From the Heart: Charity in the Book of Mormon

By Marilyn Arnold

Reviewed by Beth W. Roach
On 9/3/2011

Cedar Fort, Inc., Springville, UT, 2011 Softbound:
168 pages
ISBN-10: 1-59955-485-2
ISBN-13: 978-1-59955-485-3 Price: $13.99

Reviewed by Beth Roach for the Association for Mormon Letters

I have come to the sad realization that I don't have enough years left in my lifetime to read all the good books I am interested in. My lack of reading time is further limited by the infringement made by social media and various forms of somewhat useful electronic clutter. So when I get a chance to read a book, I rather skeptically ask myself, "Is this one going to be worth my time?" The answer in regards to the new book out by Marilyn Arnold: From the Heart, Charity in the Book of Mormon, is a resounding yes! From the Heart was my first introduction to Marilyn Arnold's work. What a great piece to start with. She clearly loves the Book of Mormon and has written other books expounding its doctrine, including one volume of original sacred hymns. So why does she write another one? In the preface to the book, the author shares how she has spent her life with great literature, especially reading, writing about, and teaching it to others. It had occurred to her that she has spent her days analyzing literature, but she had never gone through and examined what she considers the best literature available - the Book of Mormon. Her love for and her testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon shine out in every chapter and are the motivating forces behind writing this new volume. She feels a personal urgency to become less prideful and grow to be more charitable, and she invites us to join her on the journey.

I have loved reading the Book of Mormon for many years and from time to time have done my own rather random topical studies on love or being more Christ-like. I don't think I have ever finished the book researching the same topic that I started with. Ms. Arnold has done a great work with the notable differences from my efforts being: 1) she completed her review of the book following the same topic to the end and 2) she is willing to share her experience and training with anyone who cares to look at this text for new insights into the greatest attribute of all. Her voice is clear and friendly and makes the reader feel very comfortable throughout the book. This book has done more to enlarge my understanding of charity than the years of random surveys I did on my own.

Marilyn Arnold is generous to include extensive quoted passages in her commentary so that the first read through can be done mostly without a separate copy of the Book of Mormon. There are a few lengthy passages, especially in the section on Third Nephi, that she refers to and asks that you read it on your own, sometimes aloud. I would follow her recommendations; there is power there. Several times she directs the reader to slow down to reread passages and not hurry through verses simply because the quotes may be familiar. One of her purposes in writing From the Heart, Charity in the Book of Mormon is to reach out to those who may feel estranged from feeling the love of God in their lives for whatever reason. Page by page, readers can gain a greater knowledge of how much God cares for them and how much He wants them to be successful and happy. She includes introductions to the characters, so even if the reader is not very familiar with the story line of the Book of Mormon, the framework is done so it is easy to see where people fit in the story and how they are connected. She begins by focusing on the lives and writings of Mormon and Moroni and then returns to Nephi, Jacob and Enos, and down through the lives of the men and women in Alma and Helaman, including Ammon and his brothers, Lamoni and his father, the incomparable Anti-Nephi-Lehis and their exemplary lives of charity, and finishes up with events in Third Nephi. Reading this book is like an "only the best parts" retelling of the Book of Mormon. I kept thinking, "Oh, this is my favorite part," and then in a few pages, "Oh, this is my favorite part now." I was finding that I was frequently able to use her ideas as a springboard to new understanding that applied to my life and experience.

As I read, I started doing unusual things. I found myself sketching in the margins of the book, paraphrasing passages, and making extensive notes to capture the connections I was making as a result of her discussion, notetaking behaviors I usually limit to my personal set of scriptures. I wept with the discussion of Jesus Christ's visit to the Nephites. I grieved over Mormon and Moroni lamenting their people. Her discussion on Mormon and the consequences of pride limiting the ability to feel and use charity was fascinating to me. She clarified points that I had thought about and discussed before, but now I feel like my whole understanding of the cycle of pride has been rewritten. This is an amazing, small but powerful, life changing book. I can see this being a valuable reference to personal study or a group study class or a book club choice.

I have shelves for my good books, my better books, but this one goes on my shelf reserved for my best books. This is not a book I could run through, but one to ponder and meditate with, imagining with the author the people coming to testify of their lives and their experiences. As we ask to be taught from their lives, we gain a closeness with these humble and sincere prophets who share with us the impact charity has had in their lives and what the lack of it has done to their societies. Moroni humbly pleads with us to learn to be more wise than he and his people have been. Reading this book and applying the message from its pages is a step in the right direction, for no matter what else we achieve, if we have not charity, we are nothing.


Copyright 2011