Vinny DiGirolamo's book "Grace Divine" combines the author's personal observations with scriptural accounts concerning the ways people can have greater access to saving grace.It's published by Celestine Publishing and available at lulu.com for $15.95.It's clear by just thumbing through the book that DiGirolamo wants it to have a friendly, accessible style. He includes photos of his family throughout its 267 pages, in an attempt to create a closer relationship between author and reader.He also encourages readers to study along with him and provides spaces at the beginning of each chapter where they can record "personal thoughts and experiences." These features make the book seem like less of an authoritative decree and more of a study manual. It's full of stories from his life, giving the book an autobiographical element. He shares examples from the time he spent as a gospel doctrine teacher, as well as accounts from the years he spent as a priesthood leader at a girls camp, which is an approach that is effective in making DiGirolamo less of an expert and more of a storyteller. He addresses in the first chapter the perceived differences between the way Mormons and Evangelicals approach grace and doesn't dwell on it much after that. He quotes from Stephen Robinson's book "Believing Christ."DirGirolamo relates virtually everything in the gospel to grace, answered prayers and obtaining a testimony.At times the content meanders from grace, addressing other principles and topics within the gospel without an obvious tie. These departures are still meaningful and contain great insights, though it isn't always clear how they fit into the book's purpose.
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