From: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com (aml-list-digest) To: aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: aml-list-digest V1 #800 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, August 12 2002 Volume 01 : Number 800 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 9 Aug 2002 19:35:36 -0600 From: "Thom Duncan" Subject: Re: [AML] Institutional Repentance Thom: "Not necessarily. It could have been that the Lord was letting his leaders make their own mistakes and waited until they wised up enough to ask for further light and knowledge." Denying blacks the priesthood was either for their betterment or their detriment it either furthered the plan of salvation or hindered it. I don't find it reasonable to assume that God would have allowed his leaders to implement a policy that hindered his plan of salvation for some of his children so that others of his children could wise up. ME: God probably would have preferred we had done it differently. But we all learn line upon line precept upon precept. Study the history of revelations to the prophets. Few of them occur without the prophet asking a question first. (Joseph Smith and the WoW comes to mind). Hence, it is reasonable to assume that God lets prophets handle mortality the same way we rank and file do -- getting only as much revelation as we ask for. YOU: He is, after all, no respecter of persons. ME: But he would be if he gave prophets a different set of rules than he does us. If he didn't allow them to make mistakes but allowed us then he would be a respecter of persons. YOU: Therefore, the policy furthered the plan and enjoyed his approval while it was extant. OR: His mortal leaders, cursed with the same weaknesses of all Natural Man, just din't ask. Thom: "But does it necessarily follow that his children, even his chosen leaders, can't be racist on occasion? All of us (even prophets) learn precept by precept." Thom - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 9 Aug 2002 23:18:03 -0600 From: "Scott Parkin" Subject: Re: [AML] Institutional Repentance Ethan Skarstedt wrote: >>>Denying blacks the priesthood was either for their betterment or their detriment it either furthered the plan of salvation or hindered it. <<< This is, I think, the crux of where you and I disagree. I'm not convinced that all things happen for reasons; that's more of a deterministic approach than I'm really comfortable with. To me a lot of things happen just because they happen, with no good reason for it other than the motivations of individuals seeking their individual goals--even in the Church, and sometimes even among the leaders of the Church. Which says nothing about inspiration, the influence and power of the Lord, the inherent goodness of people or any of those kinds of things. It only says that I believe that the Lord has far less direct involvement in the daily affairs of men than I think we sometimes give him credit for. I think a lot of stuff just happens and part of the test of this life is to see how we will react under stress. People do things that impact other people, and the Lord chooses to allow that free interplay of action and reaction in order to truly allow us the agency to make choices free of artificial constraints. Otherwise I have to wonder what the Lord was thinking when he allowed (aka, caused or supported or approved) the Crusades, the Inquisition, Hitler, and 9/11. But because I believe these things were conceived of by men and allowed by God in order to prove us as to whether we will follow his will, I accept that ugly stuff happens and that God will eventually make righteous judgment in the eternities for the ugly souls that created such mayhem. Which is not to compare the early leaders of the Church to Hitler, but rather to illustrate extreme examples of horrible events that shattered lives that were nonetheless allowed to happen so that Man could struggle with them and either find or reject God. I remember a tearful testimony from a good woman who was certain that God was testing her by causing her cat to be run over by a bus. While I believe that God allowed the bus to hit the cat (because the cat had wandered into a busy street and one of the natural consequences is a radically increased chance of being run over), I don't believe for an instant that God picked the cat up and put it under the wheels of the bus. I don't think God works that way; it's too intrusive and has too much impact on individual agency. Which is part of why I have no problem with the idea that a policy could be implemented with no direct input from the Lord. Allowed, but I don't accept that allowance is the same thing as approval. >>> To call upon "the institution" to repent is to free those _individuals_ of responsibility for their actions and to lay that responsibility at the feet of people who had nothing to do with the whole thing, but simply happen to be part of the same institution. <<< I don't see how. We cannot free anyone of their own responsibility, but we can seek to actively repair