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The Heart
Believing Heart
Book by Hafen, Bruce C
126 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 1990
16 people are currently reading
179 people want to read
About the author
Bruce C. Hafen
29 books30 followersBruce C. Hafen has been a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy since 1996, having served recently as Area President of the Australia/New Zealand area. Earlier he was president of Ricks College, Dean of the BYU Law School, and the number two administrator (Provost) at BYU. Elder Hafen is known to Deseret Book readers for his frequent Ensign articles and his bestselling trilogy on the Atonement, which includes the award-winning book The Broken Heart.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
January 13, 2010
So this is part of a trilogy, however this first book is not much more than a collection of talks and essays given in the '70's and '80's.
It was just what I needed. I was in a place where I needed to feel warm "arms" around me and this was just it. It got me remotivated and confident to continue facing my life instead of asking "why?" (which isn't always bad in and of itself, but in my case was no longer productive)
In the second book now and devouring. Looking forward to the third one as well...
It was just what I needed. I was in a place where I needed to feel warm "arms" around me and this was just it. It got me remotivated and confident to continue facing my life instead of asking "why?" (which isn't always bad in and of itself, but in my case was no longer productive)
In the second book now and devouring. Looking forward to the third one as well...
January 27, 2019
I have really enjoyed this book and its insights, especially chapters 1, 3, and 4.
I'd love to lend it to anyone I know personally; just ask!
I'd love to lend it to anyone I know personally; just ask!
July 31, 2010
"The Believing Heart" is a beautiful treatise on developing greater faith. I found so much truth in it, and recognized my own challenges in so many of Hafen's examples. I especially loved in the final chapter when he compared the trajectories of some of our lives to the early saints' journey to find Zion. In Kirtland they were given an outpouring of heavenly manifestations. Then, in Nauvoo when they were more mature in the gospel, it felt like only struggle. Where were the angels at the temple then? My own journey of faith has been so similar. As a teen I was completely on fire, where my testimony now feels more like Nauvoo. I know the gospel is true, but it's so difficult to attain the level of spirituality I found so easily all the time when I was younger. Anyway, enough about me...
The one thing that held me back from giving this book 5 stars is that the fifth chapter felt completely out of place. It went off on tangents about communism and Tolstoy, and even quoted a long section from Marc Connelly's "The Green Pastures." Honestly, it felt like the author wanted to make the book a bit longer and decided to throw in some random article he'd written.
The sixth chapter returned to the theme and tenor of the first four.
I'm glad to have read this book, and would recommend it to anyone who desires to have more potent faith.
The one thing that held me back from giving this book 5 stars is that the fifth chapter felt completely out of place. It went off on tangents about communism and Tolstoy, and even quoted a long section from Marc Connelly's "The Green Pastures." Honestly, it felt like the author wanted to make the book a bit longer and decided to throw in some random article he'd written.
The sixth chapter returned to the theme and tenor of the first four.
I'm glad to have read this book, and would recommend it to anyone who desires to have more potent faith.
July 22, 2016
Elder Hafen uses words beautifully and his insights are deep. This book is the beginning of a set of four exploring different states of the heart: believing, broken, belonging, covenant; and this one is the smallest of the four. I hope I have a believing heart. I do believe the idea that "people tend to see what they want to see, especially when the evidence is ambiguous." That's not just Elder Hafen who says that but scholars in the philosophy of knowledge. I choose to believe in God, in Christ and the Atonement, in the power and influence of the Holy Ghost, and in the restored church. A believing heart is what colors not so much what happens to us, but our attitude about what happens to us. In this book, one chapter is about the value of the veil, which allows us to participate in the process of becoming. Another is about God needing our help in His work: "their arm shall be my arm." I especially liked the last chapter about angels who come to help us in our experiences here on earth and help us feel a sense of spiritual wonder. There is the blessing of unseen angels in the lives of ordinary, devoted people.
January 28, 2020
Good stuff.
I will share a couple of excerpts that I underlined.
"The great miracles are symbolic of the way the Savior's Atonement intervenes in our lives as a pure act of grace ... think of miracles not as all the phenomena we can't understand, but simply as the influence of divine forces. In a broad sense, divine forces are involved in all nature and all technology."
