After a half decade of delays, obstacles, research, and revising, I am so pleased that this behemoth is now ready to release onto an unsuspecting world! The plays it includes (from such Mormon Letters luminaries as Eric Samuelsen, Margaret Blair Young, Melissa Leilani Larson, Thomas F. Rogers, Susan E. Howe, James Arrington, Scott Bronson, Tim Slover, Robert Elliott, and Thom Duncan) have effected my life in profound ways and I hope other people will feel the same. They make up some of the finest accomplishments in the history of Mormon Drama. The volume is huge… nearly 700 pages. It has 11 plays, playwright biographies, and a 30+ page introduction on the history of Mormon drama. We’ve tried to be thorough, we’ve tried to give you something meaningful. I hope you’ll see why this is a project I thought was worth working and waiting for.

In many ways this lesson is surprising, and not just for the fact that it was taught. I was surprised at how basic the lesson was, covering material that I think I was taught in High School, although I’m not sure that it sunk in very well. It is tempting, therefore, to think that one reason for dropping these lessons is that they were being taught in school. However, I’m not sure that in 1917 the school system was covering this material very well, and even today I think many Church members would benefit from repeating these lessons, even though they don’t have much to do with doctrine.

I was also pleasantly surprised at some of the examples used; its cool to see the work of Mormon authors alongside classics of literature. And I suspect that this led to a little more attention being paid to Mormon authors at the time.

Even though this is very cool to see, I’m not sure that such lessons could be included in Church lesson manuals today, at least because the vast number of different local cultures in the Church mean selecting examples and writing lessons would need to be done locally (perhaps not a bad idea), which is very difficult for the Church’s attempts to make sure that the Church doctrine is the same worldwide. Also, I don’t believe most members, at least not in the western world, think that this is the kind of subject that should be taught in Church.

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The Author at Work

Literature that lives is born alive. The writer must put his heart into his work, must feel what he says; otherwise, though he “speak with the tongue of men and of angels,” his words will be but “sounding brass and tinkling cymbal.”

A little story told of Bret Harte, the California writer, illustrates beautifully this point. It is said that one of his poems once found its way into a San Francisco paper. A certain lady was so charmed with it that she went to the writer and said enthusiastically,

“Why, Mr. Harte, that is the best thing you ever wrote; I actually cried when I read it.”

“That is not at all strange,” replied he,—”not at all strange. I cried when I wrote it.”

Sincerity is the soul of literature. The author, stirred by an emotion, or burning with some message, expresses himself to share with others, his thoughts and feelings, or to relieve his own soul. If his words ring true, they thrill the hearts that hear or read them.

This message may be given in the form of a sermon, or a song, or a story.    Most of our literature can.be grouped under these three general types. Different writers choose one or another of these ways of reaching their audiences. A striking illustration of this is found in the literary work of a certain American family.

When the question of slavery was paramount in our nation, the people were naturally very much aroused. Among those who were ardent workers for the freedom of the slaves, were members of the Beecher family. From his famous pulpit in Brooklyn, Henry Ward Beecher was thundering his sermons against the evil; while Harriet Beecher Stowe, his sister, was writing her famous story, Uncle Tom’s Cabin; and about the same time Julia Ward Howe, their cousin, created that greatest of civil war songs, “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” the last stanza of which reads as follows:

“In the beauty of the lilies, Christ was born across the sea.
With a glory in his bosom that transfigures you and me,
As he died to make men holy, let us die to make men free,
While God is marching on.”

The same end was thus reached by three different literary paths: the sermon, the song, and the story. And these famous authors were splendidly successful because their words rang with sincerity. Indeed, some feel that in their earnestness, they were carried a little beyond the bounds of strict fairness, as is frequently the case when one grows over-zealous for any cause. But, nevertheless, literature, without fire, can hardly light the minds of men and stir them to action.

The sermon and the story may both be written, either in form of verse or prose. The song, being more musical in effect, is written only in verse. This is not to say, however, that prose is necessarily unmusical. Prose has its rhythm as well as does verse. What then is the difference? Mainly this: The rhythm, or musical movement, of verse is measured. It moves with regular cadence, having regularly accented syllables; one can beat time to it; as,

Life is real, life is earnest,
And the grave is not its goal:
Dust thou art, to dust returnest
Was not spoken of the soul.”
—Longfellow.

Prose which is literature or which contains the elements of beauty on the other hand, has a freer rhythm. Its movement is not regular; but it is musical, just the same. Listen to any choice selection in prose; listen to even the freest conversation, and observe that words fall naturally into a kind of musical grouping. The rhythm of prose is more like the music of the mountain stream. Now it leaps, now it eddies, now it babbles, now it flows quietly one can hardly guess what next it may do. The music of verse may be compared to that of the waves of lake or sea, breaking with rhythmic cadence upon the shore.

Prose, however, in its most eloquent forms, sometimes moves with almost the rhythmic swing of verse. For illustration:

“Union and liberty, now and forever, one and inseparable.”—Webster.

“Peace on earth, good will towards men.” —St. Luke.

“How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in his excellent word.”—Kirkham.

Have some good reader voice this touchingly beautiful letter also, and listen to the musical flow of its lines:

Dear Madam:    November 21, 1864.

I have been shown, in the files of the War Department, a statement from the Adjutant General of Massachusetts, that you are the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of battle. I feel how weak and fruitless must be any words of mine which should attempt to beguile you from a loss so over- whelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering to you the con- solation that may be found in the thanks of a Republic they died to save. I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom.

Yours very sincerely and respectfully,
Abraham Lincoln.

To Mrs. Bixby, Boston, Mass.

Prose may be very formal or very free. Verse likewise may move with stately step, as in Milton’s Paradise Lost, or it may be trippingly light as in a Mother Goose Rhyme. The nature of the verse or prose is always dependent on the kind of thought or emotion to be expressed. Writers try to make the language form in which their thought is clothed fitting, true to the spirit of the message or picture of life they are trying to give.

Most of the literature produced today comes in prose form. In earlier days, practically all of it was in verse. Prose, being freer, expresses best the spirit of freedom of this age. The song, or lyric, of course, must always be written in verse.

It is interesting to know and well to remember that there are three great types of verse:

1. The Classic, or rhymed verse, created by the Greek poets;
2. The Biblical, or parallel verse, given to the world by the Hebrews;
3. The Blank, or unrhymed verse, first produced by the English poets of the time of Queen Elizabeth.

Each of these types comes in a variety of forms; but one can readily recognize to which type a poem belongs, by remembering the chief characteristic of the type. For example: The Classic type is written in rhymes; as,

“As some tall cliff that lifts its awful form
Swells from the vale and midway leaves the storm.
Though round its breast the rolling clouds are spread
Eternal sunshine settles on its head.”
From “The Deserted Village.”—Goldsmith.

