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Book Review: The Peacegiver
Posted on May 13, 2004
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Reviewed by Jennifer Wilks, LDSFiles.com Staff Writer
The Peacegiver: How Christ Offers to Heal Our Hearts and Homes by James L. Ferrell
"What does the atonement mean, practically speaking? How is Christ the answer to a strained relationship with a spouse, child, parent, or sibling? What if I am being mistreated -- how can the atonement help me cope with that? How can I discover the desire to repent when I don't feel the need to repent? And how can I invite others to do the same? These are the challenging, difficult questions of daily life, questions to which the gospel must provide answers if it is to have living, cleansing, redeeming power. The Peacegiver is a book about the answers to these questions."
Reading "The Peacegiver" is a life-changing experience. By the time I finished reading it, I felt transformed. This book contains amazing insights into the Atonement, the Fall, and the Plan of Salvation, presenting them in ways that are equally easy to understand and profound. This is a book you won't soon forget.
In "The Peacegiver", we meet Rick and Carol, struggling with pain and loneliness as their marriage becomes an arena of hurtful words and actions, pushing them further and further apart as the years go by. But more importantly, we meet ourselves, wounded by others; grievances burning in our hearts. As Rick learns of the true power and mercy of the Atonement, his heart is slowly turned to his wife. Likewise, our hearts are changed as we study, along with Rick, the principles presented in the book. Throughout "The Peacegiver" Rick is taught to look inside himself for the answers to his unhappiness, rather than looking to others to change their behavior towards him.
The scriptures tell us that "men are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil" (2 Ne. 2:27). "The Peacegiver" shows us how to "shake off the awful chains by which [we] are bound" (2 Ne. 1:13) and choose liberty instead of captivity. If you've ever felt that other people or circumstances were "making you mad" or that you were out of control of your anger, resentment, or bitterness, "The Peacegiver" can show you the way out of your pain.
"The Peacegiver" also teaches us, in practical terms, how to "love [our] enemies, bless them that curse [us], do good to them that hate [us], and pray for them who despitefully use [us] and persecute [us]." (3 Ne. 12:44) We learn how to forgive and how to turn our burdens and our pain over to the Lord and receive His healing power in our hearts.
The author, James L. Ferrell, is a managing director of The Arbinger Institute, which is recommendation enough for this book to those who are associated with the work the Institute has done and continues to do. If you liked "Bonds That Make Us Free" by C. Terry Warner, you will love "The Peacegiver".
I highly recommend "The Peacegiver" to all who have suffered hurt and pain in this life, whether through their own sins or through the actions of others. This book will show you how change your life and your heart. It will show you how to access the power of the Atonement in your daily life. And it will show you how to break free from the bonds of anger and resentment that can so easily grip us in their power. "The Peacegiver" will show you how; the rest is up to you.
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