Spiritually Anchored In Unsettled Times

by Bruce C. Hafen

In this candid book full of personal stories and rich doctrine, Elder Bruce C. Hafen helps us think and feel in fresh, deep ways about faith, reason, and other elements of a well- anchored testimony-- one that will stabilize, orient, and energize the disciple s quest for that "better world" while "abounding in good works" in this one. The book shows how developing such faith is a process, not an event-- a process that includes overcoming the snares and stagnations that punctuate our life s paths. Elder Hafen here teaches us how we can again feel movement and find joy in the journey, with both anchor and sail so well set that "the furious wind" that blows "upon the face of the waters" actually hastens us "toward the promised land" (Ether 6:5)

Genres: Religion, Nonfiction, Lds, Lds Non Fiction, Spirituality, Church, Inspirational

144 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 4, 2009

About the author

Bruce 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.

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Back in the day I worked underground in the documents and maps section of the HBLL at BYU. Bruce Hafen often requested various documents, congressional reports etc. He, I'm sure, would never remember me but what remember about him is that he was always thoughtful, kind and grateful. And lemme tell ya, that ain't always the case when dealing with faculty, deans and other scholarly types. So, I'm predisposed to liking his work so consider he source but I did quite enjoy this collection of essays, thoughts on faith and reason, ambiguity, testimony and discipleship. I particularly loved the chapter titled Hebrews and Greeks. I was planing to send this along to my daughter but, as it's a short, quick read I do believe I'll hang onto it and study a bit more.

[Greg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spiritually Anchored in Unsettled Times is a gem of a little book from Elder Bruce C. Hafen. It reads as if it might be a collection of essays or talks with related themes that have been re-worked to fit together and flow better. Either way, it is worth exploring and pondering thoughtfully upon, and for me, it explains some of the questions I have had. Some favorite takeaway quotes and thoughts include the following:

1. “Feelings are especially important when they come as an actual confirmation of other evidence of truth. That confirmation is essential to our spiritual guidance. But in addition to our feelings, a well-grounded testimony also includes other important elements, such as experience and reason. Feeling by itself has a thin root system that is too shallow to support a fully developed testimony…” These three elements of testimony may be thoughts of as the points of a triangle, a very stable structure. The scriptures emphasize the importance of all three aspects of testimony. See for example John 7:17 (experience); Isaiah 1:18, D&C 8:2, and D&C 9:7-8 (reason) and D&C 9:8-9 and D&C 8:2 (feelings).
2. “Those who are well-intentioned, but stuck in mere activity wonder why the joy of the journey has waned, perhaps without realizing that they have stopped growing spiritually. When the growth stops, so does the joy…Whatever the reason for our lost momentum, it isn’t enough to just go through the motions – we must be in motion.”
3. “We talk often in the church about coming to Christ. Perhaps we should talk more about how Christ also comes to us…We never have more value in the Lord’s sight than when we are feeling worthless…”
4. “[President Hinckley] said that prosperity often leads to indulgence, and indulgence leads to sin. Said another way, indulgence is the bridge that leads us from prosperity to sin.”
5. “When obedience ceases to be an irritant and becomes our quest, in that moment God will endow us with power.” (President Ezra Taft Benson)
6. “The Lord’s ‘friends’ thus feel His increased confidence in them – enough confidence that He is now willing to tutor them in the most personal ways. But they also discover that His tutorial asks more of them, not less. It is both possible and likely that the closer we come to Christ, the more we will be aware of what we yet need to do. ‘If men come unto me I will show unto them their weaknesses…’ (Ether 12:27). So if we are becoming more aware of our weaknesses, that doesn’t mean we are drifting away from Him; it may well mean that we are drawing closer.”
7. “Whether we are conscious of it or not, we inevitably teach what we are. This pattern [like Alma; Mosiah 23:14] – being a true disciple in order to help others become true disciples – applies not just to missionaries; it is the most basic purpose behind every calling in every Church organization.”
8. “Our desires determine our direction.”
9. Three consequences of unclean thoughts or acts: “He that looketh on a woman to lust after her…(1) shall not have the Spirit; (2) shall deny the faith; and (3) shall fear (D&C 63:16). “Not having the Spirit and denying the faith are exactly the opposite of developing a spiritually grounded testimony. So, lust blocks out testimony.” Three effects of letting “virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly” that are exactly the mirror opposite o the effects of lust include (D&C 121:45-46): (1) “thy confidence [shall] wax strong in the presence of God (the opposite of fear); (2) “the doctrine of the priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven” (the opposite of denying the faith); and (3) “the Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion” (the opposite of not having the Spirit.”
10. “Our encounters with reality and disappointment are actually vital stages in the development of our maturity and understanding.” Thus, acceptance of uncertainty (what Elder Hafen calls “level-two awareness”) is an essential part of our spiritual growth, but sometimes (as with many academics) we become too comfortable with it. “One’s acceptance of the clouds of uncertainty may become so complete that the iron rod seems to fade into the blurring mists of darkness, and skepticism becomes a guiding philosophy.”
11. The progression in awareness that Elder Hafen describes seems to me to be similar in some respects to the progress that Robert Quinn describes as coming out “on the other side of complexity.”

