c. 1999 Religion News Service

MEMPHIS, Tenn. The wrinkles in his face have stolen some of his youthful looks. His sparkling blue eyes have lost some of their luster. But the infectious smile _ his trademark _ remains.

As former President Jimmy Carter sat autographing copies of his books recently at Davis-Kidd Books in Memphis, he smiled at virtually all of the hundreds of people who were swiftly herded past his table as the ever-present Secret Service agents watched carefully.

“Do you have writer’s cramp yet?” one person near the end of the line queried.

“It’s about to set in,” he answered, with a smile, of course.

Thanks to his writing, Carter may be more popular today than he was as the 39th president of the United States. Hundreds of people _ young and old, rich and poor, black and white, Republican and Democrat _ stood in a long line here just to get his autograph. A fortunate few near the front of the line were allowed to have their picture made with him.

Carter was on a promotional tour for his book, “Living Faith,” first published as a hardback in 1997. Almost immediately, it made The New York Times’ Best Seller list. It was recently released in paperback by Random House. His newest book, “Virtues of Aging,” is also doing quite well.

Carter said he believes “Living Faith” has done so well because “there was a kind of hunger in this nation to realize there are things that don’t change in a fast-changing world of turmoil and political dissension.

“Although the primary faith that we generally envision is our faith in God _ our religious faith _ I tried to point out in this book how our priorities in life and our foundations for living come from a series of faith,or confidences in the entities of life (which includes parents, spouse, friends, colleagues, etc.).”

In the book, Carter admits questioning his own faith at times.

“All of us will have setbacks and disappointments in life when our faith in certain foundations are shaken,” he said during a teleconference with reporters. “I’ve been through the same things myself. I describe events in the book when even my own faith in God and in myself was shaken.”

He credits his wife, Rosalynn, and other friends for helping renew his faith while standing beside him during difficult days, both as a politician and as a private citizen. Carter reveals in his book many intimate details of his life, such as his conflict with his son, Jack.

“When I started out, I didn’t intend on putting all that stuff into the book,” he said. “My original thought was to extract from my Sunday school lessons I’ve taught since I was 18 (at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Ga.), and a few little homilies or sermons. But the more deeply I got involved into it, the more I realized the book wouldn’t be meaningful to people if I just preached to them and covered up my own mistakes, tribulations and sorrows and talk about other folks.”

He said Rosalynn was “taken aback” by the book when she read the first draft and asked if he really wanted to reveal so much of his personal life. “One of the interesting things about `Living Faith’ is the outpouring of response and the personal letters I’ve received about how things have changed their lives,” he said. “Had I not put in the highly personal family events, the book would not have been so meaningful to other people, and probably would not have been so successful.”

Carter has lived the American dream, but believes success only comes at a price.

“There have been a number of friends in my life that meant an awful lot to me, (but) when I went off to be governor, president, or a submarine (officer), I basically ignored that friendship and didn’t stay in touch with those people,” he said. “If I had to do it over again, I would have dwelled on strengthening that friendship.”

He also regrets some of the mistakes he made with members of his own family, which now includes nine grandchildren, with another due in late July, compliments of his youngest child, Amy.

“There have been a few times in my own family with my two sisters and brother _ and particularly my father _ when the intimacy of our relation could have been much greater,” he said. “It wasn’t until I became a father and realized I was treating my own son in the same way I resented my father treating me, that I was able to correct some mistakes I was making with my own children.”

A naval officer for 11 years and a peanut farmer by trade, Carter served in the Georgia legislature before becoming governor in 1971. Although he was a relatively little-known politician in early 1976, he won 18 primary elections and became the Democratic nominee against Republican President Gerald Ford, whom he defeated.

Despite their political differences, Carter and Ford have maintained a close friendship for many years. Together, they wrote an op-ed piece for The New York Times after the House of Representatives voted to impeach President Clinton that called for censuring Clinton rather than removing him from office.

“We consult with each other when matters come up in Washington,” said Carter. “We wrote what I thought was the best advice: to work out a censure resolution based on President Clinton’s acknowledgment that he did indeed make false statements to the grand jury.”

Carter said he is dismayed by the current level of political animosity in Washington.

“I think the whole realm of political sensitivities or environment has changed in the last 20 years or so,” he said. “It has brought out not the best in our political system, but the worst in our country.”

When he ran for political office, he said he “never referred to (his opponents) as anything other than `my distinguished or worthy opponent.’ I never dreamed of using negative political advertisement to win elections. It has generated in Washington an incredible sense of animosity and partisanship, which I didn’t know as president (and) none of my predecessors knew this when in office.”

While in the White House, Carter said he “prayed more those four years than any other four years in my life,” daily asking for “wisdom to make sound judgment” as he made decisions affecting the American people.

He said the biggest challenge of his presidency was the long hostage crisis that followed the takeover of the U.S. embassy in Teheran by Iranian militants. He said it took much patience “not to wipe Iran off the face of the earth _ which would have been a popular thing, but (instead) to speak for and try to achieve a peaceful resolution to the crisis.”

After his defeat in his second bid for the presidency in 1980, Carter could have followed in the footsteps of many former presidents, who retire to a life of tranquillity, collecting their government pension, and serving on corporate boards.

Not so with Georgia’s favorite son. After he lost to Ronald Reagan, Carter left the White House to build homes for indigent people and serve as a spokesperson for Habitat for Humanity, a Christian ministry. He also founded the Carter Presidential Center in Atlanta, a conference and research facility dedicated to promoting democracy and solving global problems.

“We all need to work toward alleviating social injustices,” Carter said. “It would be nice if every Christian in the nation would reach out to the poor, the afflicted, the outcast and the despised. But very few effectively reach out to poverty-strickened people. The only thing that should guide us, as St. Paul said, is justice, fairness, equality, humility, compassion, and service.”

IR END WHITE