This blog is my review of a small book with a big message for Christians of all denominations.  The book was written by a brilliant lawyer who is a close friend and a member of our LDS ward.    Because of this review, he has asked me to edit a new book he has written on God's love and how we are meant to represent him in bestowing it on one another.

GETHSEMAMNESIA – By Daniel J. McDonald

Forgotten Lessons from Gethsemane, Golgotha, and Beyond

                               A Book Review by Robert L. Brown

This small book is a resounding wake-up call for professed Christians, like myself, who tend to bask in the comfort zones of regular church attendance, tithing, cursory scripture study, occasional temple service, etc. (temple worthiness) but fail to consistently strive for fullest understanding of what it means to “come unto Christ.”

Human Suffering -- “GETHSEMAMNESIA” reminds us that suffering can become a sacred experience, a unique opportunity to tap into the Atonement.  We are reminded that, while Christ’s suffering pays for forsaken sin, it does not automatically remove the pains of life, no matter how righteous one might be.  Some of the most righteous and spiritual people we know are those whom we have seen suffer the most.

When we properly apply ourselves to the Atonement (not the converse), Christ gives us the strength to bear our adversities.  It does not necessarily remove them.  Jesus suffered them all – in addition to paying for the Fall of Adam and those sins of which we are able to repent – so that He could know them; so that he might more perfectly empathize with us and help us grow through the things we suffer. 

“He suffered to create a portal of common experience – a temple if you will through which we can reach beyond the veil and commune with him.”[1]  Peter said, “But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.”  (1 Peter 4:13) 

Dan puts it this way:  “I am convinced that although God has the power to heal us, he refrains in many cases because he yearns to commune with us so much that he draws us into his bosom through the sanctuary of suffering, which is more sacred than any temple.” 

The Mortality of Jesus -- In Chapter 1, Dan points out how we do the Savior a disservice as we tend to forget that the perfect God figure, Christ, was also the sinless but otherwise fully human figure, Jesus – not totally free of human frailties, as we tend to assume.   The mortal Jesus didn’t want to suffer any more than we do.  Not once but three times he prayed to the Father that the bitter cup pass from him. 

He knew from the beginning that there was no ‘other way,’ yet, when faced with the immediate enormity of it, the ‘mortal’ Jesus momentarily shrank; but the ‘divine’ Christ had the strength to say, “… nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.” (Luke 22:42)  This conflict of wills does not quite fit our general views about perfection.

Chapter 2 reminds us that when Jesus prayed  the third time, he prayed even more earnestly.  “And there appeared an angel from heaven strengthening him.”  (Luke 22:43)  Can there be a prayer for deliverance when there is no doubt, fear, or contrary will?  Can there be a strengthening where there is no human weakness?

Perfection -- “Perfection is not what we think it is.  It is not the absence of weakness or defect. It’s the paradoxical combination of weakness and strength.” It is the Savior’s triumph over doubt, fear, and weakness that make him so magnificent and his love for us so perfect.

God does not make mistakes, but he made us with flaws and made us prone to make mistakes.  It is not a sin to be handicapped or weak; except, perhaps, in the case of weaknesses bought upon ourselves through the misuse of agency.  God made us weak so he could strengthen us.  We should not beat ourselves up because of those weaknesses.  What is a sin is to fail to accept divine help when in need of strengthening, as Christ did in Gethsemane.  

Obedience vs Submission -- Chapter 2 also enlarges our definition of submission.  We are taught that we must submit to the Savior’s will, much as he submitted to the will of the Father.  This is an absolute requirement for the level of salvation to which we, as Latter-day saints, aspire.  My dictionary calls submission “obedience or compliance without resistance.”   The author contends that submission, in the gospel context, requires more refined definition.  “True submission and true faithfulness always requires resistance.” 

Obedience to requirements that come easy to us or that we ‘would have done anyway’ is not what conditions us for Exaltation, for life in a celestial environment.  For obedience to qualify as submission it must involve the exercise of agency in the suppression of one’s own will.  True submission is doing the hard stuff  -- like putting off the natural man and putting on Christ, loving your enemy, or keeping the Sabbath Day all the way holy.  

“Jesus proved that being a human is extremely painful.  He proved that being a disciple is even harder.”  But, as it was for the Savior, our moment of true submission is actually a triumph -- and brings an abundance of joy.

‘Nothingness’ – The author cites numerous scriptural references that affirm the nothingness of man, along with an equal number which admonish us to obey his commands and become perfect even as he is.  Then he asks: “If  you are weak and prone to sin, by nature, how then is it that you can be expected to become sin-free?  If you are carnal, sensual and devilish by virtue of your mortality, how is it that he can expect you to be godly?  If you are a born sinner, how can he expect you to become a saint?  And the answer is:

Change – A mighty change in us is, of course, the answer, but whose job is it to bring that about?  If we are nothing, can we turn ourselves into something as perfect as God?  How can a ‘lump of clay’ mold itself into a beautiful vase.

Dan cites a full half-dozen scriptures which all affirm that it is not our job but God’s, to effect that miracle.  He reminds us of what should be obvious; that if we could do it through ‘gritty determination’ alone, there would have been no need for a Savior.

Surrender – “When you realize that overcoming your weaknesses is not  your battle, you can declare, as Paul, ‘I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.’”  (Philippians 4:13)  But we need to acknowledge our nothingness and approach God with a broken heart and a contrite spirit to ask for this intervention, and then exercise unwavering faith that he can and will transform us into one of the precious sons or daughters of Zion that Jeremiah speaks of in Lamentations 4:2.

Prayer -- Chapter 3 teaches new and/or forgotten things we need to know and remember about prayer; the main point being that prayer is not so much a means of communication as a tool for changing oneself.  “You will eventually lose faith in prayer if you expect God to change your circumstances when the real point of the venture is to change you.”  Answers to your prayers are most likely to come in the form of what happens to you during or as a result of the actual prayer.

Love and Service – It’s really all about love.  If we love the Lord, we will serve him – by serving others.  He has told us that way to best serve him.  (Matthew 25:34-45)   We come to love most those whom we serve most devotedly.  When we come to love God, the Savior, our neighbors, our enemies, and ourselves unconditionally, as Christ and the Father love us, everything else will have fallen into place.

There is yet more in this small book, but my purpose in this review is not to point up all of its very salient points, but rather to entice you to acquire the book and be blessed by its teachings as I have been.  The book can be gotten from Dan himself or ordered from lulu.com.

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[1] The passages in this review printed in italics not otherwise credited are taken directly form the book.  The highlighting of key phrases is mine.