Book Review: Shedding Light on the Dark Side by Stephen J. Stirling

Shedding Light on the Dark Side: Defeating the Forces of Evil, by Stephen J. Stirling
2013, 128p, LDS Non-Fiction
My Rating=5 stars
Source: Received copy from publisher for an honest review


It is time to rip the mask from the master of deceit.

Using the scriptures and modern revelation, Stephen Stirling defines who Satan is and what his role is on this earth. In a way that is engaging and perfect for youth to understand, he evaluates:

• What the scriptures say that Satan is and does
• Where Satan gets his power and why it influences us
• How to be better soldiers in the war Satan is waging on this world

We can overcome this deceiving yet unavoidably real being with the light of truth. The Prince of Peace holds the power to defeat the Prince of Darkness. The only question is where you will stand in this eternal battle of good and evil. Shedding Light on the Dark Side will help you understand the Adversary and his tactics so you can fearlessly stand on the Lord’s side.

Whenever you're engaged in battle, it's always good to know the enemy so you can figure out what strategy to use to defeat them. There have been times in my life when I felt like Satan was winning the war against me and it would be easier to give in than to continue fighting. In those times, something always seems to happen to help me keep going and turn to Christ. At that point, life always improves!

This book is packed with scriptures and quotes from General Authorities, past and present. I highlighted so many sections so I can go back and reference them as I need to. The main point I felt the author tried to get across is that Satan is, indeed, real and his objective is to destroy the world by taking us down individually. Because of choices he made, he's miserable and wants us to feel the same.

This book is not all doom and gloom, though. There is a winning formula and it is outlined in this book. There are things we can do here and now to win the battle. We each have our agency and are able to choose for ourselves who we will follow. This book says it's a guide for Youth and Young Adults, but I still learned plenty and it's a great resource to use in the future. I highly recommend this book to Youth, Young Adults and Adults!

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Stephen J. Stirling was born in Los Angeles, California and grew up in the Southeast LA semi-ghetto of Huntington Park. He earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism from Brigham Young University in 1976, and then spent the next several years wandering America in search of adventure as a professional vagrant. Interspersed through his college career and days on the road, he served a mission in Chile and taught for 5 years as an early morning seminary teacher in various ports of call.

Stopping in Chicago, he entered the profession of advertising, a field in which he ultimately held many positions with companies from the Mid West to the Pacific Coast. He eventually settled in Orange County, California, where he established Stirling Communications and spent 15 years as a freelance copywriter, scriptwriter, and video producer. In 1994 he was hired by the Church Educational System and relocated with his family to the Phoenix Valley in Arizona, where he has fulfilled a lifelong dream of teaching released-time seminary for the past 19 years.

He and his wife, Diane, were married in 1981. They have five adult children, two horses, several chickens, and a farm in Adam-Ondi-Ahman, Missouri—where they plan to retire someday.