The Great Gathering

Standing in Holy Places #1

by Chad Daybell

Verily this is the word of the Lord, that the city New Jerusalem shall be built by the gathering of the saints . . . (D&C 84:4)
In the near future, Tad and Emma North and their children live in a United States that is growing increasingly wicked. The Norths and their extended family notice that many Latter-day Saints are being deceived by alluring temptations, and they wonder how much longer the Lord will allow American society to continue its downward spiral.

Then comes an invitation from Church leaders for the Saints to gather together. This invitation isn’t well-accepted—and even openly mocked—but those faithful Church members who trust in the Lord soon find themselves accomplishing monumental tasks. Join these humble yet heroic Saints as they embark on an unprecedented journey to build New Jerusalem.

The Great Gathering, the first novel in the Standing in Holy Places series, paints a vivid picture of exciting prophesied events that still must occur before the Second Coming. If you have an interest in what awaits the members of the LDS Church, this series should definitely be on your reading list!

Genres: Lds, Fiction, Lds Fiction, Church, Christian Fiction, Religion

215 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 11, 2007

About the author

Chad Guy Daybell was born August 11, 1968 in Provo, Utah. He married Tamara "Tammy" Douglas in Manti, Utah on March 9, 1990. After graduating from Brigham Young University in 1992 with a B.A. in journalism,Daybell worked as a cemetery sexton, before establishing end of days publisher Spring Creek Book Company, in 2004, with his wife, a graphic artist and manager. Chad and Tammy had 5 children: Garth, Emma, Seth, Leah, and Mark.

In 2015, Chad Daybell allegedly twice heard a voice telling him to relocate to Rexburg, Idaho; he and Tammy moved there from Springville, Utah that June. Tamara passed away on October 20, 2019. Chad Daybell married Lori Vallow on November 5, 2019 in Hawaii.

Daybell was convicted of three counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of Tammy Daybell, his late wife, JJ Vallow and Tylee Ryan, his current wife's two children.

On May 30, 2024, Chad was found guilty of all charges related to the deaths of his first wife and of Lori's children. On June 1, 2024, he was sentenced to death.

Reviews

[Stephanie]

Chad Daybell was arrested on 6/9/2020 after the remains of two children were found on his property. Please be aware of his cultish and perverted beliefs that have been well-covered in the past year before reading any of Chad Daybell's books, especially as this fictional book's own synopsis ends with, "If you have an interest in what awaits the members of the LDS Church, this series should definitely be on your reading list!"

If you are truly curious about what the LDS Church (also known as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) believes about the second coming this is not an appropriate source to entertain in the least. To answer your questions search churchofjesuschrist.org, read The Bible, and/or read The Book of Mormon/Doctrine & Covenants.

[Alafair Rey · Rating 1 out of 5]

Chad Daybell is scum, a murderer, a liar, a narcissistic psychopath, and extremely evil. Please do not support this monster, do not purchase his books.

[Clay Davis · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story had some good prepping tips. None of the Mormon terms were explained. Would have liked the author to touch on polygamy. The book cover needs to be more interesting. The invasion of the U.S.A. by foreign powers was not believable. Disappointing that Satan has a very minor role. Learned about the author from a local t.v. news report about how the writer's wife died mysteriously and is now is in hiding with another wife and children from authorities.

[Sean · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought the premise was intriguing, but the writing was adolescent and clumsy at best.

[Melanie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Derivative and a complete waste of time and money. I thought it would provide insight as to why he buried his new wife's children in his yard after murdering his wife but I could get past the first chapter. Boring and awful.

[Marcia · Rating 1 out of 5]

So much to unpack here, where to start?

First of all, if you don't know it, this is post-apocalyptic Mormon fiction. For what it is, and in it's day, it's not bad. The writing in general is good.

But reading it more then ten years after it was written, there are three glaring issues for me.

1. It didn't age well. One problem with writing about the near future is that it gets outdated very quickly, so the book in general feels older than it should. Also after living through the first half of the Covid apocalypse, I found myself saying a million times "that's not how it happened." It was a little too close to real life, yet not quite close enough. Not the authors fault, it just is what it is.

2. For a book about Christians, it didn't have a very Christian feel. Instead it smacked of holier than thou elitism. The people who were supposedly so good that they were saved, were mostly uncaring about those who were left behind. I would hope that if the real call to gather in Missouri comes, the people going would be a lot more concerned about the ones who stay behind. Overall it gave off that horrible vibe of "good things happen to good people, and bad things happen to bad people," which is not a message any Christian should be preaching.

