From: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com (aml-list-digest) To: aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: aml-list-digest V1 #652 Reply-To: aml-list Sender: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Errors-To: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Precedence: bulk aml-list-digest Monday, March 18 2002 Volume 01 : Number 652 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 15 Mar 2002 17:20:51 -0700 From: Christopher Bigelow Subject: RE: [AML] "Name Withheld" Sugar Beet Article Responding to Linda Adams: <<< I also state this is one of those Mormon cultural oddities that is in fact at odds with the Gospel of Christ and could do with some reformation. We _should_ be able to take our masks off at church if nowhere else. Yet it is at church that I generally put a tighter mask _on._ >>> For all our strengths as a culture, one of our definite limitations is that we can be extremely disingenuous, from the top of the earthly institution on down, from the way we handle Church history to the way individuals craft public perceptions of themselves. I found the recent Deseret News profile of Sheri Dew a quite refreshing break from that norm. Doug Robinson has also written astounding profiles of Richard Dutcher and Larry Miller. Is Robinson Mormon, or is the Church paper blessed with someone from outside the faith who doesn't have the disingenuous disease? Those three profiles are some of the best newspapering I've ever seen done in Utah. Chris Bigelow - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 15 Mar 2002 19:28:20 EST From: BroHam000@aol.com Subject: Re: [AML] _We Were Soldiers_ This puts me in mind to pose a question: As concerns really graphically=20 violent films, with albeit good messages: has anyone ever considered the=20 applicability of Mormon's solemn promise to Moroni not to "harrow up your=20 mind" with a (graphic) description of all the horrors he had seen and=20 experienced? If you've read Corrie Ten Boom's The Hiding Place, you know= =20 that what helped her and Betsey face all the horrors of incarceration by the= =20 Nazis was, not an awareness of how bad things can be, but the memory of a=20 close family with strong bonds of love. Sometimes I think people think they= =20 have to see the gritty harsh "reality" of things (Schindler's List, for=20 example) in order to prepare themselves to really stand up to evil. I= wonder=20 if the opposite might not be just as possible; like the "good" king in=20 Tolkein's trilogy who looked into the crystal ball, not knowing Sauron had= =20 power of it, I think we have the potential of being overcome by the= awareness=20 of evil, and therfore of succumbing to it. Certainly this was the case with= =20 many many who died during holocaust imprisonment (re: Viktor Frankl's Man's= =20 Search for Meaning). In the case of "We Were Soldiers" - I wonder if the=20 silence afterward was as much from feeling overcome by the evils of war as= it=20 was awe at the heroism manifested. Any comments? Linda Hyde - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 15 Mar 2002 16:34:40 -0800 From: "Jerry Tyner" Subject: RE: [AML] _Saturday's Warrior_ Doctrine Kristy Thomas wrote: I do admit that my understanding of the gospel during the time when I = was a=20 big SW fan, was influenced in a way that was less than desirable in some = aspects; however, to be fair, it also taught some positive things to me, = such as that we are taught "Line upon line, and precept on precept", = and,...=20 it *is* a highly romantic notion that there are relationships we made in = the=20 pre-existence and that there are things on earth that we are uniquely=20 qualified to do, which I believe when not carried to extremes. I think this hits it right on the head - we are taught and we learn line = upon line if we are willing. I know Chris and many others feel funny = about this portrayal of a one and only person from the Pre-existence and = missionaries thinking they are called to teach one special person.=20 Be that as it may, we all have unique talents and skills. The Lord = places us (if we let him) where we will do the most good for ourselves = and others. I have had (and my wife will attest to this) many = experiences to back this up. I would not be in Scouting today if it had = not been for a man in our Ward in Moreno Valley seeing how well I worked = with young men in Wrestling and recommended I get called and trained in = Scout Leadership. I had failed miserably twice before that as a = Scoutmaster. I know there were special people on my mission who I made a = unique connections with. Could someone else have done the same thing - = sure. But the point is I did it. I even had companions and other = missionaries tell me I had touched them and made them better because of = our time together. Is there that one and only - I think President Kimball said it best when = he counseled to find a good