Review
======
Title: Visions of Hope
Author: Annie Henrie
Publisher: Deseret Book
Genre: LDS Non-fiction
Year Published: 2014
Number of Pages: 36
Binding: Hardcover
IBSN: 978-1-60907-819-5
Price: $21.99
Reviewed by Mike Thompson for the Association For Mormon Letters.
We often think about the Plan of our Heavenly Father. We envision it in our minds, yet it remains abstract. With this volume, it is no longer so abstract.
“Visions of Hope” is written and illustrated by Annie Henrie, and each individual subject is illustrated for the reader by paintings of Annie Henrie. The words, together with illustrations, make the book so beautiful, so meaningful for the reader.
Annie Henrie wrote this book because of years of considering doing something to make the Plan of Salvation more meaningful to those who follow our Savior. She says is her introduction:
“The idea for an illustrated book of the plan of salvation first surfaced while I was serving as a missionary in southern England. It was a challenging process to help others to see the exquisite beauty of God’s plan of happiness for His children, and I wished to be able to help them visualize it. Knowing that the plan of salvation has been crucial in many facets of my life and in the lives of many, many others, I hope to help others realize, reinforce, or rebuild their faith in a greater vision and plan for our existence, the potential we all have to achieve, and the deep and abiding love God has for his children.”
All of us have pictured this, or thought similar thoughts. Henrie, because of her artistic ability, has been able to combine the words with the illustrations. It is a masterpiece.
Because this is a short book, one can sit for periods of time contemplating each subject throughout the book. This could be a short read for one who has needs immediate assistance, or it can be a meaningful, encompassing read for one of faith, seeking the spirit to guide in all things spiritual.
The subtitle of the book, “An Illustrated Portrayal of God’s Plan For Us,” is exactly what this book is. As readers wend their way through this book, such topics are beautifully addressed pictorially and by written explanation. The topics addressed include: Three Degrees of Glory, The Pre-Earth Life. The Creation, Agency, Life on Earth, Faith, Repentance, Baptism, Gift of the Holy Ghost, Enduring to the End, Atonement, Spirit World, Resurrection, Judgment, Immortality, and back to Three Degrees of Glory, which brings the whole plan together for the reader.
This is a book to lift readers at various stages of their lives. Just a short read on each subject, with a picture to illustrate it for us, sends the psyche into deep thought and inspires one to a better life.
If readers want to just think, consider, commune with the spirit on subjects of faith, this is the book to do so. Its various topics become a guide and inspiration we can review whenever we need, as trials face us in life, as we kneel in prayer morning or night, as we seek for guidance on the importance of gospel principles. I highly recommend it to all who are sincere in their path of faith.