Coach Wooden's Pyramid of Success: Building Blocks for a Better Life by John Wooden

Coach Wooden's Pyramid of Success: Building Blocks for a Better Life by John Wooden
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I picked this up, ready for a quick business/ motivational read. I was surprised to find a quasi-sermon based on the teachings and experience of the great Coach Wooden of UCLA basketball fame. Similar to the Lou Holtz book I read a few years ago, this was a book of solid life lessons from a great coach. I found myself thinking that they just don't make men like this anymore. He calmly and persuasively told you what you needed to do to be successful, and it was to do what's right, work hard, and follow Jesus. I would love to hear a contemporary basketball coach say those things.

Why only 3 stars? While I liked his old school, conservative message, I thought his pyramid was too complex. Many of his principles could be combined and reordered to get the same message across without so many pieces and mortar principles. Simplify. Also, while I agreed with his message, I don't feel like I came away with anything new, or any burning desire to do anything differently. That might be on me more than the book, but I felt it was missing something there.

Still, it was a good read, so if you need solid life advice from your grandpa, and he isn't around, this might be a fair substitute.

Brigham Young: Pioneer Prophet by John G. Turner

Brigham Young: Pioneer Prophet by John G. Turner
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I approached what looked like a dry history book with a little trepidation. It was long, for one. As I actually got into it, I found it quite interesting. Not a nail-biter for sure, but interesting. I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and many of the stories included in this history-first rendition of Brigham's life were not new to me. Some of the details were, however. Many of them showcased questionable decisions made by the pioneering church leader, and, well, true history is like that. Part of the challenge of learning the history of someone you revere is discovering the inevitable--that they were human. The fact that Brigham Young made some sketchy decisions, and had an imperfect personality, shouldn't be shocking, although to many Church members it is. I'm a fairly objective sort of person (although no one is really objective, I know) and I prefer to know the person. By knowing the person, I feel like I understand more about how they tried to apply what they knew about God's teachings. I don't just say this through the lens of my church membership. The last book I read was written by Pope Francis, and I was looking for the same thing there. I wanted to see and hear the man that was the Pope, and get to know him. That book failed at that objective for me, but what glimpses I did have of the man, I saw someone who was also trying to live out God's teachings as he understood them. Despite the mistakes and weaknesses of mankind, I feel that the world improves as each of us try to live out God's teachings as we understand them.

So do I leave this book with my faith shaken at all? I don't think so. I feel educated. I know more about what happened in the past, and I see more of why our current world and local culture is the way it is. I see the mistakes of others and see how we can learn from them. I see how trying to following God's laws, despite the lack of perfect execution, can bring about great results.

I appreciated this author. My 3-star rating is not really a rating of the quality of his work, but in part my interest level in the topic. He did a great job of writing a historical biography and not succumbing to the temptation of taking sides. He does not discredit the Church, and makes this clear in the prologue and epilogue. He also does not make this an endorsement for the church, or in any way a spiritual book. Brigham Young was a religious leader, and so he had to address spiritual topics, but he does so only in respect to his goal of writing an accurate history. He does not coddle the past, even the ugly parts. If you feel he defends Brigham Young now and then, remember that he was writing about the man, and in order to understand him, you have to understand his justification for his choices, so presenting his view of events and reasoning for his actions is justified.

An interesting note: As I was listening to this book, I talked about it with several other Church members, and was surprised at the level of push-back I got. It caused some introspection. There is a lot of negative, incorrect content about our faith out there, and as members of the Church we purposely and justifiably choose to not subject ourselves to it. I think this has unintentionally created a fear of any content that might be less than positive. While I understand the purpose behind that fear, I think that this actually weakens the faith of church members. They start to believe in an infallible earthly organization free from error, but by definition that also means free from humanity. Individuals within the Church make mistakes. They always have and they always will. While it is more infrequent, the Church as an organization has made mistakes. Thankfully, the organization of the church and how it has evolved continues to make that more and more unlikely in my opinion. But from on top of my oh-so-small soapbox, I would suggest to Church members that they learn about the history of the Church, and accept historical facts as they are. Don't base your testimony of the Church on the infallibility of men, even good men. You will be let down. And to those who aren't of our faith, if we seem like we have our heads stuck in the sand and are ignoring historical facts, remember how much misinformation is out there. Remember the history of persecution and hardship that are now a part of our cultural heritage, and it will be easier to be a little more forgiving of our oddities, but also to see where our real spiritual commitment lies.