person to marry who shares our beliefs and = over all life goals for our family. If you work hard enough you can do = anything as a couple. My wife is a testament to that since she has put = up with my shenanigans for almost 22 years (not easy when over 13 were = as a wrestling coach of one level or another). But we have learned and = grown together and become very special friends. Was she my one and only = - - can't say. But it is interesting to contemplate why it took me three = years to find her and she just happened to have come home from BYU for a = semester and my engine went out in August when I was on my way to BYU to = get an apartment. I had to postpone my trip up for the Fall Semester = until the Winter term. I was Kathy's ride back up (and boy was my little = Vega wagon loaded down). I could tell you a few more stories about our = courtship/dating that would make you understand how it looked like a = Higher Power was working to get us together but again it is all in the = eyes and hearts of the listeners on how they would interpret these = things. Bottom line - God helps us and teaches us if we let him. Sometimes it is = hard lessons and other times it is simple but it is always unique and = individual to us alone. If we don't want to do those things that is our = free agency. But as for me and my house - I kind of like what Heavenly = Father is teaching me right now and the more I ponder my life I see the = His hand everywhere I turn. Jerry Tyner Orange County, Ca. - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 15 Mar 2002 19:27:41 +0000 From: Kellene Adams Subject: [AML] Correlation-Ready (was: "Name Withheld" Sugar Beet Article) > > Kellene, and anyone else... what, exactly, is "correlation-ready"? I > understand the term "correlation" as it relates to the different > auxilliaries, but what does it mean in this literarly context? Is this > "correlation-ready" also required to get published in LDS non-fiction? > Is this a good thing, or a bad thing? Well, don't ask Chris Bigelow if it's a good or a bad thing--he'll tell you bad. :-) (We worked together at the Ensign for several years.) I apologize for using the word; I didn't really realize that probably many people aren't as familiar with the publishing process at the Ensign as I am. Everything that is published by the Church is sent to correlation, which is a group of individuals who ensure that everything that is published is in line (or correlated) with all gospel principles and practices. (That's the simple explanation, and it will suffice here.) As to whether it's good or bad, my opinion while I was at the Ensign varied from day to day, depending on how heavily correlation had just "correlated" a piece I had worked on. :-) I see the value of the process for the "corporate" Church, which really does place an extremely high priority on making sure that everything comes out consistent and clear and clean, etc. We have other avenues to find subject matter that is not correlated, yet is still very faith-promoting. Correlation makes it possible for material to be available for those individuals who are "letter of the law" people, and other sources are available for those who are "spirit of the law" individuals. Kellene - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 16 Mar 2002 01:06:47 -0700 From: "D. Michael Martindale" Subject: Re: [AML] Desensitized Nudity Clark Goble wrote: > My ultimate point is that undressing, in the abstract more isolated from a > specific context, is always sexual in our culture. You mean all those times we undressed and showered in the locker room for six years of junior and senior high, we were being sexual? Holy moley, I missed something somewhere. You mean every time I stripped down in the doctor's office and he (AND she) said, "Turn your head and cough," it was a sexual experience? Perhaps I need to confess that one to my bishop, especially with the woman doctor I went to once. You mean all those times I undressed and showered with my kids, I was being sexual? Oh my heck, I hope the police don't get wind of this. You mean when the preschool girl across the street from us ran out of the house naked, she was being sexual? Was I having a sexual experience when I watched and laughed? Sure, everything has meaning only within a context. But I think it's a tremendous stretch to say that an act of behavior must always carry one certain context. I am absolutely missing the connection from "meaning is only within a context" to "all undressing in our society has a sexual context." I have experienced many nonsexual undressing contexts, so all your theorizing is irrelevant, just as Ptolemy's elegant and impressive theorizing was utterly meaningless in the face of contradictory empirical fact. - -- D. Michael Martindale dmichael@wwno.com ================================== Check out Worldsmiths, the new online LDS writers group, at http://www.wwno.com/worldsmiths Sponsored by