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book!

"Think of a mountain climber ascending steep, rocky cliffs. He needs anchor points planted firmly in the rocks, so he has sure places to tie his ropes and to put his feet. In that sense, being well anchored is crucial to his ability to keep moving upward. So it is with a disciple's journey, which must often traverse rugged high terrain and turbulent seas. The disciple needs to be fixed and secure in his relationship with the Lord in order to move ever closer to Him--especially against the stiff winds of opposition, which sometimes whistle loudest around the highest peaks (p. 1)."

"We must increase the depth of our testimonies in order to decrease the distance between ourselves and the Savior (p. 2)."

"In addition to our feelings, a well-grounded testimony also includes... experience and reason (p. 3)."

"Distractions can stop our serious progress as effectively as a conscious choice to quit moving. Some grind to a halt under the weight of overload and exhaustion. Others may begin to care more about being comfortable (p. 3)."

"We wouldn't lose momentum in these ways if more of us could live every day as truly consecrated disciples of Christ, rather than just being active in the Church... Whatever the reason for our lost momentum, it isn't enough just to go through the motions--we must be in motion. We can't move to a sanctified state of faithfulness just by checking an attendance box, because our spiritual growth is a developmental process, not a yes-or-no event (p. 4)."

"Becoming more deeply anchored in the spiritual foundations of Christ's true followers will bless, energize, and change us as we journey toward the eternal presence of Him whom 'even the winds and the sea obey' (p. 5)."

"She is a child of our covenant, and I want to be with her always (p. 9)."

"We talk often in the Church about coming to Christ. Perhaps we should talk more about how Christ also comes to us (p. 11)."

"He discovered that his calling gave him experiences that led him to truly come to know Christ. However we get started, the choice to begin this journey requires that we exert our will or at least desire to believe. God cannot and will not force us to take that first step... But as soon as we start moving toward the light, the gravitational pull of darkness will immediately try to jerk us back. Satan... will tempt, frighten, and fight us... Satan may rattle us, but he cannot overcome us, for God can and will cast Satan from our presence (p. 12)."

"There will always be a reason not to go on. We must not wait until all obstacles disappear (p. 14)."

"The sacrament represents this first level of sacrifice. They also commit not only to give away their sins but also to remember Him and to follow Him until they know Him (p. 14)."

"Receiving the Holy Ghost marks the beginning of our real spiritual growth, not the end. Baptism and the Holy Ghost only let us 'enter in by the gate.' Then the Holy Ghost leads us along the 'strait and narrow path' of becoming sanctified disciples--not as passive spectators but by our straining every spiritual muscle, drinking in the power of temple ordinances, overcoming adversity, and feasting activity on Christ's words to nourish us in becoming ever more holy (p. 17)."

"The Atonement helps us grow in two ways: removing negative weeds and cultivating positive flowers (p. 17)."

"How much does this grace cost? Is it enough just to believe in Christ?... The Savior asks all that we have if we would seek 'all that my Father hath.' To quality for such treasure, our sacrifice must somehow emulate Christ's own sacrifice, of which He said: 'How exquisite you know not, yea, how hard to bear you know not'... What pearl could possibly be worth such a price for us and for Him? This earth is not our home. We are away at school, doing hard homework, learning from opposition how to grow up, spiritually, so we can return Home (p. 18)."

"Christ's Atonement is at the very core of this plan. Without His sacrifice, there would be no way Home, no way to be together, no way to be like Him. He gave us all He had... Because 'how great is his joy' when even one of us 'gets it' (p. 19)."

"After helping us weed out our worldly ways with the balm of forgiveness, Christ's perfecting grace then helps us replace those weeds with the divine flowers of Christlike attributes (p. 19)."

