No Coincidences

Tag: Skousen

  • Books 2024

    Books 2024

    Since my 2023 list came out so late and I had a hard time remembering the books, I decided to get a jump start on 2024.

    Here is my list in order of favorite/most enjoyable reads of 2024 down to the least enjoyable yet still rewarding.

    1. Earth in the Beginning by Eric N. Skousen
      • The fact that I’ve given copies of this book to two people already should indicate that I enjoyed this book. My favorite books are those that expand my mind and make me think of something I’d never before considered. This book did that many times.
    2. Hugh Nibley’s semester two on the Book of Mormon
      • Speaking of “books” (this is more a lecture) that expand my mind, that is the perfect description of all things Hugh Nibley for me. Semester one was #7 in 2023’s list. I love getting a look into Hugh Nibley’s mind. If I could have dinner with one historical figure, Hugh Nibley might make my top 10 list.
    3. 4-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferris
      • I’m currently reading this book again in 2025. Enough said.
    4. Lethal White by Robert Galbraith
      • I read this alongside the next book on this list. It was a rare time that I was reading two fictional books concurrently. As I thought back on reading this alongside The City, I realized there were ebbs and flows where I liked one above the other. The tie-breaker? J.K. Rowling (the greatest author of our generation, duh).
    5. The City by Dean Koontz
      • Reading one Dean Koontz book a year is the perfect amount. If you read too many they all start to blur together. This was a fantastic book with a surprisingly powerful message. Very much enjoyed it.
    6. Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus: A Devout Muslim Encounters Christianity by Nabeel Qureshi
      • This book was recommended by a friend. It was the story of a man who converted from Islam to Christianity, a truly life threatening choice. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. One of my favorite topics is how people find faith in one way or another. This was an interesting story about this man’s journey through a shift in rethinking everything he thought he knew about the world.
    7. The Third Man Factor: Surviving the Impossible by John Geiger
      • This book was recommended by Beth. It includes true stories of people experiencing what has been called “The Third Man.” Beth thought I would enjoy it because of my love of all things spiritual and especially near-death experiences. She was right. I believe there is something real and misunderstood about this “third man” concept. Great read.
    8. #Positivity: You are always in the right place at the right time by Phil Helmuth
      • Another very short book. I took a lot from this book and quite enjoyed it. All about the power of positive thinking and making the most of your talents. Intriguing coming from one of the most successful poker players ever.
    9. Hugh Nibley’s semester three on the Book of Mormon
      • At this point in the “class” Hugh started to repeat a lot of themes and information, so I felt like I’d read some of it before and the new insights started to come much less often. It was still informative and I still loved reading his words.
    10. The Fall of Adam, the Atonement of Christ, and Organic Evolution by Reid E. Bankhead
      • There is a somewhat random process to my selection of books and the fact that this one came up right after the first book on this list was interesting to me. This was basically a short collection of quotes from church leaders about evolution.
    11. Revelations of the Restoration by Ostler and McConkie
      • This was the second straight year I started the year with a huge church history book (#13 from 2023). This one was longer but less dry than the previous year’s. This one was a little more palatable and easier to read.
    12. Hell House by Richard Matheson
      • It’s so hard to rate these books. How do you put Hell House amidst Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus, and Revelations of the Restoration? It felt strange putting it above those. It also felt strange putting it behind because this book was an extreme page turner. I had an incredibly hard time putting it down. I think I read it in a few days. It was perfectly spooky and scary without being too obscene. I really liked this book. First scary book I’ve read in a while and I’m glad I did.
    13. Anything you want by Derek Sivers
      • I was somewhat disappointed in this book. I’d heard so much about it so probably more an issue with expectations. Derek Sivers’s story was really interesting to me. He sold his company CD baby for a large amount of money. But the book wasn’t super memorable.
    14. The Lost Road and Other Writings (Book 5 Book of Lost Tales set) by Christopher Tolkien
      • A book can’t be rated too highly if I wasn’t too disappointed to be done with it. See #17 2022, #16 2022, #15 2023, and #17 2023 for more information on the series. That said, now that I’m done with these “Lost Tales” books, I do look forward to re-reading Lord of the Rings to see what more I pick up on, one day.
    15. The Works of Edgar Allen Poe Raven Edition
      • Edgar Allen Poe joins the ranks of The Outsiders (#13 2021) and Catcher in the Rye (#30 2021) – classics that I just don’t get. These short stories from Edgar Allen Poe were perplexing. Most of the time I didn’t understand what was happening. Maybe I’m not sophisticated enough.
  • A Miracle that Changed the World

    A Miracle that Changed the World

    These are thoughts from a book I read recently called A Miracle that Changed the World. It was an awesome book that laid out just how spectacular the establishing of America was. This was a section of the book I had some thoughts on. I’m quoting sections of the book with my thoughts.

    p. 52:

    “The Tide of Reform

    “Many Americas became extremely self-conscious about their lack of “public virtue” because of non-involvement in the affairs of government. They began to acknowledge their obsession with self-interest, the neglect of public affairs, and their disdain for the needs of the community as a whole. Gradually, a spirit of “sacrifice and reform” became manifest in all thirteen colonies.”

