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Falling to Heaven: The Surprising Path to Happiness
by
James L. Ferrell (Goodreads Author)
"When we are struggling, where is happiness actually to be found? What I have learned in response to this question has been one of the biggest surprises of my life." —James L. Ferrell
As incredible as it may sound, much of the sadness and frustration we feel in mortality is actually created by our well-meaning efforts to find happiness. Relief from this predicament can be f...more
As incredible as it may sound, much of the sadness and frustration we feel in mortality is actually created by our well-meaning efforts to find happiness. Relief from this predicament can be f...more
Hardcover
Published
February 2012
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An excellent book about humility, grace, and the Atonement. Some of the concepts were fairly basic and nothing new, but others really helped me put the Atonement in a new light.
I particularly liked his "speed of light" analogy. On a highway, if another car is going one mile faster than you, you will see it gradually approach, then pass, then go away from you. However, because of the nature of the speed of light, you can be going at a speed just slower than the speed of light, but the same pheno...more
I particularly liked his "speed of light" analogy. On a highway, if another car is going one mile faster than you, you will see it gradually approach, then pass, then go away from you. However, because of the nature of the speed of light, you can be going at a speed just slower than the speed of light, but the same pheno...more
This was an amazing book which taught me a different perspective of "getting to heaven". We all think of heaven as Up or above us. This book teaches a unique paradigm of falling to heaven. The author shares unique perspectives on "taking upon us the yoke of Christ" and on "following the iron rod to reach the tree of life".
In Lehi's vision of the Tree of Life, there are basically five groups of people, most who are not successful in their pursuits to get to the Tree of Life and experience the lo...more
In Lehi's vision of the Tree of Life, there are basically five groups of people, most who are not successful in their pursuits to get to the Tree of Life and experience the lo...more
LDS Non-Fiction.
I am so, so, so, so disappointed in this. I had the impression from the other reviews and the opening of the book itself that it would make me think and it would make me hugely uncomfortable. I love having my boundaries pushed and thus picked this up eagerly. I expected hard questions that would make me question my thought process and my behavior.
But that wasn't what I got. I did find some gems and I am really, really drawn to the central idea of the book: That we fall to our kne...more
I am so, so, so, so disappointed in this. I had the impression from the other reviews and the opening of the book itself that it would make me think and it would make me hugely uncomfortable. I love having my boundaries pushed and thus picked this up eagerly. I expected hard questions that would make me question my thought process and my behavior.
But that wasn't what I got. I did find some gems and I am really, really drawn to the central idea of the book: That we fall to our kne...more
I can't begin to describe how important this book is to me. I agree with James Ferrell, that most of us are slavishly laboring in an effort to find happiness, but our efforts are often the very thing keeping us from that result! His language is plain, direct, humble and laden with the Spirit. I believe that he has captured the essence of our true mission on Earth and cut past our usual to-do lists, even those good and better lists, to go straight for the best. At the same time, his approach is e...more
Feb 27, 2012
Erika B.
marked it as to-read
Haven't read it all yet because I'm reading an advanced copy! But so far it's excellent-favorite paragraph thus far-
"Whether we are feeling up or feeling down, the scriptures suggest that the path of rescue lies in the one direction our natural-man tendencies keep us from looking. As absurd as it may sound, happiness apparently lies not in our trying to feel better about ourselves but rather through our allowing the Lord to help us see truths that at first might make us feel worse. In these lowe...more
"Whether we are feeling up or feeling down, the scriptures suggest that the path of rescue lies in the one direction our natural-man tendencies keep us from looking. As absurd as it may sound, happiness apparently lies not in our trying to feel better about ourselves but rather through our allowing the Lord to help us see truths that at first might make us feel worse. In these lowe...more
Like Ferrell's other books, this was well worth my time to read. It is written in prose/lecture format, not in story form, as a few of his other books were. However, it left an impression on my soul. The most profound thing I read was his explanation of why witholding forgiveness is the greater sin. I FINALLY "got it". Refusing to forgive is merely the sin of witholding love! If we are to become like the Savior, we must love perfectly. His premise that anytime we stand UP for ourselves, we are m...more
I have been a memeber of the Church of Jesus Christ for 56 years. In all of my studying, I have never come upon such meaning and spiritual enlightenment in discearning my way along this path we call life as I have in reading this book. I bought this book on my Kindle, I am now going out to purchase the hard copy. I will reference this book the rest of my life.
