Books are the perfect Christmas gift for nearly everyone on your list. Here are some suggestions to make the holidays more merry for those you love.
Motherhood Matters is a short collection of author Connie Sokol’s thoughts about the divinity of motherhood, the precious gifts our children are to us, and the importance of appreciating all those wonderful moments that go along with having children. She shares funny stories from raising her own children and includes experiences from her friends’ lives as well. I enjoyed this quick read one quiet Sunday afternoon and felt a little more motivated to get started on the tasks of the next week.
I did feel that some of the topics could have been expanded just a bit-the book was like nibbling at a refreshment table rather than sitting down to a full-course meal because each chapter was around two pages long, but we don’t always need long treatises. If you’re looking for a quick, uplifting, lighthearted read, this will brighten your day and would be an excellent Christmas, Mother’s Day, or birthday gift for the special mothers in your life-and friends, and daughters, and aunts, and cousins …
A Bible Fit for the Restoration by Andrew C. Skinner is subtitled The Epic Struggle that Brought Us the King James Version, and rightly so. It was a struggle. Hundreds of years ago, the common man did not have access to the Bible. Only the clergy could read the holy words, and in many cases, they were working from a text written in Greek and had to rely on their own interpretation. They would then teach those words to the people, who were expected to act on faith, and these people often had confused ideas about the gospel of Jesus Christ. The people needed to be able to read the words for themselves so they could feel the spirit of the words and gain testimonies of their own, rather than acting on the faith of their leaders. Personal testimony is crucial if a person is to stand up to the trials and tribulations they will face in their lives, and these people weren’t given that opportunity.
Andrew C. Skinner is a diligent researcher and brings to us this story complete with references, detailed background information, tidbits about the political climate of the times, and pictures of the places mentioned throughout the book. While this volume is not long, coming in at just over a hundred pages, it is absolutely packed with great information. I came away feeling educated, uplifted, and so grateful for the hand of the Lord in guiding these men who brought us the Bible on their paths so that I can sit down, pick up my scriptures, and read them for myself. When I think how the Bible has blessed my life, and then try to imagine what my life would be like without it, I’m all the more indebted to these martyrs who gave their lives in this cause.
To start with, how can you not love a title like Bad Guys of the Book of Mormon? You know exactly what you’re getting-a book about the scriptures, but one that’s a little bit tongue-in-cheek. Author Dennis Gaunt goes through the Book of Mormon and discusses each of the bad guys and the things they do that show just how bad they are, and then likens those things to experiences we might have today. Yes, we can read the Book of Mormon and learn from Nephi and think about his courage (hey, I think there’s a Primary song that goes something like that) and we can admire Helaman and want to be as his armies (another Primary song moment), but sometimes we need to look at things a little differently-what do the bad guys have to teach us? Laman and Lemuel, for instance, show us what can happen when we are too doubtful, too disbelieving, and yes, too whiny.
There are two sides at work in this ultimate battle of good vs. evil, and in his book, Dennis shows us the ways in which the wicked operate. They’ve done it this way for centuries-hey, why stop when it’s working? If we know and understand the stories in the Book of Mormon, we can be on the alert for wickedness in our lives today, and know how to put a stop to it.
Author Rebecca Rode’s book How to Have Peace When You’re Falling to Pieces addresses some tough aspects of motherhood and offers straightforward and often funny advice for those of us who feel as though we’ll never have it all together. In fact, the premise of the book is centered around that very idea-we need to have the right pieces in order to truly become complete.
Those pieces are being mothers of purpose, mothers of skill, mothers of work, mothers of faith, mothers of wisdom, mothers of joy, and mothers of peace. That sounds like a pretty tall order, but then the author breaks each of those down and provides anecdotes and solid advice to help us understand and incorporate what she means in each of those categories.
I entered this book with a lot of baggage on my shoulders. I’m at a time in my life when I’ve had to focus on things that are less eternally important in order to satisfy some earthly demands, and the imbalance has been weighing on me. What this book did for me was remind me that there are certain fundamentals that, once in place, can help a family weather any storm. I also understood more clearly that I have more control than I think I do, and while it might feel that things are swirling around me in a tornado of chaos, I can reach out and grab that wind and subdue it to a more manageable breeze.
Hopefully one-or more-of these great books will fill a need on your Christmas shopping list. You can find them on Amazon.com and at LDS book retailers.
