book review: To Draw Closer To God, by Henry Eyring

My mother-in-law gave me this sweet book for my birthday.  I must have marked up two-thirds of the pages.  Highly recommended.  My thoughts:

exceptional collection of thought and counsel

In this selective collection of discourses, Brother Eyring teaches us how to hear the Lord, how to heed, and how to help others. In almost every chapter, I found myself making abundant marginal notes, sometimes to remind myself to implement a piece of counsel in my life, sometimes to emphasize how true a point felt, and other times to make sure that I remember a point for when the opportunity to apply to arises. The counsel I read in this book has affected how I read the scriptures, how I pray, how I listen to lessons and talks in church, and how I will approach friends struggling with their faith. These aren’t changes because of what seem like good ideas (although they are) but rather because the teachings feel true.

Perhaps this book is better than the average “Teachings” volume because of its selectiveness. With only 15 talks, each talk in this slim volume exhibits insights and inspiration.

I recommend this book highly, as one of the two most spiritual (non-scriptural) volumes I have ever read; the other is Yearning for the Living God: Reflections from the Life of F. Enzio Busche. I intend to gift this book liberally.

Many of the talks are also available on-line. I list the talks and where they were given, with an asterisk by those I found particularly helpful during this reading. I’m sure that next time I will be inspired by different passages. 
Part I: Hearing
*1 Ears to Hear (GC, April 1985)
*2 “Listen Together” (BYU fireside, Sep 1988)
3 Learning to Hear the Lord’s Voice (Logan Institute of Religion, Jan 1992)

Part II: Heeding
*4 Come unto Christ (BYU fireside, Oct 1989)
*5 Choose to Be Good (BYU devotional, Nov 1991)
*6 Remembrance and Gratitude (GC, Sep 1989)
*7 Trials of Faith (Ricks devotional, Feb 1988)
*8 Waiting upon the Lord (BYU fireside, Sep 1990)
9 Surrender to Christ (Ricks devotional, Sep 1993)
*10 Going Home (BYU devotional, Nov 1986)

Part III: Helping Others Draw Closer to God
11 The Spark of Faith (GC, Oct 1986)
*12 Helping a Student in a Moment of Doubt (CES religious educators, Feb 1993)
*13 The Family (CES fireside, Nov 1995)
14 A Legacy of Testimony (GC, Apr 1986)
*15 To Touch a Life with Faith (GC, Sep 1995)