"Most historians and philosophers tend to focus on the big events - on wars, revolutions, and dramatic incidents. Individual people, too, tend to dwell on the meaning of exceptional events and big decisions. But Tolstoy's characters achieve wisdom when they learn not to seek the great and poetic but to appreiciate the small and prosaic.... like the moment-to-moment conscientiousness of a good mother." Gary Morson
Bruce C. Hafen's wisdom and insight, inspiration and philosophy are timeless and thought provoking.
I will share a couple of excerpts that I underlined.
"The great miracles are symbolic of the way the Savior's Atonement intervenes in our lives as a pure act of grace ... think of miracles not as all the phenomena we can't understand, but simply as the influence of divine forces. In a broad sense, divine forces are involved in all nature and all technology."
"Most historians and philosophers tend to focus on the big events - on wars, revolutions, and dramatic incidents. Individual people, too, tend to dwell on the meaning of exceptional events and big decisions. But Tolstoy's characters achieve wisdom when they learn not to seek the great and poetic but to appreiciate the small and prosaic.... like the moment-to-moment conscientiousness of a good mother." Gary Morson
Bruce C. Hafen's wisdom and insight, inspiration and philosophy are timeless and thought provoking.
September 10, 2018
Excellent series of talks or speeches. I ended up tabbing a couple because I know myself well enough to knowI will want to find my way back here. Great reasoning, true spirit, a feeling of love captured in the printed word. I really enjoy Bruce C. Hafen's books and have plans on reading more. I'm glad I discovered him.
August 23, 2021
I loved this one, and found some really interesting insights. I especially liked the chapter titled: On Dealing with Uncertainty. It was sort, but really interesting and surprisingly relevant to our current times.
February 18, 2025
This book felt more like the first book in the trilogy than the second. This read like what it was, some previous talks/lessons that had been compiled to make up a book. I enjoyed the tie in to Alma and the discussions about testimony and our individual responsibilities.
July 6, 2022
What a fantastic book. Hafen is pretty remarkable in the way in which he can make complex subjects accessible. Well worth reading. Also anything by Hafen.
November 5, 2023
Deep and insightful on the topic of faith and what is required. The essays on the ambiguity of time and how much choice is part of faith are particularly worth the time, effort, and study.
December 5, 2023
Excellent book on faith!
March 25, 2024
Written in the 1980s, this still has some powerful ideas. I read it soon after it was published and am still being influenced by them. It was good to read this over.
November 26, 2013
This is actually the first book in Elder Hafen's series about hearts. It sets the stage for his discussion about three important principles - faith, the Atonement, and relationships. He explains that "(1) faith prepares us to receive the Atonement; (2) the Atonement purifies, mellows, and strengthens us; and (3) the Atonement then helps us build our relationships with the Lord and with others (p. ix)."
I think the discussion of faith, humility, hearts, the Atonement, and relationships is key to our purpose here on the earth and eternally. Elder Hafen shares interesting insights, but it was a little bit scattered for me. I probably need to not put it down for so long in between times and/or include more serious study on my own of these points for it to have even more meaning for me.
Here are a few of my take-aways and thoughts that I liked:
After telling the story of a humble young deacon saving a calf because of his childlike believing heart and prayers and priesthood power, Elder Hafen explains, "We live in sophisticated times. We are naturally inclined to regard what might be a genuine spiritual experience as a coincidence, unless there is conclusive evidence that spiritual forces were indeed involved (p. 4)." In other words, there is something important and powerful in the childlike, believing heart that we should seek to not lose as we grow older.
"We actually help nourish the development of [the fruits of faith] by acting in wholehearted reliance on our firm expectation that the Lord will keep his promises. If I believe the Lord will help me move a mountain, I fully invest my energy in starting to move it, even if only one shovel full at a time (p. 14)."
"The substance of our religion cannot fully be measured, it cannot fully be specified, except as it is understood by experience. But that is no reason to value it less. The most significant things we know about cannot be totally measured or specified. Our love for our families, our testimonies, our feelings of gratitude when we sense anew all that God has done for us--somehow to reduce these things to a content we can communicate entirely to other people or a meaning we can label so they will understand them fully may be to degrade their sacredness (p. 50)."
