Have you ever read a book about an event you attended but
have no recollection of, no pictures to prove you were there, no documents, and
no living mortal can vouch for your attendance?
I recently completed such a book—Prologue:
The Brothers, the first volume in The
Great and Terrible series by Chris Stewart.
This book takes place in the premortal world and tells of
the great battle fought between Satan and the children of God. Stewart takes great literary license when
describing the premortal world, because as he says, “The simple fact is that we
know very little of what life was like for us in the premortal world . . . ”
(Stewart xi). In this world four
siblings struggle to decide what side to take during the war in heaven. Satan is cunning and deceiving, while the
leaders of God’s army preach truth and light.
Each sibling faces trials that prepare him or her for their mission on
earth. The reader glimpses the mind of
Satan and how evil he is. They also
glimpse the salvation of our Savior and how much faith we as his brothers and
sisters put into His promise of coming to earth and leading a perfect life,
suffering and then dying for us so we could return to live with God again.
While reading about this battle of wits and words I couldn’t
help but wonder where I was during this war.
Did I ever cross over to Satan’s side then come back as some characters
did? Or was I one of the valiant ones
who always knew that Christ’s plan was the one in which we could truly gain
salvation. Was I ever a missionary or a
leader who carried His word to those who were fence sitters? Or was I a fence sitter myself? Did I have friends who chose to follow Satan
and are now working against me? These
and other questions pressed on my mind while reading.
No other book that I read has caused me to ponder where my
place was during the time the book took place.
I can read a historical fiction book about 9/11 or the events of the
ensuing war and remember where I was when these events took place. I can look back on my journal and reflect on
the feelings I had, my views on it, and my thoughts of the future. But I have no earthly record of what happened
to me during the time and setting of The
Brothers. This is why this book made
me ponder as I did.
Because of this single fact I found this book extremely
interesting. Despite the fact it lacked
a solid story line, or had wordy descriptions of the setting, The Brothers is a book worth reading. The characters are believable. The four siblings aren’t all the valiant type
you would expect them to be. Some have
questions and some falter. Because they
aren’t perfect they are relatable.
Above all I believe this story is worth reading because it
makes you think. Whether you believe we
existed as spirits before we came here, or whether you even believe in a god, I
would highly recommend this book. It
makes you think of your calling in life, what we are here to do, and our
relationship to God and our fellow men.
