John Bytheway Writes Children’s Book

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Kylie Ravsten

Joined: May 2014

Popular Mormon motivational speaker, John Bytheway has spoken on the importance of the sacrament. Over the years, he has referred back to a poem written by Walter Horne, which almost immediately causes people to ask for a copy.

The response he received from sharing Horne’s poem inspired Bytheway to write his own poem, in form of a children’s book, titled,The Sacrament. Bytheway hopes that this new book will help children understand the importance of the sacrament, what it means, and why we attend Sacrament meeting each Sunday. Bytheway says that sometimes, as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we get so caught up in the routine of the sacrament, that we forget to really contemplate what it means, ultimately taking it for granted. The book uses a story about a young boy and his grandpa to illustrate the importance of remembering Jesus Christ—especially during the sacrament.

“It’s a wonderful statement about his abundant mercy that we are invited to come back each week and renew our baptismal covenant, but with that constant repetition comes the danger that we might not remember how serious and how wonderful it is.”

Bytheway says that he has received a lot of positive feedback about The Sacrament, but most of it is in reference to the last two pages. At the end of the book, Bytheway goes into greater detail describing the symbols of the sacrament.

Bytheway teamed up with Nathan Pinnock, who illustrated the children’s book. You can purchase this book at Deseret Book, or online at deseretbook.com.