Latter-day Saints are great at getting things done. But sometimes an excessive focus on "doing more" can take us to a place where we're mostly going through the motions—and missing the deep, rich spiritual power that can come from being still. Using Latter-day Saint vernacular and examples, The Power of Stillness explores ways in which mindfulness can help deepen our conversion to the gospel. Infusing our homes with more stillness, silence, and space can reinvigorate the joy inherent in our faith and help us feel calmer, more present and engaged in our lives, and more spiritually connected to our Savior.
Praise for The Power of Stillness
There seems to be a lot of buzz about stillness these days—an interesting paradox. Sadly, our world has pitted religion against spirituality as we strive to live more mindfully. This book reminds us we need both! We don't leave the Church in search of stillness. We find it within our covenant relationship with Christ. Take a break from the crazy business of life and read this book. You will be glad you did.
—Brad Wilcox, BYU professor and author of The Continuous Atonement and Changed through His Grace
Historically, contemplation (or meditation) has played a crucial role in Christian life and faith. This book represents an important step toward bringing this vitalizing spiritual practice back into view in the restored gospel.
—Thomas McConkie, Founder, Lower Lights School of Wisdom
The Power of Stillness is changing how I relate to my physical and emotional suffering, my work and my weakness, my most loving and my most troubling relationships, and my deepest spiritual struggles and longings. That's a lot to ask of one book. This one delivers. The book helps us build a crucial spiritual skill most of us don't even know we lack: the ability to be resiliently, compassionately present—with ourselves, with others, and with God.
—Wendy Ulrich, PhD, author of Live Up to Our Privileges: Women, Power, and Priesthood
Pages 214
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Jacob Z. Hess
Jacob Z. Hess, PhD, is an MBSR Instructor trained through the Center for Mindfulness at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, and he has taught both adult and teen classes for years. Jacob has helped create online mindfulness-based classes for those facing depression, anxiety, and compulsive pornography use. He is on the board of the National Coalition of Dialogue & Deliberation and has studied mindful listening across socio-political disagreements for a decade. Jacob lives in Paradise, Utah, with his wife, Monique, nine chickens, three cats, and four boys who make sure their daddy's own stillness gets interrupted every five minutes or so.
Carrie Skarda
Carrie L. Skarda, PsyD, is a psychologist in private practice in Salt Lake City, Utah. She has provided individual and couples therapy, with particular interest in attachment trauma and mindfulness, for the last eighteen years. She was the director for training at the Antioch facility of Kaiser Permanente HMO in California, and has facilitated numerous therapy groups on such topics as depression, personality disorders, work stress, crisis management, and parenting. As a facilitator at Sixteen Stones Center for Growth, LLC, she has taught workshops on mindfulness, mindful eating, and forgiveness. Carrie has been studying and practicing mindfulness and formal meditation for over ten years. She is a bit obsessed with Jerusalem, is joyfully married with two young children, and enjoys serving as Primary president in her ward and remodeling her 1904 house.
Kyle Anderson
Kyle D. Anderson, PhD, is the Director of the Center of Global Citizenship at Centre College, a small liberal arts college outside of Lexington, Kentucky. Kyle helped to found the college's Meditation Centre group and hosts contemplative pedagogy workshops for university instructors across the southern U.S. He regularly integrates mindfulness practices into his higher education classrooms and Church callings. Kyle is a world traveler, educator, traveler, and writer. He lives in Danville, Kentucky, with his wife, Jenny, and three daughters who love their nighttime ritual of song and gratitude meditation.
Ty Mansfield
Ty R. Mansfield, PhD, is a practicing marriage and family therapist and an adjunct instructor in Religious Education at Brigham Young University. Ty completed his undergraduate work in Asian Studies and has been actively practicing mindfulness for over ten years, and he is currently in the process of certification with Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach in their Mindfulness Meditation Teacher training program. Ty has also been actively cultivating space for more mindful listening in the area of conflicting views on sexuality and gender for the last decade through his work at North Star International and the Reconciliation and Growth Project. Ty and his wife, Danielle, and their five children live in Provo, Utah.
