Title: The Complete Christian
Author: Robert S. Wood
Publisher: Deseret Book
Genre: Nonfiction
Year Published: 2007
Number of Pages: 212
Binding: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781590387504
Price: $19.95

Reviewed by Marshall Hamilton

Today’s Mormon church seems to have a preaching problem.

Everybody preaches in one sense: from the 12-year-old deacon to the general authority, church members preach...or, at least, they “give talks” in church meetings.

But perhaps because the church rails against a paid ministry, or perhaps because church members want to avoid priestcraftdescribed in 2 Nephi as preaching for the honors of men, very few of the talks given at church rise to the level of inspired preaching.

Even the general authorities seem somehow reluctant to develop a voice as a preacher. It certainly seems to me that it is becoming more common for one general authority to dust off a talk given years before by another general authority, and present it with surprisingly few updates or revisions. Maybe that helps explain why the Curriculum Committee seems determined to fill all our meetings with recycled talks.

But enough complaining.

Every now and then a local member, a local leader, or a general authority uncorks a really fine sermon. Although I’ve never heard an LDS preacher engage in the lively call-and-response sermons that make other denominations’ meetings so intriguing, I have been jarred awake at times by well-written, energetically presented sermons.

When I hear a good preacher, it makes me want more of it.

So I was very pleased to read this book by Robert S. Wood of the Second Quorum of the Seventy. It appeared to me that Wood might be a good preacher. This book is, essentially, a series of sermons to teach church members what it means to be a true Christian.

The book is divided into four parts: True understanding, true character, true discipleship, and true faith. That structure, with its repetition leading to a more complete understanding, suggested to me that Elder Wood might be about to contribute to a too-meager store of good preaching.

I was unfamiliar with Robert Wood, but the dust jacket copy told me that he had been a member of the Second Quorum since 1999. I also learned that he has degrees from Stanford and Harvard and that he served in some impressive-sounding civilian positions in the US Defense Department.

I leafed through the index, and found some interesting entries: Thomas Carlyle, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Talleyrand, among many others. The endnotes were still more intriguing: cites to Thornton Wilder, C.S. Lewis (everybody’s favorite dry Mormon), Albert Einstein, John Locke, and, amazingly, Kurt Cobain.

It’s starting to become clear: this is not the “typical” Deseret title on church doctrine.

Then I glanced at the copyright page, where I read “Biblical citations are generally from the King James Version of the Bible; however, where noted, The New English Bible with the Apocrypha (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1970) (NEB) is quoted.”

I’m a pretty big fan, myself, of the KJV, but a few years ago in my calling as a group leader I gave a lesson to the high priests in my ward encouraging them to consult other translations to get a clearer feeling of what the early biblical texts have to say. Turns out that the stake president’s counselor who was visiting that day did not think that our high priests should be confused by such teachings: I was released the next Sunday.

But here is a book from Sheri Dew’s shop openly quoting from an alternate translation.

Wow, I thought. I’m in for quite a ride.

* * *

In his writing, Wood does cite his extensive governmental experience to illustrate some of the points he makes.

But here’s the trouble I found with this book: Wood has, I believe, some fascinating personal experiences that he could bring to bear to the gospel topics he discusses. But he seems uncomfortable bringing those experiences to the front and center position. As a result, the personal experiences do not establish Wood’s credentials or lend his arguments a persuasive “real-world” flair. The references to his experiences thus seem disjointed from the rest of his argument, mere appendages rather than structural supports.

Here’s an example: Chapter 3 is headed “Glorified in Truth: Character and Consequence.” In that chapter he asserts that the word “character” is derived from the Greek term for “engraved,” and that “an individual with character is one whose personality is distinguished by or engraved with moral excellence and firmness.” (81) Thus enduring in our commitments is, according to Wood, the “essence of true character.”

This is where the author cites his work experience to illustrate the point he’s making. He says “In the law there are two contrasting ways of looking at commitment: Pacta Sunt Servanda and Rebus Sic Stanibus.” Roughly, those Latinate terms mean, respectively, a deal, once struck, is a deal, and a deal, once struck, applies as long as the circumstances that led to the deal continue in force. These terms are mentioned and described in a single five-line paragraph, then never alluded to again.

Calling the conflict between these two views of a contract a contradiction in human law, Wood argues that the Lord has transcended the contradiction by offering mankind a new and everlasting covenant. (82) The arcane names of these legal schools of thought are cited, apparently, to assure us that the author is very smart and has thought seriously about these issues.

But these views of commitment are tossed off without introduction or conclusion. The difficulties of making commitments and the struggles to live with them through life’s changes are shrugged off, with no compassion shown for those whose ability to maintain commitments changes due to physical or mental illness, political or military upheaval, or other cataclysmic events beyond individual human control.

This section was memorableI’d never heard of these Latin phrases beforebut totally unsatisfying to me. It did nothing to help me understand Wood’s view of how a church member should deal with the real-world difficulty of enduring to the end.

* * *

In the opening section of the book, Wood describes his attendance at a conference at the Pentagon, where senior White House staffers, cabinet officers, and U.S. military commanders were gathered. Wood seems impressed that he is entitled to rub shoulders with such luminaries: he thinks to himself “how lucky the nation is to have such people serving the country.”

The same day, Wood participates in another conference, this one of Area Authority Seventies and mission presidents, also in the Washington area. At that conference, he was struck with the thought that “these are also good people; but they are something more. They are holy people.” (1-2)

I was really not sure what point Brother Wood was trying to illustrate here. On one level he seems to be establishing his own gravitas, since he was a participant in both conferences. He may be arguing that both the government and the church have assembled groups of capable leaders. But presumably Wood believes that church leaders are chosen by a special process, putting them in a category government leaders cannot hope to emulate. But his description of the two meetings seems in a way to denigrate church callings, by explicitly reducing them to the level of political achievement.

* * *

In this book Wood offers some excellent advice on how church members can become more complete Christians. He quotes from an impressive variety of thinkers, celebrities, and cultural figureseven Harry Potter and Dumbledore are referenced.

I have been told that Robert Wood is an impressive speaker; he preached at a neighboring stake conference recently. Of course, a live presentation is more than the mere presentation of text. I believe that Wood is probably much more impressive from the pulpit than in writing.

But I’d have to say that “The Complete Christian” is not the most effective introduction to Wood. His ideas, while often intriguing, are incompletely presented, and some of the examples used left me totally clueless as to where Elder Wood was heading.

I’d suggest more rigorous editing, by editors with the clout to insist that even a general authority should produce sentences, chapters and books that lead to interesting, well-defined conclusions.

And I guess I’ll have to keep on waiting for a preacher who consistently makes church sermons more than recitations.