I would like to highly recommend this book. It’s called Believing Christ by Stephen E. Robinson. It is a 125 page easy, quick read. The book can even be found on Amazon.com if you don’t have an LDS book store near by. Don’t let the simple title of this book fool you as it did me. My wife read it several times and always suggested that I read it. I didn’t, thinking that I had heard those lessons before and it was too basic. But I finally read it and realized that I hadn’t heard it before. I learned things about Christ in a way that I haven’t heard of in church. I knew what my relationship to Christ was before but after reading this book it is so much deeper and so much more appreciative. I marked up almost every page. The book is not about believing “in” Christ. It assumes you already do. But about believing in what He says He can and will do for us; in His ability and in His power. It teaches you what our relationship to Christ really is and how grace and works fit into the picture. Brother Robinson writes in a simple and understandable way using his own experiences and references to scriptures. I have learned much by reading books like Jesus the Christ by Talmage, The Infinite Atonement by Callister, Miracle of Forgiveness by Kimball. But as far as my personal relationship with Christ, this book does what no other book has done. I would even feel comfortable sharing it with non members and they will have the added benefit of how Mormons really feel about Jesus Christ. I liked, what I have called, The Parable of the Weightlifter regarding our endurance to the end. And I liked what he said in the whole section on vicarious suffering. Here are some other things he shares with us.... “I’ve heard people say, ‘How can I come back to church, or pray, or approach God after what I’ve done? I’ve sunk too low; I’ve put myself beyond his reach. I’m too vile to save.’ “ He then goes on to explain how this person can come back. And this example...several years ago, as I read Matthew 11:28-30, about Jesus’ yoke being easy and his burden being light, to a New Testament class, a female student at the back of the class interrupted me with a loud “Ha!” When I invited her to explain what she meant by her outburst, she said, “His yoke is easy? His burden is light? Anyone in this church who believes that is either a recent convert or brain-dead.” This sister was a divorced mother of several children who was back in school trying to get a better life for herself and her family. She continued: “I used to try to do and be everything that the church wanted, but I finally had to give up. They always wanted more than I had....” What would you say to her? What would brother Robinson say? He also discusses how his wife faced the I-can’t-do-it-all dilemma and how he helped her through it. It is an uplifting and a very encouraging book that I think all would benefit from reading it. If anyone has read his follow-up book, Following Christ, I would like to read your comments about it.