Worlds Without Number http://www.wwno.com ================================== - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 16 Mar 2002 11:04:38 EST From: Vholladay5254@aol.com Subject: [AML] Trends in Publishing (was: Jerry M. YOUNG, _Elena_, Review) Just a reminder that the book was published in the early 90s. I remember=20 because I had just started freelancing with the company, and was trying to= =20 assimilate the differences between popular LDS fiction and the world I had= =20 been educated in (the graduate English program at BYU). The book, along with several other early Covenant novels, used to sit on my= =20 shelf in my office there, and I often wondered if books that were published= =20 way back when, would be accepted now. (Think Shirley Sealy or Susan Evans=20 McCloud by an unknown writer.) I think that shows how far LDS fiction has= =20 come. =20 I think there are lots of books, LDS and national, that were popular at one= =20 time but would not be now - either style or subject is dated. For example,= =20 Marjorie Rawlings' *The Yearling* was sent out to about 20-30 publishing=20 houses in the 90s and they all rejected it, but at one time it was very=20 popular and of course had a movie made of it. =20 We all know of publishing success stories like Harry Potter who went to some= =20 17 publishing houses before being accepted. There's also a time element=20 involved in some books, sort of the reverse of what I said above. Lillian=20 Jackson Braun of the *The Cat Who ...* series tells how she sent in her=20 fourth book, which was rejected back in the 60-70s since everyone wanted sex= =20 and violence and her books were to tame. Eighteen years later she= resubmitted=20 it and it was accepted and she's done maybe 20 more since then.=20 I have a book about bestsellers since the 1900s by Michael Korda, who= follows=20 trends and mentions early self-published books that later made it big (long= =20 before Richard Paul Evans). It's fairly new (2001) and it's called "Making= =20 the List: A Cultural History of the American Bestseller 1900-1999*. I also= =20 recommend one of his earlier nonfiction books *Another Life* where he talks= =20 about his 30+ years with Simon & Schuster, his work with authors and his own= =20 experience as a best-selling author (at times selling more than the authors= =20 he edited - an interesting predicament). Korda is often praised for his=20 ability to write about the publishing industry in a fun, clear, and=20 enlightening way. Says one blurb, Korda "manages to animate these lists with= =20 wit and the wisdom of an insider who has been there himself and kows the=20 story as well as the score. The result is an enlightening entertainment." = =20 For anyone interested in the book business, it's useful to see trends in the= =20 national market since there are similarities (although some trends appear=20 about 10 years later in LDS publishing, like all the healing from abuse=20 books). Valerie Holladay, an editor who is by turns fascinated and annoyed by LDS publishing - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 16 Mar 2002 12:43:06 -0500 From: "robert lauer" Subject: Re: [AML] _We Were Soldiers_ I was pleased to see some mention of WE WERE SOLDIERS on the list. (Thank you, Jim Wilson.) I think that Randall Wallace is one of the best screenwriters of the past few decades. (That said, he is not always consistent. PEARL HARBOR was a big disappointment. Then again, with a different cast and director perhaps the stroy--contrived as it was--may have had some power.) BRAVEHEART is my favorite film. Until I saw it in 1995, I could name no film produced in my life time (I was born in 1958)as one of my favorites. In BRAVEHEART, Wallace presented something that America film had started rejecting in the post-WWII social dramas of the 1950's: the authentic hero--the person of true integrity, who values life and freedom above all else. In the late 60's and all throughout the 70's, the anti-hero--a sometyimes fatally flawed loner--replaced the earlier iconic rugged individual. In the early 80's, with such films as RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, the rugged individual reappeared, this time seen through a prisim of self-depreciating humor and spoof. But Wallace, in BRAVEHEART, brought back the true hero. I was amazed at the strength of the script's philosophic foundation, and at how simply and effectively Wallace had condenced the ethics of the post-Enlightment West. Iwent to see the film the day it opened in New York, intent on having a good laugh. (IN the trailors, I thought Mel Gibsom looked ridiculous in his hair-weave and kilt.) With five minutes I was transported to another time and place. When the movie ended, I could not believe that THREE HOURS HAD PASSED! I will never forget the recation of the audience that day: no one moved or said anything for what seemed like a few moments. Then someone said, loudly, "Wow!" And