A very strange book
January 25, 2009 | Items of Interest
It’s only 157 pages long, and it sort of jumped off the shelf at me. The fir page is entitled “An Important Message”
It starts out with “You are holding a unique book. I should know, since i’m the one who found the original manuscript. It was stacked neatly, and handwritten on shimmery white paper.”
He started reading it, and was so fascinated that he was stunned to see two hours had passed.He finished reading it, and hurried home to show it to his wife, Flora. “I’ll make my meeting, but could you read this manuscript this afternoon? When I got hom, Flora simply said, We have to get this published. They found a publisher who liked the story a lot, but couldn’t agree to print it as a true story. Rather, he preferred to print it as a novel, based on true experiences. Or something like that. It was agreed.
It is the story of a young girl named Tina Marlar, who got hit by a car and was killed. She explains her story from that point of how she entered the Spirit World, and the things that happened to her there, where she had to make some choices. She made good choices that was going to effect many of her family members still on earth. She was going to be allowed to go to earth and try to influence them about the church.
A few interesting points: The spirit paradise is enormous, and in the center is a golden city that shimmers with diamonds, and it is where Jesus Christ lives when he is in the spirit world. Also, it is the home of the prophets. Their homes are enormous mansions.
While those of the more common folks in the spirit paradise have mansions that they have earned, and they are very busy with many essential assignments to keep the Saviors Spirit World in perfect order. Nothing must be amiss.
3 Responses to “A very strange book”
I was too sleepy to continue the story last night. I was interested in read about the jungles in the spirit world. When Tina finally knew enough about the gospel, she was sent to teach thousands of her Inca ancestors, who dwelled in the jungles, and were led by a man named Nemhi. She prepared all of them to receive the gosopel, and be ready to have the ordinances performed for them. I don’t remember if that was to be done in the Millennium or not.
It made me wonder if the Africans and Aborigines and any other jungle dwellers who die without the knowledge of Jesus Christ go into those parts of the spirit world, where they are comfortable, and where they will dwell until such time that missionaries will be sent to teach them. Makes sense to me. Anyway, it was an interesting concept.
Not too much emphasis was placed on the spirit world. It wasn’t the purpose of the book. The purpose was for this one spirit’s request (granted by N. Elden Tanner) to help her family hear the gospel and join the church, which they did. One little lost spirit, named Ida, had been in the spirit world over 100 years, and wanted her ordinances done, but her grave was hidden, and there was only one place where her birth was written down. She had no hope that anyone would find her grave, or her “birth record”. Funny…her parents and siblings must have been somewhere in the spirit world, but she never mentioned any contact with them. That bothered me some.
By mother on Jan 25, 2009
Chasing Paradise by Chad Daybell
By Bud on Jan 26, 2009
Yes, I forgot to mention the name of it. How do you know it, Bud? Have you read it? I think you would benefit by reading it. But that’s not the book I would recommend to my children that I would like to see becoming active in the church again. I would recommend the four sets of scriptures. Most of all…The Book of Mormon.
I read “More Precious Than Gold” yesterday, by Alex G. Chappell. It’s about the figure skater, Aleksandr Ivanovic Dzerzhinsky (Sasha), who joined the church, and almost lost his fiancee’, Marina (who was his skating partner,also).
But there was one thing in the book that struck my attention GREATLY, and it was when the Elders were teaching Sasha the gospel, and they were teaching him about the three kingdoms: the Celestial; terestial; and telestial. Sasha asked: “Can you stay with the people you love in another kingdom other than the greatest one? Wouldn’t that be possible?”
Elder MacKay answered: “You could visit them in a lower kingdom, but I don’t think you would gain any joy by staying there. There are no family units outside of the celestial kingdom, and there is no progression past the bounds of the kingdom you are in. All earthly bonds are also dissolved in the lower kingdoms. Your wife would no longer be your wife. Your children would no longer be your children.”
That sent chills down my spine. This earthly probation is the time for repentance, and it’s never too late. The sins are never too great, and too many. The Savior has already paid the price for all of them.
I just cannot imagine eternity without my beloved children.
It’s too sad to contemplate.
By mother on Jan 27, 2009