Howard W. Hunter – Eleanor Knowles – 4 Stars

Howard W. Hunter – Eleanor Knowles – 4 Stars

Title: Howard W. Hunter

Author: Eleanor Knowles

Publisher: Deseret Book

Year: Hardcover (Current Edition 2010)

Rating:  4 Stars

Price and Purchasing Options: This book had great distribution, which means that you can probably find it for two or three dollars at any Deseret Industries.  Pick it up!  Also, surprisingly the price new on this one has also remained relatively low – unlike other biographies through Deseret Book on modern day prophets.  You  can pick this one up from Amazon for around $15.

Review: This one of my favorite biographies in the church, period.

This is an overlooked biography, and I believe and overlooked prophet – probably due to his short tenure as the head of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  He was in for less than one year, and I fear too easily forgotten.

This is an important book to me because this is the most relatable narrative I have seen of any living prophet.  In in we learn about a regular man, trying to do his best with what he was asked, and rather than achieving great things and it being clear he was to be a prophet because of his fortitude from birth – he was a common man, asked to be an apostle and witness, and eventually the prophet of the church.

The narrative may have been a little more authentic due to this book being written before he was a prophet.  I think with his age and health, there was probably not a lot of expectation that we would have actually lived to be the leader of the church.  But that opened up an opportunity for Eleanor Knowles, rather than extoll his for-ordination from birth, to share an authentic account of a boy, growing into a young man, growing into a professional, and eventually growing into a special witness of Christ.

It is touching, moving, relatable, and short.  It is one of the easier reads regarding modern day prophets you will find.  I highly recommend this book be read – when looking for a better understand of these men that are called to these callings.

A few of my favorite things about President Hunter was he was in a band.  When he was going to propose and get married, he visited with his bishop.  When he told him his plans for marriage, the bishop politely said, “Howard, you don’t make enough to take care of a family.”  When Howard expressed that he did, the bishop seemed confused, and commented on how when reviewing his tithing statement it seemed he didn’t make much at all.  Howard readily confessed that tithing had never been priority to him, and he made an adjustment at that point and moved on, and eventually gained a powerful lesson.

I loved it!  I love a prophet of God admitting, ‘I wasn’t until my mid-twenties before I learned the principles of tithing really.’  His life was one full of this. 

Suggestions:  I would recommend picking it up.  This is a good book.

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Review #37

Tags: 4 Stars, Historical Biography, Church History, Biography, Eleanor Knowles, Howard W. Hunter, LDS Book Review, Ryan Daley