Yesterday, I finished a wonderful book, The Shape of Mercy, by Susan Meissner. The story involved a wealthy, privileged contemporary young woman transcribing a 300-year-old diary of a girl, Mercy, accused of witchcraft at Salem. The story moves between her first-person account about doing the transcription and Mercy's first-person account of her life and the accusations in Salem.
Its main theme is judgement--how we all are biased and make judgements about other people, often not knowing any facts or taking any thought about the other person's experience. I try hard not to do this; a book influenced me greatly so that I could take it to the next level: Bonds that Make us Free, by C. Terry Warner. I have been re-reading another book by Warner's Arbinger Institute, Leadership and Self-Deception. Kind of a simplistic read, but very enlightening nonetheless.
Of course, it's no accident that the accused girl is named Mercy in the first book. Judgement and mercy. I was brought up in a very judgemental atmosphere, and there was not a lot said about mercy. It's been difficult turning my back on that behavior, but I believe in mercy. Mostly because I am grateful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ, and His mercy toward us all. I certainly need it.
