Sun Oven? in Alberta?

What the heck is a Sun Oven? and can it possibly be of any value in Alberta? 

A Sun Oven is a cooking solution for energy conservation or emergency preparedness. It is a durable appliance that can reach 400 degrees Farenheit - yes, even in Alberta! Hey, we have more sun year round than most other locations. Its not the temperature you're supposed to think of here, its the 'sun', and even in the winter, Alberta gets plenty of sun.

Devised for areas where heat sources are expensive at best, non existant at worst - a sun oven is the perfect way to harness the sun's rays to cook outside in the heat of a summer's day, without heating up the kitchen too. But the same principle that works in the summer, works in every season - just with variation and a little ingenuity. Angle your Sun Oven to catch the rays of the sun, and let nature do the rest. With special reflectors and a tempered glass door to retain the sun's powerful heat, the Sun Oven can cook anything that can be baked in a conventional oven: breads, cakes, muffins, pizza, vegetables, poultry, fish, meats, casseroles, grains, pastas and desserts. It lets you harness the power of the sun to cook without fuel. How simple and yet how clever is that? 

Working like a greenhouse, the Sun Oven will work on any sunny day at any time of the year - rays from the sun can pass through the glass front, but a good deal of the longer waves can't find their way back out. The result: heat is trapped inside. For convenience, the Sun Oven comes equipped with an oven thermometre, and can reach as high as 400 degrees and can be adjusted by adjusting oven and reflectors. It is not difficult to maintain a 350 degrees oven.

The adjustable Sun Oven reflectors allow you to take advantage of differing sun positions - depending on time of day and season. It is easy to take anywhere there is sunshine. When closed, it is as portable as a small suitcase. With the Sun Oven, you will be prepared for any interruption to traditional power sources, able to cook any kind of food as well as boiling water. As long as there is sunshine, you will have the power you need to cook your meals.

Hints for increasing the efficiency of Sun Oven in winter months: 
1) The sun is so low during the winter that the solar oven and reflectors need to be tilted at nearly a 90 degree angle. 
2) Turn the cooker frequently, especially when needing a constant high heat like for breads or muffins. 
3) Best cooking time is between 10 AM - 2 PM. After 3:00 on short days, the sun is too low for solar cooking. 
4) To increase circulation of your cooker on cold clear winter days, wrap the body of the cooker in an old blanket. 
5) For highest heat, check for gaps between glass and the box. Should be a tight close. 

 Available at Generations LDS Bookstore - www.generationsbookstore.com

WHY do Mormons Store Food?

Being a niche LDS Bookstore, we haven't had much to draw non latter-day saints into our store, unless they're looking for a gift for their 'Mormon' friend or relative. But more and more during these last few years, we are seeing non LDS people come into our store - because of they're interest in food storage, and emergency preparedness. Evidently we are the 'go-to' people on the subject. I wish I believed that most of us are complying with the counsel we have received all our lives to actually BE the 'go-to' people about food storage. We certainly have plenty of history directing us to do so. .... But that is a subject for another day. 

 One day, as I was helping a customer with his purchase of THRIVE Freeze Dried foods, he asked me
 "Do YOU (meaning you 'mormons') do THIS (meaning store large amounts of food) for the same reason WE (meaning all us non-mormon preppers) do?"
hmmmm, I had to guess at all the reasons non-latterday saints might be on a self reliance kick. "I assume" I answered, "that the reason you 'do' this, is because of the things we read in the newspapers and internet?" He nodded. "Well I have to admit that I certainly am interested in all those same things, but no, that is NOT why we store food and do our best to prepare our families for potential emergencies. We would do it anyway. I have lived like this my entire married life. I was raised with the idea of food storage. We 'do' this because we have been directed to to do it."

The truth is - if there was no external evidence confirming the wisdom of it, we would store food anyway. In fact, for most of our married life, we have endured polite chuckles from our non-member family, and not just a little bit of 'eye-rolling' because of our irrational practise of buying more than we need for the purpose of storing the excess. We have been called 'hoarders', and a few other things. My inclination to be like "Ma" on "Little House on the Prairie" was a source of much amusement to some. And I have to admit, although I never once second guessed our choices, I got tired of the ribbing. We started to keep part of us a little more private. Things like:
- our practise of buying and receiving books as the gift of choice for every occassion for every person in our family.

