Tuesday, April 19, 2016

LDS NONFICTION: Unstuck by Robert Reynolds


ABOUT THE BOOK

We've all been there. Each one of us has sins that, for one reason or another, we haven't been able to fully shake—we can't get ourselves "unstuck." Yet many of us have wanted to make that permanent change, to quit those repetitive sins once and for all. So here's the million-dollar question: how do you do it?

"Although damned and dammed are different words, they communicate the same message: progress is stopped! Robert Reynolds is the perfect one to teach us how to get unstuck. With real-world examples and a perspective from someone inside today's entertainment business, Robert reminds us that the Savior is the ultimate solution and living His gospel just makes sense. Get ready to lose any illusion you may have that you can do it alone. Thank heaven (literally) that no one has to."
—Brad Wilcox; BYU professor and author of The Continuous Atonement

"People who've sinned shouldn't consider themselves damaged goods or think that Heavenly Father doesn't want to extend His hand to them anymore. God has not forgotten you, and the fact that we even feel remorse or guilt is a good sign. It means we still have the light in us—if even just enough to get back on track."
—Branden Campbell; Neon Trees

REVIEW

I ended up loving this book and the principles it discusses.  Like most of us, I too have my 'favorite' sins, things that I just keep doing even though I know I shouldn't, but I just don't seem to have the willpower to overcome them on my own.  And that is precisely what Reynolds talks about in this book: that all of us have things we struggle to overcome and it's only through the grace and mercy of God the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ and the Atonement that we can come off conqueror.  The book is divided up into three parts: Sin and Weakness, How to Obtain a Mighty Change of Heart, and How to Maintain a Mighty Change of Heart.  The author focuses on how real lasting change has to come from within our hearts, my heart.  Not only must change be desired and sought, but given through the Holy Ghost in the form of a change of heart.  The change of heart leads us/me to no longer desire to sin which then naturally leads to a change in behavior.  Of course, some changes require more effort than others, but a desire to change and a change in feeling will always precede a permanent change in behavior.  I found the book inspiring and full of truth and am delighted to recommend it to those like me who get frustrated with repeated mistakes.


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