"Indulgence means gratifying our vain desires in the proud belief that we deserve to have it all, keeping one hand on the wall of the temple and one foot on the dance floor at Club Babylon (p. 20)."

"If you don't get out of your comfort zone, you won't learn... you won't grow (p. 21)."

"All of the moon's light is reflected from the sun; it is borrowed light. When life's greatest tests come, those who are living on the borrowed testimonies of others will not be able to stand. We need our own access to the light of the Son (p. 22)."

"The only thing we can give the Lord that He hasn't already given us is our own will (p. 22)."

"'When obedience ceases to be an irritant and becomes our quest, in that moment God will endow us with power' (Ezra Taft Benson, p. 23)."

"'It would change the entire Church if in every ward, we could have just three or four more families who become truly consecrated disciples of Jesus Christ instead of just being active in the Church' (Neal A. Maxwell, p. 23)."

"'Is a man really converted if he isn't willing to sacrifice for his religion?' (p. 24)"

"In 1898, Andrew Kimball, age forty, had a nice home and a young family in Salt Lake City, including a three-year-old son named Spencer. The First Presidency called Andrew to be the stake president in Arizona's Gila Valley, to serve for what turned out to be the rest of his life--twenty-six years. Moving to the deserts of Arizona in those days was so difficult... His friends thought being sent to Arizona was like being buried alive. But Andrew wrote in his journal that he 'had been called on a mission and to me there was just one answer and that was to go.'... Young Spencer Kimball watched his parents repeatedly take their problems to the Lord. They always had family prayer. They frequently fasted. They always paid their tithing... The Kimballs gave Heavenly Father the very best they had. As a result, Heavenly Father gave them the very best He had. Many years later, the whole Church learned how growing up in the adversities of Arizona had prepared Spencer W. Kimball to be a tower of spiritual strength as the Lord's living prophet (p. 25)."

"There is no greater source of inner peace than to know that our lives are acceptable to the Lord (p. 27)."

"The Lord's 'friends' thus feel His increased confidence in them--enough confidence that He is now willing to tutor them in the most personal ways. But they also discover that His tutorial asks more of them, not less. It is both possible and likely that the closer we come to Christ, the more we will be aware of what we yet need to do (p. 28)."

"If we are becoming more aware of our weaknesses, that doesn't mean we are drifting away from Him; it may well mean that we are drawing closer (p. 29)."

"'If we are serious about our discipleship, Jesus will eventually request each of us to do those very things which are the most difficult for us to do' (Neal A. Maxwell, p. 29)."

"Ever since Okinawa, he had wanted to become a fully consecrated follower of Jesus, no matter what the price. And the more he desired the gift of charity--to love as Christ loves--the more he sensed how dear the price might be (p. 29)."

"To love as Christ loves probably means we will taste some form of suffering ourselves, because the love and the affliction are but two sides of the same coin (p. 30)."

"Sanctification is... when, finally, we are not only with God but like God, for only those who have become like Him can be with Him (p. 30)."

"We can't develop a permanent Christlike love by ourselves, but we can do all in our power to become a 'true follower'--meek, lowly of heart, and submissive to correction and affliction (p. 30)."

"For me, the words 'with you' capture the meaning of sanctification and the Atonement in their simplest terms. If we do our part, Christ makes us 'at one' with God and like God, overcoming whatever separates us from Him. He is with us... not only at the end of our lives but through each day of our lives. And without Christ, we could not be with our family and friends (p. 31)."

"The Atonement simply means 'with you,' in two senses. First, it overcomes anything that separates us from our Heavenly Father, so we can be with Him... Second, only through the Atonement can we be with our family members and friends forever (p. 33)."

"Testimony is also at the core of what parents and leaders all over the Church are trying to teach their children and youth (p. 41)."

"The real key lies in the vertical relationship between the investigator and God, and the point of every missionary lesson is to help the investigator build his or her own relationship with God. That relationship is the primary source of a complete and authentic testimony. It's also the foundation for the investigator's longer term process of becoming Christ's disciple (P. 42)."

"Becoming truly consecrated disciples ourselves is the single most important factor in our ability to teach others about following Christ. Whether we are conscious of it or not, we inevitably teach what we are (p. 43)."

"The teaching and role modeling of parents and grandparents clearly influences their posterity (p. 45)."