- my husband's birthday gift to me one year was a clothes line. That drew some raised eyebrows from his co-workers. "You're buying Cindy a WHAT? for her birthday?" Incidently it was my favourite gift! And when we moved, I got another one for another birthday. 
- that we ground our own flour, and bought wheat by the bushel; that a wheat grinder was the most used appliance in our house.
- I have an herb garden that keeps us in fresh, dried or frozen herbs all year long
- that we have a 250 gallon water tank in our basement
- that we have a wood stove in our family room and every fall collect wood for the winter, even though we live in the city ....
Lets face it, from the perspective of our non-LDS relatives, we were a bit excentric (to say the least). 

So. Why DO Mormons store food? Its certainly nothing new. I grew up in a less-active home where the gospel was not taught nor practised, but my parents were both raised in Mormon homes and they brought acceptance of the food storage practise into their marriage. It wasn't a religious thing, it simply made sense. It was in their blood.

“In the day of plenty, prepare for the day of scarcity.” was the “Message of the First Presidency,” in Conference Report, April 1942. 

“Learn to sustain yourselves; lay up grain and flour, and save it against a day of scarcity.”

President Brigham Young
When I was a young married woman trying to live the gospel by observing how others did it - always from the outside looking in, food storage was a principle I understood and could live with conviction.

“Everyone who owns a home recognizes the need for fire insurance. We hope and pray that there will never be a fire. Nevertheless, we pay for insurance to cover such a catastrophe, should it occur. We ought to do the same with reference to family welfare.”

President Gordon B. Hinckley

“Many more people could ride out the storm-tossed waves in their economic lives if they had their … supply of food … and were debt-free. Today we find that many have followed this counsel in reverse: they have at least a year’s supply of debt and are food-free.”

President Thomas S. Monson
“It is within everyone’s grasp,” explains Presiding Bishop Burton "The first step is to begin. The second is to continue. It doesn’t matter how fast we get there so much as that we begin and continue according to our abilities.”

In a Nutshell. The answer to 'WHY?' is a simple one. We are directed to store food and to be self reliant by those we sustain as prophets, seers and revelators, who speak the will of our Heavenly Father. It so happens that to "lay up in store" at the moment is a cool thing to do. In fact there is a whole cult following of the principles of self reliance. They even have a cool nick name - "PREPPERS". Who knew? We were preppers long before it was cool to be one.
I don't know that our non-lds family is still not rolling their eyes at our practices, but I don't care anymore now than I did for all those difficult years when food storage wasn't cool.

- Cindy Suelzle

THRIVE - Not like Your Mother's Food Storage!

Keeping it Fresh!

For decades Latter-day Saints have been directed to 'lay up in store' enough food and necessities to sustain our families for an extended period of time. So many decades in fact, that most of us have been raised with the principle. And yet, only a small percentage of us are sufficiently prepared.

We recognize that the counsel to be temporally prepared is inspired, and when we are not fully compliant we feel a little uneasy about it. After all, "If ye are prepared ye shall not fear" the scriptures tell us. But the questions remain:
1. What do we store? Where do I start?
2. How much of it do we store?
3. How do we use what we store? What do I do with it?
and sometimes the biggest and most important question of all -
4. How can we possibly afford it? 

Introducing 'THRIVE Freeze Dried Food' that not only addresses each of these questions, but does so with the freshness of strawberries, bananas, pineapple, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach and many many other fruits and vegetables that otherwise would be missing from food storage plans of the past. For many, the term "food storage" conjurs up images of boring food with little variety: canned tuna, macaroni, wheat, rice and dried beans. Hey, not to get personal, but do you really eat most of that food on a daily basis? Not that there is anything wrong with tuna, macaroni, wheat, rice and bean - they're in my food storage too, but really - how long would your family be happy with them alone? At THRIVE, they don't use the term 'food storage' to avoid the old stigma that is often associated with it. After all, this is NOT your mother's food storage.

Hopefully, we already have a good supply of canned goods. 
 

Commercially Canned, or Home Bottled:

It is generally understood that canned fruit and vegetables retain about 40% of the original food value of their 'best fresh day', but did you know that the fresh fruit is not always the best option? So much depends on where it comes from, how long it has been traveling, and under what conditions? And of course, how long has it been sitting in the store / on your counter / in your fridge. Canning damages heat sensitive nutrients like Vitamin C, but so does extended shelf life.
By law, food is processed within a relatively short window from harvest to canning / freezing. Canned fruits and vegetables often use high amounts of sugar or salt in the canning process, and undergo high heat over an extended period of time. Recommended shelf life is 2 years. YIKES! We all have home bottled fruit much older than that. ... I'm not going to tell you how old some of mine is.
Commercially canned fruit has a recommended shelf life of up to two years. YIKES again!

