New children's book by Wendy Watt Nelson drawing fire:
I like this intro:
Some very harsh reviews at Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/The-Not-Even-O...even+once+club
"The Not Even Once Club," written by Wendy Watson Nelson, wife of LDS apostle Russell M. Nelson, tells the story of Tyler, a new kid in town, who wants to join the club the other Mormon kids at church have. They tell him he can come into the treehouse if he knows the password, which is "Not. Even. Once." He is offered candy, games, puzzles, popcorn and pretzels as long as he pledges never to "break the Word of Wisdom [LDS prohibitions on alcohol, tobacco, tea and coffee], lie, cheat, steal, do drugs, bully, dress immodestly, or break the law of chastity ... intentionally look at anything pornographic on TV, the Internet, a cellphone, billboards, magazines, or movies."
Critics complain that the book promotes a kind of Mormon elitism and endorses giving candy as a reward for righteous living — and withholding it and group membership for children who make a mistake. It equates drinking coffee with more serious problems such as sexual sin, they say, and encourages perfectionism that undermines belief in Christ’s atoning sacrifice.
Critics complain that the book promotes a kind of Mormon elitism and endorses giving candy as a reward for righteous living — and withholding it and group membership for children who make a mistake. It equates drinking coffee with more serious problems such as sexual sin, they say, and encourages perfectionism that undermines belief in Christ’s atoning sacrifice.
I like this intro:
One of Jesus’ most transformative insights is that spirituality is an inside job. At a time when righteousness was equated with exact observance of rules, Jesus taught that God is concerned not so much with our actions as with the motivations behind them. There are only two commandments, and they are both love.
What, then, is the role of works? Paul teaches that loving intentions [footnote: I mean here true intentions, not the kind of weak intentions that are little more than a wish] will naturally result in good works. But it is dangerous to focus on works at the expense of love, because even the greatest works are spiritually meaningless without love. 1 Cor. 13:1-3.
This is wonderful theology but an administrative nightmare, because love is difficult to measure. A system that finds it necessary to assess the spiritual worthiness of individuals will almost inevitably fall back on works because they are concrete and measurable. Either you have paid your tithing or you haven’t. Only God can know whether you paid your tithing out of love, so human administrators gradually lose interest in intentions altogether. Focusing only on correct actions, we find ourselves back with the Pharisees.
This, of course, is the current state of the Mormon church. We give constant lip service to Christ’s atonement, but our highest aspiration is never to come within a hundred feet of it. If only we can prevent people from performing wrong actions, we think, they can return safely to heaven, untouched by the world and I would add, untouched by Christ’s grace.
This clearly is the view of Wendy Watson Nelson, author of the new Deseret Book publication, The Not Even Once Club, “an adorable and appealing . . . story that will help [children] choose for themselves to keep the commandments and to never break them. Not even once.”
What, then, is the role of works? Paul teaches that loving intentions [footnote: I mean here true intentions, not the kind of weak intentions that are little more than a wish] will naturally result in good works. But it is dangerous to focus on works at the expense of love, because even the greatest works are spiritually meaningless without love. 1 Cor. 13:1-3.
This is wonderful theology but an administrative nightmare, because love is difficult to measure. A system that finds it necessary to assess the spiritual worthiness of individuals will almost inevitably fall back on works because they are concrete and measurable. Either you have paid your tithing or you haven’t. Only God can know whether you paid your tithing out of love, so human administrators gradually lose interest in intentions altogether. Focusing only on correct actions, we find ourselves back with the Pharisees.
This, of course, is the current state of the Mormon church. We give constant lip service to Christ’s atonement, but our highest aspiration is never to come within a hundred feet of it. If only we can prevent people from performing wrong actions, we think, they can return safely to heaven, untouched by the world and I would add, untouched by Christ’s grace.
This clearly is the view of Wendy Watson Nelson, author of the new Deseret Book publication, The Not Even Once Club, “an adorable and appealing . . . story that will help [children] choose for themselves to keep the commandments and to never break them. Not even once.”
http://www.amazon.com/The-Not-Even-O...even+once+club
As an LDS clinical psychologist I strongly recomemnd you steer your children away from this book. This teaches children all the wrong messages from authority figures whose time would be better spent teaching them about unconditional love and forgiveness. I cannot stress enough how damaging this message about attainable perfection is. There are many developmentally healthy books out there that are appropriate for children. This is NOT one of them. Steer clear!
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