Biblical verse does not rhyme, but the thought it expresses is repeated in other words in parallel lines: as,

“Intreat me not to leave thee,
And to return from following after thee;
For whither thou goest, I will go;
And where thou lodgest, I will lodge;
Thy people shall be my people,
And thy God my God;
Where thou diest, will I die,
And there will I be buried;
The Lord do so to me,
And more also,
If aught but death part thee and me.”
From “Ruth” 1 :16-17.

Note that every other line might be omitted, ami still the full thought would be kept. This is the simplest form of Biblical verse. Many variations from this simple form are made. The Bible contains a great many poems in parallel verse. We are not so likely to recognize them, however, since in the King James translation these poems are not given in their literary form. But read the Psalms, or many of the Proverbs, and note their parallel structure. It is comparatively easy to write them in verse form, as has been done with the little lyric given from Ruth.

Blank Verse does not rhyme; but it is regularly rhythmic; as,

“The quality of mercy is not strained;
It droppeth as the gentle dew from heaven
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blessed:
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.”
—From “Merchant of Venice”—Shakespeare.

All of Shakespeare’s plays are done in blank verse; so is “Paradise Lost” by Milton; and Tennyson’s “Idyls of the King,” as well as the poems of many other writers. It is a stately kind of verse, well fitted to express great thoughts, as well as stirring ones.

Yet, as was said in the beginning, it is the life of the selection that counts most, not the form. The soul is more than the body in literature as in life.

In selecting books for the home, mothers should try to choose those that are alive, that are sincere, that have a pure soul. Only such literature gives a spiritual uplift.

Relief Society Magazine, v4 n1, January 1917, p. 51-55

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I must say that I like the opening line. What a metaphor—the implication being that some literature is stillborn! I also like the stories. For the record, Bret Harte (1836-1902) was well-known in his day for his stories about the California pioneer experience. His best known works include The Luck of Roaring Camp and The Outcasts of Poker Flat, both of which inspired film adaptations, including the film Tennessee’s Partner (1955) and one version of the film Paint Your Wagon. He also wrote a highly regarded tribute to Charles Dickens, Dickens in Camp, days after learning of Dickens’ death. I also liked the metaphor that compares rhythm in various literary forms to water in streams and in the ocean.

However, the author of this lesson (I haven’t been able to identify who that is), moves from the idea of sincerity to form of literature to discussing rhythm in literature so quickly that I wonder if she simply wanted to tell the stories and found a way to make them relevant.

Nevertheless, in the end I think the lesson makes a good point, suggesting that we chose books “that are alive, that are sincere, that have a pure soul.” Depending on how you understand “pure soul,” I can agree with that!

Saints on Stage is the most comprehensive and important work on Mormon drama ever published. This volume anthologizes some of Mormonism’s best plays from the last several decades, many of them published here for the first time. Several of these plays have won honors from institutions as varied as the Kennedy Center and the Association for Mormon Letters.

This volume includes historical backgrounds and playwright biographies, as well as an introduction that provides an extensive overview of Mormon drama. The following plays are included:

Fires of the Mind – Robert Elliott

Huebener – Thomas F. Rogers

Burdens of Earth – Susan Elizabeth Howe

J. Golden – James Arrington

Matters of the Heart – Thom Duncan

Gadianton – Eric Samuelsen

Hancock County – Tim Slover

Stones – J. Scott Bronson

Farewell to Eden – Mahonri Stewart

Martyrs’ Crossing – Melissa Leilani Larson

I Am Jane – Margaret Blair Young

Not that the discourses of 50 or 100 years ago didn’t include references to other works. They did, the custom just wasn’t to put that information in footnotes. The items from General Conference in my Sunday Literary Criticism Sermon series makes that clear.

Even today conference talks sometimes mention works that aren’t included in the footnotes. President Uchtdorf’s talk in the General Young Women’s meeting is a good example. He mentioned four literary works that all include some kind of journey: The Hobbit, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, A Christmas Carol and Journey to the West. But half of them didn’t appear in the footnotes.

Differences like this in how authors footnote their text may account for some of the variation in the number of works cited each conference, along with many other factors. This conference the number of works cited fell from 94 last Fall to 69 this conference, most likely because October’s conference included a number of heavily footnoted talks, which raised the number of footnotes over that of the previous conference by more than the drop to this conference—so over a year ago the number of citations increased slightly. This continues a long-term trend of providing more citations in Conference talks.

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Books

• Anderson, Karl R., The Savior in Kirtland: Personal Accounts of Divine Manifestations, 2012.
  • Nelson, Russell M., Catch the Wave, Saturday Afternoon Session
• Baum, L. Frank, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, 1900.
  • Uchtdorf, Dieter F., Your Wonderful Journey Home, General Young Women’s Meeting
• Christensen, Clayton M., The Power of Everyday Missionaries: The What and How or Sharing the Gospel, 2013
  • Andersen, Neil L., It’s a Miracle, Sunday Morning Session
• Davidson, Karen Lynn, Our Latter-day Hymns: The Stories and the Messages (rev. ed), 1988
  • Oaks, Dallin H., Followers of Christ, Sunday Afternoon Session
• Dickens, Charles, A Christmas Carol, 1843.
  • Uchtdorf, Dieter F., Your Wonderful Journey Home, General Young Women Meeting
• Durham, G. Homer, The Discourses of Wilford Woodruff, 1946
  • Cook, Quentin L., The Reward of Righteousness, Saturday Afternoon Session
• Edersheim, Alfred, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, 2 vols., 1883
  • Holland, Jeffrey R., “Lord, I Believe,” Sunday Afternoon Session
• Gibbons, Francis M., David O. McKay: Apostle to the World, Prophet of God, 1986
  • Dalton, Elaine S., We Are Daughters of Our Hevenly Father, Saturday Morning Session
• Holland, Jeffrey R., For Times of Trouble: Spiritual Solace From the Psalms, 2012
  • Cook, Quentin L., The Reward of Righteousness, Saturday Afternoon Session
• Hugo, Victor. Les misérables, 1992
  • Christofferson, D. Todd, Redemption, Sunday Afternoon Session
• Latourette, Kenneth Scott. A History of Christianity, Volume 1: Beginnings to 1500 (Revised), rev. ed., 1975
  • Golden, Christoffel Jr., The Father and the Son, Sunday Afternoon Session
• Latourette, Kenneth Scott. A History of Christianity: Reformation to the Present (Volume 2), rev. ed., 1975
  • Golden, Christoffel Jr., The Father and the Son, Sunday Afternoon Session
• MacCulloch, Diarmaid. The Reformation, 2003
  • Golden, Christoffel Jr., The Father and the Son, Sunday Afternoon Session
• Malouf, David. The Happy Life: The Search for Contentment in the Modern World, 2013
  • Cook, Quentin L., The Reward of Righteousness, Saturday Afternoon Session
• Roberts, B. H. (ed.), History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Volume 1
  • Andersen, Neil L., It’s a Miracle, Sunday Morning Session
• Smith, Joseph, ed., Lectures on Faith, 1985
  • Golden, Christoffel Jr., The Father and the Son, Sunday Afternoon Session
• Swinton, Heidi S., To the Rescue: The Biography of Thomas S. Monson, 2010
  • Oaks, Dallin H., Followers of Christ, Sunday Afternoon Session
• Tolkien, J. R. R. The Hobbit, 1937.
  • Uchtdorf, Dieter F., Your Wonderful Journey Home, General Young Women Meeting
• Whittier, John Greenleaf. The Complete Poetical Works of John Greenleaf Whittier, 1802
  • Cook, Quentin L., The Reward of Righteousness, Saturday Afternoon Session
• Williams, Chris. Let It Go: A True Story of Tragedy and Forgiveness, 2012
  • Oaks, Dallin H., Followers of Christ, Sunday Afternoon Session
• Wu Cheng’en, Journey to the West, c. 1592.
  • Uchtdorf, Dieter F., Your Wonderful Journey Home, General Young Women Meeting
• Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Tenth Edition, 1993
  • Christofferson, D. Todd, Redemption, Sunday Afternoon Session