Frozen: 
Frozen foods are an excellent way to preserve foods and some argue that frozen is preferable to fresh. That is actually true for some fruits. The reason being is that fruits are flash frozen immediately after picking whereas most fresh fruits spend weeks between harvest and the market. Nutrients are lost each day after a fruit is picked. Frozen fruit retains more nutrient value than canned, but looses more during extended storage. A big down side is that the texture of frozen fruit is affected and usually inferior to fresh. Recommended shelf life of frozen fruit? 8-10 months. YIKES again.

The biggest draw back of depending on the freezer is ones dependance on electricity. Make no mistake - a full freezer is NOT food storage. It is convenient to be sure. But it is only that. It is a convenient way to store food so that one can take advantage of seasonal items, good bargains etc. It is NOT food storage.

Dehydrated - Commercial or Home dried:
Dehydrated food undergoes initial damage to vitamin C due to the slow 'cooking' nature of dehydrating, but has many other benefits. Its weakness - surprisingly - is 'shelf life'. Dehydrated foods have a optimal shelf life shorter than one might expect. Stretching beyond that yeilds a poorer product. Time / heat / and water are required for reconstitution.

Each method of preserving food has its advantages and disadvantages, and should all be used for a well rounded long-term food storage. None of the above can be expected to retain much food value past two years.

 

Lets face it. The weakest area of all food storage programs is fruits & vegetables, especially vegetables.  Unlike Popeye, we are not a canned vegetable kind of people. We don't like them. So how DO you include vegetables into your food storage? And just as important, how do you make them more a part of your family's daily life? Enter Freeze Dried Fruits & Vegetables.


What is FREEZE DRIED? Freeze-drying is a process that allows food to be shelf stable while retaining the maximum amount of nutrients. Freeze dried foods retain their original color, form, size, taste and texture. The result? A product that is not only superior to ALL other methods of preseving, but one that is usually superior to fresh produce purchased in your average grocery store as it retains nearly 100% of the original nutrient value. Whether eaten every day or saved for the future, THRIVE Freeze Dried products will taste great, stay fresh, and contribute to overall health. Can it get any better than that? Oh yes, the BIG Deal - Wait for it ...... THRIVE Freeze Dried food has a shelf life of 25 - 30 YEARS!
You read right, 25-30 YEARS!

And I haven't even told you the best part yet. There is every reason to use THRIVE foods every day. Did you know that the average home throws at least 25% of their groceries in the garbage? Think for a minute about what you recently threw in the garbage from your fridge? For many, it is far more than 25% of fresh produce!

Question: With THRIVE Freeze Dried Foods, what part of that can of Freeze Dried Spinach will go slimy before you use it so that it needs to be thrown in the garbage? Answer: ZERO.

Question: What portion of that can of Freeze Dried Strawberries do you suppose will go moldy before you use it so that you have to throw it out?

Answer: ZERO. 

Those days of wasting your grocery money by throwing food out are over! 100% ZERO Waste. Now you have to admit - that is a first.

 

HOME STORE

 

So how do you start your own 'Home-Store' with food that will be as good next year as it is today? Food that will be as good 3 years from now as it is today? Food that will be as good 25 years from now as it is today? How do you include THRIVE Freeze Dried Fruits & Vegetables into your family's long term food storage? and also into your daily menu planning? 

 

4+ Convenient ways to get THRIVE Freeze Dried Food. 

 

1) You may purchase most of them from a few specialty retail stores who carry them. In Canada THRIVE dairy and meat products are not available in retail stores. Neither are the convenient sized pantry cans.

 

2) You may purchase online - see thrivewithcindycanada.shelfreliance.com . Or through another independent Canadian website if you know a consultant. Or you can purchase from shelfreliance.com

 

3) You may purchase through Home Parties - attend one or host one (great host benefits bytheway). Click HERE to find a Consultant near you.

 

Or 4) what most people are choosing to do - you may purchase on a personal Q Program.

What is the Q?

Your own 'food-storage' long-range plan which ships to you in regular, affordable packages on a monthly basis. Thats right. Straight to your door. Every month. BEST price - Guaranteed.

 

And the Bonus way - 5) THRIVE is always looking for new business associates to help spread the good word to those who 'eat'. If you would like to join our team or find out more - visit thrivewithcindycanada.shelfreliance.com and click on "Join My Team".

