Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis

I have heard parts of the book Screwtape Letters quoted for years. I finally decided to pick up a copy to see what it was all about. I won't lie and say it was an easy read, because I actually felt like I was back in college. The book is a Christian satire, so I had to annotate the heck out this book to comprehend what the messages were that I should take away from the chapter. I think part of the difficultly for me was to read something knowing I should interrupt it in the opposite manner. Remember opposite days as a child? Front was Back, Left was Right, Good meant Bad etc... This is how you have to read this book, and that takes just a little more focus than my normal Juvenile Literature choices.

The main characters are two demons. Screwtape is the mentor while his nephew Wormwood has just acquired a human "patient" to work on. Throughout the book Screwtape gives his nephew advice on how to lure his human away from God/Christ (whom they refer to as the Enemy) and toward Satan "Our Father Below." While a lot of the book focus on techniques to entice the man to sin (eg: "Murder is not better than cards if cards can do the trick. Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one-the gentle slope, soft underfoot" pg 61), there are parts where Screwtape disdainfully tells his nephew of the odd things "the Enemy" does for his creations. I really felt that some of these were wonderful quotes that deserved to be shared. Here are my Favorites, but don't forget it is a demon speaking so you have to pretend it's opposite day:

• "Now it may surprise you to learn that in His efforts to get permanent possession of a soul, He relies on the troughs even more than on the peaks; some of His special favourites have gone through longer and deeper troughs than anyone else. The reason is this...One must face the fact that all the talk about His love for men, and His service being perfect freedom, is not (as one would gladly believe) mere propaganda, but an appalling truth. He really does want to fill the universe with a lot of loathsome little replicas of Himself... He wants servants who can finally become Sons...It is during such trough periods, much more than during the peak periods, that it is growing into the sort of creature he wants it to be. " pg. 38-39

• "He wants them to learn to walk and must therefore take away His hand; and if only the will to walk is really there He is pleased even with their stumbles." pg 40

• "He wants men, so far as I can see, to ask very simple questions; is it righteous? is it prudent? is it possible?" pg 138

• "We are tempted to say that such souls-or such residual puddles of what once was soul-hardly worth damning. Yes, but the Enemy (for whatever inscrutable and perverse reason) thought them worth trying to save. Believe me, He did." pg 190

• "He did not create the humans-He did not become one of them them and die among them by torture-in order to produce candidates for Limbo; 'failed' humans. He wanted to make Saints; gods; things like Himself." pg. 193

I hope that all made sense to you. It wasn't like I didn't already know all those things either. It was just good to see them in different words. I believe that God's love is endless. I know as it says in D&C 18:10 that "the worth of souls is great in the sight of God." I know that Christ suffered so that we can we can be forgiven and live with him in the eternities if we will apply the atonement to our life, live righteously, and follow the words of the prophets. It is during the troughs of my life that I have developed a renewed Faith in Christ and developed a stronger testimony of his love for me. I know this fact because I have/had been in a "trough" for a while now, and I am slowly seeing the growth and positive impact this trial has had on my life.

If you haven't read the Screwtape Letters I would recommend it, but keep that pencil handy, your mind working backwards, and focus on the aspects and traits of God rather than getting bogged down in the techniques of the devil. If you can finish it with a stronger testimony of Heavenly Father's love than you read it the way the author wanted it to be read!

In the back of the book is a letter by the author. He said that while writing the book came with ease "it came with a spiritual cramp," and "It almost smothered me before I was done." He said that we would have loved to see Screwtape's words balanced by "archangelical advice to the patient's guardian angel... But who could supply the deficiency? Even if a man-and he would have to be a far better man than I-could scale the spiritual heights required..." To this I can quickly reply...our prophets can do that!

I am so excited to listen to the words of living prophets next month. Twice a year Mormons gather together to listen to men and women who are called of God to lead us in righteous pathways. We call this meeting General Conference, and they are usually my favorite weekends of the year. I feel so blessed to be part of a church that believes in continual revelation! The world has changed so much since the times of Peter, Paul, and John. I can't even picture a loving God letting us walk alone that long without offering advice, wisdom, and a reassurance of his love. It is a comfort to know that he hasn't done that, but instead he has called prophets during these latter-days with as much authority as Adam, Moses, Jeremiah, John, and Paul to help his children navigate this ever changing and ever more evil life on Earth. Thomas S. Monson is the current living prophet. I love that man...he is kind yet straightforward, understanding yet encouraging, loving, and a true representative of Christ on Earth. I think between Thomas S. Monson, and the other Apostles nearly every Christ-like attribute can be found in excess. Even if you aren't Mormon I know you will find things they say uplifting, encouraging and truthful. You can visit this webpage to hear the testimonies of the leaders of my church and also bits of advice or answers to questions from these men who are special witnesses of Christ in this day and time.