Periodical Articles

• Benson, Ezra Taft. “Jesus Christ—Gifts and Expectations” Speeches of the Year, 1974, 1975
  • Golden, Christoffel Jr., The Father and the Son, Sunday Afternoon Session
• Collins, Lois M. “Baby’s Development Potentially Harmed by Parents Texting” Deseret News, 6/4/2012
  • Wixom, Rosemary M., The Words We Speak, Sunday Morning Session
• Douthat, Ross. “The Loss of the Innocents,” New York Times, 12/16/2012
  • Cook, Quentin L., The Reward of Righteousness, Saturday Afternoon Session
• Eyring, Henry B. “Waiting upon the Lord,” Brigham Young University 1990–91 Devotional and Fireside Speeches 1991
  • Callister, Tad R. The Power of the Priesthood in the Boy, Priesthood Session
• Hales, Robert D. “This Is the Way; and There Is None Other Way,” Brigham Young University 1981–82 Speeches 1982
  • Hales, Robert D., Stand Strong in Holy Places, Priesthood Session
• Henrie, Jessica. “Father Relies on Faith to Forgive Intoxicated Teen Driver,” Deseret News, 8/1/2012
  • Oaks, Dallin H., Followers of Christ, Sunday Afternoon Session
• Magill, R. Jay, Jr. “How to Live Well,” Wall Street Journal, 1/27/2013
  • Cook, Quentin L., The Reward of Righteousness, Saturday Afternoon Session
• Richardson, Matthew O. “‘What E‘er Thou Art, Act Well Thy Part’: John Allan’s Albany Crescent Stone,” Journal of Mormon History, vol. 33 Fall 2007
  • Dalton, Elaine S., We Are Daughters of Our Heavenly Father, Saturday Morning Session
• Smith, Joseph F. “Discourse” Deseret News, 11/12/1873
  • Monson, Thomas S., Obedience Brings Blessings, Sunday Morning Session
• Smith, Joseph Fielding. “The Predicted Judgments,” Brigham Young University Speeches of the Year 3/21/1967
  • Cook, Quentin L., The Reward of Righteousness, Saturday Afternoon Session
• Toone, Trent. “Kindness of Arizona High School QB Carson Jones and Teammates Has Gone Viral,” Deseret News 11/9/2012
  • Beck, David L., Your Sacred Duty to Minister, Priesthood Session
• Warner, C. Terry and Susan Warner. “Apostle Visits Ivory Coast, Is ‘Impressed with Exceptional Spirit,” Church News 3/3/2013
  • Cook, Quentin L. The Reward of Righteousness, Saturday Afternoon Session
• “Emergency Response: Church Assists Worldwide,” Church News 3/9/2013
  • Oaks, Dallin H., Followers of Christ, Sunday Afternoon Session
• “Messages of Inspiration from President Hinckley,” Church News 11/7/1998
  • Andersen, Neil L., It’s a Miracle, Sunday Morning Session

Manual

• First Presidency. Principles of the Gospel, 1943
  • Perry, L. Tom, Obedience to Law Is Liberty, Sunday Morning Session
• Richards, Stephen L. Principles of the Gospel,1943
  • Perry, L. Tom, Obedience to Law Is Liberty, Sunday Morning Session
• 1937 Missionary Handbook, 1937
  • Eyring, Henry B., We Are One, Priesthood Session
• Come, Follow Me, 2013
  • Hales, Robert D., Stand Strong in Holy Places, Priesthood Session
• For the Strength of Youth (booklet), 2011
  • Dalton, Elaine S., Be Not Moved!, General Young Women Meeting
  • Ellis, Stanley G., The Lord’s Way, Saturday Afternoon Session
• Handbook 2: Administering the Church, 2010
  • Nelson, Russell M., Catch the Wave, Saturday Afternoon Session
  • Beck, David L., Your Sacred Duty to Minister, Priesthood Session
  • Clayton, Whitney L., Marriage: Watch and Learn, Sunday Morning Session
• Preach My Gospel: A Guide to Missionary Service, 2004
  • Cardon, Craig A., The Savior Wants to Forgive, Saturday Morning Session
  • Ellis, Stanley G., The Lord’s Way, Saturday Afternoon Session
• Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young, 1997
  • Porter, Bruce D., Beautiful Mornings, Sunday Afternoon Session
• Teachings of Presidents of the Church: David O. McKay, 2003
  • Falabella, Enrique R., The Home, the School of Life, Sunday Afternoon Session
• Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Harold B. Lee, 2000
  • Perry, L. Tom, Obedience to Law Is Liberty, Sunday Morning Session
  • Cook, Quentin L., The Reward of Righteousness, Saturday Afternoon Session
• Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Heber J. Grant, 2002
  • Cook, Quentin L. The Reward of Righteousness, Saturday Afternoon Session
• Teachings of Presidents of the Church: John Taylor, 2001
  • Cook, Quentin L., The Reward of Righteousness, Saturday Afternoon Session
• Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith, 1998
  • Cook, Quentin L., The Reward of Righteousness, Saturday Afternoon Session
• Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, 2007
  • Packer, Boyd K. These Things I Know, Saturday Morning Session
  • Ballard, M. Russell, “This Is My Work and Glory,” Saturday Morning Session
  • Ellis, Stanley G., The Lord’s Way, Saturday Afternoon Session
  • Nelson, Russell M., Catch the Wave, Saturday Afternoon Session
  • Monson, Thomas S., Come, All Ye Sons of God, Priesthood Session
  • Andersen, Neil L., It’s a Miracle, Sunday Morning Session
  • Holland, Jeffrey R., “Lord, I Believe,” Sunday Afternoon Session
• Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball, 2006
  • Cook, Quentin L., The Reward of Righteousness, Saturday Afternoon Session
• Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Wilford Woodruff, 2004
  • Andersen, Neil L., It’s a Miracle, Sunday Morning Session
• True to the Faith, 2013
  • Ellis, Stanley G., The Lord’s Way, Saturday Afternoon Session
• Young Women Personal Progress (booklet), 2009
  • Dalton, Elaine S., Be Not Moved!, General Young Women Meeting
  • Dalton, Elaine S., We Are Daughters of Our Hevenly Father, Saturday Morning Session