"Children whose Church experience includes private religious behavior are much more likely one day to go on a mission and marry in the temple than are children who engage only in public religious behavior (p. 46)."

"Nephi... discovered a private spiritual world that Laman and Lemuel never chose to find (p. 47)."

"If we really want a testimony, we... must desire to find God above all other desires (p. 48)."

"We can indeed have eternal life, if we really want it, so long as we don't want something else more (p. 49)."

"The Holy Ghost is the ultimate source of the witness we seek, and He cannot be in an unclean place (p. 49)."

"The three elements that form and support a complete testimony are reason, feeling, and experience (p. 51)."

"I am struck by the similarity between the process of developing a testimony and the process of falling in love (p. 51)."

"'All things denote there is a God' (p. 53)."

"'Belief in God can be an entirely rational choice... the principles of faith are, in fact, complementary with the principles of science (p. 54).'"

"'Faith in God is more rational than disbelief (p. 54).'"

"'Science will not be able to prove or disprove holy writ. However, enough plausible evidence... will come forth to prevent scoffers from having a field day, but not enough to remove the requirement of faith' (Neal A. Maxwell, p. 57)."

"Science and history never do lead to absolute conclusions about religion... A testimony therefore needs the second side of the triangle--spiritual feelings from the Holy Ghost (p. 57)."

"When I was younger, I somehow had the impression that spiritual feelings were not recognized outside the religious sphere as a legitimate source of knowledge (p. 60)."

"Our understanding of truth needs an incubation period, a chance to settle in and take root, just as Alma describes in Alma 32. This is the test of time, the season when we nourish and water the seed we have planted. We must also overcome the opposition and hazards we face after the seed takes root and sprouts, when the sun's heat can scorch the tender plant (p. 62)."

"Faith plus action leads to knowledge (p. 63)."

"As we looked back together on his life, I asked if he could see the answers to any prayers in what he had experienced since those hard teen years... 'Of course.' 'Sounds like the beginning of a real testimony to me' (p. 66)."

"The gospel works when we work to live it (p. 68)."

"A testimony really does live and grow organically, like a seed that becomes a tree, and the tree that eventually bears precious fruit (p. 68)."

"That knowledge is not simply the result of one dramatic event; rather, it is the aggregate conclusion from many thoughts, feelings, and experiences in a lifelong process (p. 68)."

"It is possible on occasion to encounter some uncertainty even in studying the scriptures... I once heard President Spencer W. Kimball offer an alternative interpretation of Peter's behavior... the Savior's statement that Peter would deny him three times before the cock crowed just might have been a request to Peter, not a prediction. Jesus might have been instructing His chief Apostle to deny any association with Him in order to ensure continued leadership for the Church after the Crucifixion... The scriptures don't give us enough information about Peter's motivation to clarify the ambiguity (p. 76)."

"At times these two correct principles can seem inconsistent, until the unifying higher doctrine of the Atonement brings them together... Choosing between two principled alternatives (two 'goods') is more difficult than choosing when we see a stark and obvious contrast between good and evil (p. 77)."

"Life is full of ambiguities (p. 79)."

"I've noticed two typical attitudes. One of them is that we simply do not--perhaps cannot--even see the problems that exist... A second group... has quite a different problem with the gap between what is and what ought to be... Those in this group struggle to distinguish between imperfections that matter a great deal and those that may not matter so much (p. 80)."

"The true Church is intended not only to comfort the afflicted but to afflict the comfortable (p. 82)."

"If we are not willing to grapple with the frustration that comes from facing bravely the uncertainties we encounter, we may never develop the spiritual maturity necessary to reach our ultimate destination (p. 82)."

"We need to develop the ability to form judgments of our own about the value of ideas, opportunities, or people who may come into our lives (p. 82)."

"Our encounters with disappointment are actually vital stages in the development of our maturity and understanding (p. 83)."

"One's acceptance of the clouds of uncertainty may become so complete that the iron rod seems to fade into the blurring mists of darkness, and skepticism becomes a guiding philosophy (p. 84)."

"People who take too much delight in their finely honed tools of skepticism and dispassionate analysis will limit their effectiveness in law practice, at home, in church, and elsewhere--because they can be contentious, standoffish, arrogant, and unwilling to commit themselves (p. 85)."

"We must realize the potential for harm as well as good that can come with what education and experience can do to our minds and our way of dealing with other people (p. 86)."

"A highly developed tolerance for being realistic can inhibit the workings of the Spirit in our lives (p. 87)."