"Unless we live in such a way that our natural talents are enhanced 'by the power of [his] spirit,' we are not of much use to the Lord's cause, no matter how gifted we may seem. But if we do live worthy of divine help, even those who may seem weak and unlearned can be given power to 'trash the nations' with such strength that their arms become the Lord's arms in wielding the weapons of truth. I realize increasingly that we are utterly dependent upon the Lord (p. 84)."
"In the accumulation of our small-scale choices, our attitudes, our habits, our quiet influence on other individuals or small groups - in the aggregation of a thousand moments, here a little and there a little - we are fighting the greatest of wars on the grandest stage of history (p. 88)."
"Elder Marion D. Hanks once said that the most important factor in solving human problems is, very simply, the competence and the character of the people trying to solve them. There is a great need today for even a sprinkling of skilled, intelligent people here and there across the earth, who have also developed some standing with the Almighty through a lifetime of devotion to Him. Having done their best to prepare to help Him in this way, they will be in a position humbly to ask Him to help them, not only with the big problems, but with an endless collection of small problems that together threaten the peace and safety of mankind as never before (p. 96)."
"President [J. Reuben] Clark [Jr.] reserved his most reverent gratitude for 'the meekest and lowliest' of the pioneer Saints, represented by 'the last wagon in each of the long wagon trains' that oiled across the plains and mountain canyons (p. 106)."
"Not one of [the Martin and Willie Handcart Company] ever apostatized or left the Church, because every one of us came through with the absolute knowledge that God lives, for we became acquainted with him in our extremities. I have pulled my handcart when I was so weak and weary from illness and hunger that I could hardly put one foot ahead of the other....I have looked back many times to see who was pushing my cart, but my eyes saw no one. I knew then that the angels of God were there (p. 115)."
I think the discussion of faith, humility, hearts, the Atonement, and relationships is key to our purpose here on the earth and eternally. Elder Hafen shares interesting insights, but it was a little bit scattered for me. I probably need to not put it down for so long in between times and/or include more serious study on my own of these points for it to have even more meaning for me.
Here are a few of my take-aways and thoughts that I liked:
After telling the story of a humble young deacon saving a calf because of his childlike believing heart and prayers and priesthood power, Elder Hafen explains, "We live in sophisticated times. We are naturally inclined to regard what might be a genuine spiritual experience as a coincidence, unless there is conclusive evidence that spiritual forces were indeed involved (p. 4)." In other words, there is something important and powerful in the childlike, believing heart that we should seek to not lose as we grow older.
"We actually help nourish the development of [the fruits of faith] by acting in wholehearted reliance on our firm expectation that the Lord will keep his promises. If I believe the Lord will help me move a mountain, I fully invest my energy in starting to move it, even if only one shovel full at a time (p. 14)."
"The substance of our religion cannot fully be measured, it cannot fully be specified, except as it is understood by experience. But that is no reason to value it less. The most significant things we know about cannot be totally measured or specified. Our love for our families, our testimonies, our feelings of gratitude when we sense anew all that God has done for us--somehow to reduce these things to a content we can communicate entirely to other people or a meaning we can label so they will understand them fully may be to degrade their sacredness (p. 50)."
"Unless we live in such a way that our natural talents are enhanced 'by the power of [his] spirit,' we are not of much use to the Lord's cause, no matter how gifted we may seem. But if we do live worthy of divine help, even those who may seem weak and unlearned can be given power to 'trash the nations' with such strength that their arms become the Lord's arms in wielding the weapons of truth. I realize increasingly that we are utterly dependent upon the Lord (p. 84)."
"In the accumulation of our small-scale choices, our attitudes, our habits, our quiet influence on other individuals or small groups - in the aggregation of a thousand moments, here a little and there a little - we are fighting the greatest of wars on the grandest stage of history (p. 88)."