Other

• “Strengthening the Family and the Church through the Priesthood,” Worldwide Leadership Training Meeting, 2013
  • Ballard, M. Russell, “This Is My Work and Glory,” Saturday Morning Session
• First Presidency. First Presidency Letter, 2/1/2013
  • Ballard, M. Russell, “This Is My Work and Glory,” Saturday Morning Session
• Hinckley, Gordon B. “Standing Strong and Immovable,” Worldwide Leadership Training Meeting, 1/10/2004
  • Cook, Mary N., When You Save a Girl, You Save Generations, General Young Women Meeting
  • Dalton, Elaine S., We Are Daughters of Our Heavenly Father, Saturday Morning Session
• Packer, Boyd K. Unfinished Composition 2012
  • Packer, Boyd K. These Things I Know, Saturday Morning Session
• Richards, George F. Diary.
  • Callister, Tad R., The Power of the Priesthood in the Boy, Priesthood Session
• Rodgers, Richard and Oscar Hammerstein II. “Oh, What a Beautiful Morning” from Oklahoma!, 1943.
  • Porter, Bruce D., Beautiful Mornings, Sunday Afternoon Session
• “Practice, Celebration, Dedication: Temple Blessings in El Salvador.”
  • Dibb, Ann M., Your Holy Places, General Young Women Meeting
• 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake
  • Davies, Dean M., A Sure Foundation, Saturday Morning Session
• “Place” in Merriam-Webster Online
  • Dibb, Ann M., Your Holy Places, General Young Women Meeting
• “Contrite,” in Oxford Dictionaries Online, 2013
  • Kopischke, Erich W., Being Accepted of the Lord, Sunday Afternoon Session
• Personal email from President Paulo V. Kretly, 3/6/2013
  • Andersen, Neil L., It’s a Miracle, Sunday Morning Session
• Personal interview with author, 2013
  • Cook, Mary N., When You Save a Girl, You Save Generations, General Young Women Meeting
• Telephone conversation with Jackson Haight, 3/22/2013
  • Andersen, Neil L., It’s a Miracle, Sunday Morning Session
• Welfare Services Emergency Response, “2012 Year in Review,” 2013
  • Oaks, Dallin H., Followers of Christ, Sunday Afternoon Session
• youngandmormon.com, 2013
  • Andersen, Neil L., It’s a Miracle, Sunday Morning Session

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You can see the previous compilations of books cited in General conference here:Fall 2012
Spring 2012

Fall 2011
Spring 2011
Fall 2010
Spring 2010
October 2009
April 2009
October 2008
April 2008

Anderson studies gaining strength and vigor.

In July 1915—nearly one hundred years ago—Nephi Anderson traveled to San Francisco to attend meetings at the International Congress of Genealogy held in connection with the Pan-American and Pacific International Exposition. While there, he also attended the exposition’s Utah Day celebration and spent three days seeing the sights.  Overall, he writes in his journal, he “had a splendid time.”

He was back in San Francisco five years later, vacationing and conducting some Church business. He stayed at mission headquarters on Hayes Street, where he had Thanksgiving dinner, and attended meetings in Berkeley and Oakland.

The house where Anderson stayed during this second visit (1649 Hayes Street) still stands, although it is now the Emmanuel Church of God in Christ rather than an LDS mission headquarters. I had the opportunity to drive past it last weekend when I was in San Francisco to talk about Anderson at the annual meeting for the Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Studies. It’s in a busy neighborhood just north of Golden Gate Park, so I couldn’t find a place to park nearby. I was able to snap two pictures of it, though, before San Francisco’s traffic nudged me along.

Nephi Anderson slept here.

In many ways, Anderson’s history with San Francisco is unremarkable. He was never more than a temporary resident of the city—a vacationer, a passer-through—and what he saw and thought of the city is mostly a matter of conjecture. (As a journal and letter writer, Anderson was an ardent minimalist!) Still, when Sarah Reed, Eric Jepson, and I met last Saturday at the SASS meeting to present papers on his life and work, the fact that he had been to the city and left a brief record of his visit seemed to add to the occasion. As Theric pointed out in his presentation, Anderson’s visits to the city remind us that he was not a provincial writer, holed up behind the mountains of Utah and indifferent to the world beyond Mormonism, but a man who traveled throughout the United States and Europe and became well-acquainted with the important issues and ideas of his day. In fact, it was from this perspective—Anderson as a man of his times—that each of us seemed to approach his work.

Sarah Reed

As I mentioned in a recent post on Dawning of a Brighter Day, our experience at SASS was the culmination of almost a year’s worth of online discussions (via blogs and email), preparation, and study about Anderson. Last August, I came in contact with Sarah, a German studies scholar at the University of Wisconsin, after she commented on a post I wrote about Anderson’s novel The Castle Builder. Before that, Theric and I had also been exchanging emails about Anderson, mostly in connection with his efforts to publish a new edition of Anderson’s Dorian. When Sarah mentioned the possibility of proposing an Anderson panel for the upcoming SASS conference in San Francisco—practically in Theric’s backyard—it seemed like the perfect opportunity to bring us all together.

The conference itself was massive, devoting three days to panels covering a full range of topics within the field of Scandinavian studies. Our panel landed on the last day of the conference, right after lunch, when several other panels—including a popular authors’ roundtable discussion—were in session. All of us, I think, tried to keep our attendance expectations small. I was hoping for maybe seven or eight attendees. Low-balling it, of course.

Scott Hales

In the end, we had two—one of whom was my wife. (Thanks, dear!)

Even so: I think the panel was a success. As the attendee-who-wasn’t-my-wife noted, the panel marked the first time in SASS history when a session was devoted specifically to a Mormon subject. Furthermore, I think it was the first time anywhere that a panel was organized specifically around Anderson and his work. When we finished, I think we all had the sense that something important had happened—despite the low attendance.