the audience broke into applause. (And this was a hard-bitten New York City audience!) I saw the film several more times over the next week. The audience at two of those showings responded in the same way. Afterwards, I reflected on how BRAVEHEART was much more of a Biblical film than any of Cecil B. DeMill's silly epics. Just last year I found out that Randall Wallace had studied theology (I think at Duke University) and that he had a deep respect for Old Testament literature. That is evident in BRAVEHEART, which has always made me think of the Book of Judges, or the Books of Samuel and Kings--as well as episodes in the Book of Alma and the Book of Mormon. THE MAN IN THE IRON MASK was no BRAVEHEART, but Wallace's screenplay was a very effective romantic re-telling of the novel. WE WERE SOLDIERS is a superior film. Wallace excells in scenes such as those showing Gibson with his children, or Gibson's wife dealing with death notices from the war. Such scenes, make this more than just another "war film." ROB.LAUER - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 16 Mar 2002 12:57:15 -0700 From: "J. Scott Bronson" Subject: Re: [AML] Responding to Critics > On Wed, 30 Jan 2002 15:52:06 -0700 Terry L Jeffress > , replying to Eric Samuelsen, writes: > > I also tend to think, why do you look at the reviewer as an > > adversary and not just wonder what you could do to get > > more consistently higher reviews. Even all the critics aren't universal in their pics & pans. Whereas earlier you said that critics shouldn't pander to the playwrights (let's extend that to all artists), neither should artists pander to the critics. The artist shouldn't pander to anyone. Artists FIND an audience. Sometimes with the help of critics and others, sometimes (usually) without (that's where that adversarial idea comes in). That usually takes longer. But no artist creates (or shouldn't anyway) to please any one critic. Unless that critic is willing to sponsor the artist. How 'bout it Eric D.? Will you sponsor me? Please? Pretty please? scott - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 16 Mar 2002 07:01:20 -0600 From: "Kumiko" Subject: [AML] The Mormon 100 [MOD: I'd like to limit discussion of this on AML-List to either (a) nominees from the world of Mormon letters, as Preston suggests, or (b) more general discussion of the phenomenon represented by this list and the type of influence Mormons have had on the world around them, hopefully linked to literature.] The Mormon 100: A Ranked Listing of the 100 Most Influential Latter-day Saints (Mormons) in World History I'm toying with creating a list in the tradition of Michael H. Hart's carefully researched and thought-provoking book: _The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History_, first published in 1978. (http://www.adherents.com/adh_influ.html) If anybody on the list cares to put in their two cents, answering the following questions might be useful: 1. With regards to the whole world, not just the Church, who are the 3 most influential Latter-day Saints in history? 2. Who are the 2 or 3 most influential Latter-day Saints in history who were NOT general authorities and/or presidents of the Church? 3. What additional names would you suggest be included among the "100 most influential Mormons/Latter-day Saints in history?" Hart's original book remains the most popular of its kind, but it spawned numerous publications in format but narrower in scope. This include: The Black 100; The Jewish 100 (http://www.adherents.com/largecom/fam_jew100.html ) ; The Gay 100; The Female 100 and The Film 100 (http://www.film100.com/). Each of these books is historical in outlook, with rankings based on influence, not fame. Hart's list of the 100 most influential people in history includes no actors, sports heroes, or other contemporary "celebrities" whose names may be well known (for a period of time), but who have not really changed the way we live. The "Mormon 100" would be a ranked list of the 100 Latter-day Saints (Mormons) who have had the most influence on the world. As with other lists, individuals would not be listed based on fame. Some very famous individuals have actually had little influence, while the names of some tremendously influential people are little known to the general public. The Latter-day Saints would be listed based on their influence on the world as a whole, not necessarily on their influence strictly on the Church or the Latter-day Saint community. This does not, however, preclude individuals from being listed whose primary influence was on the Church. Gordon B. Hinckley, for example, may be little known outside of his role as the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. But, as the Church he presides over has a membership in excess of 11 million people, he is influential. But in a secular and historical sense, Hinckley has had less impact on the world than Philo Farnsworth, the inventor