"Elder Marion D. Hanks once said that the most important factor in solving human problems is, very simply, the competence and the character of the people trying to solve them. There is a great need today for even a sprinkling of skilled, intelligent people here and there across the earth, who have also developed some standing with the Almighty through a lifetime of devotion to Him. Having done their best to prepare to help Him in this way, they will be in a position humbly to ask Him to help them, not only with the big problems, but with an endless collection of small problems that together threaten the peace and safety of mankind as never before (p. 96)."
"President [J. Reuben] Clark [Jr.] reserved his most reverent gratitude for 'the meekest and lowliest' of the pioneer Saints, represented by 'the last wagon in each of the long wagon trains' that oiled across the plains and mountain canyons (p. 106)."
"Not one of [the Martin and Willie Handcart Company] ever apostatized or left the Church, because every one of us came through with the absolute knowledge that God lives, for we became acquainted with him in our extremities. I have pulled my handcart when I was so weak and weary from illness and hunger that I could hardly put one foot ahead of the other....I have looked back many times to see who was pushing my cart, but my eyes saw no one. I knew then that the angels of God were there (p. 115)."
February 26, 2017
Great book.
July 28, 2008
A women's conference suggestion. This is probably one of the best church books I've ever read. It's about building faith, and what that really means. It took me forever to read it because I kept stopping, pondering, wondering and asking. One of the chapters is about free agency. One of the sentences he said has been on my mind for weeks. I can't stop thinking about it and what it means about me and my style of parenting. He said, "voluntary action and freedom of inquiry are essential to the development of religious character..." This is of course one of the reasons that Satan's plan could not have worked (regardless of what he said) we wouldn't have had either of these options.
May 17, 2009
I am re-reading this book. I remember it to be fantistic and I am looking forward to gaining more insight since my knowledge and needs have changed in the past 8 years. It is the first of a trilogy by the Hafen's. Definitely worth reading.
5/16/09 I just finisehd re-reading and I'm bumping it up to 5 stars. I think everyone should read it. It is a very honest, open discussion of some of the challenges of having faith. Left me feeling enlightened, inspired to be better, and with the desire to have a more open heart.
5/16/09 I just finisehd re-reading and I'm bumping it up to 5 stars. I think everyone should read it. It is a very honest, open discussion of some of the challenges of having faith. Left me feeling enlightened, inspired to be better, and with the desire to have a more open heart.
January 8, 2011
This book is short, but has some incredible insight pertaining to faith, and how to become more Christlike in our daily pursuits. I recommend it for anyone, but especially those who seek to understand what faith is, and why it is so important in our discipleship of Jesus Christ.
I will say, there are some parts that feel like he is being a little redundant, but other than that, it is a great book.
I will say, there are some parts that feel like he is being a little redundant, but other than that, it is a great book.
October 7, 2011
I really liked this book. It's a series of essays by Elder Hafen, and the first book in a trilogy. The essays were easy to read, but they still got to the heart of the matter and really made you think. I look forward to reading more of these.
March 10, 2012
This book was just OK for me. There are some really wonderful insights and I truly treasured the first few chapters. The two chapters in the middle kind of confused me.
I absolutely loved The Broken Heart by the same author. I think I was expecting the same kind of experience as that book.
I absolutely loved The Broken Heart by the same author. I think I was expecting the same kind of experience as that book.
March 14, 2016
Each chapter is an essay of sorts answering a question on faith. They don't necessary connect together, but each is great on its own. I love Hafen's literary voice. He's easy to read and follow while still being very insightful.
March 2, 2008
Love all of his books
June 1, 2008
I read both Believing Heart and Broken heart at the conclusion of my mission. I thought they were very good.
April 17, 2009
I know this will help in teaching! I need to always remember to teach by the spirit.
October 1, 2009
Not as good as the first Hafen book
February 25, 2010
a great book about faith. hard to find, but totally worth locating it and the read.
August 24, 2010
A good, uplifting book. I loved the stories. Faith promoting.
January 14, 2013
It was good, but seemed a little random and undeveloped. More like a collection of talks than a book.
October 15, 2014
These five essays are reassuring and thought-provoking for the LDS reader and perhaps for others. Highly recommended. Hafen's insights are profound and profoundly human.
October 6, 2008
Hafen writes with a literary and sincere style.
July 6, 2011
Very significant book for me at the time.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews