Tell Me Your Favorite Books for Building a Strong Spiritual Self
I would be interested in finding out what books you like to read when you want some spiritual strengthening. They can be LDS books or not, but they should be books that you find inspiration in and perhaps some practical suggestions as to what a person can do to increase his spiritual strength.
One book I like is C.S.Lewis's Mere Christianity. Another would be All These Things Shall Give Thee Experience by Neal A. Maxwell.
So give me your recommended spiritual reading list! You can just list books/authors or you can comment about them, too, if you like. Thanks!!!!
One book I like is C.S.Lewis's Mere Christianity. Another would be All These Things Shall Give Thee Experience by Neal A. Maxwell.
So give me your recommended spiritual reading list! You can just list books/authors or you can comment about them, too, if you like. Thanks!!!!
Labels: inspiration
posted by Mary A | 10:44 AM
12 Comments:
That is a good question. It isn't one I have thought about much. Some of them include:
Poetry of William Blake. He touches on spiritual things in ways that come close to Joseph Smith. Sometimes he gets out of hand.
"The Scarlet Letter" by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Although I don't always agree with critical analysis, it is a book about sin, repentance, and forgiveness.
Shakespeare. He really does have a lot to say on spirituality, morality, and the human condition.
I'll list a few more later.
Thanks for getting us started, Jettboy! This is the kind of thing I hoped people would suggest, as well as more obviously spiritual books like I mentioned. We can get inspiration and also life lessons from many places.
I have a collection of "Great American Speeches", edited by Gregory Suriano, that I find inspirational. Washington's Farewell and Patrick Henry's Liberty or Death are my favorites.
I still find the Book of Mormon number one for finding spiritual inspiration followed by Talmage's "Jesus The Christ".
T.F., I'd forgotten about the speeches and writings of our founding fathers and other early Americans when I was writing this post, so I'm glad you mentioned them. They are inspiring and often speak of the best way to live and the importance of virtue and good character. And they aren't afraid to mention God!
I would definitely agree about the Book of Mormon and Jesus the Christ.
I find Anne of Green Gables and Little Women to be very uplifting.
Barb, yes, those are good. I have picked up used copies of them--you don't have to be a kid to enjoy them!
I think that the Lord of the Rings trilogy and the Hobbit are wonderful, too. They have a lot to say about persisting in doing right and in overcoming fear. Many other things are in them, too. I also like to read Thoreau's Walden. It reminds me of simplicity and order and of connecting with nature and the great outdoors.
This is my first attempt as a blogger, but I was intrigued by your name ("By Study and Also by Faith").
Many of my favorite books for building a strong spiritual self are by spiritual researcher Marcus Bach, especially "They Have Found a Faith". Unfortunately, most of his books are out of print, but they can be read online at www.lib.byu.edu/spc/bach/
I also like "The Autobiography of Charles Darwin" (the Dover press edition - also out of print - which includes a chapter on religion), "Voyage of the Beagle", and the opening pages of "Origin of Species", all by Darwin. Why Darwin? A basic theme in his writings is the idea that God has two great books of revelation: the Bible and Nature - and we cannot know too much about either. (I would include other scriptures besides the Bible, especially the Book of Mormon, as great books of revelation).
I am currently reading "Rough Stone Rolling" by Richard Lyman Bushman. So far I love it!
Welcome to the wonderful world of blogging, Dion! Thanks for your book suggestions--I'll have to check them out. I wouldn't have thought about Darwin, so I'm glad you mentioned him.
Mary,
Have a Merry Christmas!
Barb, a Merry Christmas to you, too! And a Happy New Year!
Mary
I see you have a Christmas message up now. I was hoping you would.
I particularly like The Maze of Mormonism. A real eye-opener.
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