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Rescued: A Prodigal's Journey Home
From beloved Deseret News columnist Jerry Johnston comes this intimate and inspirational true narrative of adversity and redemption. Allowing readers to glimpse behind the curtain of his private life, Jerry recounts a time of deep personal challenge when his heart hardened and his thoughts darkened, a time when, losing all bearings, he turned from his faith. Although he is a man of achievement, his story is rather a story of God's achievement, how the Lord healed one man's broken heart and restored it to hope, and how He will do the same for each of us. Jerry's tender confession of his human struggles points us to Christ and creates a poignant tale of the only kind of success that really matters. Difficult to put down and impossible to forget, Rescued will inspire you to live better, more honestly, more joyfully, more contentedly, and to trust in the never-failing arm of the One who never gives up.
- GenresNonfictionReligionMemoir
Hardcover
First published January 1, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
June 25, 2012
3.5 stars! This book was so different then what I thought it would be! I was expecting an examination of The Prodigal Son parable! What I got instead was a rather tender memoir of a "prodigal" that found his way back to the LDS church. I also learned a little lesson here that the book didn't teach me but relates directly to the author. I've met him! Just for about maybe a minute! I am not even a blip on the life radar but he came in to my book store and signed the books that we were selling of his! When he asked for a pen I thought, 'O that's nice! This little Brigham City author came in to sign his book!' Now that I've read the book I have learned a lesson that these people that come into our lives just may in fact have amazing background stories and while their lives may seem small to you at the time-there is a whole book of things you don't know about! :D We're all books just waiting to be read I guess! haha SO let's get to my favorite quotes! So I can remember them and use them sometime later in my life! :D
The scenario for this quote is the author and his wife (Carol) were at the same banquet table as President Gordon B. Hinckley-
"When he left, he took a moment and pointed to the big slice of chocolate cake next to Carol's plate. The he flashed-again-a smile that could change the weather.
"Look," he said. "The best is yet to come!""
-pg. 55
Scene-author talking to Elder Neal A. Maxwell
"Where do people find that kind of goodness?" I asked.
"I don't know," he said. "They must bring it with them, as baggage, from the preexistence-a good kind of baggage."
-pg. 77
"When people in the writing community-my professional community-ask why I returned to a church I had abandoned, I give them a writer's response. I point to C.S. Lewis and the years he wrestled with religion. Lewis kept asking himself why everything that the world considered "imaginary"-miracles, God's grace, angels-were the very things that made him feel most alive, while the conventional view of "reality" left him cold, dark, and numb. He went back and forth between the Kingdom and the World until J.R.R. Tolkien, the "Hobbit master," took him aside and said, "Failure to believe, Jack, is just a failure of imagination."
The scenario for this quote is the author and his wife (Carol) were at the same banquet table as President Gordon B. Hinckley-
"When he left, he took a moment and pointed to the big slice of chocolate cake next to Carol's plate. The he flashed-again-a smile that could change the weather.
"Look," he said. "The best is yet to come!""
-pg. 55
Scene-author talking to Elder Neal A. Maxwell
"Where do people find that kind of goodness?" I asked.
"I don't know," he said. "They must bring it with them, as baggage, from the preexistence-a good kind of baggage."
-pg. 77
"When people in the writing community-my professional community-ask why I returned to a church I had abandoned, I give them a writer's response. I point to C.S. Lewis and the years he wrestled with religion. Lewis kept asking himself why everything that the world considered "imaginary"-miracles, God's grace, angels-were the very things that made him feel most alive, while the conventional view of "reality" left him cold, dark, and numb. He went back and forth between the Kingdom and the World until J.R.R. Tolkien, the "Hobbit master," took him aside and said, "Failure to believe, Jack, is just a failure of imagination."
August 18, 2025
3.5 stars
For most of the book, it this was going to be 3 stars -- mostly because it wasn't what I was expecting. Based on the title, I thought it was going to be more about Johnston's coming back to the covenant path.
The first half of the book was basically a love letter to President Hinckley. Don't get me wrong -- I adored President Hinckley, but the transitions from the Bolivia temple dedication to his mission and back were a little jarring and most of his experiences were centered around President Hinckley. It was literally just over halfway through the book that he started to talk about leaving the Church after his mission. I didn't want sordid details, but I was just expecting more of that. Then his coming back was much shorter than I was expecting as well (like about an hour out of a nearly 4-hour book). And...just like the beginning, it was a little jarring. He said something about someone who helped him come back, then jumped forward to his sealing done by Elder Maxwell, then jumped back to how Elder Maxwell helped him. And, all of that was before half of the first half of the book. (Confused? Yup -- so was I.)
