to consider, running
the gamut from inspiring to entertaining.
Before he passed away
in January 2013, former World War II P.O.W. Joseph Banks approved an
excerpt from A Distant Prayer(Covenant 2001),
the compelling chronicle of his experiences after his B-17 was shot
down over Germany on his 49th combat mission. (Fifty meant
he could go home.)
The sole survivor of
his crew of 10, Banks endured unimaginable treatment in a prison camp
yet felt God’s presence throughout the ordeal. Now, the
riveting details of the 500-mile march across Western Europe and his
miraculous escape appear in a gift-sized 26-page pamphlet, God
Remembered Me, co-written with Jerry Borrowman (Covenant
2013, $4.99). It’s the remarkable true story of a truly
remarkable man, and it could be the best five bucks and the most
uplifting hour you’ve spent in a while.
Elder Richard G.
Scott’s 21 Principles: Divine Truths to Help You Live by
the Spiritis a small classic (Deseret Book 2013, 105
pages in hard cover, $16.99). Elder Scott sums up the book in the
introduction: “As you seek spiritual knowledge, search for
principles. Principles are concentrated truth, packaged for
application to a wide variety of circumstances.” A true
principle makes decisions clear, he says, even in the midst of
confusion.
He lays out the 21
principles in the first chapter, then proceeds to illustrate and
illuminate each one in three to five pages. Along with his trademark
simple, straightforward metaphors and personal stories are a few
surprises that add depth and meaning to Elder Scott’s words as
we see his life in context.
There are wise gems
throughout, such as this: “The Spirit has taught me that Satan
doesn’t have to tempt us to do bad things — he can
accomplish much of his objective by distracting us with many
acceptable things, thus keeping us from accomplishing the essential
ones.” This book offers personally applicable true principles
in an easy-to-digest format that will appeal to many.
An unexpectedly fun yet
well-researched read is Kathryn Jenkins Gordon’s Butch
Cassidy and Other Mormon Outlaws of the Old West (Covenant
2013, 182 pages in soft cover, $15.99). True tales about
horse-stealing, cattle-rustling, bank-robbing, gun-slinging “saints”
who found “total honesty a personal encumbrance”
certainly has its appeal.
Going beyond the
obvious and separating fact from fiction, the author displays skill
and style in engaging narratives of a bygone era. Touches of wry
humor punctuate the documented fact and ironies of second- and
third-generation Mormons who sometimes used their religious values to
prop up their improper (not to mention illegal) activities.
Gordon explores the
social climate and isolated geography that allowed a bandit culture
to flourish in the latter part of the 1800s. She delves into hideouts
and the renegades who made good use of them, including notables Matt
Warner, Orrin Porter Rockwell, and Tom McCarty. One chapter is
devoted to the lawmen who went after them. Historical black-and-white
photos are sprinkled throughout the pages, and endnotes document the
author’s sources.
About as far away as
you could get from tales of Mormon outlaws is a biography of L.
Tom Perry, written by his son, Lee Tom Perry. The subtitle,
“An Uncommon Life, Years of Preparation” hints that this
is the first of a two-volume set outlining his family genealogy and
the formative years in his own family, military and missionary
service, marriage, retail business management, and the Church
(Deseret Book 2013, 354 pages in hard cover, $34.99). The first
volume ends a year after the passing in 1974 of his first wife,
Virginia.
Elder Perry is fond of
describing himself as being “as common as dirt,” yet the
Logan, Utah, native’s forays into the world of business,
government, and leadership are anything but ordinary. For instance,
Elder Perry’s taking of the IBM computer course for executives,
which he took in 1965 — decades before technology became second
nature to most of us — has placed him at the forefront as the
Church has moved forward with technology.
It is not just the
stories themselves but the fact they are told from the perspective of
90 years of faithful gospel living that make this biography
significant.
Laurie
Williams Sowby has been writing since second grade and getting paid
for it since high school. Her byline ("all three names, please")
has appeared on more than 6,000 freelance articles published in
newspapers, magazines, and online.
A
graduate of BYU and a writing instructor at Utah Valley University
for many years, she proudly claims all five children and their
spouses as college grads.
She
and husband, Steve, have served three full-time missions together,
beginning in 2005 in Chile, followed by Washington D.C. South, then
Washington D.C. North, both times as young adult Institute teachers.
They are currently serving in the New York Office of Public and
International Affairs
During
her years of missionary service, Laurie has continued to write about
significant Church events, including the rededication of the Santiago
Temple by President Hinckley and the groundbreaking for the
Philadelphia Temple by President Eyring. She also was a Church
Service Missionary, working as a news editor at Church Magazines,
between full-time missions.
Laurie
has traveled to all 50 states and at least 45 countries (so far).
While home is American Fork, Utah, Lincoln Center and the
Metropolitan Museum of Art have provided a comfortable second home.
Laurie
is currently serving a fourth full-time mission with her husband in
the New York Office of Public and International Affairs. The two
previously served with a branch presidency at the Provo Missionary
Training Center. The oldest of 18 grandchildren have been called to
serve missions in New Hampshire and Brisbane, Australia.