Walking with Jesus: A Way Forward for the Church by Pope Francis

Walking with Jesus: A Way Forward for the Church by Pope Francis
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

So, I don't know what was expecting from this book from Pope Francis, but it wasn't a long dissertation on Catholic doctrine on various topics. I guess I thought there would be some kind of conversation with the reader about the challenges the Catholic church faces, and by extension Christianity faces, and what his plan is to deal with it. I expected stories, engagement, and real conversation. But no. I was bored by a compilation of one-sided, dry sermons instead.

That is not to say I didn't learn things. I am not of the Catholic faith, and so there were many new things I encountered in this book, as well as a few things I already knew, but that I was reminded of. I will list them, mostly because I love lists.

- The Catholic church, like any other group, has its own jargon. Litany, homily, Eucharist, etc, etc. I've encountered these terms here and there, but only in passing, and never in complete context. Well, I'm much more aware of these terms now, although I doubt they will show up in my vocabulary, or that I could really define them in a way that wouldn't have my Catholic friends rolling their eyes.

- The Catholic religion has many doctrines that are different than my faith. That is no surprise to anyone. However, when I put Sunday sermons aside and look at outcomes, these two religions have a lot in common, as do most other religions I have encountered. Take care of the poor, beware of greed, pray. We should all be leveraging our commonalities to promote peace and a general community of faith, rather than focusing on differences.

- But to talk about our differences... the main differences between what I heard in this book, and what I hear every Sunday at church, for me, boiled down to how we see mankind among God's creations. This book left me with the impression that man is worthless, and without power or choice. That we are meant to suffer and be poor during our whole existence, and that to exercise freedom of will, or to strive to improve our temporal means is an act against God. I just can't see humanity in this light. We are obviously beings who have the power to make choices, and if we choose to better our lives, we have even more choices to do good or evil. So I don't want to dwell on this difference, but if I summarize it to one main difference, that's it.

- Finally, if there is any doctrine I straight up disagree with, it is the concept of abstinence as a spiritual requirement. Several times in these speeches, the Pope gives advice on marriage and raising kids. At best, it was the advice of someone trying to teach someone something they read about but never tried themselves, and at the worst, absolutely awful advice. This is not just an idle opinion, but from someone who has been married for over 20 years (to the same person) and is raising 4 children. They really need to revisit that whole concept. Man was not meant to be alone.

Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling by Richard L. Bushman

Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling by Richard L. Bushman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book was educational. I learned some new things about Joseph Smith, a man I have known about and revered most of my conscious life. I leave the book respecting him more, while seeing him as a man as much as a prophet, which was his religious calling. Was he perfect? No, he was a man who made mistakes, misjudged, and sinned at times. Yet, he was the right man to restore the church to the earth. Who else would have moved forward with confidence on the revelations he received? How else would the church have survived his martyrdom?