I have long been a fan of any writings by C. Terry Warner. It is his philosophy that led me to James L. Ferrell's writings. to discover t...more
I have long been a fan of any writings by C. Terry Warner. It is his philosophy that led me to James L. Ferrell's writings. to discover t...more
Simplictic but profound. The insights of this book have enlightened my scripture reading/understanding. Such as a recent re-read of King Benjamin when he says in Mosiah 2:11 "..with all the might, mind and strength which the Lord hath granted me." Of course now I realize the Lord gives might, mind and strength not my own lame might, mind and strength... awesome insight which I feel is a direct result of the new concepts from this book. Along with a new perspective of pride and selfishness which...more
As in the Peacekeeper, well even more than Ferrell brings up some interesting ideas the first one that instead of looking up (being prideful) we need to earn how to look down (being humble.) At first I thought it was kind of gimmicky but then he kept supporting his ideas and telling excellent stories as examples. It is probably a book to read more than one time, like "How to Win Friends and Influence People." One that from time to time to at least skim and be reminded of just how following the a...more
I absolutely loved this book! It's a great reminder of how to live the two great commandments: loving God and loving others. It's also a wonderful treatise on repentance. 2 Nephi 25:23 says, "for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all that we can do." And all that we can really do is come unto Christ in repentance. We are all His debtors and every sin (no matter how big or small) keeps of from being one with Him. His hand is constantly stretched out toward us in mercy. When we...more
(Audio Book) I know this book has received a lot of praise and high ratings. I think if it was helpful and enlightening for some then that's wonderful. For me personally, I didn't care for it. While I thought the author's perspective was interesting, I spent far more time disagreeing than I did agreeing. To me, it felt like the entire second-half of the book was nothing more than a soapbox and I felt that he was often talking in circles. I felt that some of the scriptures were shared out of cont...more
I really enjoyed this book. It gave me a new perspective on humility. By being humble and loving Christ with a pureness of heart, falling at His feet in worship, we will find true happiness and make our way up to heaven. That's a total general review of the book, since there are so many different aspects on how to do this, but it's the gist of it! The author goes through several different examples on how our human minds might think or how we've been taught by the world to think but then talks ab...more
I honestly really enjoyed this book! It's not often that I spend the money to buy a book (usually I just get them at the library!) but about 1/2 way through this book, I bought it because I knew I would want to re-read this to soak it in a little bit more.
A basic (very basic) synopsis of this book is that essentially getting rid of pride (referred to in this book as "upness") is the only way to be truly happy, because it is the only way to truly bring ourselves closer to the Lord. So essentially...more
A basic (very basic) synopsis of this book is that essentially getting rid of pride (referred to in this book as "upness") is the only way to be truly happy, because it is the only way to truly bring ourselves closer to the Lord. So essentially...more
I love the paradoxes inherent in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. My sister-in-law gave me a copy of this one. At first I wasn't sure that I "liked" the writing style and setup but as I went through the chapters and pondered the ideas, I began to see the purpose behind the apparent simplicity of the book. I also wasn't particularly a fan of the stories that he chose to illustrate his points, but the doctrinal insights and scriptures that are cited are thoroughly researched and organized into a cohesi...more
The paradoxes outlined in this book were great! Really gets ya thinking! The idea behind the book is that you can only be exhalted by falling before the feet of our Lord. A good quote that kinda sums up the idea of the book comes from page xi:
"Whether we are feeling up or feeling down, the scriptures suggest that the path of rescue lies in the one direction our natural-man tendencies keep us from looking. As absurd as it may sound, happiness apparently lies not in our trying to feel better abou...more
"Whether we are feeling up or feeling down, the scriptures suggest that the path of rescue lies in the one direction our natural-man tendencies keep us from looking. As absurd as it may sound, happiness apparently lies not in our trying to feel better abou...more
This is a neat book! It reminds us of the important principles of humility and repentance. I think it helps us understand better who we are and who Jesus Christ is and who everyone else around us is, too. The book points out the that there is no commandment to love or forgive ourselves, although we talk about that a lot and think we must have a certain confidence in ourselves before we're able to effectively do anything else.
Instead we should forget ourselves, come to Him and He will show us ou...more
Instead we should forget ourselves, come to Him and He will show us ou...more
I look at this book as a pushing off point. It has some good ideas, but if you want to go deeper then you need to ponder and pray. This is the gospel as James Ferrell sees it - he is not a prophet, and doesn't claim to be. I'm not sure how much I agree with him on some points, but I do think he makes a good case for the need of Christ in our lives.
It's a good book. My process has been to read, discuss, and take what rings true and toss the rest. I think it was worth the read.