the injuries they caused--to our own benefit. I think maybe the title of this thread is a little unfortunate, because I absolutely agree that the institution itself has little ability to either sin or repent. But the individuals within the institution made choices that the rest of us now inherit as a legacy. Damage was done, whether with good intent or not. Now we as individuals within the institution have the ability to directly address that damage, and to directly soothe some of the residual pain. One of the many ways I think that people within the institution can build a better future is by acknowledging the pain that past policies caused, recognizing that the change in policy requires both a change in thought and in action, and doing what we can right now to fellowship those who still struggle with a legacy of the past. Even unto the third and the fourth generations. I grant that repentence may be the wrong word. Maybe it's just determined effort to understand how tomorrow should be different than yesterday. But to make that choice we have to understand both today and yesterday, in my opinion. That requires that we study not only our successes, but also our failures and that we constantly check our current actions against our best hopes and desires. Whether the policy was right or justified, it has changed. Now I believe it's our job to heal a rift within our community and to do what we can to build the community that could have existed if the policy had been different. To abuse a metaphor, we may not have polluted the lake but we inherited it in a less than perfect condition. Failing to pollute it further will allow natural processes to eventually restore it to natural cleanliness. But actively working to repair the lake will result in cleaner water, faster. Which may allow a generation to taste pure water that otherwise would have known improving, but still impure, water. Which is to the ultimate good of us all. FWIW. Scott Parkin - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 10 Aug 2002 02:11:46 -0600 From: Melissa Proffitt Subject: Re: [AML] Jan Karon's Mitford Series I finished the most recent book, _In This Mountain_, a few weeks ago. It felt as though I had been waiting for it for a very long time, because = the one before it was unsatisfying to me, and the one before that (where the Kavanaughs are spending a year on an island) was not my favorite, despite being very good. This latest book was beautifully moving. Yes, I love the series. Having grown up in various places around the country, I have always been a sucker for books that capture the heart and spirit of one single place, because I have never had that. My family finally settled down--and I left for college three months later. So I = have younger siblings who have a hometown, and I wonder sometimes at how different their growing-up has been. Visiting Mitford, even though it is imaginary, is like having a little bit of that for myself. I understand that some readers see the books as overly sweet at times, = but I honestly can't see it myself. If I were comparing it to other kinds of stories, maybe, but it is exactly what it needs to be for the kind of fiction it wants to be. If anything, the series is *less* sweet than its LDS counterparts. I like the way faith is integrated into the lives of = the characters, though the difference in how it's expressed from the way I understand faith is both a joy and a shock. (I don't think I'll ever get used to the scenes where someone makes a profession of faith; it's = obvious that the form and the language are extremely important, but not having = been raised Episcopalian the exact importance escapes me.) I read the first book...actually I don't remember why I read the first = book; probably because it was very popular at the time. What surprised me is = how well it worked as a devotional tool. This is different from = faith-promoting literature in that the books give me a focus for thinking about spiritual things, rather than telling me how I should practice my religion. = Probably it's different for readers from a Protestant background. I've often wondered what it would be like to be a Mormon in that little community. There doesn't seem to be a lot of room there, with three main religions vying for turf already. I think anyone wanting to write popular LDS fiction might want to take a look at this series. The religious aspects are expressed in much the = same way that they are in Mormon novels, but Jan Karon takes a slightly = different approach to characterization and description that keeps her books from = being just another collection of wacky characters. And, as I said above, she clearly has a love for the country she's writing about that I don't think= is really an aspect of popular Mormon lit, at least so far; those novels = tend to be so much about community that the setting takes a back seat. (This does not apply so much to literary fiction, of course.) I wouldn't mind seeing some popular fiction written by someone living outside Utah, in = which