ashleyziegler's review against another edition
5.0
I really enjoyed this book! Chapter 6 was my favorite. It definitely spoke to me in regards to now matter how low you feel in life, the love of Christ is always there to lift you up and you CAN find your way back to Him.
tanyarobinson's review against another edition
5.0
I loved the companion volume to this work, The Continuous Atonement, and so I bought my own copies of both. I'm glad I did, because as I read this I couldn't help but underline passage after inspiring passage. Wilcox has such a way with words, and helped me look at my own continuous conversion in many new ways. I feel like if I could only live this book, I would be ready for the Celestial Kingdom! Wilcox makes me feel hopeful that, with Christ as my partner, eventually I will be.
libraryjen's review against another edition
5.0
Easily accessible, entertaining, uplifting, and informative - this book deserves its 5 stars. Wilcox helps the reader understand Christ's Atonement better, focusing on understanding how it helps us change and transform, not just repent. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to improve themselves and learn how to access the enabling power of the Atonement and God's grace to help them change.
papi's review against another edition
4.0
The Continuous Conversion is a sequel, of sorts, to The Continuous Atonement, though they need not be read in order. There is little new here, but that is not why I read these books -- there is nothing fundamentally new in the gospel, either, but like most people, I need frequent reminders, refocusing, redirection, and a broadening of my vision and understanding. Reading books and articles by thoughtful people helps me in that way.
Wilcox points out that we should never think there are just two options when faced with God's expectations for our growth and development. Too often, we feel that we must either be perfect, or give up, and of course that is false. He rightfully points out that there are no shortcuts to anywhere worth going. Malcolm Gladwell, discussing the now well-known idea that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to become expert at any skill, also pointed out that one seeking to develop that way better be willing to be imperfect a lot, because 10,000 hours is a long time to be imperfect. Perhaps we are sometimes too hard on ourselves, and need to see our own eternal potential, just as God does.
In a descriptive turn of phrase, Wilcox points out that some of our detractors claim that we believe we are earning our way into heaven. Not so, he says. Rather, "we are not earning heaven, we are learning heaven." That is one reason we feel it is so important to obey the commandments...not to be good enough to get in, but to learn to fit in.
When we seek answers to prayer, we must remember that when God delays, it is not necessarily a denial. As S. Michael Wilcox has said, our God is a God of the fourth watch. Being impatient as I am with my own progress and development, I need to remember that God tests our faith, but with a purpose, not capriciously. He wants us to pray, fast, study, ponder, work, and learn, and in so doing He not only tests our faith, He educates it. I am beginning to realize that, in a broader sense than I normally think of it, education is a central purpose of this mortal existence.
I remember my mission experience fondly, but like every missionary I had some challenges. Cold showers, antagonistic people, occasionally apathetic members, strange food, illness (yes, related) difficulties with companions, and so forth. My daughter is serving a mission now in a place where it rains just about every day, she washes her own clothes in a cement trough with cold water, and undoubtedly faces many of the same challenges I did with people. Under such circumstances, it is good to keep in mind the following thoughtful exchange. When asked by a missionary "Why does it have to be so hard," Elder Jeffrey R. Holland responded thusly: "We are the Church of Jesus Christ, this is the truth, and He is our Great Eternal Head. How could we believe it would be easy for us when it was never, ever, easy for Him? It seems to me that missionaries and mission leaders have to spend at least a few moments in Gethsemane. Missionaries and mission leaders have to take at least a step or two toward the summit of Calvary." I'm glad that my moments hiking Calvary were relatively few and short...thinking about it makes my heart swell with gratitude for the Atonement.
So, if we are to endure on our journey toward perfection, we must remember the importance of trying again...and again, and again. As C.S Lewis said in Mere Christianity, "You must ask for God's help. Even when you have done so, it may seem to you for a long time that no help, or less help than you need, is being given. Never mind. After each failure, ask forgiveness, pick yourself up, and try again. Very often what God first helps us towards is not the virtue itself but just this power of always trying again." This, then, is a model for our eternal progression...part and parcel of never giving up, is understanding that we honor God, and show our love for Him, when we try again. "Sometimes true courage is," as President Thomas S. Monson is fond of quoting, "the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, 'I will try again tomorrow.'"
