A Twenty-Something’s Guide to Spirituality is a collection of ten essays by various Latter-day Saint authors ranging from the late Elder Neal A. Maxwell to Truman G. Madsen, emeritus professor of philosophy at Brigham Young University. The subtitle, “Questions You Hesitate to Ask, Answers You Rarely Hear,” is a bit of a misnomer. The questions are actually asked over and over again by many adults in their twenties. Each chapter begins with a question, posed by a twenty-something Latter-day Saint, which raises issues that are then discussed for a few pages. The responses were selected and edited by two LDS law students, Jacob Werrett and David Read.
The book reads like a friendly dialogue—one could picture a group of people sitting around for lunch and discussing such topics. The questions are genuine and sincere, and the authors give sound and sage advice. The topics range from women in education to maintaining activity in the Church, and all are about important issues facing young adults in the Church today. Because of the question-and-answer format, it is easy to find an essay that will address a particular issue—a quick perusal of the question (no more than a page or two) yields the essence of the issue.
This book is ideally suited to young single adults or those who work closely with them. To anyone who is embarking on his or her college years, has a child who is doing so, or is in a young single adult bishopric, the essays and talks in this book will be valuable. As an example, in response to the question of how to choose between two good options, Virginia H. Pearce mentions Doctrine and Covenants 111, the Lord’s response to Joseph’s trip to Salem to find hidden treasure, as an example of how God can turn our bad (or even just not so good) choices into marvelous results. James Jardine talks about honesty in today’s competitive world, using examples from his own life and from the character Sir Thomas More in the play A Man for All Seasons. Truman G. Madsen gives nine reasons to learn how to learn—not just going to school but actually understanding how to grapple with issues and continue learning as a lifelong pursuit. The answers to such questions will be a great aid to young adults and those around them.