Our conference proposals are already posted elsewhere (here and here), so I won’t go into too much detail about the content of our individual talks. (I also regret that in my excitement for the occasion, I took lousy notes!) Sarah spoke first on Anderson’s Scandinavian heritage and its influence on his works. She spoke specifically about the Norway novels—Added Upon, The Castle Builder, and A Daughter of the North—and the way they tie together the various threads of Anderson’s Americanism, Mormonism, and Scandinavianism. (Among other things, Sarah’s presentation reminded me of how broadly Anderson understood Mormonism. For him, it had the potential to encompass—and redeem—all truths, all nations, and all tongues.) I spoke next on masculinity in Anderson’s novels The Castle Builder, Romance of a Missionary, John St. John, and Dorian. My basic premise was that Anderson’s masculinity was largely a response to anti-Mormon novels, but was also heavily influenced by contemporary church teachings and a broader national crisis of masculinity. Theric then closed the session with a presentation on Anderson and assimilation, noting that Anderson’s home literature helped to ease Mormonism’s assimilation into the “mainstream”—thus setting the stage, ironically, for its later obscurity among Mormon readers today, whose assimilation makes them more likely to read something published in New York rather than Salt Lake City.

Eric W. Jepson

Afterwards, during the question and answer portion of the session, we had the chance to revisit a few themes. Most of the questions focused on Anderson’s Norwegian identity and politics and how that comes through in his work. We also talked about the enormous influence of Added Upon on several generations of Latter-day Saints and its success as “artistic preaching.” If anything came out of that discussion, though, it was the realization that Anderson offers a wealth of possibilities for scholars. Our hour-and-a-half panel only scratched the surface of what can be said about the man and his work.

This formal discussion, of course, carried over into a more informal discussion. At the end of the session, Sarah, Theric, my wife, and I crossed the street to Portsmouth Square in Chinatown to talk about Mormon literature, blogging, books, and Anderson. As the spot—the very spot?—where Samuel Brannan’s Brooklyn Saints first held their Sunday meetings in 1846, the setting seemed appropriate enough—despite the ratty-looking pigeons that were everywhere. Again, we kept coming back to the theme that Anderson is one of the great unappreciated minds of the Church. If anyone’s reputation deserves to be revitalized, it is his.

We also kept returning to the theme of Mormon literary studies and our frustrations for how it is often overlooked in discussions about Mormon studies, and also deserve—in our humble opinions—a revitalized reputation.

This, of course, will not happen on its own. If we want to raise awareness about Mormon literature and the viability of Mormon literary studies, we need to keep the conversation going and bring it to prominent venues—conferences, scholarly journals, big-name blogs—where others can take notice and join in. This is the only way Mormon literary scholarship will have a prominent place in the Mormon studies family. We must make it too big and too important to ignore or dismiss as simply an “AML thing.”

That means we have a lot of work and a lot of recruiting to do. Mormon literary studies is a small field right now, but it is slowly growing and possibly even building some momentum. On our trip home, I told my wife that I hope to see an entire conference dedicated to Anderson by the time I’m sixty. That will be in the year 2040, twenty-seven years from now. 

Plenty of time to get the ball rolling, right?

Eric W. Jepson, Sarah Reed, and Scott Hales at the 2013 Annual Meeting of the Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Studies

Also, I didn’t get to use my Prezi at the conference, so I’m including it here. Enjoy!

City of the Saints, by D. J. Butler. Self-published. Also released as 4 ebooks, subtitled Liahona, Deseret, Timpanogos, and Teancum.  

Alternate history Mormon steampunk. It’s kind of inevitable, you know? With espionage, politics, and frontier-style assassinations thrown into the mix. And the Deseret alphabet! With an all-star cast of Gentile and Mormon legends such as Samuel Clemens, Edgar Allan Poe, Richard Burton, John D. Lee, Brigham Young, Orson Pratt, Captain Dan Jones, and the inevitable Orrin Porter Rockwell. Not to mention a version of Eliza R. Snow that you won’t believe, even after you’ve seen her in action. And a bevy of Brigham Young’s gun-toting daughters in nightgowns, showing up at the last minute to save the day.

A certain amount of bombast seems to naturally accompany steampunk, and you get that here. “Burton laughed again at the pusillanimity of the other man. ‘I’ll put them in the one place where Clemens and his goon won’t be able to find them in the morning!’ he cried over his shoulder.” (p. 6). I admit that I’d dearly love to see this story in graphic novel format; like most steampunk, it seems made for the medium.

It’s a bit difficult keeping track of all the characters: all the more so, in some ways, since so many of them have real-life historical namesakes. Which, of course, is part of the fun. It’s also not always easy to keep track of what’s going on, and only partly because of the large cast of characters. And I have to admit that for my tastes, the ongoing fight scenes get rather tedious toward the end of the book. One more good editorial pass might have helped in this regard — though the book is well proofed, especially for a self-published novel.

One caution: Some of the characters we’re used to considering good guys aren’t necessarily, in this story. That doesn’t bother me; any good story needs villains, and the early history of the Church has enough examples of leaders going rotten that I wasn’t bothered by a few new inventions along that line. Knowing what I do about Mormon audiences, though, I suspect some readers might be offended by this: mostly the type who wouldn’t enjoy a story like this anyway, at a guess.

Overall, I have to say that if this description makes you think that you might like this story, you probably will.

Flight from Blithmore, by Jacob Gowans. The Storyteller’s Tale, volume 1. Self-published.  

This is a historical romance set in an imaginary country, which I suppose is the reason why this wound up in the speculative fiction category. It’s unfortunate that this was the case, because I think a fairer comparison of this novel would be to other historical novels. I also think that such a comparison would make the weaknesses of this novel in the areas of style, characterization, story logic, and historical/worldbuilding research more evident.

Some writers of fiction set in pre-modern times seem to view this as an excuse to use an outdated writing style. Sometimes this comes off well, as in this year’s City of the Saints and last year’s A Night of Blacker Darkness. More often, it comes across as clumsy. Sadly, that’s the case this time. A good editor would have put passages like the following on a diet, as an old friend from my college writing group used to put it: “They listened to Henry tell Isabelle over and over again that he would not let her die. These statements were both pleas and commands that rose in urgency until Henry’s anguish was so great that he overwhelmed the others with his tone of voice.” (p. 169). A good editor — or a more stringent critique group — might also have forced the writing to a higher level of historical accuracy, preventing gaffes such as the description of a silversmith’s shop as a place where the metal is purified and a town’s main street as being lined with houses rather than shops and commerce.

I point this out partly because I think some people are more inclined to excuse problems such as these in writing that takes place in an invented setting. But if anything, accuracy in the small details (both stylistic and background) is more important for speculative fiction. Because the setting is an invented one, you need to draw in the reader with as much realism and smoothness of craft as you can. This was something Tolkien understood very well, and discusses in his essay “On Fairy-Stories.” Beginning writers who have fallen in love with the atmosphere of a particular genre often are blind to the need to do more than conjure that atmosphere, since this is the main thing they’re consciously aware of as readers. But when you’re the craftsman, you have to attend to the hidden seams as well. In order to improve, a writer must learn to flog himself to trim ruthlessly, look at (and listen to) his or her sentences with a cold and critical eye/ear, and check the picky details.