 

Adding THRIVE foods to your family's grocery budget reduces daily waste, improves over all health, and continually adds to your Home Store all while staying within what you can afford.
It simply doesn't get any better than that! Before you know it, you'll be well on your way to protecting your family with a viable, stable, long term and nutritionally sound source of food.

THRIVE: Welcome to a New World - where food storage stays FRESH.

Leap of Faith: Confronting the Origins of the Book of Mormon

I am reading a new book. Well, new to me - not exactly new, although published in 2009 is not exactly old. This book came highly recommended to me by more than one student of the gospel who's opinion I hold in the highest esteem. Nevertheless, it has taken me this long to find the time to sit down to it.

First, let me go on record as saying "I completely concur with their high recommedation."
EXECELLENT BOOK. Written in layman's terms, by someone who doesn't make his living teaching the gospel. The author Bob Bennett, for those of us who don't know him ( like us Canadians) - is (or was) a United States Senator, and although he has many other interesting details in his portfolio, the most important one to me, is that he is a Latter-day Saint who loves the gospel, and is an avid student of the Book of Mormon. He is intelligent, well read, and has an interesting outlook on the Book of Mormon - shaped no doubt by his unique life and career experiences. He has a lot to offer those of us who also love the Book of Mormon. 

"Is the Book of Mormon a Forgery?"

This is the question that Bob Bennett addresses. Its detractors of course, dismiss it as such. And those of us who believe it, often fail to ponder its origins deeply enough to respond effectively to such criticisms. The author writes "For anyone truly interested in the Church and its claims, a thorough examination of the Book of Mormon as a possible forgery is a requirement. Instead of being just a footnote in an overall review of current Church activities, discussion of the book should be a primary focal point of the investigation." In actual fact - the truthfulness of the Church of Jesus Christ sets on the fact that the Book of Mormon IS exactly what it proports to be. It IS the keystone of our religion, as Joseph Smith told us. But it is more than that. Everything else we believe rests on it. IF it is true, then Joseph Smith really was a prophet of God, called from boyhood, prepared from the foundations of the world for his unique latter day task, which means that the church he established really IS the Church of Jesus Christ restored in these latter days. That means that each prophet who succeeded him was also called of God to do exactly that, which means that Thomas S. Monson IS in fact, the mouthpiece of God the Eternal Father in our day. Which means that everything he says - as prophet, is instruction from God to His children. It is critical that we put the question of the Book of Mormon to rest.

quote from the book:

"In the fall of 1829, two young men went to a printer in Palmyra, in upstate New York, with a manuscript they said they wanted printed und the title "Book of Mormon". It was in the handwriting of one of them, Oliver Cowdery, but they said that it had been dictated to Oliver and a few other scribes by the other - Joseph Smith, known to his neighbours as a local farmer. 

The printer was understandably dubious. A book written by a man who lived inteh 4th century, talking about an appearance by Jesus Christ in the Western Hemisphere in the 1st century, translated into English by a twenty-five year old farmer in the 19th century? 

Very curious. Where did Joseph claim to have gotten it? 

From an angel. 

Even more curious. How did it happen? 

Joseph said that the angel's name was Moroni, the last person to have possession of the plates in life. Joseph claimed that Moroni appeared to him in 1823 and led him to the place where the plates were buried and then came back again, several times through several years, to give Joseph additional instructions and to prepare him for the time when the plates would be turned over to him for translation. That supposedly happened in September 1827, when Joseph began translating the writing on them into English. 

He said he was able to do this because, along with the plates, which had "the appearance of gold", Moroni had given him a set of interpreters, a unique instrument called the Urim and Thummim, words which appear in the Old Testament. This instrument enabled him to receive by divine revelation an understnding of the meaning of the engravings on the plates. In addition to the Urim and Thummim, he said, he also possessesd a seer stone that emitted light and provided additional informatoin when it was needed. 

No wonder the printer refused to go forward with the job unless he saw the money up front.

No matter how preposterous this story sounds, however, the manuscript exist, so there had to have been some source for its creation." pg 35, 36 of the book

The author has unique and fascinating experiences with the world of forgery - gleaned from his career, which he brings to bear in his careful and objective examination of the Book of Mormon, and its claims. Through three of the most successful forgeries in American history, he became acquainted with several tests commonly used to help identify a forgery. He applies these tests to the Book of Mormon.

A springboard for meaningful discussion by people of all faiths. 