of television -- an invention that has had an impact not only on Latter-day Saints, but on essentially everybody in the world. The "Mormon 100" is similar to the _The Jewish 100_ (Michael Shapiro, Citadel Press Book, 1994), which considers for inclusion anybody of Jewish religion or ethnicity. Thus, people such as Jesus of Nazareth, Saint Paul, Spinoza, Karl Marx and Sigmund Freud are included in _The Jewish 100_, although these individuals were not orthodox, religious Jews throughout their lives. The "Mormon 100" considers for inclusion any Latter-day Saint, regardless of the degree to which they were considered an "active member" in the institutional Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In addition to practicing Latter-day Saints, anybody who is an ethnic Mormon or a convert to the Church should be considered for this list. I know this is a historical topic, not a strictly literary (AML-appropriate) topic. But people from the world of literature should certainly be considered on a list of the "100 most influential Mormons in history." Maybe the AML moderator would allow people to suggest 2 or 3 names of the most influential Mormons in the sphere of literature. (Such a list might include names such as Mulder, Card, Eugene England, Eliza R. Snow, etc.). The first step in creating a list of this sort is to compile a list of possible candidates. To that end, I have listed a few names, mostly NOT drawn from LDS history books, as those names are fairly easy to collect) of influential Mormons. Of course, I deserve to have my head handed to me for my impertinence, the flaws in my approach, and the ridiculous selection of names on my "starter list." I take solace in the fact that the author of "The Jewish 100" was a classical music composer, not a historian, writer or rabbi. And the "Film 100" list (which I had nothing to do with) started as a very humble, woefully incomplete web page, and grew to an excellent historical resource that was eventually published, in expanded form, as a scholarly and thoroughly entertaining book. Hopefully I can at least compile something "annoying, but at least slightly more thought-provoking than a Pepsi ad." Preston Hunter www.adherents.com www.ldsfilm.com Philo Farnsworth - inventor of the television Joseph Smith, Jr. - founder of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Brigham Young - 2nd President/Prophet of Church; led Saints to Utah Alan Ashton - inventor of the modern word processor Marvin Harris - inventor of the transistor radio Nolan Bushnell - Father of Video Games; inventor of "Pong" Harvey Fletcher - inventor of the hearing aid, stereophonic sound, and the audiometer William Clayton - inventor of the odometer Jonathan Browning - revolutionary gunsmith; inventor of the repeating rifle John Moses Browning - revolutionary gunsmith; inventor of the automatic shotgun and many other developments Lester Wire - inventor of the electric traffic light John Taylor - 3rd President of Church Alvino Rey - inventor of the electric guitar John Gilbert - silent film star Ezra Taft Benson - 13th President of Church; U.S. secretary of agriculture Lino Brocka - most influential filmmaker in the history of the Philippines Emma Smith - wife of Joseph Smith Eldridge Cleaver - Black Power revolutionary Drew Major - inventor of NetWare -- corporate computer network; founder of Novell Stephen R. Covey - author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Gordon B. Hinckley - 15th President of Church James Cruze - Hollywood film director Lorenzo Snow - 5th President of Church Spencer W. Kimball - 12th President of Church Don Bluth - director of animated films David O. McKay - 9th President of Church Paul Boyer - first described the mechanism of ATP synthesis Glen A. Larson - television producer Edwin Catmull - computer animation pioneer; co-founder of Pixar Pete Harman - co-founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant chain Billy Barty - actor; founder of Little People of America Orson Scott Card - writer Kieth Merrill - Latter-day Saint filmmaker and early IMAX pioneer Donny and Marie Osmond - entertainers Gerald ("Jerry") Molen - movie producer J. Willard Marriott - hotelier Eugene England - literary critic and English professor Charles E. Sellier Jr. - filmmaker Anne Perry - mystery writer Richard Rich - animation director Martha Hughes Cannon - first woman elected as a state senator in the United States Jean Westwood - first woman to serve as chairperson of the National Democratic Party Ivy Baker Priest - U.S. Treasurer, whose signature appeared on U.S. currency from 1953 to 1961 Reva Beck Bosone - (1895 - 1983) first woman member of U.S. Congress from Utah Ina Coolbrith - California's first poet laureatte Cynthia Garner - first woman to appear on Fortune Magazine's cover Paula Hawkins - first woman senator from Florida Sarah Melissa Granger Kimball - (1818-1898) Early suffragist and women's rights