Review
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Title: Christ In Every Hour
Author: Anthony Sweat
Publisher: Deseret Book
Genre: Non-fiction
Year Published: 2016
Number of Pages: 166
Binding: Hardcover
ISBN 13: 978-1-62972-199-6
Price: $21.99
Reviewed by Trudy Thompson for the Association For Mormon Letters
Anthony Sweat is an assistant professor of Church History and Doctrine at BYU. He has authored numerous books, including “Mormons: An Open Book.” He is also a regular speaker at various LDS events and conferences.
The theme of this excellent book is taken from the well known hymn, *I Need Thee Every Hour.* The author begins by asking questions such as: Do we need constant access to Christ’s Atonement? Is there something more to the Atonement other than forgiveness for our sins? What help does Christ offer when we need His help other than forgiveness? Mr. Sweat states that we understand that the Savior’s atonement can save us from death and sin, but we can draw on Him for help in other ways also.
In “Christ In Every Hour,” we explore six of Christ’s divine powers and what they can do for us daily. These powers include the cleansing, healing, restoring, identifying, strengthening, and transforming powers of Christ. Each chapter of this book discusses one of the Lord’s encompassing divine powers, addressing how the Savior has that power, why we need it in our daily lives, and how we can access that power today. The author freely uses personal stories from his life as well as from the lives of others to illustrate these powers and traits of Christ. At the end of each chapter there is an invitation to gain further insight on the subject by utilizing the scriptures, talks, and questions provided.
We are taught that from the moment of his birth, Christ’s ministry was centered on his unique spiritual cleansing power. His very name says as much. An angel stated to Jesus’s earthly father, Joseph, “Thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins.” We must be conscious of our daily shortcomings and need for repentance, but also confident in Christ’s ability to cleanse us daily of those weaknesses.
The Lord’s frequently forgiving nature is best illustrated in the scriptural references to Joseph Smith Jr. in the Doctrine and Covenants. Frequent mistakes, frequent repentance, and frequent forgiveness, tell us something about Joseph Smith as a prophet, but more importantly about our Lord’s frequently forgiving nature. We learn from this that Jesus never tires of our repeated efforts to grow and progress. If we want to always retain a remission of our sins, the key is not perfection, but dedication. Jesus wants us to get rid of our perfectionist complex and instead develop a loyalty complex. Christ’s cleansing grace is retained through our loyal commitment to Him.
I was deeply touched by the entire chapter on the healing power of Christ. The ten miraculous healings told in Matthew chapters 8 and 9 are discussed. These include Jesus healing a leper, a centurion’s paralyzed servant, Peter’s mother-in-law’s fever, two men possessed of devils, a man of palsy, the woman with an issue of blood, raising Jairus’s daughter from the dead, giving sight to two blind men, healing a man who was dumb, and the healing of a multitude of sick people. In contrast there are only fourteen recorded healings mentioned in the entire Old Testament.
With all of these stories of healing in the scriptures, we often find ourselves wondering why we or a loved one are not physically healed. We have faith, pray and fast with real intent, humble ourselves, seek priesthood blessings, and place names on the Temple prayer rolls, but the malady remains. We wonder if we did not have enough faith, or if God loves others more than He loves us, or if we had done something wrong. Because Jesus seemed to heal everyone in the gospels every time, when we ask the Lord to be healed, we assume it should happen no matter what. The author then tells the story of a friend of his from another country, who came to visit the United States on Halloween. The visitor saw that those who knocked on any door got candy. He wrongly assumed that happened every day for every American child. He didn’t understand that Halloween was a special event and not an everyday occurrence. Similarly, physical healings are not handed out each time we knock on God’s door and ask for them, in spite of what we read of the healing stories from the scriptures. As we mature in our faith, spirituality and Christianity, we become less demanding of an instant and automatic fix. Sometimes these mortal infirmities are not healed because there are lessons to be learned, or they give us a purer and deeper faith. We then become more like Christ, who suffered all these things for us.
The difference between being cured and healed is explained. Cure returns us to our previous state of wellness, which is what we usually seek. Healing involves a spiritual and emotional reweaving of our lives to incorporate, not merely remove, our ailments. This involves growth and personal change, and a deeper trust in God despite, not in the absence of, suffering. Inner healing comes to us from God providing miraculous spiritual gifts such as increased patience, understanding, strength, empathy, and love. Through His Divinity, Christ gives healing by providing patience, sending strength, accelerating acceptance, unveiling understanding, and giving eyes to see, ears to hear, and hearts to feel. He gives His divine gift of peace even when our troubles remain.
Another beautiful chapter that offers much comfort and peace is the one titled “The Restoring Power of Christ.” This section reminds us that life is not fair. Every day, through no fault of their own, people are falsely accused, oppressed, hurt or abused by others. Some are robbed of things they hold most dear: their good names, loved ones, financial security, and mental and physical abilities. Others are denied opportunities that they long for: family, children, marriage, freedom, education, and health. Elder Richard G Scott taught, “The Atonement will not only help us overcome our transgressions and mistakes, but in his time, it will resolve all inequities of life – those things that are unfair which are the consequences of circumstance, or others’ acts and not our own decisions.” Whether in this life or the next, Christ will repay, reinstate, renew, refresh, or return any blessing that was lost, denied, or taken in this life. He will perfectly restore, rectify, redeem, and recompense any injustice or undue suffering that was a result of our mortal experience.
The remaining chapters in this book are equally life-changing in their perspective and insight. In the chapter regarding the identifying power of Christ, we are taught that because of His many and varied mortal experiences, He personally understands and identifies with all of our temptations as well as our mistakes, our learning patterns, growth and progression.
“Christ in Every Hour” proved to be enjoyable, uplifting, and enlightening. This is a book of truth, of enlightenment, faith, peace, and Christ’s love for us all. Its powerful explanations of doctrinal truth and personal stories are written simply enough to teach even very young children about our Savior and the power and majesty of His Atonement. But youth and adults of all ages will also benefit from personal study of this excellent volume. This is truly a book that should be in every Latter-day Saint home, for personal study and as a superb resource for teaching in the home and in church.