All of which can be balanced somewhat by truly interesting speculative worldbuilding. But in Flight from Blithmore, I don’t find this. For the most part, nothing prevents this story from happening in a particular historical setting, except for the fact that it didn’t. Whether as fantasy or as historical fiction, the story fails to create its setting with the vividness and realistic detail that readers have a right to expect.

It’s a shame, because in some ways, this story has a lot of potential. The plot is exciting, the main characters sympathetic, and the author does a good job of raising and maintaining suspense. There’s also some good character development in the later part of the story, as the realities of grating personalities and longtime pursuit take their toll. A lot could have been done with this. As things are, however, that potential is largely undeveloped. Readers who look for high quality are unlikely to stick with the story long enough to appreciate its positive elements — nor should they be expected to. The story as it currently exists is both implausible and poorly written: undeserving a place on the Whitney ballot.

Earthbound, by Theresa Sneed. Published by Walnut Springs Press.  

It’s sad to read a book set in the Pre-Existence that makes me long for the deft style and complex characterization of Nephi Anderson’s Added Upon. It’s even sadder for a book like that to be a 2012 Whitney finalist.

It’s my sense that you have to really like the author’s imaginative re-creations of the Pre-Existence in order to enjoy this story, which has many of the elements of a poorly written YA romance. A lot of thought has clearly gone into some of these speculative elements. For example, there are the “classes” on mortality, where spirits view simulations to show them about aging and injuries. Unfortunately, for the most part I found these speculative elements clumsy and without insight.

Overall, I found little to recommend or enjoy in this book, which combines speculation that is more cute than insightful with cliched characterization and almost unforgivably poor prose.

The Hollow City, by Dan Wells. Published by Tor Books.

There’s something remarkably scary about being inside the head of a crazy person, for me at least. Maybe that’s why it comes as something of a relief to discover, partway through this story, that there’s more a real enemy in this story, apart from the main character Michael’s hallucinations.

Except I’m not sure. Is there? I’m embarrassed to admit that by the end of this story, I just don’t know.

This is a well written book, as one would expect from Dan Wells. Clean writing, solid plotting, impeccable characterization — and even an ultimate theme of love and mutual tolerance. But it’s not a book I’d recommend giving to anyone who’s overly troubled by reading about mental illness. Which maybe includes me.

The Penitent, by C. David Belt. Published by Parables Press. Volume II of The Children of Lilith.  

So what would it be like to be a Mormon vampire? That is to say, a more or less traditional vampire — you know, the blood-draining, sun-shunning, immortal-unless-killed kind — who has converted to Mormonism?

The style is jarring, with bits of Scots dialect (“dinnae,” “ach,” and the like) thrown into first-person narration that my brain refuses to interpret as anything but mainstream American English. It feels inconsistent. Since I’m the sort of reader who mentally “hears” the words I read, I found this vastly distracting. I also find the capitalization of terms with specific vampiric meaning (“Sleep,” “Persuasion”) distracting.

There are some nice bits. I found it amusing when, having put a victim into thrall, three vampires were nearly stymied in giving him orders by their ignorance of Spanish. And a vampire teaching European history in the Joseph F. Smith building as a visiting professor at BYU! Not to mention the climactic sword fight between two flying vampires over Temple Square. Fun stuff.

This story has two fundamental elements: the plot — a series of unlikely but nonetheless exciting events more or less coherently strung together — and explicitly Mormon doctrine/sermonizing, in which repentance, the gospel, false prophets versus true, and parallels to the conversion of King Lamoni figure prominently. Parts of it are kind of fun, if you’re a Mormon. Indeed, this is one of those stories that I can only imagine Mormons liking. Unfortunately, the storyteller’s skills aren’t strong enough to carry the story on its own. You have to be willing to forgive some frankly amateurish writing, characterization, and plotting, presumably out of enjoyment of the sheer Mormon context. But part of the point of the Whitneys (in my view) is that stories by Mormon writers, even those dealing with Mormon content, shouldn’t need to have excuses made for them.

Could this tale have been fixed, with more experience, better attention to craft, a more rigorous critique group, and stricter editing? I don’t know. Part of the off-and-on charm of this novel is its sheer campiness. Additional polish might have resulted in a story that was smoother but also thoroughly uninteresting. So I’m kind of conflicted on this one. I’m glad it exists, and I can easily think of members of my ward who might enjoy it — the type of people who wouldn’t care for the sf&f I usually read. And I admit that I find myself wanting to know what happens in the next book (title not given), which presumably will complete the set. But I really, really don’t think it should stand as a representative of the best that Mormon writers can produce in speculative fiction.

General Comments and Observations

• Three of the novels (City of the Saints, Earthbound, and The Penitent) are explicitly Mormon in focus and content. Of these, City of the Saints could be read by anyone with an enjoyment of rollicking steampunk historical (Mormon or not). The other two I can imagine being read with interest only by believing Mormons. Earthbound and The Penitent were published by relatively small Mormon presses; City of the Saints and Flight from Blithmore were self-published; and The Hollow City was published by a national sf&f publisher.
• Earthbound and The Penitent are each the second book in a series of three (I think). Flight from Blithmore is the first book in a projected series (number of volumes unknown). The other two books seem to be stand-alones.
• The Penitent and The Hollow City are first person point of view. The others are third person point of view, with City of the Saints and Flight from Blithmore employing multiple points of view.
• There’s a strong romance element in Earthbound and Flight from Blithmore, to the point where it represents one of the major plot threads. The other three books also feature romance elements to some extent, though they are important more as character motivations than plot elements.

General Assessment

Comparing this year’s speculative fiction Whitney finalists versus last year’s, the differences could hardly be greater. Last year, we had four novels from well-established professional sf&f writers with a national reputation, three of them from a national press, and none with any Mormon content — plus one kind of oddball theological commentary in narrative form from a small Mormon press. This year, we two self-published novels, two novels from small Mormon presses, three novels with explicit Mormon content (making this the most “Mormon” of the categories this year, rivaled I think only by historical fiction) — and only one novel from a mainstream sf&f writer or publisher.

Most notably, none of these novels is really what I’d call mainstream science fiction or fantasy. Closest are The Hollow City, which is a suspense/horror novel with sf&f elements, and City of the Saints, which as I mentioned earlier is steampunk historical fiction. The others are frankly oddball stories which could never have been picked up by large mainstream publishers.

Unfortunately, there’s a reason for this. Despite the charms that the other stories will undoubtedly have for their own own specific audiences, none of them represents a high quality of professional writing and publishing. None (speaking now of Flight from Blithmore, Earthbound, and The Penitent) deserves a Whitney Award.