"The most productive response to ambiguity is at level three, where we see things not only with our eyes wide open but with our hearts wide open as well (p. 89)."

"My experience has taught me always to give the Lord and His Church the benefit of any doubts (p. 90)."

"Chesterton observed that the evil of the excessive optimist... is that he will 'defend the indefensible' (p. 90)."

"'Love is not blind... Love is bound; and the more it is bound the less it is blind (Chesterton, p. 91).'"

"One's acceptance of the ambiguity might be so completely pessimistic as to say, 'Remember that the hour is darkest just before everything goes totally black' (p. 91)."

"We best understand how the kindly light can lead us... with both our eyes and hearts wide open (p. 92)."

"'How can I bring the influence of the Holy Ghost more into my life?'... In the past forty-plus years, those same lively gospel conversations have continued on, with Marie's intuitive insights always enriching my mind and heart, making me want to live better... 'How much should we develop our minds and think for ourselves, and how much should we rely on Church authority and spiritual guidance?' (p. 98)"

"We can't expect the Holy Ghost to do our thinking for us (p. 99)."

"Brother Belnap's counsel helped me decide to reject an either/or... approach to my question (p. 101)."

"I didn't need to make a permanent choice between my heart and my head (p. 103)."

"The phrase on the other side of the coin comes from the Hebrew tradition--'In God We Trust.' That idea spoke directly to the Hebrew soul, who did try to trust in the Lord with all his heart and lean not to his own understanding (p. 104)."

"When the free individual chooses to disobey God, he not only rejects Divine authority but also damages his future liberty (p. 105)."

"President Spencer W. Kimball once spoke to a BYU audience about our 'double heritage' of secular knowledge and revealed truth. He said we must become 'bilingual' in speaking the language of education and the language of the Spirit (p. 107)."

"Even if yielding to such transforming experiences is necessarily a leap of faith, we can't go there until we've walked as far as the light of our search for knowledge allows (p. 113)."

"We prize the value of individualism and reason, and we also prize the value of God's authority and our faith in Him... Phase three invites us to realize that a balanced approach alone won't be enough when we encounter the most demanding experiences of our spiritual growth (p. 114)."

"Eventually the light of Christ's atoning power can pierce our darkness and bless us with understanding (p. 114)."

"The life of a disciple-scholar is more about consecration than it is about scholarship (p. 114)."

"As part of his own discipleship, Elder Maxwell consciously cultivated the qualities of meekness and submissiveness--precisely because he knew all about pride's subtle seduction (p. 115)."

"Humility is essential (p. 116)."

"Find your own words... Phase three... is something about how the consecrated sacrifice of a broken heart and a contrite spirit blesses us with inner sight in our lives, including our religious questions. This perspective takes us to a higher spiritual realm than mere balance can ever lift us... being a disciple-scholar is not so much about what we do or how we think but about who and what we are (p. 120)."

"He is the ultimate resolution to everything (p. 122)."

"We don't need to wait until we have a terminal disease to get serious about the things of eternity. May we feel now the excitement of quickening our step and arriving early as we run to meet Him... And may we hasten our desire to live closer to those eternal things... allowing the Lord to prepare us for us sooner and better for... sanctifying tests (p. 123)."

[Tanya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bruce Hafen talks about the development and endurance of faith in troubled times. He offers insights on how to know if we know and paradoxes of the gospel of Christ which may confuse us at times among other topics. My personal favorite was his study of the “three elements that form and support a complete testimony” which are reason, feeling and experience. I thought it was simple and profound. He describes the value of each and how together they form a firm foundation. I love his use of scriptures and personal experiences. Great, short book!

[Breck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bruce C. Hafen is easily one of my favorite LDS authors/speakers. After reading his biography of Neal A. Maxwell ("A Disciples Life"--Maxwell asked him to write it) I knew I had found someone special. I had already read most everything he had published so have looked forward to reading this.

Although I enjoyed the book in it's entirety, my favorite chapters were the last 4 or 5. In them Hafen deals with the idea of ambiguity, the struggle to find a balance between the real and ideal. Several of these chapters reference Neal A. Maxwell and his life, as he strove be educated secularly and spiritually, and finally about his deepest motivations to be a disciple of Christ. Another favorite chapter was titled "Hebrews and Greeks" about the fusion of Christianity between the two cultures; the Hebrew's devotion to tradition and trust in God, and the Greek's focus on liberty and the arts.