His "second rescue" was what raised the book to 4 stars instead of three. That coupled with his word smithing. He was pretty good at that. I would have enjoyed the book a lot more if it had been more chronological. It would have been easier to follow that way.
For most of the book, it this was going to be 3 stars -- mostly because it wasn't what I was expecting. Based on the title, I thought it was going to be more about Johnston's coming back to the covenant path.
The first half of the book was basically a love letter to President Hinckley. Don't get me wrong -- I adored President Hinckley, but the transitions from the Bolivia temple dedication to his mission and back were a little jarring and most of his experiences were centered around President Hinckley. It was literally just over halfway through the book that he started to talk about leaving the Church after his mission. I didn't want sordid details, but I was just expecting more of that. Then his coming back was much shorter than I was expecting as well (like about an hour out of a nearly 4-hour book). And...just like the beginning, it was a little jarring. He said something about someone who helped him come back, then jumped forward to his sealing done by Elder Maxwell, then jumped back to how Elder Maxwell helped him. And, all of that was before half of the first half of the book. (Confused? Yup -- so was I.)
His "second rescue" was what raised the book to 4 stars instead of three. That coupled with his word smithing. He was pretty good at that. I would have enjoyed the book a lot more if it had been more chronological. It would have been easier to follow that way.
September 4, 2018
This was a great audio book for me to finally pull off the shelf this past week. I appreciated the candor of the author. I will be sharing this with my children and hope that they find the hope in it that I found.
A couple of quotes I appreciated:
"The long pole that helps us balance on life's high wire is family. Family stretching into the future and far back into the past. Family is how we keep our footing and how we make it across the abyss to the other side."
"Failure to believe, Jack, is just a failure of imagination." -Tolkien to C.S. Lewis.
A couple of quotes I appreciated:
"The long pole that helps us balance on life's high wire is family. Family stretching into the future and far back into the past. Family is how we keep our footing and how we make it across the abyss to the other side."
"Failure to believe, Jack, is just a failure of imagination." -Tolkien to C.S. Lewis.
October 21, 2018
This was written by a journalist for a newspaper in Salt Lake City. For many years he was inactive in the church and was not planning on coming back. I loved that he rubbed shoulders with Gordon B. Hinckley, Neal A. Maxwell, Thomas S. Monson, and other church leaders in his profession, but didn't plan on ever coming into full activity in the church. His stories of interaction with these prominent figures is intriguing!
November 8, 2013
I read this book at the request of a loved one. I read it determined to keep an open mind. The reason I am rating it two stars is not because it is a book about a religion I don't believe in, but because I felt the book failed to deliver what its title promises, and (as another reviewer noted), I found Johnston's writing style difficult to follow and poorly suited for a book.
To my first point. The book is marketed (at least judging from the title and the cover image) as the story of a man's journey out and back in to Mormonism. I acknowledge that the story likely represents some very special experiences for Johnston that he felt vulnerable sharing, but for my part I felt that rather than the story of a prodigal son being "rescued", it was a collection of Johnston's feelings on return to his mission country, his relationships with general authorities and what great guys they are, his heart surgery, and (p.s.) a few facts about the 20 years he spent outside of the church as a selfish sinner.
As to the writing style, I found it frustrating. I felt I had to swim through Johnston's word-heavy, quasi-philosophical narrative in search of his point, and was not really ever rewarded for it. Seems like a half-hour conversation with Johnston would produce more useful, interesting details than the couple hours I spent reading this book (it's short). I think if it had a different title, a little more journalistic tightness to the writing (isn't he a journalist???), and marketed itself differently, it would have been more palatable for someone on the outside of the faith; but as it stands, it's only getting two stars from me. Like I said: I'm trying to judge this based on the literary content and not the philosophical content...but even so, being outside the faith probably influenced the readability for me.
And for the heck of it I'll add: if you're going to use this book to try and rescue someone, as the title suggests, it's probably not the best choice. It's clearly geared towards vindicating the piety of believing, active church members. It made very little effort to communicate with people outside of that sphere. Give the heathens in your life the gift of your love instead.
