The Miracle of Forgiveness

This book could be highly recommended for perfect people as a device to flay themselves.I am an active member of the church. This is not coming from an anti-Mormon or from someone with an ax to grind with Pres. Kimball. I don't believe everything that a leader of the church says or writes is scripture, especially before he is the Prophet. This book is a case in point.I remember when I first read it as a teen, I went into a depression for about a month thinking that I was definitely going to hell [...]

Please don't take this review as blasphemy or a sign of slipping faith. I have made peace with my faith. I don't think that this book does good things for certain kinds of people. It was written for the righteous. It seems to lack a sinner's perspective. It can also be a dangerous weapon in the hands of a zealot. In my case, I almost lost my soul to the utter hopelessness that this book made me feel. I told my Stake President about this and he immediately told me that he felt that I should read [...]

Should be called "Forgiveness? It would take a miracle." Part of the unofficial second-tier LDS canon. Kimball uses an interesting literary device, devoting the vast majority of his book to all the reasons one needs forgiveness, from french kissing to extramarital sex, from lusting after a 68 Camaro to sitting in the wrong seat on the school bus and therefore missing out on a predestined obligation to testify to that dopey kid who played the tuba. In the end, it all wraps around to the idea that [...]

The first half of this book will tear you down and make you feel like you need to go see your bishop for even the smallest little thing like taking the last Oreo cookie out of the cookie jar. But then the last half of this book will show you the true power of the atonement and what Christ has done for us. I would recommend this book to anyone but remember to finish the whole book before you talk to your bishop.

How to rate this bookdid I love it, like I'll read it over and over? Did I agree with every word? Instead of feeling guilty, I felt the power and love in obedience, and felt strongly how there are real consequences for actions that the world tends to gloss over or mock. However, I find it a difficult book to read, though I would recommend this to anyone who is feeling like sowing their oats and repenting "someday."

A psychologically damaging book.

I don't get why this is such a famous book within Mormondom. It is basically just a rule book. I've heard that to soften the blow, you're supposed to start with the last two chapters, then read the whole book. To me the last two chapters were just so-so, and they definitely didn't make up for the harshness of the rest of the book. Do people really recommend this to people who suffering emotionally and struggling to gain forgiveness? I read this on my mission (my most righteous period in my life) [...]

Death is preferred over rape? Really? Lunacy.

uh oh. i put my winkey by her who-ha. thank goodness the creator of the multiverse, inventor of quantum mechanics, space, time, and all that exists, had nothing better to do than to concern himself with the juxtaposition of the naughty bits of a singular species in all the universe. how groovy of himmm wait a minute why *doesn't* he have anything better to do? i mean the universe is a big place with a lot going on. i guess it just goes to show how awesome he really is. so awesome that while supe [...]

I'm not so sorry to say that I hated this book. Keep your forgiveness.

I read this book as a supplement to a RS lesson I was teaching. I'd read chapters in this book before (when I was struggling with those topics), but hadn't made it past chapter 6, which everyone should skip. Chapter 6 is an out-of-date view on homosexuality. The church approaches homosexuality differently now, and with more compassion.Some of the things were hard for me to take--like his opinion that women shouldn't wear shorts and that teenagers shouldn't drive cars. But when you focus on the d [...]

No particular reason to read, just heard it was good and decided to read it.It's uhry humbling to read. A good tweak for the soul! :-)I noticed a friend was reading one of his books and remembered this one. I would recommend reading this book every few years or so just to, uh, keep on track. :-)Very compassionate and straight forward.

A better title for this book might be "It's a Miracle Jesus Even Likes You". The author, Mr. Kimball, has the audacity to suggest that a women would be better off dead than to give into a rapist. Is he suggesting that the victim bears at least some of the responsibility for such a horrendous deed?He also suggests that masturbation may lead to homosexuality.There's a lot of judging in this book and very little about forgiveness.

Perhaps the best book I have read on the Gospel (other than the Scriptures themselves, of course.) Every page --almost every paragraph--humbled me and my sole (and my soul's) desire was to repent. My understanding of the Atonement has never been clearer, and my reverence for my Savior has never been as profound as when I read this book. As I read it, I felt as if God was removing my heart of stone and replacing it with one of flesh.

At least it ends on a positive note (Matt 11:28-30). Since the first few lines of a review are usually all people see, I'll put my overall impressions here. I must say in fairness that this did bring a positive change in my life, and the last 2 chapters are very nice and encouraged me to come to Christ more fully. HOWEVER, this book is full of statements that are theologically incomplete and would be misunderstood if taken out of context. In the second to last chapter, SWK addresses just such a [...]

