One snowy afternoon, I picked up an old, dusty paperback with a golden title and just started reading. By chapter three, I was halfway through. *Added Upon* is famous in some circles for being one of the early LDS novels, but you don't need to be a member to feel its pull. It's spiritual fiction at its most earnest—mixing adventure, education, and even a little tragic romance.

The Story

The book isn't the normal timeline. First, you meet these spirits before they’re born, in a vast court where they’re choosing their missions. They watch God's plan get presented, and then something twists: another intelligent spirit tries to trick them. It's an intense pre-Earth drama that Latter-day Saint doctrine often calls the War in Heaven. Then everyone comes to Earth. The story jumps between a young couple trying to find each other and a despairing guilt-ridden rebel who stole some trust along the way and can't get past his anger from before life. Nothing feels too foreign, though. Anderson keeps everyone's struggle human: getting pride creeps in, choosing faith when loneliness crushes us, and the question of whether God keeps loving us even when we scorn Him. The story feels like falling asleep listening to a prophecy someone told in 1898 that actually makes modern, existential sense. The short version: They made promises before birth. Can they keep them now?

Why You Should Read It

I love this book because it’s courageous in its heart. It doesn't tiptoe or get ironic. Nephi Anderson writes like he was driven by faith, but not by pushing. There’s a message here about second chances—about how the weight of our bad choices isn’t the final vote on our worth. People cry in the story like we cry in daily life: for small failures and forgiving others who hurt them in pre-Earth roles (wait, that’s a unique mindset!). Also, Anderson explores “the doctrine of addition” from biblical texts, explaining it poetically. Each world we move to builds on its faithful connections. Like when someone solves a puzzle and walks into a new atmosphere, the Earth is another layer added. War comes because the other way is selfish. Love gets us there because we endure with each other. Seriously, read the spirit world scenes and begin questioning whether you picked good family angels to start with!

Final Verdict

This book probably will sound soft from fifty feet away. It waxes poetic and maybe feel dated (sheltering 1800s idealism). But disregard that! *Added Upon* is the cousin of stories like *The Shack* or *The Great Divorce*… before they attempted that veil-lifting. So who is it for? It is PERFECT for readers who explore ‘purpose’ genres, but do not mind ending a sentence full of hope. They must dig for classic thoughts. Also recommended if Mormon themes intrigue you—since it conveys the basics touchingly while entertaining. Want to rethink purpose with unexpected tenderness? Taste Anderson and let you learn why spirit neighbors cheered moving trials slow. A quiet unplugs: here’s hoping we.