To my first point. The book is marketed (at least judging from the title and the cover image) as the story of a man's journey out and back in to Mormonism. I acknowledge that the story likely represents some very special experiences for Johnston that he felt vulnerable sharing, but for my part I felt that rather than the story of a prodigal son being "rescued", it was a collection of Johnston's feelings on return to his mission country, his relationships with general authorities and what great guys they are, his heart surgery, and (p.s.) a few facts about the 20 years he spent outside of the church as a selfish sinner.
As to the writing style, I found it frustrating. I felt I had to swim through Johnston's word-heavy, quasi-philosophical narrative in search of his point, and was not really ever rewarded for it. Seems like a half-hour conversation with Johnston would produce more useful, interesting details than the couple hours I spent reading this book (it's short). I think if it had a different title, a little more journalistic tightness to the writing (isn't he a journalist???), and marketed itself differently, it would have been more palatable for someone on the outside of the faith; but as it stands, it's only getting two stars from me. Like I said: I'm trying to judge this based on the literary content and not the philosophical content...but even so, being outside the faith probably influenced the readability for me.
And for the heck of it I'll add: if you're going to use this book to try and rescue someone, as the title suggests, it's probably not the best choice. It's clearly geared towards vindicating the piety of believing, active church members. It made very little effort to communicate with people outside of that sphere. Give the heathens in your life the gift of your love instead.
March 6, 2012
Beautiful book. I love some of the descriptions he gives in the book:
"From the time I was a boy myself, I'd felt that Latter-day Saints had a special appreciation for Jesus as a child. Mormons had a sweet tooth for the Spirit that led them to the Savior's basic innocence and simplicity"
"When I taught kids about the temple I would sometimes put a picture of Jesus up high then put a temple between the ground and picture. I told them that temples were rest stops where we could catch our breath, plan our journey and get some food for our long trip back to Jesus."
"I'd see temples as versions of the human heart, complete with all its chambers and passageways. Moving into the inner rooms of the temple was an invitation to move deeper into ourselves. Dressed in white, we were like little temples ourselves, moving through a larger temple"
"Among Mormons, tears are the calling card of the Spirit."
In reflecting upon President Hinckley's can he wrote "A staff in the hands of a prophet is not a weapon. It's a lightening rod to call down the blessings of heaven. When he hoists a staff, a prophet points to a source of power beyond his own."
At the end of the book he quoted CS Lewis: "Lewis kept asking himself why everything that the world considered "imaginary" - miracles. God's grace, angels - were the very things that made him feel most a live, while the conventional view of "reality" left him cold, dark and numb."
"From the time I was a boy myself, I'd felt that Latter-day Saints had a special appreciation for Jesus as a child. Mormons had a sweet tooth for the Spirit that led them to the Savior's basic innocence and simplicity"
"When I taught kids about the temple I would sometimes put a picture of Jesus up high then put a temple between the ground and picture. I told them that temples were rest stops where we could catch our breath, plan our journey and get some food for our long trip back to Jesus."
"I'd see temples as versions of the human heart, complete with all its chambers and passageways. Moving into the inner rooms of the temple was an invitation to move deeper into ourselves. Dressed in white, we were like little temples ourselves, moving through a larger temple"
"Among Mormons, tears are the calling card of the Spirit."
In reflecting upon President Hinckley's can he wrote "A staff in the hands of a prophet is not a weapon. It's a lightening rod to call down the blessings of heaven. When he hoists a staff, a prophet points to a source of power beyond his own."
At the end of the book he quoted CS Lewis: "Lewis kept asking himself why everything that the world considered "imaginary" - miracles. God's grace, angels - were the very things that made him feel most a live, while the conventional view of "reality" left him cold, dark and numb."
February 14, 2015
I enjoyed listening to this audiobook in my car as I ran errands around the valley - no worried about profanity sneaking in, only uplifting phrases coming out of the speakers... My favorite part was when he talked about his mission in Cochabamba, Bolivia (don't you just want to say that over and over? Co-cha-bam-ba!). It really made me understand the thrill of serving in a third world, religiously open country.