    This occurred in America in the couple of years leading up to the Declaration of Independence being signed. Is it any coincidence that a spirit of sacrifice, public virtue, and selflessness preceded the greatest revolution in the history of the world and the rise of the greatest nation ever to exist on earth? God needed a self-sacrificing and humble people to inherit the new world. When they exhibited these qualities, they became His chosen people to enact this major event. This led to a revolution and the freedom from tyranny that allowed the explosion of religious freedom that God planned, that couldn’t have happened under the rule of a monarchy. It started with sacrifice, service, and humility.

    “In the eyes of the Whigs, the two or three years before the Declaration of Independence always appears to be the great period of the Revolution, the time of greatest denial and cohesion, when men ceased to extort and abuse one another, when families and communities seemed peculiarly united, when the courts were wonderfully free of that constant bickering over land and credit that had dominated their colonial life.”

    Two things especially stand out to me from that statement –

    1. “families and communities seemed peculiarly united.”
      • From the Family Proclamation: “We call upon responsible citizens and officers of government everywhere to promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society.”
      • As the fundamental unit of society, strong families make for strong society. No wonder Satan has so adamantly attacked the family. Look at divorce rates, look at what has happened to the American family. The dismantling of families is the the beginning of the downfall of a great society, and we’re seeing it happen right before our eyes.
    2. “the courts were wonderfully free of that constant bickering…”
      • Could the 13 original colonies have broken from the greatest world power at that time, colonies v. Greatest World Power, if they were busy bickering amongst themselves? It took unity for the freedom of America to be established.
      • D&C 38:27: “be one; and if ye are not one ye are not mine.”

    This is what we need – Americans to become self-conscious about how selfish we’ve become. This is the eternal principle of unity. America needed to be united under one cause and one heart before they could break free from tyranny. God wants us to be one. What has happened to that unity?

    I read in a Doctrine and Covenants commentary how early church members, going back to the very earliest days of the church, were advised to avoid courts. It was said that if a dispute couldn’t be resolved by arbitration, then there was discord and discontent too strong amongst the parties, and they needed to evaluate what they truly valued. One early church leader, Oliver Cowdery, was chastised for becoming too involved in the courts, and it ultimately began to descent towards his excommunication.

    “When Oliver moved to Missouri in 1837, he sought to alleviate personal debts by starting a legal career. Witnesses testified that Oliver had urged people to sue others in court who “fired guns in town,” who broke “the Sabbath day,” he “frequently solicited for business in collecting debts,” and “urge[d] on lawsuits with others.””

    There can’t be unity where there is constant bickering and lawsuits. Those needed to be removed from public standards before the 13 colonies could think to stand up against Britain.

    The book continues:

    “How the Moral Reform Accelerated the Revolution

    “Many Americans became so impressed with the improvement in the quality of life as a result of the reform movement that they were afraid they might lose it if they did not hurriedly separate from the corrupting influence of British manners. They attributed this corruption to the monarchal aristocracy of England. Even Americans such as John Jay, Robert Morris, and Robert Livingston were beginning to see that the people were exhibiting a potential capacity for virtue and morality which would guarantee the success of a free, self-governing society. Therefore, it became popular to express the sentiment that the sooner they became independent the better” (emphasis added).

    The underlined portion is the part that stood out to me. Imagine if society today could be said to have such a high standard of virtue and morality. This is what guaranteed the success of the United States: A virtuous and morally upright people. This is why they could self-govern themselves, because they self-governed in righteousness. Imagine describing our society like that today – excess of virtue and morality.

    The definition of virtue is “behavior showing high moral standards.”

    The definition of morality is “principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong or good and bad behavior.”

    We couldn’t be farther from such a standard. We’ve gone so far off the path that we have reversed morality so that right is wrong and wrong is right. We have molded morality to be what we want it to be. The early Americans who established this nation were moral and upright in all their dealings, which allowed them the honor of being the people to establish the most free, most righteous, and most powerful nation in history. Freedom and righteousness are power.

    Another motivating factor for the colonies wanting freedom from England was to avoid developing all the negative attributes of the British.

    “British influence was already taking its toll. One alarmed American wrote, “Elegance, luxury and effeminacy begin to be established.” David Ramsay declared that if Americans had not revolted “our frugality, industry, and simplicity of manners, would have been lost in an imitation of British extravagance, idleness and false refinements” (emphasis added).

    America has gotten closer to extravagance, idleness, and false refinements than frugality (look at our national debt), industry (look at our bail outs), and simplicity (look at social media).

    It’s time for unity in America. It’s time for virtue and morality. It’s time to protect and re-establish the importance of the family. It’s time to return to frugality, industry, and simplicity. If America can return to these values, maybe it stands a chance to stay a chosen nation and be protected from the tribulations that are to come.