Navigate the Strait: One Guy's Thoughts on the Narrow Passage to Eternal Life - Paperback

by Bradford G. Smith (Author)

A dying father's testimony to his children about faith, covenants, and eternal life. Navigate the Strait is an insightful look at one man's journey through an active life of teaching in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which is ending in the slow, downward spiral of ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease. Yet his happy, sustaining faith and his love for his "all caring" Tiffany and their three children, Lincoln, Edison, and Abigail, drive his passion to finish this book. He wants his family and friends to KNOW him better after the disease will likely take his life. This book is a must for anyone who wants to teach, understand, or gain the strength to live the gospel of Jesus Christ.. You will find in it stories, ideas, and teaching examples that express the doctrine of Christ in simple ideas that make life betterI'm just a normal guy with a testimony of Jesus Christ. Then I got ALS. Bummer. ALS is taking away everything that I am good at: speaking, typing, fixing things, hugging my wife and children. I am writing this book with one finger on a mouse or with my eyes controlling my iPhone. On the bright side, I finally have something in common with Stephen Hawking.Now that my disease has reduced my life to complete dependence on others, what am I worth? Well... I am still a good teacher. I love my Savior. I love the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. I look at the gospel in a nonlinear fashion, thinking critically about how gospel teachings connect to one another and to our personal struggles. If all truth is circumscribed into one whole, we need to think deeply, and sometimes creatively, about how the gospel connects to us and to others. Since ALS will take my life, I will likely not be around to teach these ideas to my kids in the moment they need a lesson. I pray that this little book of "Dad's testimony" will help my children and grandchildren as they grow and need answers to their questions.If you happen to read it, and if it helps you on your journey, that's great too. When we meet, let me know what you liked.Most of my writings are about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. While I present many ideas within the framework of church doctrine and culture, I hope that anyone can learn something useful from what I have learned. I am no scriptorian. I have never taught religion at BYU. I don't know the location of the Ark, the lost tribes of Israel, the Book of Mormon cities, or Nikola Tesla's death ray. These ideas are my own, based on my prayerful study of doctrine and scriptures. But don't just take my word, go to the source and see for yourself! If anything in this book conflicts with living prophet, then I am wrong. Stick with the prophet. I do know that Jesus Christ is the Savior and Redeemer of all mankind. I know that he loves you and me-even when life gets hard. If you have never looked into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I encourage you to visit ComeUntoChrist.org to learn the basics. You can ask questions and even invite missionaries to visit your house and share a message with your family. You will discover that the kingdom of God has been restored to the earth in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You will hear about a living prophet of Christ on the earth who speaks with authority like Moses, Elijah or Peter. And you will learn more about Jesus Christ in the Book of Mormon as a companion to the Bible. That is what we mean when we say "it's true."This book is my attempt to dive deeper into those simple truths. It is organized by topic, so feel free to jump around- and to jump out to the scriptures. I hope this book makes you happy.