the landscape plays a dominant role in the shape of the Mormon community. Melissa Proffitt - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 10 Aug 2002 11:17:07 -0600 From: "Brown" Subject: Re: [AML] Request for Prayers Lisa, I knew Wanda in the Utah Writers' League, and I was so interested and impressed with your wonderful tribute to her. She was a wonderful lady. Thank you for writing this! Marilyn Brown - ----- Original Message ----- > If you'll indulge a personal note on a personal note, I feel compelled to > respond to this thread. My grandmother, Wanda Snow Petersen (whom I have > mentioned as having been a friend of Virginia Sorenson and Sam Taylor) died > early this morning. [snip] > > Lisa Tait - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 10 Aug 2002 20:17:12 -0700 (PDT) From: "R.W. Rasband" Subject: [AML] Jewish Writers as Role Models (was: Chaim Potok Dies) - --- harlowclark@juno.com wrote: >I have a particular interest in authors who are cast out > or off by their culture. > > The deep irony is that those are often the writers people outside the > culture look to for a sympathetic portrait of the culture. I read Roth's > _Goodbye Columbus_ as a teenager and found it a moving, sympathetic > portrait of Jewish Life. I particularly love "Eli the Fanatic." I know > some people object strongly to his portraying American Jews as bigots > for > their treatment of eastern European refugee Jews in that story and > elsewhere. Others object to his portraying the immigrants as > superstitious. Philip Roth has been on something of a roll during the '90's, publishing one masterpiece after another and establishing himself as America's greatest living novelist (in my humble opinion.) Interestingly, he has also dragged himself--kicking and screaming, to be sure--back somewhat into the fold. His recent work has rediscovered virtue in contemporary Judaism and America. Check out his "American Pastoral", a scathing critique of '60's radicalism. In a post-9/11 interview, he said he was reading "The Federalist Papers" and the political thought of the Founders. That's not exactly the cutting-edge avant-garde fare one might expect him to mention. But there has always been a war in Roth between propriety and wildness. The bloody spectacle of the battle is what makes him so great. > > I'm slowly reading IBS's book of stories about post-war refugees (the > same group early Potok and Roth wrote about) _Passions_ ("While I hope > and pray for the redemption and the resurrection, I dare say that, for > me, these people are all living right now. In literature, as in our > dreams, death does not exist."), and the odd thing is that Singer > portrays these people with all their folk ways and superstitions, and > the > tension between them and American Jews, and no one worries about it. > _Enemies: A Love Story_ (I love the Yiddish title Sonim [I think]: Die > Geschichte fun a Liebe.) is also a fine piece, especially in its picture > of how the survivors went about finding each other, things like > advertising in Yiddish newspapers, and some of the consequences of that > finding. > > I haven't read _Shadows on the Hudson_ yet (got my copy at American Fark > DI May 3, 2001 for $2), which takes place in 1947-49, and was published > serially in Yiddish in The Forward in '57 & '58 but an NPR reviewer said > that Singer wouldn't allow it to be published in English during his > lifetime because it was such a bitter novel and he was trying to > cultivate a gentle grandfatherly image. The reviewer also felt the book > wouldn't add much to Singer's reputation. > "Shadows on the Hudson" is by far Singer's darkest book, darker even than "The Penitent" or "Enemies". In his earlier books he only glancingly dealt with the Holocaust; in "Shadows", every characters life has been shattered by it. Singer combined exalted mysticism with the blackest pessimism. His story "Gimpel the Fool" is very close to scripture for me; it's an explanation of the world that has eternal resonance. Both Singer and Roth are great role models for LDS writers. I would love to see a Mormon Roth wickedly satirize American culture; I would love to see a Mormon Singer pierce the veil and combine heaven and earth. ===== R.W. Rasband Heber City, UT rrasband@yahoo.com __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? HotJobs - Search Thousands of New Jobs http://www.hotjobs.com - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 9 Aug 2002 18:19:49 -0600 From: Steve Perry Subject: [AML] PAYNE & PERRY, _Family - A Joyful Proclamation!