3. The elephant in the room. This book was written by a murderer. Okay, so he wasn't an murderer when he wrote the book. But evidence suggests he did become a murderer after he wrote this book. So, whether I liked the book or not, I just could not get past the fact that the words I was reading were coming from the mouth of a murderer. For that reason alone I will not be finishing the series.

[Robin Hall · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is mainly information squeezed poorly into a story of 3 families. I never attached to any characters. The author Chad Daybell didn't even describe what they looked like, the dialogue was laughable, and even dramitic events didn't evoke any emotion. I was over half way through the book when I realized one of the kids in the book was 17, not 10 or 11 as I had supposed.

Clearly this book is to inform us of the last days and call outs to Tent Cities etc. Stan bought me the whole 3 book series for Christmas. I'll probably read the other 2 for the information on how Daybell thinks the US is going to fall apart and how the LDS Church will survive in preparing for the Second coming but really a dissapointing read for me.

[Tiffanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book, and although some dialogue was corny, it got me thinking about the future. I know it is just fiction, but the author takes a lot of things from the scriptures, what the prophets have said, and just the direction the world is going. I am typically scared of "things to come" but this helped me put things into perspective and realize all I can do is prepare myself and my family. I found myself evaluating how faithful and obedient I would be if faced with similar challenges in our future.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fictional account of the last days. Interesting depiction of events, but I gave the book 3 stars because the dialogue was lame! I was able to look past the dialogue because I was very interested to see how the author was going to play things out. I'll definitely want to read the sequel, but I'm crossing my fingers that the author will make the conversation of his characters a little more believable.

[Kimster · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was an easy read. I found the story concept an excellent topic but found the authors inability to develop his characters or go into detail beyond the obvious storyline a little maddening and was tempted to re-write the book myself!!! It was predictable and disappointing to say the least.

[Weinz · Rating 1 out of 5]

Really? Seriously, did I really subject my friends to this disaster of a book? Girls, again, I'm sorry. I know I warned you that it wasn't great but once again, please forgive me.

[Sherron Wahrheit · Rating 1 out of 5]

This piece of garbage is what you get when someone gets a crazy religious idea and yet has no sense of the artistry of writing.

The author is currently in jail waiting his trial on 2023 for the murder of his starter wife in Idaho and the murder of his current wife’s children. Other people died but I don’t think they will be added to the charges.

The police interrogations on YouTube are pretty interesting. In some cases, you can spot the bleed-through of Mormon ideology, which is weird for me.

[Ryan · Rating 1 out of 5]

189

Disappointing. I don't know what else to say. I really thought the book wasn't thought out at all. The idea was good the execution horrible. I will probably read the next book though. What can I say? I'm interested in the topic.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this again, and was again disappointed that the writing doesn't match the value of the story. (This time I reduced it to four stars.) But that said, the way it made me think & feel was so powerful, that I still LOVE reading it, and will again!

Original review:
My mom recommended this series to me as a quick read, very enlightening about a possible future as we prepare for the second coming...thanks, Mom! It was riviting - "freaky" was how I described it to my kids, freaky because so much of it is realistically possible! I so wanted to be in the middle of some events he depicted, then with other events I was glad we're not "then" yet, back and forth! Bring it on...?

Although the writing wasn't without flaws, with a few holes in the plot, etc., the story really got me, so I had to give it at least 4 stars, but it's affect on me pushed that up the next notch. He did do a good job of showing how temptation can affect even the most stalwart. It got me thinking about the future, re-making some commitments of my own, looking at scripture prophecies a bit better, keeping my eyes open...

So I'm very glad I read this book! Today I went to the library and checked out the rest of the series - I know one of the things I want to do during spring break! (Update: I finished the series BEFORE spring break so I had to read something else!)

...Read it again a month later, the writing is still not very good, but I still like the story line. :)

[Samyy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Chad Daybell is a doomsday cult leader who orchestrated & carried out murders of his wife & step children.

