For Time or Eternity?
By Mark E. Petersen
Synopsis: This is a fictional book written in 1954, which seems to be written for young girls who are members of the Church. Therefore, I read the book with my eight year-old daughter. It tells the story of a romance between a girl and a non-member boy, and discusses some of the profound life choices that she had to make.
Strong Points: Reading this book with your daughter will lead to a lot of great discussions about important life decisions. It also leads to deep discussions about Gospel doctrine, as it gives a lot of good doctrinal treatises when various characters in the book explain points of the Gospel. I feel that when such doctrinal matters were discussed in the book, it was Mark E. Petersen giving one of his magnificent lectures.
Weak Points: This book was written in 1954, and so it is very dated. It may, therefore, be difficult to relate sometimes to the characters. But if you approach the book with this understanding, it shouldn’t be too big of a deal. Also, the premise of the book, as a simple romance story, is not entirely remarkable, and not my kind of reading. But the fact that it was crafted by Mark E. Petersen, and has golden doctrinal nuggets strewn within it, makes it a worthwhile read.
Interesting: 2.5/5
Must Read: 2.5/5
Overall: 2.5/5
Pages: 120
Selected Quote: “You have lodges or fraternities with certain forms which they believe came from Solomon’s Temple. We don’t say whether their claims are right or wrong.
“But if they have a certain symbol from that temple, and they use it exactly like it may have been used in Solomon’s temple, it could still be an unauthorized use of a correct form, just as immersion in a man-made church is an apostate use of the correct form of baptism. …
“Anything that once existed may be used again, even by unauthorized persons. Sacred things used anciently and brought forward into a modern setting such as a lodge or a fraternity could have what appears to be an authoritative status. But when you realize that such use of once sacred things is unauthorized and without divine sanction, you can readily avoid being confused by it.”
(p. 93-94).