A few impressions I left with:
-History has compressed his story. He spent years of his life working at what he felt was his calling in life, and it is now presented as a clear path from A to B to C and so on, but the reality of his life was not like that. He wandered a bit, trying to figure things out. Sometimes he seems to have inserted more of himself in the work, while other times he seems to have worked more from external inspiration. The zoomed-out result can be presented as one path, but that isn't realistic.
-Contemporary Mormonism has evolved, and continues to evolve, as it should. As a church member it sometimes seems like the church is slow moving or unchanging because we understand that our doctrines are anchored and immovable in certain places. But when you look over the long run, it is a work that progresses as needs change. It is a challenge for church leaders to both guide and accept progress while seeing to and protecting our doctrinal anchors that are unchangeable.
-I feel like I understand both why Mormonism is hard to accept, and hard to reject. The story of the restoration is very divisive. It is hard to believe that this boy, and then this man, saw what he says he saw, and did what he said he did. Yet, it is also hard to believe that the Book of Mormon, and the church, came from an uninspired farm boy, and the fallible man we meet in this book. Defending either side can be tough, which I why I think it comes down to each person asking for them self, and then developing faith around their position. Interestingly, that is also the advice in the Book of Mormon itself.

This book does address some of the controversies surrounding Joseph Smith, such as polygamy. Those controversies are hard to understand, but that is not without precedent and probably shouldn't be surprising. Many historical figures also have controversy surrounding them, but those quirks don't diminish their contribution to history, and the same is true for Joseph Smith from my perspective. Men such as Christopher Columbus and Thomas Jefferson seem to get more attention for their faults than their contributions these days, and some of their faults are disturbing. But their contributions were real, and the institutions that resulted from their efforts have largely survived in spite of the weaknesses of their founders.

Even the Prophet Started Out as a Deacon: The Power of Your Aaronic Priesthood Ordination by Shane Barker

Even the Prophet Started Out as a Deacon: The Power of Your Aaronic Priesthood Ordination by Shane Barker
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book is a great guide for the LDS youth, and as often happens, that makes it a great guide for the rest of us as well. This is written for the LDS (Mormon) market, so if you aren't in that group it might not make as much sense to you, but I still recommend it. I was impressed with the consumability of the message as well as the practicality of content aimed at young men from 12-18 years old. Which of us don't need a reminder to think of others first and take action? It also contains a succinct and specific summary of the duties of the Aaronic Priesthood, with examples. I enjoyed this book immensely and have recommended re-reading it to each of my sons.

Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

While I don't agree with all of the doctrinal claims here, Lewis specifically mentioned that small doctrinal differences are not the point of this book. And that is both my favorite part, and the genius, of this one. He's making the general case for Christianity, and many of the salient points were interesting to me. And in the instances where I knew our doctrinal beliefs diverged, it was still helpful to me to know how other Christian denominations are likely to see it.

His recurring theme is to find where we agree the most. We should find where we agree, especially since we are most likely not far along enough in our individual progress for those differences to matter yet. I may have stretched that last statement a little, but that is how I interpreted it. And it is a stance I see a lot of value in.

Worth the Wrestle by Sheri Dew

Worth the Wrestle by Sheri Dew
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

So I'll admit it, I'm at the end of the year and need to read a handful of books quickly to hit my goal. This neat little book was a gift from my wife to my son, and I pounced on it, seeing it as a quick read. Well, it took a little more than that. As a member of the LDS faith, this book was a reminder of so many of the tenets and beliefs that I hold dear, and I appreciated that reminder. On the other hand, as with many non-fiction books, I found my attention wavering from time to time. I was fine when there was a mental picture being painted, or a story being told, but once we hit a section of just ideas or concepts being laid out, I was good for about half a page before my mind started to wonder. Sorry Sister Dew. It is something I've commented on in the past though, and this book helped me understand myself more as a reader, in addition to the the religious insight it offered.

What did I learn from reading this? Asking questions is good, so long as you are able to hold to the truths you already know and understand while asking a new question. A missing puzzle piece does not destroy the puzzle, or erase the pieces of the picture you have put together, it is just a piece you don't have, or haven't found yet. (This is my analogy, not hers.) It is your duty to share what you know, to help others find answers to questions, or to offer peace to those who are working on different parts of their own puzzle. In the end, it all comes back to the Savior. He made every good thing in our lives possible, and we only have to keep inviting him into our lives to experience even more of the joy and peace he has to offer.