Title: Considering the Cross: How Calvary Connects Us with Christ
Author: John Hilton III
Publisher: Deseret Book
Genre: Religious Non-fiction
Year Published: 2021
Number of Pages: 232
Binding: Hardcover, eBook, Audiobook
ISBN-13 Hardcover: 9781629728711
Price: $22.99
(Reviewed by Richard Ji for the Association for Mormon Letters)
Just in time for the Easter season, John Hilton III’s new book, Considering the Cross: How Calvary Connects Us with Christ was recently released. As the title suggests, this book focuses on Christ’s Crucifixion. In an effort to gain a more complete knowledge of Christ, Hilton wrote this book to address an area that is perhaps under-represented in discourse, appreciation, and traditions within the Latter-Day Saint community. For various reasons, we as Latter-Day Saints, tend to focus more on the Atonement in general or emphasize Gethsemane more than Calvary. Hilton explores this bias in his book and explains that we can come closer to the Savior through this more complete understanding including the events on Calvary.
The book is outlined clearly and is divided into four parts:
- Part I: Feel My Savior’s Love
- Part II: Teachings about the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ
- Part III: The Events of Good Friday
- Part IV: Deepening Your Personal Connection to Christ’s Atonement.
There is also an Introduction, a Conclusion, and an Index.
Considering the Cross combines accessible scholarship, history, theology, devotion, and personal reflections in its study of the Savior’s last day in mortality. I say accessible scholarship because the research is easy to read. The book has wonderful footnotes throughout which include references as well as additional commentary. For those like me who enjoy such notations, I welcomed the footnotes versus endnotes as it made it much more efficient to review. For those who are less interested in this information, it can be readily skipped over. The “so what” of the scholarship is told fluidly and simply, without the density that normally accompanies highly academic work. I found the insights shared to be enlightening and fresh. The book’s pages were not consumed with regurgitations of lengthy and well-known scriptures, stories, quotations, and other “Sunday school answer” materials. But rather the pages seemed to me to be filled with valuable perspectives while being accompanied by scripture and quotations. The personal reflections of both the author as well as others were also delightful accents to the material. Because the Atonement is so personal, having these illustrative first-hand experiences seems fitting.
I greatly appreciated the historical review of meanings of the cross which helped to demonstrate how our bias away from it is largely cultural. This includes shying away from using the cross as a symbol as many Christian traditions do today. As a young missionary, I would teach investigators that we don’t wear a cross because we place more emphasis on the Savior’s life versus His death. We also would choose not to wear a cross around our neck any more than we would wear a crashed car to remember a loved one who died in an accident. But Hilton points out that different symbols can evoke powerful feelings for different people. So, if the cross helps one to feel closer to Christ, then why disparage it? In fact, he demonstrates that early in the Church, prominent members including a wife and daughter of Brigham Young wore cross jewelry (p. 18).
The Chapter “Crucifixion in the Roman World,” while graphic, truly leaves an impression that helps bring to life more of what the Savior went through. Perhaps one reason we avoid focus on the Crucifixion is because it is so unpleasant. After all, who wants to make a careful study of torture, especially of One we love? But, one of the key takeaways for me, is that if we truly want to know the Savior, we need to better understand all parts of Him, not just some.
If there is one suggestion I have for the book, it would be to include photographs of artwork mentioned in Chapter 1. These include a graffito created prior to the fourth century (p. 8). One can look them up (yep, I did), but the art depictions seem to be critical in the points being made. Perhaps copyright implications were prohibitive, but these would make for a more impactful read.
Considering the Cross does a marvelous job at bringing all the scholarship, history, and theology back to the fundamental of coming closer to Jesus Christ. Reading this book has helped me to gain a better appreciation for Good Friday. Or as Hilton points out, “Holy” (p. 212) Friday. In particular, his insights on ordinances in the Temple and the Sacrament gave me a renewed perspective on the meaning behind our rituals. This book is evocative in many ways. For me, this is leaving me with a deep and lasting sense of reverence for my Brother, who has “graven [me] – [my] circumstances, [my] hopes, [my] fears, every part of [me] – on the palms of [His] hands” (p. 188). I consider this book to be a must-read for all those who desire to know more about our Savior and want to feel closer to Him. As Good Friday is approaching, the timing of this book makes this the perfect read for the Easter season.