The miracle of forgiveness

So a week after the counsel that excommunicated me, I read "The miracle of forgiveness" by Spencer W. Kimball.

Firstly, the title of the book should be changed, I think something along the lines of "The little book of mormon shame" or "You thought you were good!"

Joking aside, Kimball doesn't mince words, when a slightly more shy bishop would dance around the bush he cuts right to the chase and lays down exactly whats not ok (that I'd imagine a lot of members would have thought was) and some of the more (possible) serious consequences.

If you're an average member, i.e. you've not done anything that warrants being excommunicated, this book will scare the daylights out of you. You'll begin to wonder about just where you stand (spiritually) in light of the tough standards of Kimball. My best friend is really afraid of reading this book. My only advice for the average member on this book is to make sure you read the last three chapters, they will really really help with the suicidal guilt that this book induces.

Didn't like his jokes.

 My experience reading was quite different. Being excommunicated, as I read through I really a little impervious.

The worst has already happened, I've been excommunicated, at that point in time there wasn't really anything that book could have said to me to make me feel any worse than I had already felt. So I breezed through it, with only a few parts that got me worried.

The first was the comment President Kimball had made to a former member who he had excommunicated, "well you'd better hope you don't die before you get re-baptised"(I paraphrase), this was something of a threat as apparently that person was taking the whole thing lightly. Frightened the life out of me, I though I really can't die before I get things fixed.

The second one, I can't remember the exact quote but my understanding of it was that someone without the priesthood couldn't attend priesthood meetings. I asked the bishop about this in our next meeting and he said that's not the case.

Long story short, if you've been excommunicated there is only one line in this book that will really scare you. It's a good book for you to read and the most important chapters to read are the last three.

If you've not been excommunicated, try to read it with a friend and support each other as you do and please please please make sure you read the last three chapters, these are the really important ones after all the hard stuff before them.

I need to re-read them as I can't really remember their message.