In Kimball's book, everybody is evil, including the coffee drinker, but none more so than the homosexual. Kimball finds it regrettable that today's society is more tolerant towards homosexuals than in Old Testament times when homosexuals and other fornicators were stoned to death. No wonder gay mormons are driven to suicide, and not only gay mormons, but all mormons will inevitably fail to live up to Kimball's impossible moral standards (one possible reason people in Utah consume so much antidep [...]

Wow this was an intense read, and took me awhile to get through. But was very insightful and has given me a deeper understanding of the gospel. One quote from this book that stuck out to me was: 'Jesus may stand and knock, but each of us decides whether to open. The Spirit is powerless to compel a man to move. The man himself must take the initiative. He must himself desire to repent and take the specific steps. He must, as Paul counseled, " put on the whole armor of God," and thus insure that h [...]

I feel that this is one of the most over-rated unofficial Mormon texts of all time. While I can't say that there are any doctrinal problems with the text, I felt that it misrepresented the gospel. The first half or so of the book is designed to help you understand that you are a worthless sinner. Really, the people who are inclined to read it are also generally inclined to recognize their guilt already. This means that the book first focuses on piercing their tender hearts with deep wounds (see [...]

this book has several problematic issues. The main one being that is is just silly bigotry. Masturbation leads to homosexuality? Homosexuality leads to bestiality? Is Kimball for real? I am amazed at the numbers of raters to 'love' this book. Are they saying they actually believe such nonsense? I have yet to see (and i am 100% sure i never will see) any and i do mean ANY proof that such statements have any truth whatsoever. And -if the book promotes those two lies, than i can only assume that on [...]

A horrendous book meant to use extreme guilt to make people conform to Mormonism's rigid lifestyle. It takes the most natural and healthy of human desire and turn it into deep "sin."One such gem revolves around avoiding masturbation because it can lead to homosexuality. It even implies that this can lead to even further grotesque sexual perversion (i.e. bestiality).Overall, a book that can be very destructive to the very people it's supposedly trying to help.

This book I cannot quite get over. I wasn't given the warning others did to read the last chapter first and so spent the entire book in despair over my wretchedness. Not something you can cure with one chapter.

Ugh! when I think of the psychological damage this book caused me as a teenagers a MIRACLE I ever came back to the church. This book is not allowed in my home. Believing Christ is MUCH better for us sinners.

Kimball teaches that Masturbation leads to homosexuality and that Homosexuality leads to bestiality. He was writing about "problems" that he had encountered anecdotally in counseling church members, but which more recent studies shows is completely wrong. Thank goodness he was wrong!

A guilt-laden piece who's main purpose, in my opinion, is to scare people into keeping inline with the LDS morality code. I admire what he tried to do, but he went about it entirely the wrong way.

Often called the "Valley of Despair" book. It begins on the downward plunge to the depths of darkness, and ends on the upward climb to hope. It is eye-opening and comforting, especially if you can make it through the blatantly honest first half. If you do read it, please be aware that the book was written 40 years ago in the prevalent views of the time. One big change in church doctrine since that time is the point of view on homosexuality. The church no longer teaches that homosexuality is a le [...]

I read this book years ago and sense have had bitter feelings towards it. Recently I read it again, carefully with a different frame of mind and an intent heart. It is truely a sweet book. While some parts seem condemning, the book is really about love. It is an excellent "how to" for repentance. It illustrates well the intense desire Heavenly has for each of us to live with him again and really places an emphasis on the tender act of the Atonement the Savior personally and willingly committed. [...]

Excellent book. I like the list of all sins on page 25. I expect that I'll be working my way through that list for the rest of my life. This is the first book that introduced me to the concept of "Sins of Omission". I've often heard the words "I've never done anything wrong". The chapter on Sins of Omission explains that we can also sin when we don't do what we should be doing. This is a must-read for all LDS readers.

This book is full of so many wrong teachings. It teaches rape culture and victim blaming under a thin layer of "but we love you anyway" type sayings. I want to take this off my list but I think I should keep it and add my review to the list. If you are thinking about reading this book please don't take it to heart, if you have read this book and been hurt by it- know that you are not alone.

President Eyring said it best, "When I ask people if they've read this book and they tell me they loved it, I always question if they read carefully."

Oh my hell. Even though I didn't even fully believe what was written in this book at the time I read it, it still made me feel like shit. If I could give this book zero stars, I would.