At-One-Ment

Embodying the Fullness of Human-Divinity

At the heart of the gospel is a radical message of hope: we are capable of unlimited development, of becoming even as Christ is. But what does this path of transformation look like and feel like in practice? For centuries, so much of Christianity has focused on what to believe. Thomas McConkie redirects this conversation to the simple but potent practices we can engage in body, heart, mind and spirit—awakening us to a greater measure of the Sacred right here and now. “At-one-ment” becomes a spiritual reality in which we can all participate, not just a historical event in which a select few believe.

In a clear and elegant sequence, McConkie describes ancient and modern approaches to awakening the mind, purifying the heart and healing the body, as well as common challenges that come up along the way. Whatever the reader’s personal beliefs, this book is intended to complement their worldview and provide practical, actionable steps toward realizing a greater fullness of all that they are meant to become.

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING:

In this personal yet universal book, Thomas McConkie is a spiritual guide to timeless practices that bring union and transcendence across traditions. With an eye on human development and through his own lived experience as a long-time practitioner of meditation, Thomas illustrates how it's possible for all people to find their inner compass on the spiritual path. This is a work of deep humanity and wisdom.

—Lisa Miller, PhD Columbia University Professor and Author of The Awakened Brain: The New Science of Spirituality and Our Quest for an Inspired Life.

Across religious traditions, many people are dropping out. Thomas McConkie was one of them, leaving his home in the Latter-day Saint community and launching a spiritual search that took him deep into developmental psychology, Buddhism, and other fields of study. Along the way, he found resources that helped him discover the deep treasure hidden at the heart of the tradition he left. Thomas is a consummate teacher, a delightful writer, and a trustworthy guide who will help you get to the heart of things.

—Brian D. McLaren, author of Do I Stay Christian?

"I loved this beautifully written book! McConkie teaches us rich spiritual concepts in an elegant and accessible way. He offers a rich, personal understanding of the relationship of faith, sin, repentance, and embodiment to the divinity within and around us. He gives us a glimpse of what spiritual aliveness is and what it offers our souls in the struggle of everyday mortality. I haven't read a better articulation of what we are reaching towards in a fallen world than this."

—Jennifer Finlayson-Fife, Sex and Relationship Educator and Therapist

My soul hungers. Thomas McConkie’s book is food. It clarifies, it testifies, it exemplifies. It confirms my hope in Christ that it’s possible—here and now, for you and me—to be born again. And again.

—Adam S. Miller, author of Original Grace: An Experiment in Restoration Thinking

If a primary purpose of the Restoration is to “gather together in one all things in Christ” (Eph. 1:10), then Thomas McConkie is one of the more profound practitioners of this outward-looking, inward-embracing work. Drawing upon his deep knowledge of spiritual development and his rich experience in meditative practice, he invites contemplation into the process of the ongoing restoration, gently guiding readers into principles and practices that powerfully illustrate what it means to “be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). To anyone looking to build their faith, calm their mind, and reach at-one-ment at deeper, more soul-expanding levels, please read this book.

I spend so much time teaching that it’s a deep joy to truly learn, and in reading this book, I found myself learning on page after page. Better yet, I felt my mind calming, my body relaxing, and my soul expanding under the gentle guidance of a wise and patient mentor. In bringing contemplation into the ongoing restoration, this book will enrich our engagement with interiority, ennoble our work with true worship, and deepen our connection with the Divine.

Thomas McConkie has a gift for enlightening the mind, expanding the soul, and thinning the veil. In my work with people in faith crisis, I have been recommending his first book for years, and this book may be even more inspiring. To anyone who has paused on a spiritual plateau long enough, please read this book.

—Jared Halverson, Associate Professor of Ancient Scripture, Brigham Young University, host of Unshaken

Thomas McConkie is a fellow traveler, walking some paths I know, and others I do not. This book is born of struggle and of grace, but there’s nothing stodgy about the wisdom you’ll find on offer in these pages: it is warm, welcoming, and humorous. Thomas’ simple, beautiful prose invites readers to take the first, or the next, step on their own paths of self-knowledge and self-transformation, with hearts set ablaze for “at-one-ment.”

—Charles Stang, Director of the Center for the Study of World Religions, Harvard Divinity School

Thomas Wirthlin McConkie’s At-One-Ment: Embodying the Fullness of Human-Divinity is more than a book—it’s a guidebook, a challenge, a map, an invitation, a gentle provocation to a new way of life. This is partially figurative language to describe the experience of reading At-One-Ment, but it’s also a reflection of the layout and design of the book. Thomas has embedded journal exercises and other invitations to reflect and ponder and write, alongside QR codes that guide you to meditation practices, voiced by Thomas himself.

Typically, I skip over these sorts of extras, rushing through the book’s prose, inhaling it like information meant purely for my mind. But, in the interest of fairly reviewing what Thomas wrote and put together here, I decided to move more slowly and be sure to do at least some of these exercises and meditative practices. Doing so truly opens up the world of the book, modeling many of the ideas and principles that Thomas writes about, giving the book a power to reach mind, heart, and body.

I’ve followed Thomas’s work casually over the years (ages ago, I was particularly impressed with his insistence on growing ‘up’ and ‘down’ in his Navigating Mormon Faith Crisis: A Simple Developmental Map, an idea that he remains committed to and mines for even more insight here). For much of that time, I thought of Thomas as a sort of Buddhist-Mormon, bringing together these two different worldviews, even interpreting Mormonism through his Buddhist experiences. However, reading At-One-Ment demonstrates to me the thoroughly Mormon roots of his thinking. While his language is often reflective of his study of Buddhism, adult human development, and mystical Christianity, Thomas’ thinking is undeniably, unashamedly, and unexpectedly Mormon. I loved seeing the ways that Thomas is mining Restoration scripture for new insights into what it might mean to fully embody our ‘human-divinity’.

At times, I found myself a bit unsure of what exactly Thomas meant by a particular phrase or idea, but typically, when I continued reading, working to open myself up, and letting the book kind of wash over me, I could feel out what the meaning was, even if I couldn’t quite articulate it. (If that feels a bit too woo-woo-y for you, perhaps this is not the book for you.)

At-One-Ment is a powerful, wonderful experience. A great resource and guide for all Latter-day Saints wanting to live with their minds, hearts, and bodies—a gentle provocation to a new life: more vulnerable, more open, more full.

I will be returning to At-One-Ment: Embodying the Fullness of Human-Divinity again and again, as I strive to more fully embody the humanity and divinity that are my birthright. I hope to see more folks mining the truths and teachings of Restoration scripture in unique and provocative ways like Thomas does here. What great and important things may God yet reveal through us doing such work!

—Conor Hilton, Association for Mormon Letters