Title: A Twenty-Something’s Guide to Spirituality
Author: Werrett and Read, eds.
Publisher: Deseret Book
Year Published: 2007
Number of Pages: 262
Binding: Trade paperback
ISBN: 978-1-59038-794-8
Price: $15.95

Reviewed by Jeffrey Needle

You’ll have to forgive me if I tell you that I have something of an aversion to books with the word “spirituality” in the title. I think this comes from decades of hearing people say things like, “Oh, I’m not religious, but I am very spiritual.” I think this means that some folks feel they must separate from the idea of organized religion in order to participate in authentic spirituality. Or maybe they just don’t know what they’re talking about.

I was not prepared for the content of this book. Its title belies the content -- it is specifically aimed at the young person entering college and wondering how to deal with the intersection of church and real life. How is knowledge obtained? How do we balance the pressures of modern life with the demands of the restored gospel? Its ten chapters consist of questions asked mostly by non-BYU academics, Christians who have faced dilemmas in their own lives and are seeking advice to share with others. The questions are sometimes quite pedestrian; the responses, from well-known LDS leaders and scholars, are often quite illuminating.

Now, given the intended audience of the book -- young people beginning a new life away from home, in a communal setting in college -- imagine my shock when I consulted the index and found no entries for “sex,” “virginity,” etc. In fact, the common “keep your zipper up” tone of most books like this is just not present here. Instead, real questions are answered in a way that calls upon young people to engage their minds and their hearts in their academic and spiritual pursuits.

Admittedly, some of the answers are a bit parochial, and sound a bit like sermonizing, rather than advising. I do understand that this line is hard to avoid crossing when you’re speaking from a place of authority. But some of the chapters are amazingly good. For example, “Nine Reasons for Learning to Learn” is an excellent treatise on the importance of learning philosophy and its methods. Truman G. Madsen, who provides the answer, gives an outstanding summary of the importance of the philosophic enterprise. In a chapter titled “How We Know,” Robert L. Millet explores the tension some feel when struggling with issues of historicity -- whether the Bible or the Book of Mormon -- and offers a fairly mainstream approach to the problem.

Other chapters cover other issues. And while some of the answers are more satisfying than others, the consistent thread that runs through this book is a sense of compassion and genuine interest in helping young people transition from the comfort of youth and the presence of parents to the sometimes-uncertain life of a full time college student. This is a big step for many young people, comparable only to going on a mission.

I’ve seen lots of books of counsel to young people. They range from perfectly awful to absolutely excellent. This book falls between these two goal posts, and I feel represents a big step forward in the Church’s desire to confront, head on, the issues that face real young people in a real world. If you know a child going off to college, this book will make an excellent gift. Now, if you can only get the kids away from the computer games long enough to read the book.