Standing for Something : 10 Neglected Virtues That Will Heal Our Hearts and Homes

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Summary: Simple? Yes, but profound doesn't mean complex!
Review: Having read many of these reviews, I can bundle them into two groups? Those who read it to appreciate its potential value (both Mormon and non-Mormon) and those who have something against the Mormon church and are using this venue to vent their dislike. If you give it a bad review, you should be bold enough to sign your name. You know, to "stand for something". But the fact is, if you read this book and find something you can actually apply to your life to benefit you and/or your family, then Hinckley has done his job. He has set out to give us a few basic, simple methods for improving the society we live in. Honestly, I didn't consider it a page-turner, but I found numerous ideas that I can readily apply to my work, social, and family life. It is profound, and simple enough for the common person, like me, to apply. It will forever reside on my book shelf with other great works for easy reference ... and I intend to refer to it often.

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Summary: Standing for Something a Good Sit-Down Read
Review: In an effort to bring Americans back to the basics of goodness and purity, Standing for Something: 10 Neglected Virtues That Will Heal Our Hearts and Homes, by Gordon B. Hinckley, addresses the problems of the secularization of America.

Hinckley, the president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, blends his years of religious study and experience into one book, which offers ten important keys to solving many social problems in America today.

Love, honesty, morality, mercy, thrift, gratitude and faith are a few of the virtues Hinckley feels America has lost touch with. Refocusing our lives on them, he says, will help stop the moral decay that surrounds us.

In his book, Hinckley recounts the inspiration our founding fathers received when they drafted the Constitution and the faith that the country possessed at its very beginning. He sites the rejection of these values as the source of America's toughest problems, namely the deterioration of the family and a national loss of faith.

Hinckley draws on his own life experiences, world travels and our nation as it is today to illustrate his virtues. And, though he centers his points on his own faith, Standing for Something is a book from which all Christian denominations and religious sects can profit.

60 Minutes reporter Mike Wallace, in his forward to the book, says that Hinckley persuades the reader to "ruminate...on old-fashioned values: by name, Virtue and Integrity."

Hinckley's virues come from the basic rules of human decency and civility, no matter a person's race or creed. Standing for Something not only serves as a guide for individual living, but it also reminds us of the code on which America was founded: Faith, God, family and country.

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Summary: A Presciption of Hope for America
Review: In this book, Gordon Hinckely draws on his 90 years of life here in America and clearly provides a prescription for a brighter future. His prescription should appeal to anyone of any religion or persuasion who is concerned about the problems our society faces. By today's standards, Hinckley would be considered "conservative." Undoubtedly, the medicine he gently prescribes will be hard to swallow for a few--but I believe the prescription is divinely inspired. The first ten chapters discuss ten virtues that leaders in all circles (i.e., family, business, church, community, government, etc.) must cultivate if America is to remain strong. The last few chapters discuss the vital role "family" plays out in this prescription. Although Hinckley is a religious leader, his style is not one of "preachy" hell-fire and damnation. Although he does draw from the past, he doesn't do it in close-minded "I remember the good ole' days" style. He understands the inherit "good" that all people of the world possess. This book appeals to that inherit "good." Positive, enlightening, timely, and inspired. Those are the words I'd sum this book up with.

Its hard to believe that this book is written by a man that will be 90 years old in June. He has his pulse on the finger of society. He unquestionably understands society's illnesses and he has offered an inspired prescription.

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Summary: Focusing on what what is important in a complex world
Review: This book makes its points clearly and concisely. Mr. Hinckley illustrates his points with many stories from his own experience and some borrowed anecdotes. He has organized the chapters into two parts. Each of the 10 virtues he discusses is given its own chapter in the first part. The second part has two essays: one on marriage and the other on the family. He has an epilogue that discusses the lonely position of moral leadership.

It is in this epilogue that the seemingly simple virtues discussed in the book are revealed for the difficult principles they actually are. People who say this book is simplistic or naïve can make that point somewhat persuasively untilthey understand that the author is fully aware of the massive difficulties we frail humans have in living up to these ideals in a complex and constantly changing world. We are so easily dissuaded from persisting in virtue and adopting an easier go-with-the-flow approach to life. We need the kind of reminder this book offers and I am glad to have read it and to refer to it in order to clear my vision and to refocus myself on doing what I should rather than what is easy.

The book has some notes that supply references for some of the information in the book and a helpful index.

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Summary: Where Society Should Find Itself
Review: Was is it that the world needs today? Abstract thinking with complicated ideals, or simple and concise instruction?

I loved reading this book from the introduction to the last word. Why so? Because President Hinckley not only describes our social ills, some of which are as timeless as mankind iteself, but he also teaches us not as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but as members of the human race, that we need to unite together for the common good of all.

Some pessimists, (or, as they prefer to be called, "realists") don't think that our society can attain the virtues set forth in this book. Did God think of man's capacities for obedience when he gave the 10 commandments? Or did Christ hold back in rewriting the law of eye for an eye with turn the other cheeck because the Jews were virtually incapable of recieving such instruction at the time? No, man was told what he needs to do in order to attain peace and happiness. And that is precisely what we are given in this book.

Society begins with the individual, and after reading his book, I have a stronger sense of appreciation for this country that I live in; the freedom endowed to us; and I have recommited myself to being a better person. If all in the world and our society could change in such a manner, then we wouldn't have 1/1000 of the social ills now made manifest.

It is up to us as individuals to "Stand for Something". We can do it, and it starts with recognizing what we need to do, finding out how to do it, and doing it. It's a shame that some refuse to look beyond the doctrines of the Church (if they are against its teachings) and look to the genuine and pure wisdom given to us.

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Summary: Standing for an Honest Review
Review: With their lack of objectivity vis-à-vis this book, many of the previous reviewers make me wonder if they've read it at all. In possible contrast to some of them, I actually did read the book this weekend at a friend's house.

Readers who would praise self-improvement books of other stripes have no reason to demur at this "light read" by the president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Judge the values Hinckley espouses for yourself: love, honesty, morality, civility, learning, forgiveness and mercy, thrift and industry, order, gratitude, optimism, faith. Not only are they not exclusive to Mormons or Christians, but I would posit that even most irreligious people would find little fault with any of those attributes, save perhaps faith. Hinckley himself repeats two or three times that he is "a churchman", so finding faith on the list is no surprise.

Hinckley had an extensive public relations background within The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints before and after accepting leadership responsibilities so no one should doubt his capacity to author this book. That being said, it is also patently clear that Hinckley chose to write "Standing for Something" at about a Reader's Digest level--which in itself is no bad thing. Most casual readers aren't looking for Augustine or Aquinas. If they were, then Chopra and Covey wouldn't sell.

It is naïve and highly myopic to suggest that this is one of the best books ever written, but it is equally dishonest to pan it as sheer pablum. The truth is that the book is an accessible and straightforward review of principles presented in a manner that is for the most part engaging, if not particularly complex. If you are looking for a more intellectual treatment of ethics or morality, then you should already be aware that you are shopping in the wrong department. If you are looking for a casual read that reinforces principles of good living, then this will meet your needs.