Anyone sincerely seeking further light and knowledge and
truth on the Atonement of Jesus Christ will find it in Kevan Clawson's book,
The Atonement of Jesus Christ. A must read for those seeking spiritual
knowledge and progression and a must have for your library.
Recommended reading for mature LDS
students October 16, 2008
Very inspiring and simple to understand. Has the additional advantage of being
a fast reading. It is a beautiful doctrine which simply explains how the
blessings of the Atonement can save and exalt puny little people like me.
I'm wondering if there is anyone who can give me a suggested
reading list for someone who has been a practicing, scripture studying,
faithful, and relatively knowledgable member of the LDS church? I'm beginning
to purchase books for my personal library, and am a lover of authors such as
Hugh Nibley, the Yorgason brothers, Orson Scott Card (fiction, of
course)...hopefully this gives an idea of the level and type of books I'm
interested in learning about and adding to my library. Thank you!
TomK
Here are some links to some books that I have read
cover-to-cover several times. I say this not to brag, but to assure you that I
feel the content of these books are relevant to your question and will
positively and constructively contribute to your search for more knowledge.
"The Second Comforter: Conversing with The Lord Through the Veil" by
Denver C. Snuffer, Jr.
This book was written by a lay member of the Church who claims to have seen the
resurrected Lord in person! I believe he has. It is the most thorough and
comprehensive treatment of how to receive the Second Comforter that I have seen
to date.
"Following the Light of Christ into His Presence" by John M. Pontius
In my opinion, carefully applying the contents of this book will lead you to a
Spiritual Rebirth, at a minimum.
"Obtaining Your Calling &
Election" by Kevan Kingsley Clawson and
Terri Hopkins Clawson
A startling revelation about the connection between Faith, Hope and Charity,
and how they tie-into receiving your Calling & Election (and beyond).
"The Atonement of Jesus
Christ" by Kevan Kingsley Clawson
Provides an intriguing new look at the nature of the Atonement. A must read for
those who seek to understand how the Atonement functions in their lives!
________________________________________________________________________
The Association for Mormon Letters Book Review
The Atonement of Jesus Christ (first edition)
By Kevan Kingsley Clawson
Reviewed by Kathleen Dalton-Woodbury
On 9/18/2008
Walking the Line Publications, 2001 Softcover:
83 pages
ISBN: assigned to second edition
(NOTE FROM THE REVIEWER: When this review was posted on the
AML List and a copy sent to the publisher, the publisher responded by saying
that the wrong edition had been sent in error and by requesting that the review
copy be returned. The review copy which had a 2001 publication date and was
only 83 pages, was returned, but no copy of the correct edition has been sent.
The book available through Amazon is the newer edition, and may not be the same
as the book reviewed here.)
As I understand it, the purpose of a book review is to help
readers decide whether or not they want to purchase a book. It is not
necessarily to give away the whole contents of the book, nor is it to argue
with them.
So I will say first
of all that I am glad I read this book.
Second, I want to say that the author, in his introduction,
anticipated a negative reception to the book's content:
"In order to fully understand the difficult concepts
that will be discussed, a person must begin with an open mind and heart. All of
us are raised with a certain framework or set of beliefs. These beliefs are
received from our parents, and we rely upon them for every problem we encounter
and every solution we try-even if our beliefs are wrong.
"When we encounter new ideas or experiences that do not
fit into our set of beliefs, our first response is to either change the
experience in some way so that it will fit into our belief system or try and
discredit the experience. Very seldom do we risk changing our belief system
itself. This natural tendency prevents our seeing new ideas or experiences for
what they really are and receiving important insights from them. One well known
example of this problem is the doctrine of polygamy or plural marriage. There
is no question that this sacred doctrine has been sanctioned by God. Many of
the earth's greatest Prophets and Apostles have lived this Law, and it is clear
that we will live this Law during the Millennial era and in the CelestialKingdom; yet, for many members of the
Church this doctrine just will not fit into their existing belief system, so
they resist it. I have found this same resistance to new ideas when studying
the Atonement. People have such strong beliefs about what the Atonement is and
how the Atonement works that they are unable to see the Atonement in a new
light..