Upon reading I found a couple of the chapters are articles and/or speeches he's given in the past:
http://speeches.byu.edu/?act=viewitem...
http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hid...

[Tanya · Rating 5 out of 5]

My five-star review is based on the fact that I felt this book was written for me, directly addressing the challenges I have. This paragraph sums it up:
"The ability to acknowledge ambiguity is not a final form of enlightenment. Once our increased tolerance and patience enable us to look longer and harder at difficult questions and pat answers, we must be very careful, lest our basic stance toward spiritual things gradually shift from committed to noncommittal. This is not a healthy posture."
I am in danger of becoming one of those who "had developed such a high tolerance for ambiguity that they (were) skeptical about everything."
Hafen doesn't give all the answers, but this is the first book I've found that so specifically and directly addresses my personal challenge. Reading this book made me feel a little like the sufferer who finally has their disease diagnosed and named. They are not yet cured, but at least they have found the direction for their therapy.

[Chad · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have had this title on my bookshelf for years and hadn’t been able to get to reading it until now. But I am so glad I did! Elder Hafen’s reasoning, insights, and testimony were so wonderful and spoke to me on a personal level. In this book he describes a simple and plain (but not easy) recipe to remain spiritually anchored by using faith and reason. We learn how to be firmly rooted between Greek and Hebrew traditions in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and warned to avoid extremes while progressing through life on a disciples journey. I can highly recommend this book to any member of the Church. Reading it will be time well spent.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

My second Hafen book. I like his writing style. He shares deep thoughts that require some work on my part.

My summary of this book is that it is talking about the path of discipleship: testimony, faith, and spiritual growth. I like that he addressed 'spiritual ambiguity,' intellectualism, and being a disciple with no hyphenated descriptors attached.

Many great quotes and citations, but Hafen talks extensively about Neal A. Maxwell. There are amazing ideas there.

[Brett Folkman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the book very basic, lacking depth and not sure it had enough content to even be a book, the concepts are sound, but I was hoping for MORE. Pretty simplistic - the stories seemed very Sunday School like.

[Timothy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really love Elder Hafen's teachings on being spiritually anchored when times are tough. Many personal experiences as well as his experience as Elder Neal A Maxwell's biographer provide a real depth of inquiry to this topic.
Highly recommended.

[Avid reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just can't get enough of the Hafens. This book discusses the perceived struggle between reason and faith. Wonderfully written and succinct.

[Erneilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elder Hafen's writings continue to inspire me. The pattern and model he describes for maintaining a deeper spiritual connection to God is both logical and satisfying, based on my own experience.

[Cathi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a short but oh-s0-powerful book. Bruce Hafen communicates in a way that makes me think deeply about important things, and he'll always be ones of my favorite writers. He's a favorite of one of our sons, as well. Reading this makes me want to re-read Bruce Hafen's "heart" trilogy, which I read back in the nineties. Some books are definitely worth a re-read!

[Chrisanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

2nd Review
I don't reread many religious books. This book joins the ranks of those by Jeffrey R Holland, Lynn G. Robbins, C. S. Lewis, Jesus the Christ, G. K. Chesterton, Change Your Questions, Change Your Life and The Infinite Atonement (all of whom I reread regularly).
I love his insight into questions and doubts, education and wisdom. Highly recommend.

1st Review:
Have you ever found something you didn't know you desperately needed? I have been looking for this book, particularly the chapter "Hebrews and Greeks" since last fall and I finally found it. He was me and all of the well-meaning advice he got was what has been going through my brain since September. Stupid Brain.

I am so grateful I found this book!

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not sure what the actual definition of the word "gem" is, but I can recognize that at least one characteristic of a gem would be a small object of great value. This book is 132 pages of valuable insight and testimony about the "things of eternity". On page 123, the conclusion of his remarks, Elder Hafen offers this comment: " We don't need to wait until we have a terminal disease to get serious about the things of eternity".

Elder Hafen was the biographer for Elder Neal A. Maxwell. As a result he was able to personally observe Elder Maxwell's journey as a committed disciple of Jesus Christ and how that commitment translated itself into the life of that apostle of the Lord. Elder Hafen quotes Elder Maxwell frequently in this presentation. So, besides getting 'gems' of wisdom from Elder Hafen you get the bonus of gems of wisdom from Elder Maxwell.