Which frankly makes me wonder what this year’s committee were thinking. Were there no novels published this year by Orson Scott Card, David Farland, Tracy Hickman, or Brandon Sanderson (to name only a few) that might have been in contention? (I counted 10 novels authored or coauthored by these writers in 2012 at Marny Parkin’s Bibliography of Mormon Speculative Fiction.) Or were the judges more enamored by novelty and Mormon content than quality of writing/storytelling? Or did more standard sf&f works simply not get the minimum needed number of nominations? Put bluntly: there’s something needing adjustment in the Whitney process if it can produce this slate of finalists.

Perhaps the following excerpts from an article by Spencer W. Kimball and his wife Camilla will give a sense of what I mean. In most ways their comments could appear in a Church magazine today, except for the references to current technology.

Kimball wasn’t himself known for any literary efforts, at least not as far as I’m aware. Like many General Authorities of his era, he did write theologically and inspirational works, although his two most important works, Faith Precedes the Miracle and The Miracle of Forgiveness are perhaps more doctrinally oriented than the more inspirationally-oriented works that we tend to see today.

.

The Power of Books

By Spencer W. Kimball and Camilla E. Kimball

Since time immemorial men’s thoughts have been directed, their emotions swayed, their lives influenced, and their actions stirred or curtained by the expressed thoughts, and experiences lived by others.

Real thinkers are the small minority, and the followers in thought and act are the great majority.

People are changed by what they hear and what they read. Alexander Smith says: ”Books are a finer world within a world.” And we heartily agree if he refers to the ”best books.”

While there have been books and records all through the ages, they are far more abundant today, and even a person of moderate means may have an adequate library in his own home and have access to numerous books and magazines through public libraries which boast millions of copies. There is little excuse for even the poorest folk in our day to be without good reading material.

…

Numerous people fail to take advantage of these opportunities. Many people spend hours in planes with only cursory glancing at magazines, and in the train or bus, time is spent “sitting and thinking,” and in many cases, “just sitting,” when there could be such a constructive program of reading. People in beauty parlors, professional offices, waiting rooms, and elsewhere waste precious hours thumbing through outdated magazines when much valuable reading could be done in these islands of time. For example, the Bible can be read in a year’s time with but a little time each day.

Good reading habits should be formed in early childhood. Since women, generally, have the greater responsibility in training the children they should make a study of their facilities.

We might ask each mother: Is there a dearth of good books in your home? Is there sufficient reading material of good quality and high standard for each child, so that each will read the appropriate books as he grows up — those books which will whet his taste for good things, stimulate his ambition, properly stir his emotions, and increase his love for the beautiful and proper things, and develop his faith and build his character?

…

Sometimes one becomes surfeited in reading the difficult subject matter which takes concentration, and he needs variety. There is available a wide selection of books which will give development to the aesthetic and the cultural. Music, drama, poetry, fiction, and other cultural fields are available to everyone. The contributions come to us from great minds and great hearts and great sufferers and great thinkers.

In addition to all the serious study there should be time for just plain reading for pleasure. Here one needs assistance to select that which is pleasurable in a worthwhile way. There are countless works of fiction which help us to understand ourselves and others better, and to get real pleasure in the learning.

There are great books which stimulate our thinking and help us to establish values. A typical little volume, exciting to read and of wholesome thought, is Gift from the Sea by Anne Lindbergh. It could be read many times. She found the simple life reminiscent of Thoreau’s Walden which influenced the thinking of Relief Society women last year.

The women of the Church should find no difficulty in selecting reading material for themselves and their families with The Childrens Friend, The Instructor, The Era, The Relief Society Magazine, the Church Section of the Deseret News, and all the lessons of the auxiliary organizations.

Mothers have also the well-written lessons in literature, social science, and theology which can give them a liberal education if they are dutiful in their pursuit. The sisters should not be content to hear the lessons only, but should let that lesson be only the appetizer to induce a total reading of the books referred to.

…

Among the ”best books” to be read are the numerous commentaries of the leaders of the Church, too numerous to list, but which are stimulating and clarifying and written to give a better understanding of the Plan. The Articles of Faith is a type of gospel explanation books. Home memories of President David O. McKay, is an example of ideal home life and character-building books. The Way To Perfection, by President Joseph Fielding Smith is a gospel treatise. Our Lord of the Gospels, by President J. Reuben Clark, Jr., is a comprehensive arrangement making the study of the scriptures easier for the student. It must be remembered that all books published by Church authors are not official Church publications, and the reader must be discriminating and selective. But all these numerous books have much of value in them for the discriminating student. In all the commentaries, good as they may be, it must be remembered that none takes the place of the original source material.

Conditions may have been such that few people could talk to Browning, Shakespeare, Scott, or Emerson, but almost everyone in our world can profit by their written thoughts. Few of us could travel with Byrd to the South Pole or with Peary into the frozen areas of the North, but everyone can read of their experiences and of the conditions in those desolate areas. Few of us can travel to the Sistine Chapel in Rome and see the great array of masterpieces of the great artists in the great art galleries of the world, nor can we sit in their studios and see them work, but relatively few need be deprived of seeing the works of the masters, for home libraries may have faithful reproductions.

Not everyone may kneel with the Prophet in the Sacred Grove nor on Mount Sinai with Moses, nor on the Mount of Transfiguration with Peter, James, and John, yet nearly every soul in our world may see the pictures of artists and read the true record of these world-stirring events. Few of us may, at this time, fly into space, yet we may do so by proxy as we read the exploits of the astronauts.

Through books we may come to know the kindliness of Abraham Lincoln, the devotion of Sweitzer, the vision of Franklin, the faith of Abraham, and the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Few of the billions of earth can walk with God as did Adam and Abraham and Moses, yet, in the world in which we live, the scriptures are available to nearly every soul, and, through them, men can become intimately acquainted with their Heavenly Father, his Son Jesus Christ, and with conditions and opportunities and expectations of life eternal.

Relief Society Magazine, v50 n10,
October 1963, pp. 724-730

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I like the way Kimball puts all this. I don’t think its too different from what other General Authorities have said in the past 50 years and more, but its still nice to see it printed in a Church magazine from a prominent authority.

From Jews and Words (2012) by Amos Oz and Fania Oz-Salzberg:

We know you’ve heard this one before, but please bear with us:

So a Jewish grandmother walks on a beach with her beloved grandson when a big wave suddenly sweeps the boy underwater. “Dear God Almighty,” cries Grandma, “how can you do this to me? I suffered all my life and never lost faith. Shame on you!” Not a minute passed by, and another big wave brings the child back to her arms safe and sound. “Dear God Almighty,” she says, “that’s very kind of you, I’m sure, but where’s his hat?”

An oldie we know, but a true classic. What is this joke really about?

* * * * *

Now look deeper. There is a bold theology therein. We are no longer joking.