"In your study of the Atonement, you must be willing to
set aside your long held beliefs-at least long enough to understand the new
concepts being discussed in this book." (page ix)
So, would readers want to read a book that starts out with
such a caveat?
Well, it's a short book, only 83 pages including one page
for the bibliography. It only has five chapters: "The Garden
Experience," "Eternal Law," "The Problems," "The
Real Atonement," and "The Judgment;" a "Conclusion;"
and an Appendix.
Its statements are supported by scriptures and quotes from
presidents of the Church and other general authorities.
All the author appears to be doing is offering an
explanation for what the Atonement involves and what it does. However, this
alternate explanation of the Atonement would replace what President Boyd K.
Packer teaches about the Atonement in his analogy (or parable) as portrayed in
the short Church film, The Mediator ("A young man who fails to pay his
debt is saved from the grasp of justice through the mediation of a
friend.").
The author shows through scriptures and quotes that "it
is unjust to punish one man for another man's sins." He supports his
arguments against the idea that Christ suffered in Gethsemane
for our sins with the assertion that in order for Him to do that, God would
have had to know exactly how many sins each and every one of us would commit,
before those who lived after Christ's death and resurrection could actually
commit them.
"But because of our agency, God cannot know everything
that will befall us, or whether or not we will commit specific sins or actions
at specific moments in time." For God to know such things, the author
points out, pre-destination would have to be true.
Well, I have a mathematical background, and I would like to
point out a word in a scripture that the author quoted a few pages later:
"Therefore there can be nothing which is short of an infinite atonement
which will suffice for the sins of the world." (Alma 34:12) The thing about
"infinite" is that you can add all the specific items you want to it,
and it will still be infinite. Infinity plus one or one million still equals
infinity.
Anyway, the author presents several very good scriptural arguments
that by our choices for good or evil, we determine how we will be judged in the
Final Judgment, and therefore there would be no point for Christ to suffer for
our sins, since we suffer the only consequence that really matters, spiritual
death, whenever we commit a sin. Also, when we repent, we experience the only
blessing that really matters, a return of the Spirit and the peace and joy
associated. So our choices turn us into the people we will be in the end.
The new insight this book presents is an explanation of what
Christ did in Gethsemane if he did not suffer
for our sins. (I am not going to give that away in this review because I think
readers should read the author's ideas and arguments for themselves.)
I, for one, am not willing to give up what President Packer
teaches about the Atonement for what Kevan Clawson has suggested, but I am
willing to add his suggestion to my understanding of what went on in
Gethsemane--what he suggests could have happened along with what our leaders
(and not just our parents) have taught us. For that reason, I am glad I read
this book, and for that reason, I submit that others may want to read it as
well. The author's idea is actually quite cool and gives insight into how the
Resurrection may have been achieved. So I recommend this book for that.
In the end, the author's suggestion does not really change
what we are taught we must do for our part. If we want to be exalted, we have
to repent and strive to be worthy of the companionship of the Holy Ghost,
which, by the way, counts as being in the presence of God, by definition. If we
don't repent, but choose to willfully disobey the commandments, we will remain
spiritually dead and separate from the presence of God. Whether we believe that
Christ suffered for our sins or that He did something else in Gethsemane,
we still need to repent and stand steadfast and immovable till the end if we
want to return to live with Him.
I just think replacing The Mediator with what the author of
this book suggests would tend to distance our hearts from a Savior who
"will take upon Him [our] infirmities, that His bowels may be filled with
mercy, according to the flesh, that He may know according to the flesh how to
succor His people according to their infirmities." (Alma 7:12) So I submit that He could very
well have done both.
________________________________________________________________________
Recommended reading for mature LDS
students October 16, 2008