I just happened to pick this book up to read when it was just what I needed!!!!! Who knows? Maybe it is the kind of book that is always just what I need to read. I'm really glad I read it--great way to start my days for the past few weeks.

This book takes great pains to explain how the atonement of Jesus Christ allows us to change. Our purpose on this earth is to change by applying the Savior's atonement. Most of the examples are from a Young Single Adult perspective because, I believe, the Hafen's were serving in this capacity at the time they were writing the book.

***04/23/2017 Listened again this time with my Sweet Wife while we reorganized our apt. I love this book. It's so deep, like Holy Scripture.

Listened to this multiple times while I was patrolling as a police officer. Gave me great comfort and peace after Alexa broke my heart.

Short book that talks about the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the importance of our relationship with God. Well written with some excellent analogies.

Bruce C. Hafen helped me better understand the Atonement and how it applies in my life toward suffering and pain that are the natural consequences of life on earth. It is a beautiful book!

Very well writen treatment of the atonement of the Savior. A sdubject that deserves intense study. Tad Callister's The Infinite Atonement is another stellar example.

Nicely done. I especially loved his chapters on Hope and "the gap" and Charity.

It's hard not to love a book on the atonement, but having read several, this isn't a favorite. Still fantastic and worth the read.

This is hands-down the best LDS book I've read. It took me a long time to finish because I ended up starting over halfway through so I could soak some more in. One of my biggest gospel questions has been "but how do I REALLY access the Atonement?"—sometimes in theory it seems a lot easier than it actually is for me. Bruce Hafen makes the Atonement way more accessible and easier to put into practice by going through a "life cycle" using the story of Adam and Eve (similar to a Joseph Campbell's hero's journey symbolic story pattern). Through this story, he explains how the Atonement helps us with sin, mistakes, habits and tendencies we have, and even healing from the result of people's agency or just life happening. I felt like this book really helped me understand (1) how the Atonement really does apply and can help me in so many aspects of life, and (2) why the Adam and Eve story is so important and such a focus in the church.

Although there were a few chapters that seemed a little outdated to me, overall, this book has held up well. I will definitely use it as a reference in the future and read it as some point again.

I really like the insights into justice, mercy, and the nature of humans (essentially good, essentially evil, etc.). While of course the general concepts are nothing knew, I really liked the angle he brought to the subject. I got some good insights out of the book and I'm sure will eventually reread it.