[Rindee Sannar · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is a work of FICTION, but it is based on the prophecies of the last days. Because I like learning about the last days and the second coming anyway, I had a hard time putting this book down. I finished it in 2 days. It is easy reading that follows 3 LDS families over the course of about 1 year when major changes happen in the US that prepare the way for the second coming. Most of the story takes place in Utah and covers topics such as "the chip", earthquakes, floods, tent cities in the canyons, and foreign invasion. This is the first in a series of books that has yet to be written.

I liked this book because although I've read about the prophecies, sometimes it's hard to see how these things could actually come to pass, especially when we live in such a powerful, comfortable society. This story puts all these elements together and helped me to see how quickly things could change and how all the prophecies fit together.
Of course this is not prophecy, but it was fun to read about the author's imaginary scenario anyway.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

This five book series shows one author's ideas of how the revelations spoken of in the scriptures (especially like those in the Book of Revelations) concerning the last days and leading up to Christ's second coming could come to pass. The author is quick to say that these books of course are fiction and he has no idea when these prophecies will actually come to pass, but I enjoyed the series because each book allowed me to become more familiar with the prophecies and kept me thinking about whether I would be prepared for these events. The books are very simply written and are a quick read, and honestly are not the best written books (there is not much dialogue and it always seemed like the author was racing to include each story in under 200 pages). But that said I still enjoyed the series.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really give this book a 3.5 stars and here is why: I thought the author's writing style was a bit blah. I found it somewhat tedious, repetitive and not descriptive (and I HATE when I find multiple typos in a book). The characters were flat and unreal to me. HOWEVER, the concept of the book and the twists and turns of the plot were intriguing to me and I found that I couldn't put the book down. I read it in 2 days. So all in all I would recommend this book. It definitely gave me some "food for thought."

[Lord Bathcanoe of Snark · Rating 1 out of 5]

Chad Daybell predicted the world would end on July 22 2020. That didn't quite work out for him. However, in June 2024 he was sentenced to death for murder.
So it seems his 'end time' is on the cards after all.
I haven't read this pile of crap, but I have just finished reading a book about the murder case, so I wanted to comment on what a despicable lunatic this child killer is.
Everyone should steer clear of his ridiculous and dangerous literary garbage.
It really is mindboggling how many gullible halfwits believe this rubbish.

[Msstacylynn Turner · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was thought provoking but not very doctrinally acurate. I bought all three of his books as a set. I am not likely to read the other two. THis is set in the near future as the end of the world begins. I felt is was not a good reresentation of our Christian attitude. These LDS members in these books turned away from all less than perfect members. ONLY the perfect were saved.

[Susan Westbroek · Rating 1 out of 5]

Couldn't even finish the book. Corny.

[Kristen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Freaky! Hope this last days story isn't really what is to come!

[Jackie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Interesting idea. Bad writing. Written by murderer.

[Rebecca · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very basic writing. No way on the two Hill Cumorahs theory.

[Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

So the story is that a man who is the author has had a vision while he has
a near-death experience and the vision is about his family and how they survive
the end of the world. America is going down a dangerous road and World War 3 just so
happens when America is not prepared for it because the wicked people made God mad. So a bunch of hurricanes and earthquakes come to pass and riots come a take what they can get to survive. He has a plan for the saints to survive and build the new
Jerusalem.
I Love this book the only thing I don't like the book cover I feel awkward at school.
you will not regret this book. I have learned so much more about what I need to prepare for.
The next book in the series is more action packed though but this book is awesome

[Darin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hesitate to give any kind of good rating, because of Chad Daybell’s current status (under arrest); however, I did enjoy the story, even though the writing wasn’t the best. I’m aware that Chad says in a biography, these stories are based on visions he’s received of the future. He also says, at the beginning of this book, that it is important to follow the prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I agree with him on that, and try to do that.

[Connie Dunn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Captivating storyline

I started reading this not expecting to be drawn in so quickly. I am familiar with a lot of the places talked about and described and so this was personally interesting to me. I am curious to see where he takes this story and will probably finish the series now.

[Mathew Stucki · Rating 3 out of 5]

I actually liked this book considerably and would have classified it in the same category at The Great and the Terrible, but with a local flare. However, Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow's recent shenanigans make me feel differently about the whole series.

At this point I would recommend it with caution.

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Intriguing, food for thought. I found the characters a bit hard to keep track of who was who for half the book. I like the Times of Turmoil series better, but this adds a different perspective to the same sequence of events.

[Jenny Albers · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! I've read the series multiple times. It made me think of how close we could be to the second coming, and what my choices could lead to.