activist Kathleen Burton Clarke - first woman director of the Bureau of Land Management Marie Windsor - actress; a director of the Screen Actors Guild for 25 years; founder of the Screen Actors Guild Film Society Jon Huntsman - billionaire industrialist Gladys Knight - singer Sterling Van Wagenen - filmmaker and film teacher; co-founder of Sundance Film Festival Colin Low - Canadian documentary filmmaker and IMAX technology pioneer Yuki Saito - Japanese singer/actress Bruce R. McConkie - apostle, author Waldemar Young - Hollywood screenwriter Terry Tempest Williams - environmentalist, writer Rhonda Fleming - actress, philanthropist Laraine Day - actress Forrest S. Baker - film producer; founder of Feature Films for Families Fawn Brodie - author of No Man Knows My History Terry Moore - actress; USO star; wife of Howard Hughes Richard Dutcher - filmmaker - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 16 Mar 2002 12:37:41 -0800 From: "Jeff Needle" Subject: [AML] Chad HAWKINS, _The First 100 Temples_ (Review) Review ====== Title: The First 100 Temples Author: Chad S. Hawkins Publisher: Eagle Gate (an imprint of Deseret Book) Year Published: 2001 Number of Pages: 292 Binding: Hardcover, large ISBN: 1-57345-921-6 Price: $39.95 Reviewed by Jeffrey Needle Here's a recipe for success: take one very talented artist (and a pretty good writer, too), add a passion for learning about Temples of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, sprinkle in some motivation from Church leaders to become a Temple-attending people, stir it all together, and you have "The First 100 Temples" by Chad S. Hawkins. Hawkins devoted several years to traveling the world, visiting and studying the first 100 Temples of the Church. Interviewing Temple workers and others associated with the Temples, Hawkins has amassed an impressive collection of anecdotes and historical insights, many of which are reported in this fine book. Most impressive is the artwork. Those familiar with Hawkins' work already appreciate his talent and dedication. With loving care for accuracy and detail, Hawkins offers an artist's view of each of the Temples. And in keeping with his special talent, he embeds in each of the sketches a "hidden" graphic, some so well concealed that you're glad he includes a separate note pointing you to these graphics. The edition I received also contained several full-color prints, exquisite in detail, beautifully rendered. Hawkins is a very talented artist! Given the number of Temple books already available, why produce yet another? Hawkins' approach to the subject answers this question. Rather than producing a heavy tome containing endless detail ,he devotes a mere two pages to each Temple -- not much space for detail, but enough to stimulate interest and hold your attention. The author focuses on how each Temple is unique, how each reflects its time and place. Hawkins relates some of the many spiritual experiences that have accompanied Temple building and attendance. However one understands such accounts, they reflect a deep feeling of divine participation in the Temple building process. Many temple workers and patrons have experienced strong spiritual manifestations as they have sought to perform saving ordinances for themselves and the deceased. During a sealing of a woman to her children and deceased husband for eternity, President Edward J. Wood, the temple's first president, stopped in the middle of the ordinance and asked the woman if all her children were present. The woman said they were, and President Wood attempted the ordinance again. But again he stopped at the same place and asked if all her children's names were listed on the ordinance sheet. She said they were. After stopping again at the same place, the president asked, "Sister, didn't you ever have any other children?" To this the woman replied that she had a daughter who had died in infancy and whose name had not been included on the sheet. To this President Wood said that he had heard a voice saying, "I am her child." The ordinance was performed again, this time including all the children. (p. 25, "Cardston Alberta Temple") Equally interesting are stories of individual sacrifice, hard labor by members of all ages, raising funds to complete the Temple project. A sample from the Jordan River Utah Temple entry: Two young brothers, one eight years old and the other nearly ten, were excited to do their part in raising money for the temple. The two walked from door to door down the street, asking their neighbors if they would like to buy home-made bread. Before long they had requests for sixteen loaves. So they hurried home and told their unsuspecting mother that they needed her to bake sixteen loaves of bread right away. Their mother agreed to join in this fund-raising venture, and before long, sixteen hot loaves of bread were delivered. In all, the team sold about thirty loaves for the temple fund. (p. 64) Hawkins rounds