As the story went on, however, I was less interested. Though the author specifically talks about how he has laid himself open to his readers, I felt that he wasn't as open as I wanted. I'm not clear on the exact path of his apostasy or his prodigal return. I mean, one minute he's a missionary, and the next he's emulating the worldly professor in Mexico City. Twenty years later he's thinking about softening his heart again, and all the sudden he's being sealed in the temple. I wanted more details along the journey.
3.5 stars for an inspiring and often touching story.
As the story went on, however, I was less interested. Though the author specifically talks about how he has laid himself open to his readers, I felt that he wasn't as open as I wanted. I'm not clear on the exact path of his apostasy or his prodigal return. I mean, one minute he's a missionary, and the next he's emulating the worldly professor in Mexico City. Twenty years later he's thinking about softening his heart again, and all the sudden he's being sealed in the temple. I wanted more details along the journey.
3.5 stars for an inspiring and often touching story.
May 16, 2012
Johnston's writing style may be good for a column, but it was wearing for a whole book. I didn't take much away from this, personally. I liked hearing the personal stories with President Hinckley, Neal A. Maxwell and President Monson. The parts about Bolivia were also nice. The parts about getting "lost" and "rescued" (which one would expect to comprise the bulk of the book) were surprisingly brief. Like, a page, each. Even so, this isn't a waste for a Sunday read, and it had the added plus for me of featuring more than one person from Brigham City that I actually know. Woot. I'm practically famous.
July 20, 2016
It was a quick Sabbath afternoon read. I liked it and even dog-eared several pages, but I felt he spent a bulk of the book describing his experience and feelings in returning to his mission homeland and not really enough of the meat of what the book was supposed to be about (the first 60 pages). I was expecting more of why he left the LDS faith and why he eventually returned. He kind of glossed over that, devoting more to his time describing experiences with general authorities and prophets of the church. All the same I enjoy reading about people's journey through life.
October 31, 2012
I have always liked Jerry Johnston as a Des. News reporter, but had no idea about the details of his life. I enjoyed this uplifting book. Favorite quote: "The fact that in six decades God has always shown up when I've shown the courage to look for Him tells me something. It tells me He won't quit on me. That I may well be a work in progress, and odd-shaped bowl on His potter's wheel, and the Potter is determined to get me right."
August 31, 2012
A very personal story of one man's journey as finds out what is truly important in life.
As a columnist Jerry Johnston has had an amazing life and has worked with some amazing people.
I was a little disappointed that he didn't elaborate more about being the prodigal and his journey home.
He spends most of the book talking about his career and the heart attack that changes his outlook on life.
As a columnist Jerry Johnston has had an amazing life and has worked with some amazing people.
I was a little disappointed that he didn't elaborate more about being the prodigal and his journey home.
He spends most of the book talking about his career and the heart attack that changes his outlook on life.
September 28, 2013
I love some of the simple concepts he writes about. For example, when teaching about the Holy Ghost he thinks it best to keep it simple. He says that it's like having a piece of sunshine inside you.
I've taken heart from many of Jerry's articles in the Deseret News and this is another that I think is salve for the soul.
I've taken heart from many of Jerry's articles in the Deseret News and this is another that I think is salve for the soul.
April 16, 2015
The author of this book is going to be our keynote speaker for our devotional the end of May. He sent me this book he authored. It arrived today. I started to read it and could not put it down until I finished it. I cried numerous times. I highly recommend this book. I can hardly wait to meet Jerry in person and hear him speak.
January 31, 2012
Great true story of a man who served a mission in Bolivia, then fell away from the church for about 20 years. He slowly made the turnaround in his life and was able to go back to Bolivia for the dedication of the Temple in 2000.
March 7, 2015
This book was a quick, easy read, and very uplifting. I like Johnston's unique viewpoint as a journalist for the Deseret News. As a member I trust the leaders of the church work hard and stop to help individuals, but Johnston experienced it firsthand and is gracious enough to tell us about it.
May 31, 2012
Excellent writing! A personal story of prodigal redemption.
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February 5, 2013A book that gives hope to those who have family members that are "lost".
April 24, 2013
A valuable read by a wonderful author. It's hard to put down once you start reading it so be prepared!
March 20, 2014
I don't comment on many books but this one was beautiful and exquisite.
May 4, 2014
A book that gives me hope me and my prodigals,
January 20, 2016
I enjoyed the book. The atonement brings about a change of heart!
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews