Freeman & Butler “The Unexpected Deliverer” (Reviewed by Amanda Mae)

The Unexpected Deliverer - Kindle edition by Freeman, Emily Belle, Butler,  David. Religion & Spirituality Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.

Review

Title: The Unexpected Deliverer
Author: Emily Belle Freeman & David Butler
Publisher: Deseret Book
Genre: Religious Non-Fiction/Inspirational
Year Published: 2021
Number of Pages: 83
Binding: Paper
ISBN 13: 978-1-62972-877-3
Price: 11.99

Reviewed by Amanda Mae for the Association of Mormon Letters

I have watched Emily Belle Freeman and David Butler’s YouTube Series “Don’t Miss This” for the past few years. In a prior life, I was a Sunday School teacher and found their videos so helpful as I prepared my own lessons. I didn’t use them exclusively, but sometimes when you’re pressed for time or struggling with the material yourself, it’s nice to have an outline to start to work from, questions to adapt, and ask your own class. I came to look forward to my “study sessions” with Emily and David, and appreciate their enthusiasm, love, and insights into the scriptures and the gospel. The Unexpected Deliverer is a worthy extension of that service they provide.

Each chapter in The Unexpected Deliverer takes on a different aspect of the Savior, from the people He engaged with to the places He encountered them. Freeman and Butler teach us the small and simple truths to be had from retelling stories about the Savior. Deliverer teaches what the stories it retells about the Savior meant in the context of the culture of their time and what details about them can be broadened to see the Savior in a new light. The “Unexpected” from the title is highlighted in these different ways that we can find the Savior in our own lives, in our own unexpected ways. In the quietness. In the lackluster. In the ordinary. In the waiting.

I could easily see each chapter in The Unexpected Deliverer turning into a Family Home Evening lesson, or the basis for a talk, or an excellent discussion question for a Sunday School class. That’s where I think Emily and David really succeed – taking what can be very complex and layered topics and breaking them down into more manageable pieces that fill you up and enlighten your understanding of the gospel. None of the concepts or lessons were new to me, but a good teacher can emphasize one word and somehow that can change the student’s perspective on the story, the lesson. Suddenly the student achieves a new understanding and appreciation for it, and the lesson is more memorable, more relevant, more comforting. I was surprised and delighted with the “unexpected” gems I found in this short book.