We must also remember that a life of service and accomplishment should not be put off because we think we are not accomplished enough. As Wilcox wrote, "Life in the Church means experiencing leaders or teachers who are not always wise, mature, or deft...Callings are not prizes or awards. They are part of God's plan for our growth and development. And our weaknesses and imperfections and inadequacies are also unworthy excuses for avoiding service or declining callings. Wilcox again..."When Moroni came to Joseph Smith, he didn't say, "Congratulations! You prayed so hard, worked so diligently, and lived so well, you earned a visitation." On the contrary, at that very moment Joseph actually "felt condemned for [his] weakness and imperfections" and was praying for "forgiveness of all [his] sins and follies." Moroni came to inform Joseph that, despite his weaknesses, "God had a work for [him] to do."
This was a good read, one that made me think and ponder on the things of eternity and helped me attain a measure of increased understanding.
Wilcox points out that we should never think there are just two options when faced with God's expectations for our growth and development. Too often, we feel that we must either be perfect, or give up, and of course that is false. He rightfully points out that there are no shortcuts to anywhere worth going. Malcolm Gladwell, discussing the now well-known idea that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to become expert at any skill, also pointed out that one seeking to develop that way better be willing to be imperfect a lot, because 10,000 hours is a long time to be imperfect. Perhaps we are sometimes too hard on ourselves, and need to see our own eternal potential, just as God does.
In a descriptive turn of phrase, Wilcox points out that some of our detractors claim that we believe we are earning our way into heaven. Not so, he says. Rather, "we are not earning heaven, we are learning heaven." That is one reason we feel it is so important to obey the commandments...not to be good enough to get in, but to learn to fit in.
When we seek answers to prayer, we must remember that when God delays, it is not necessarily a denial. As S. Michael Wilcox has said, our God is a God of the fourth watch. Being impatient as I am with my own progress and development, I need to remember that God tests our faith, but with a purpose, not capriciously. He wants us to pray, fast, study, ponder, work, and learn, and in so doing He not only tests our faith, He educates it. I am beginning to realize that, in a broader sense than I normally think of it, education is a central purpose of this mortal existence.
I remember my mission experience fondly, but like every missionary I had some challenges. Cold showers, antagonistic people, occasionally apathetic members, strange food, illness (yes, related) difficulties with companions, and so forth. My daughter is serving a mission now in a place where it rains just about every day, she washes her own clothes in a cement trough with cold water, and undoubtedly faces many of the same challenges I did with people. Under such circumstances, it is good to keep in mind the following thoughtful exchange. When asked by a missionary "Why does it have to be so hard," Elder Jeffrey R. Holland responded thusly: "We are the Church of Jesus Christ, this is the truth, and He is our Great Eternal Head. How could we believe it would be easy for us when it was never, ever, easy for Him? It seems to me that missionaries and mission leaders have to spend at least a few moments in Gethsemane. Missionaries and mission leaders have to take at least a step or two toward the summit of Calvary." I'm glad that my moments hiking Calvary were relatively few and short...thinking about it makes my heart swell with gratitude for the Atonement.
So, if we are to endure on our journey toward perfection, we must remember the importance of trying again...and again, and again. As C.S Lewis said in Mere Christianity, "You must ask for God's help. Even when you have done so, it may seem to you for a long time that no help, or less help than you need, is being given. Never mind. After each failure, ask forgiveness, pick yourself up, and try again. Very often what God first helps us towards is not the virtue itself but just this power of always trying again." This, then, is a model for our eternal progression...part and parcel of never giving up, is understanding that we honor God, and show our love for Him, when we try again. "Sometimes true courage is," as President Thomas S. Monson is fond of quoting, "the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, 'I will try again tomorrow.'"
We must also remember that a life of service and accomplishment should not be put off because we think we are not accomplished enough. As Wilcox wrote, "Life in the Church means experiencing leaders or teachers who are not always wise, mature, or deft...Callings are not prizes or awards. They are part of God's plan for our growth and development. And our weaknesses and imperfections and inadequacies are also unworthy excuses for avoiding service or declining callings. Wilcox again..."When Moroni came to Joseph Smith, he didn't say, "Congratulations! You prayed so hard, worked so diligently, and lived so well, you earned a visitation." On the contrary, at that very moment Joseph actually "felt condemned for [his] weakness and imperfections" and was praying for "forgiveness of all [his] sins and follies." Moroni came to inform Joseph that, despite his weaknesses, "God had a work for [him] to do."
This was a good read, one that made me think and ponder on the things of eternity and helped me attain a measure of increased understanding.
jodilynclayton's review
5.0
A book that I need to read over and over again. There is so much here to inspire and to learn from!
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