Disciple's Life

Compassionate, witty, politically astute, and spiritually authentic, Neal Maxwell has always been passionately “engaged” in life's battles.

This instinct for action impelled him into the infantry in World War II where, on Okinawa, “shaking and crying in a foxhole full of mud and foul water, he pledged his life to the Lord” and was miraculously spared.

An Apostle since 1981, Elder Maxwell has engaged a broader struggle, that “between the sacred and the secular, the tension between faith and reason, and finally his greatest cause — his spiritual ministry.” His eloquent defense of Christianity and his brilliant reconciliation of faith and intellect are a rich legacy. But beyond that, he has shown that with the Savior's help, ordinary people “can be better, less competitive, more loving,” and receive the soul-transforming gift of charity.

In this inspiring, sometimes humorous, and moving biography, Elder Bruce C. Hafen has painted an intimate portrait of a beloved Apostle, capturing the warm, personal stories that reveal the heart and mind of a true disciple of Christ.