This little book came into my possession when my sister and I were going through my mother's things after her passing. I am glad my Mom asked my sister to purchase this for her. It is part of my Mom's legacy to me. I am pretty sure my Mom didn't get very far into this book, if she even read it at all. There is much of value in these pages and I am grateful for this offering from this humble servant of the Lord.

[Phillip · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bruce C. Hafen first caught my attention with an article in the BYU Alumni Magazine outlining the disciple's journey. With that article (which comprises the first quarter of this book) he introduced me to a greater understanding of what it means to be a true disciple of Christ. Being able to review those precepts was only the beginning of my appreciation of this book. In plain language and with a good heart the author opens the readers eyes to the various levels of spirituality that we can walk in, and appreciably demonstrates why those paths which involve the greatest depth of spirituality provide the greatest anchor to the soul.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adore. THIS is what a religion book can be. Hafen neither claims special insights nor positions himself as somehow above temptations, doubts and concerns. This is a book that takes ambiguity seriously, instead of in platitudes. It also goes through something like Perry's stages in terms of spiritual development of young adults. Ooh, it's good. Also, the section on what testimony is not (JUST strong emotion) and what it is (also reason and also experience) is lovely. And discipleship. I'm sort. I need to stop write a review and write me a fan letter.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought I'd start and finish this book in the same day because it is so short. However, I found that I not only needed to give it concentrated attention, I also wanted to take time to ponder and internalize the messages. It may be short in length, but it is dense in powerful insights.

Based on the title, I expected the thesis to address slightly different issues. It turns out that Spiritually Anchored was exactly what I needed to read anyway. I feel duly admonished, yet equally inspired and reassured.

[Dorian · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this book after reading the synopsis, hoping it would help anchor me after all that has been going on in the news in the past five years or so. It had little to do with "unsettled times" in an earthly sense, and more to do with "unsettled times" in a personal sense. There was a lot of very general information that could be boiled down to this sentence: Maintain balance and stay faithful. It was good stuff, but not exactly what I was looking for. My favorite part of this book was a concept I had never considered before: "Indulgence is the gateway from prosperity to sin."

[Tessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a deceptively easy read. And there's something for everyone in it. I found the chapters on a disciple's journey enjoyable, but the part I loved was when he talked about what to do about the paradoxes in that journey. I'm not used to hearing people admit that there are paradoxes, so that kind of shocked me. I'm going to go back and reread this one.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I particularly liked the triangle--that no matter our role as a parent, teacher, missionary, etc., others have to find their own relationship with God. Likewise, we as a student, member, etc., can learn and feel the spirit through the things we hear, but our true testimony comes through our own relationship with God.

[Kathleen Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book. Elder Hafen quotes a lot of Neal A. Maxwell...he's the one who wrote the Maxwell biography. Concepts taught in the church, be explained so well. I really like all of what this author has written. He's a deep spiritual thinker. And it's short. Only took me a short while to read it...and I re-read some of it a couple of times.

[Seth · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't really understand what Elder Hafen's point was although the way he presented it was at least just OK. I did understand that he was talking about the development of our testimony and how eventually there must be both an intellectual and a feeling part of it. I did not understand his points as he explained this. This was my first Elder Haven book and most likely my last.

[Zina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not only were Elder Hafen's insights inspiring, but his intimate knowledge of Elder Neal A. Maxwell (Elder Maxwell invited Elder Hafen to write his biography) gave other personal insights that were enlightening. Thoughtful and informative.

[Jana · Rating 5 out of 5]

"So if we are becoming more aware of our weaknesses, that doesn't mean we are drifting away from Him; it may well mean that we are drawing closer..." Really a great book, one that i know I will refer back to.

[John Hancock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elder Hafen invites us to engage more fully in the process of becoming true disciples of Jesus Christ. This book shows the compatability of scholarship and discipleship, while emphasizing the joy of moving from servants, to friends, to children of God.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't make it all the way through this before my renewals were up... the kind that is very inspiring but not riveting. Unfortunately I did have some riveting reads at the same time and it fell to the wayside. What I did read was well worth my time.

[Christi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book. It's typical Hafen material, shorter and a fun quick read. He focuses on the paradox between faith and reason and addresses doubts well. I felt like the book really hit its stride in the last fifty or so pages--the beginning was a little slow for me. But still worth the time.

[Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book gets a place on my all-time-favorites shelf. I will read it over and over and will always find something new to ponder and study further. Highly recommended!

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Needless to say, this book was due at the library before I could finish it. I was really enjoying it, and will get on the library list again!!