out the book with a terrific section titled "Facts about the First 100 Temples," little-known data that will delight historian and layperson alike. With rain predicted for the ground-breaking of the Dallas Texas Temple, attendees borrowed large umbrellas from a nearby golf clubhouse. When the rain began to fall and people opened the umbrellas, they noticed that the umbrellas were decorated with advertisements for alcoholic beverages. The umbrellas were quickly replaced. (p. 275) The cornerstone box of the Orlando Florida Temple contains a limited-edition animation cel of Jiminy Cricket, who symbolizes conscience, from the classic 1940 Disney film, Pinocchio. The cel of Pinocchio was chosen for donation by Walt Disney and Company because of the spiritual theme of the story of a wooden puppet who goes through the process of sin, repentance, and sacrifice to become a "real boy." (p. 271) Scholars looking for detailed information about any one Temple will not find such detail in this book. It is, in essence, a coffee-table book. (What do Mormons call coffee-tables??) Its value is in its ability to engage the reader by taking him/her on a brief tour of the Temples of the Church, raising interest and encouraging further study. Buy the book, put it in your living room, and see how your visitors will start asking questions! This is a fine effort. I look forward to Hawkins continuing his work, utilizing his great talents for the glory of God. - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 16 Mar 2002 16:12:28 -0700 From: "Todd Petersen" Subject: Re: [AML] Good Mormon Lit I think that the problem is not with people losing their faith when writing fiction so much as it is other LDS people not being able to handle it. I think that LDS writers become social outcasts for one reason or another, and once it's not any fun to actually, physically BE at church, they just stop doing it. Members put a lot of pressures for the people they associate to be NORMAL (whatever that means). People who don't fit (and writers often don't fit) are overlooked. One must be fairly charming, I think, and fairly tolerant of ignorance, and fairly forgiving of their fellow saints when one is a writer. The general body of the church, just like the general bodyof US citizens, doesn't understand what it means to be an artist. Regular artists just tell the world to kiss their butts, and then they seek solace in a community of artists. Mormons can't do that because they have to go hometeaching, and take their kids to mutual, and go to enrichment and general conference. The social tensions come, when a divide grows between artists and non-artists. I don't know very many inactive mormons who have a problem with the gospel. I'd say that 75% of the time people leave for social reasons--artists and writers included. - -- Todd Robert Petersen - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 16 Mar 2002 21:42:50 -0700 From: "J. Scott Bronson" Subject: [AML] Charlie Brown and "5" I know this is a ways back, but, at the AML writers' conference I was chatting with a group of people and we got to talking about Peanuts. There was some disagreement among us as I mentioned recently to a friend: > ps--did you ever read Peanuts? Were you aware of a > character called "5?" I mentioned this to a group of > folks the other night and they swore I > was making it up. Maybe my youth was spent in > another universe. Well, I want you all to know (and I hope you all know who you are because I can't remember) that I'm not the only person who lived in that universe. My friend replied: I certainly do remember "5". His parents named him a number rather than a name as a sort of political statement in light of the way numbers were impersonalizing the world. As I recall, "5" told Charlie Brown that he had two sisters named "3" and "4", to which Charlie Brown responded, "Those are nice feminine names." If it never happened ... it should have. [MOD: I also recall this very well, including the strip when the boy is introduce to Snoopy, who afterwards wonders to himself something like: "I always have trouble with names. Was that 5 or V?"] J. Scott Bronson -- The Nauvoo Theatrical Society *********************************************************** "If I were placed on a cannibal island and given the task of civilizing its people, I would straightway build a theatre for the purpose." Brigham Young - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 17 Mar 2002 22:19:30 -0700 From: "Nan McCulloch" Subject: [AML] Power of Dance Since we on the list are *lovers of the word* sometimes we forget the = power and passion communicated without words. Scott Iwasaki, the = Deseret News dance critic, said this: "There are no language barriers, yet it communicates with power. There are no boundaries. It heals wounds. It tells stories. It causes a ruckus and calms the wild beast. Dance can do ANYthing--except go away. Dance IS HERE to stay." On