Review
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Title: Yesterday, Today, and Forever: Timeless Gospel Messages
Author: M. Russell Ballard
Publisher: Deseret Book Company
Genre: Religious, Inspirational
Published: 2015
Binding: Hardcover
Pages: 192
ISBN-13: 978-1-62972-042-5
Cost: $22.99
Reviewed by Larry Jackson for the Association for Mormon Letters
M. Russell Ballard is a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Two of his grandfathers, Melvin J. Ballard and Hyrum Mack Smith, were also Apostles.
This book is a collection of messages Elder Ballard has given during his 38 years as a church leader. None of them were given at general conferences of the church, where he has spoken twice each year for the last 30 years. Unless you have attended a stake conference where he presided, you have probably never heard any of these talks.
Subtitled *Timeless Gospel Messages*, they have never before been published, but their message is eternal. Each is accompanied by doctrinal statements by his grandfathers that are timely and applicable, and that have been gleaned from general conference reports, Church magazines, and family files and letters. Short, succinct, and placed as sidebars on almost every page, they demonstrate the premise of Elder Ballard that the principles of the gospel are timely and timeless.
The talks themselves cover 11 topics, including the importance of each individual soul, being strong and faithful in living the gospel of Jesus Christ, building kinder, gentler homes, the law of sacrifice, facing trials and challenges, and how to be happy today.
Having attended over the years three stake conferences at which he presided, I recognized those messages. But, there are many new stories and thoughts in this publication that provide a refreshing look at often-taught gospel principles, spiced with the quotes from his grandfathers that emphasize important doctrinal points.
And there are some very personal family stories that provide insight into the practical application of the principles being taught in these messages.
This is a serious but delightful book. If you have ever attended a stake conference where the visitor seemed to go “off script,” you will know what fun it was to read these messages, given in such a more personal way than normally heard in more formal settings.
Elder Ballard also shares very intimate experiences and testimony that are his to share as a special witness of Jesus Christ.
The principles are timeless, and the evidence and stories in this book support the suggestion that they are true yesterday, today, and forever.