Click Image below to watch Interview with Author Bob Bennett about his book Leap of Faith.

additonal reviews on the book you might interesting:
http://www.lifeongoldplates.com/2009/09/review-bob-bennetts-leap-of-faith.html
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6796696-leap-of-faith
http://www.mormoncurtain.com/topic_bobbennett.html

Book available at Generations LDS Bookstore

Click HERE to Find out MORE

about current price and availability 

7 Miracles That Saved America

    Some time ago I finished listening to Seven Miracles that Saved America - mostly because it was written by one of my favourite authors - Chris Stewart (of the Great & Terrible series). He did not disappoint. One does not have to be American to recognize the singular position that country played in world history - as, among other things -  the first nation to embrace lasting democracy. 
As Latter-day Saints we have a further insight into the background of that - acknowledging that America was to be the stage upon which the Restoration of ALL things was to take place. Many things had to be prepared for that Great Event. This important detail however, is not mentioned in the book, and is unnecessary for the purpose of the book - which is to enlighten all God-Fearing Christian people who are open minded enough to recognize the hand of God in the establishment and protection of that great nation. It is also imperative to recognize the hand of Lucifer in many attempts to thwart God's plan for this country. For as Lehi promised, there will be opposition in all things. 


A HIGH Recommendation for every reader LDS or Not. All those who enjoy reading truth. One does not have to be American to enjoy it. 

- Cindy

Seven Miracles That Saved America 
by Chris Stewart and Ted Stewart

Also available on Audio CD

“When the odds were stacked against us—and there have been many times when the great experiment we call America could have and should have failed—did God intervene to save us?”

That question, posed by authors Chris and Ted Stewart, is the foundation for this remarkable book. And the examples they cite provide compelling evidence that the hand of Providence has indeed preserved the United States of America on multiple occasions. Skillfully weaving story vignettes with historical explanations, they examine seven instances that illustrate God’s protecting care:
* The unlikely discovery of America by Christopher Columbus
* How (and why) desperate English colonists were able to survive the “starving time” at Jamestown
* The Battle of New York during the Revolutionary War
* The miraculous creation of the United States Constitution
* Abraham Lincoln’s desperate prayer that turned the tide of the Civil War at Gettysburg
* How a series of extraordinary events changed the Battle of Midway during World War II
* The preservation of Ronald Reagan’s life from an assassin’s bullet, allowing him the time he needed to help extend freedom around the world

Available now in book or book on CD - @ Generations LDS Bookstore 
Click HERE to find out MORE 
 

“A Final Thought”

by Chris Stewart (from 7 Miracles that Saved America)

“There is an interesting story in the Bible that, we believe gives a final reason to have hope.

The 18^th chapter of Genesis tells that story of God, appearing to Abraham and sharing His intentions to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Hearing this intent, Abraham asks God a rather pointed question. “Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?” (v23)

Then he starts to bargain with the Lord “Peradvanture there be 50 righteous within the city; wilt thou destroy and not spare the place for the 50 righteous that are therein?” (v24)

And God answers, “If I find in Sodom 50 righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes” (v26)

Thank about that. “I will spare all the place” the entire city. And why? For their sakes.

For the sake of the good.

Then Abraham, apparently knowing that the people in Sodom and Gomorrah were really pretty bad, rethinks his proposition. Realizing there might not actually be 50 righteous within the cities, he makes a counteroffer, asking if God wouldn’t spare the city for 45 righteous. (v28)

And so they go, Abraham bargaining with God, essentially pleading on behalf of the righteous until hey get down to ten. And God say “I will not destroy it for 10’s sake.” (v32)

Surely there’s a lesson for us here. Maybe we have reached the point where we, as an entire people, are no longer worthy of God’s blessings. Are the good among us fewer than 60% of our population?

Fewer than ½? Fewer than 40%? Or 30%? Is there any way to really know?

But in a sense it may not matter quite as much as we think, for God has shown His willingness to save an entire people for the sake of the righteous, even if they are but a few.

If that is true, maybe we need not worry so much about our country and our people and whether our society has become too wicked, for surely there are wicked among us. Instead, maybe we need to concentrate on our own lives, our own goodness, our own families. Are we one of the 50? One of the 10? Are we, those of us who still believe, living our lives in such a way that we could convince God to save our nation if only for the few?

…..

Though severe storms lie before us and around us, we do not struggle through darkness by ourselves. As the early patriot John Page once wrote to Thomas Jefferson ‘Do you not think an angel rides in the whirlwind and directs this Storm?’