Unlike most believers of most religions, our Grandma does not conflate faith with awe. She treats the Lord of Hosts with a healthy pinch of chutzpah. Scrupulous and stingy, impertinent and impolite, she is nevertheless magnificent in her unsentimental devotion. But devotion to whom, exactly? To her grandson or to God?

Careful. You don’t truly want to test these two grand-maternal devotions against each other. God himself doesn’t really want to know. And since we are personally acquainted with Grandma, we can tell you that after the joke officially ended, it is very likely that he humbly returned the hat.

* * * * *

Three is a Jewish theology of chutzpah. It resides in the subtle juncture of faith, argumentativeness, and self-targeting humor. It amounts to a uniquely irreverent reverence.

* * * * *

Our granny on the beach is not considered blasphemous to anyone we know. The Hebrew Bible set the tone with both Abraham and Job haggling with the Almighty over what they see as poor performance in the hands-on divine intervention. (192-194)

What I have to say here could easily be spun into a broad, whole-cultural analysis for, say, By Common Consent. But for today, I will content myself to deal with the—I will argue—false dichotomy between reverence and chutzpah within the realm of Mormon arts.

I remember once in the AML-List days writing a long essay called “Every Mormon Wants to Be a Jew” which included a theme song (based on this). Naturally, the post was moderated out of existence (in those days the list was limited to a certain amount of posts per day and I didn’t have the social capital to be heard very often), but I was hardly the only one making the observation. If I had a nickel for every time someone’s invoked Chaim Potok in discussion of Mormon literature, I could eat out at a very fancy hot-dog joint.

The reasons are obvious: A religion that behaves like an ethnicity! A history of persecution! A focus on learning and scripture! Of course, everything we do the Jews have done better—or at least for much longer—but observing Jewish interaction with the world of letters should inspire us, no matter how many holes get poked in the metaphor.

But maybe asking Where’s our Asher Lev? or Where’s our Alexander Portnoy? or Where’s our Gimpel the Fool? is not the lone place—or even the right place—to look to the Jews for inspiration.

Maybe we should start with their irreverent reverence.

As Latter-day Saints, we declare ourselves literal inheritors of the House of Israel. Certainly, we have a recent history that reflects the Abrahams and Moseses of yore. We believe in talking to God and getting answers. We believe in coming to him with proposals. We believe in our own authority to interpret scripture and we expect everyone to be a teacher.

Yet:

We’ve arrived at this strange idea that reverence means folding your arms and closing your eyes—as if God’s role is to give us a nice surprise when we are sufficiently demure.

Where is our chutzpah?

Yes, yes, yes, accept the will of God, etc etc etc. But don’t just assume that what’s happening is the will of God. Push back! He expects it.

But how does this tie into the creation of art?

Let’s review my last two posts, real quick: James Goldberg‘s uncorrelated Jesus presents Jesus with equal amount of chutzpah and reverence. And Jack Harrell‘s call to arms is truly chutzpadik—it doesn’t ask us to make art that worships, but art that creates.

As Mormons, we believe in emulating God. That’s how our God wants to be worshiped. He wants us to become him.

Or, in other words, chutzpah may well be the highest form of reverence.

Now. What does balancing reverence and chutzpah look like in our art?

In the latest issue of Sunstone (the latest for me, at least—I always get the new issues a couple weeks later than everyone else), Jack Harrell writes a provocative and, for me at least, difficult-to-argue-with essay about Mormon writing. In fact, I’m tempted to describe it as a manifesto. Sunstone won’t put it online for a few months, but I want to talk about it now.

He starts with calling Mormon artists out for our attitudes toward “two forces . . . [which] originated outside of Mormonism, and [that] tempt us to work below our station” (6). For simplicity’s sake in this review, I’ll refer to these forces as absolutism and postmodernism, but I want to be on record as saying that postmodernism means a lot of things to a lot of people and if you don’t how it’s been oversimplified in this post, get over it. 

Absolutism

Mormon theology does not believe in an absolute God in the traditional Christian sense, a God without body, parts, or passions, who “created an ordered and fixed universe out of nothingness in order to demonstrate his perfections. . . . a determined universe in which all things operate according to his foreknowledge” (6). But, as Harrell observes, this is not the physical father God of Mormon thought. And adherence to the absolutist worldview leads to a stale universe in which things can only happen as they are predetermined to happen. No room for epiphany. No room for risk.

Yet in Latter-day Saint cosmology, God created a world with great risks for both himself and his children. The absolutist’s god “resembles Lucifer in the pre-mortal council where he presented his plan . . . [and] none would be lost. But God knew better, understanding that great souls cannot be forged without adversity and risk. Art is the same way” (7).

Yet, Harrell fears, the Mormon arts too often “embrace this absolutist worldview” rendering “the meaning we make . . . redundant, familiar, and anesthetizing” (7).

Not a good state of affairs, even if it does appeal to the bottom-line.

Postmodernism

“This ideology argues that the universe is absurd, that there is not such thing as ultimate meaning” (7). We assign meaning to chaos ourselves, signifying nothing.

This path Mormon culture is less likely to follow, but it holds great sway outside our doors and is as destructive as absolutism—after all, what is the difference between an ex nihilo creation and nihilism? Don’t they both reject our power to create meaningful work? Don’t they both reject our responsibility to do so?

Mormonism

“Mormonism gives us a universe that is meaningful but not determined . . .” (7).

Joseph Smith learned that God did not “create” the world, but he “organized” it. Harrell offers a correlation: if light cleaves unto light, must not chaos cleave unto chaos? “Therefore, when God goes out to yonder unorganized matter, he is, perhaps, going to a dangerous place, a wilderness where disorder and confusion reign, where things naturally devolve into disorder. Nonetheless, God enters that corner of perilous chaos and creates something from the raw materials there” (8).

Hence, the title of this post. The postmodernists are not wrong in seeing a natural state of meaninglessness. What they’re wrong about is when they suggest meaning is not possible. Meaning is possible. When God created the world, he made the stars “‘for signs,’ to spark the further making of meaning”—and God called his creative periods “days,” causing them “to exist as distinctive periods because God named them so” (8, emphasis mine).

Likewise, when we take our random, disordered experiences and choose “arbitrary signifiers,” we become as God, bringing meaning to the world.

Harrell suggests that even artistic failures find precedent in a “God who lost a third of his spirit children” (8).

We live in a world where the absurd assaults us. But we have a better option than pretending that this world is the best of all possible worlds because God made it so. The world has meaning and purpose because God gave it such. And we as people, artists, children of God, are able to similarly endow our own works and creations with meaning and purpose. It is our divine heritage. It is our theology.

Note

This was a fiction-heavy issue of Sunstone. You can read my brief reviews of all the stories here: http://thmazing.blogspot.com/2013/04/five-sunstone-stories.html.