Saturday we experienced _An Evening of Ballets II_ with Ballet West. = My niece, Kelly Parkinson, was the solo violin for the Stravinsky Violin = Concerto and Massenet's Meditation. We loved the Don Quixote Pas de = Deux and the Ghost Dances, but the closing number Black Cake was a = masterpiece. The work explored the *fast track* and high tech social = intercourse. I can't begin to explain the power and passion of this = piece. I don't really care about the competitive struggles of upwardly = mobile people, the power plays, the games between the sexes; but the = music was so marvelous and the message was so strongly communicated by = the dancers, that we became a part of it. The scene ends at a cocktail = party. When Kelly began playing Massenet's beautiful Meditation from = Tha=EFs, we were completely drawn into the movement. At the conclusion = there were tears all around and my husband does not cry easily. How can = elegant music and sleekly clad dancers in precisely choreographed = inebriation combine in such a beautifully moving way? Could it have = been the sheer EXCELLENCE of the performance? =20 Nan McCulloch =20 - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 18 Mar 2002 09:13:39 -0700 From: "Brown" Subject: Re: [AML] Brown Novel Award I am pasting the information I sent to Carol Quist at Sunstone to this list. Let everyone prepare for 2004. Cheers! Marilyn Brown The Marilyn Brown Novel Award for 2002 and a check for $1,000 was presented on March 2, 2002 in the Jewett Center at Westminster College at the Association for Mormon Letters Awards Luncheon at 12:00 noon to A. Jeff Call for his exceptional novel: MORMONVILLE. Jeff, who is a writer for the Deseret News, has crafted a contemporary story of an eastern journalist who takes the assignment to travel to Utah and find out the real (and hopefully ugly) scuttlebutt about the Mormons. The citation reads: Congratulations, Mr. Call, for writing a first novel that not only deals with every cultural phenomenon of the Mormon ethos, but in a way that makes us smile, laugh at ourselves, and love what we see. This is a remarkable work, one of a kind, and we are honored to present you with this award in honor of your achievement. Signed, President of Association for Mormon Letters, Cherry Silver, and Award Chair, Marilyn Brown. The next $1000 award will be given in 2004. Guidelines are available by writing Marilyn Brown, 125 Hobble Creek Canyon, Springville, UT 84663. - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 18 Mar 2002 11:04:22 -0700 From: "Eric R. Samuelsen" Subject: [AML] Not in Sunday School [MOD: I open this thread with trepidation on my own behalf, since I expect this will generate a *lot* of traffic and may be a challenge to keep the discussion on-topic for the list. But it sounds like so much fun... So (gulp) let the games begin.] Since we began the Old Testament in SS, I've been very interested in = discovering what sorts of things are just not Mormon PC; things we may = believe and yet can't say in SS. I'm the Gospel Doctrine teacher, and = it's been an interesting ride. Here are a few of the things that I think = you can say, and a few you can't. You can't say that there probably wasn't a Flood. James E. Talmage = thought there wasn't a Flood. Widstoe, Roberts, Orson Pratt and several = other GA's thought there wasn't a Flood. But you can't say that in SS. = You certainly can't bring up geological evidence for there not being a = flood, or any other scientific evidence relating to the amount of water = available to flood the earth. On the other hand, you can say that Rebekah = probably didn't water the camels of Abraham's servant, since camels hadn't = been domesticated yet back then.=20 You can't say that Rebekah was being sneaky when she got Esau's blessing = pronounced on Jacob's head. Nor can you say that Isaac was pigeheadly = wrong and she had to set him straight. But you can suggest that Isaac was = elderly, infirm, and maybe just kinda confused. =20 You can say that there's not a particle of evidence suggesting that Cain's = curse had anything to do with skin color. But you can't say that Pharoah = was cursed as to Priesthood because he was unrighteous. No, that one is = clearly a matter of race and lineage. (It isn't, but at least in my ward, = there's a cultural thing there that's very hard to combat.) You can't say that the earth in Noah's day was probably a lot worse than = our earth today, or that the wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah probably = surpassed our current level of wickedness. No, we're supposed to be the = wickedest people ever, ever, the worst time in human history. That = proposition just flat doesn't hold up under any sort of historical = scrutiny, but never mind. We're the worst. Any one think of any others? Eric Samuelsen - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ End of aml-list-digest V1 #652 ******************************