Indeed, we do not walk alone.”

Pages 293.294

Jacob T. Marley,

by William Bennett

I have always wondered about Jacob Marley. ... oh, I know he's just a fictious character, but I always sorta felt bad for him, he having to spend eternity dragging a lot of heavy chains around, while his compatriot and fellow Jerk - Ebeneezer gets a second chance to escape the same fate. Pretty good friend to warn him I'd say - since we all know Scrooge deserved the same chains "having added to them these seven years".

There is no question that Jacob got what he earned - he said it himself. "I wear the chain I forged in life. I made it link by link and yard by year. It is a ponderous chain." But exactly where does mercy and justice meet? We all cry out for mercy, and Ebeneezer (though not sold on the idea at the beginning) cried out for mercy too .... but doesn't Jacob Marley get any mercy? When I get this philosophical, my kids remind me "MOM, its a BOOK! A Story. Calm down. He wasn't real."
Well, good stories make me think about real life, and I love to see the deeper meaning in them. And when I read that classic favourite - A Christmas Carol - every December, a part of me is unsettled because of the unfinished piece about Jacob Marley .....

Evidently, there are others who felt the same way. Lucky for us, one of them happens to be the incredibly talented Latter-day Saint author William Bennett. ...

Enter the NEW book "Jacob T. Marley" the soon to be classic companion - at least in my family. (sssshhhh - don't tell them, but all my adult kids are getting one of these for Christmas to go along with each of their copies of A Christmas Carol.)

Written in 'Dickens-ish' language, it is beautiful to read - a pure literary pleasure that makes me smile, simply enjoying the flow of it.
Available at Generations Bookstore (and all other good Independent LDS Bookstores).
CLICK HERE to Read More about it on our website

the MESSIAH by Toni Sorenson

MESSIAH 

by Toni Sorenson

the setting: beginning about 20 BC - Helaman chapter 11

The people abound in wickedness, both Nephite and Lamanite. Gadianton robbers plague the people from their strongholds in the hills. The prophet Nephi is given the power to bind and loosen in earth and in heaven. He persuades the Lord to replace war with famine that the people might be brought to humility and repentance. The rains stop and destruction from war is replaced by famine. The effects are felt among the righteous as well as the wicked. Many perish. Finally, at the point of utter despair and sure destruction, the people repent and the rains come again.... Almost four years without rain!

"And now O Lord, wilt thou turn away thine anger, and try again IF they wll serve Thee? And IF so, O Lord Thou canst bless them according to thy words which thou has said." (Helaman 11:16)
Big IF's. 
It is the generation of Samuel - when believers among the Nephites are fewer in number than among the Lamanites. All over the land the people are being prepared for the birth of the Messiah - about whom their men of God have been prophesying for nearly 600 years.
Turmoil grips Zarahemla, despite the humbling famine. In many ways it is a time not unlike our own. Believers await the signs they have trusted in for so long. Unbelievers ridicule and mock them and trample everything that is precious under foot. Believers are persecuted and their faith is stretched and tested in their hardships. The wicked reason "it is not reasonable that such a being as a Christ shall come, if so, ... why will he not show himself unto us, as well as them who shall be at Jerusalem? ...  this is part of a diabolical plan of deception to keep the people downtrodden and in ignorance - promising them an event which can never be proven - not among us" they say "but in a land which is distant, a land which we know not; therefore they can keep us in ignorance, for we cannot witness with our own eyes..." 
 
Sound familiar? Uh huh. Yeh, me too.
 
What would it have been like to have lived then? Probably similar to now I imagine. And yet we have the 20/20 vision of hindsight that they did not.
Those believers had faith in an event yet to hapen and a being yet to be born. We have faith in an event that DID happen and in a Redeermer who has not only been born, but lived and preached and ministered and died - all according to prophecy, and who rose again, and who promised to return.
Author Toni Sorenson took Nephi at his word, and likened "the scriptures unto ourselves". She paints a picture of the time encompassing the books of Helaman and 3rd Nephi, in the Book of Mormon. A time which we should recognize as up close and personal. 
Take a journey through the eyes of a young man named Kiah. A boy raised by a believing mother, in a world where they were the minority - even among their neighbours and friends.
Days never to be forgotten. Days that we would do well to imprint in our hearts, as we are reliving them in our own day. The final days when foretold signs abound, and those with eyes to see recognize them and take note. 

the MESSIAH
a novel by Toni Sorenson, author of the Best Selling MASTER
500 page HB Cdn $26.95