It's a good book. My process has been to read, discuss, and take what rings true and toss the rest. I think it was worth the read.
This was a fantastic book. I feel like I just got taken to task, but in the most loving way possible. It basically talks about where to find true happiness because the world and common sense tells us to look up and find ways to feel good about how we're doing. But Ferrell argues that we find true happiness when we strip ourselves of pride and focus on our sins (and how Christ can and will help us overcome them) and others' strengths. Simply life changing.
it had a few interesting insights b but there was quite a lot of filler in between them. It would make a great article but the watery length made it a weak book.
I liked the launch of idea, and the forgiveness idea of not worrying about forgiveness but focusing on repentance to rely on Christ, but most of the rest was banal.
I also didn't like the author continuously stressing the strength with which his insights hit him. Let them speak for themselves.
I liked the launch of idea, and the forgiveness idea of not worrying about forgiveness but focusing on repentance to rely on Christ, but most of the rest was banal.
I also didn't like the author continuously stressing the strength with which his insights hit him. Let them speak for themselves.
A few chapters into this... and LOVING IT! Oh, how I needed another Peacegiver and this is doing it for me! I just finished this book and it is exactly what I needed. I feel it is the perfect companion to The Peacegiver. There were some profound insights, but I was most touched by the last few chapters which spoke of teaching through confession and other touching thoughts and ideas. I highly recommend this book!
How could this book not have five stars? One of the most life changing books I've ever read. Makes doctrine clear and understandable and it just FEELS RIGHT and MAKES SENSE! This book helped me realize I'm no better than anyone else, and no one else is better than me...and it's not about me loving myself, but me loving God and focusing on Him and loving others. I'd highly recommend this book!!!
Excellent book. Easy read but provocative. Lifts you from discouragement while deepening your recognition of who the Savior is and how we need Him. I loved his thoughts about the confessional life, competition, and recognizing we don't have to earn happiness. Our task is to bring ourselves again and again to the feet of the Savior who shows us His way. Great book. Highly recommended.
If you really want to understand how to find true happiness, this is the book to read. The information is not new to me, but Ferrell's twist on it really gave me new focus. The interesting premise states that much of our own unhappiness can often be traced to our own misguided efforts to find happiness and the true paradox that rescues one from living a miserable life.
Along with Ferrell's first two books, I give his latest book 5 stars. He expresses insights that inspire me to live the gospel more fully. Just as the people who were building the Tower of Babel couldn't reach heaven by climbing "up", we must have a broken heart and contrite spirit and go "down", or bow, before the Lord in humility. Highly recommend to everyone.
While the information in part one of this book is 5-star quality, is a little redundant, I have to say. I didn't think I'd end up giving the book a 5-star rating in the end. But the rest of the book was so powerful and insightful, with information that makes so much sense I wondered how it had not already occurred to me, that it deserved 5. I'd definitely read it again, and when I do, I'm buying a copy of my own. A must read for any Latter-day Saint!
I ready this book, mainly because I loved the Peacegiver, written by James Ferrell. I liked it. It had some good ideas. I mainly like the way he takes something so familiar and gives it a way for you to look at it that makes you twist your thinking just a bit. His first example of all of us having holes in our boats was a memorable one for me.
An excellent follow up to The Peacegiver. Took several readings to really get my mind around the concepts. Ferrell takes principles that I had only intuited before, and gives them substance and makes them plain. This book stays on my night stand as a constant reminder of where I need to go next.
Another wonderful book by this author. He explores how sometimes people urge us to try forgive and love ourselves and feel "up" when they see we feel down and offers a different way to think about it. He asks, "When we are struggling, where is happiness actually to be found?". He calls the answer the great paradox. He puts forth the scriptures in a way I had not thought of before, as usual. Definitely recommend this for everyone, even if you are not particularly struggling right now.
Newest book by the author of The Peace Giver. Great book, but deep. Go into it prepared because without the right attitude this could be one of those guilt-producing gospel reads. Don't neglect to finish the book to the final page. The most influential lesson I received from the book was at the end.
Very deep doctrine, but practical in application. I really enjoy all of James Ferrell's books--this was no exception. I found the explanation of why we should focus on repentance instead of forgiveness particularly meaningful. I just wish I was better at putting what I learn into practice.
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“Anything that makes me feel better (or worse) than another is darkness; anything that makes me feel one with others is divine. So the natural instinct to try to lift others by helping them to feel good about themselves relative to others is exactly the wrong way to help. True happiness is found not in a belief that I am better but in the obliteration of any need to be.”
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Apr 22, 2013 08:05pm