_ Hi AML Folks, I've been reduced to being an occasional lurker by the demands of our most recent project, but it is out (on CD at least, cassette and songbook soon to follow) and available at a discount for those thrifty-types who drop in on the website. It'll be in bookstores in about two weeks. "Family - A Joyful Proclamation!" has been a labor of love for several years for both me and fellow list member Marvin Payne, whose "kid translation" of the LDS Church's "Family: A Proclamation to the World" was the inspiration for finding the warmth, the relationships, and the joy that beat in the heart of that document. (Maybe he can tell you more about that sometime.) "Family" is a new musical presentation for chorus, soloists, and readers, and touched with everything from Celtic melodies to African percussion and Cajun guitar riffs and accordian. We've had fun and I hope you break out in a big smile the first time you put it on. You can read the full lyrics, see the cover, hear an audio sample or two (whatever I have time to put up today) and order for about $4 off store prices from www.StevenKappPerry.com Thanks for allowing the horn tootin', :-) Steve - -- skperry@mac.com http://www.stevenkappperry.com - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 12 Aug 2002 11:59:55 -0400 From: Tony Markham Subject: Re: [AML] Institutional Repentance Bill Willson wrote [quoting Millet & Jackson, who were quoting Kimball & McConkie, who were not, in fact, quoting the text of the revelation, but have consistently and deliberately avoided doing so]: > Elder McConkie further described the occasion: > > From the > midst of eternity, the voice of God, conveyed by the power of the Spirit, > spoke to his prophet. . . . And we all heard the same voice, received the > same message, and became personal witnesses that the word received was the > mind and will and voice of the Lord. This statement implies a textual message. Words were spoken and heard. The text of these words continues to be withheld. We're all free to believe that these words were not recorded, but to me, that seems unlikely. Unless there was an accompanying commandment not to write or directly quote the revelation, I can see no good reason why the text of the revelation continues to be some big mystery. I can, however, imagine several bad reasons. Maybe I put too much stock in actual words, but I do. I read the scriptures and ponder the words. I puzzle over the word choice in the law of tithing that says to give 10% of your (income, no. increase, no.) interest. Hmmm, interest, very interesting. I ponder that the D & C tells us Emma Smith was "ordained" by the laying on of hands by Joseph to put together a music book. Not "set apart" not "commissioned" but "ordained." Hmmmm. Interesting. To me, text is important. This list is all about Mormon Letters. Words. Specific word choices. At this point I would like to conclude (borrowing from Paris Anderson's post on ellipted letters, or was it unsavory etymologies? Same thing.) in a series of inarticulate grunts, moans and sighs. If you all are in tune, you will just automatically know what I'm trying to communicate. Grunt. Moan. Sigh. Tony Markham - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 10 Aug 2002 16:03:10 -0600 From: "D. Michael Martindale" Subject: [AML] Kurt HALE, _The Singles Ward_ (Review) THE SINGLES WARD 2002 Halestorm Entertainment Directed by Kurt Hale "Please, Don't Try This at Home" It seemed like everyone and their dog had seen _Singles Ward_ before me, and they'd all expressed an opinion. (The dog's: "Ruff ruff!") I tried hard to enter the theater with a clean slate in my mind, but all I could think of was how my artistic colleagues disliked it, and I probably would too. To my dismay, as the film rolled, I began to wonder if I would have to go on record as actually liking the film, risking the derision of my peers. The opening sequence was cute and clever, with the credits being presented through scrapbooking. Already we are made aware that LDS culture is going to be tweaked. The main character, Jonathan, began a dialog with the viewer, a la Ferris Buehler, which, although not especially original, still works for a spoof film. Then the jokes started flying. Dry, quick, deliciously insider jokes. Blink and you might miss a few. It reminded one of Mel Brooks or _Mystery Science Theater 3000_ style humor. The minutes ticked by, and still I found the film pleasantly enjoyable. Alas, my reputation would be ruined when I reported that I actually liked _Singles Ward_! But time took its ugly toll and saved my reputation. The cleverness of the first several scenes turned out to be nothing more than beginner's luck. The filmmakers threw a bunch of mud on the wall, and some of it stuck. The rest of the film was just wet dirt lying on the ground. There were moments of semi-genius with the satire. And there were moments when I thought a real-life singles ward FHE group had grabbed a video camera and started goofing off. _Singles Ward_ suffered horribly from the small budget. But the smallness of the budget isn't what caused the suffering. Plenty of independent filmmakers have done a lot with a little cash. _Singles Ward_ filmmakers just made the film, and if the money wasn't there, they let it show on the screen. One moment you could feel like you were watching a regular movie. The next moment, the scene wasn't even in focus. There couldn't possibly have been an actual cinematographer employed on the set. Just someone's Uncle Rufus who said, "Hey, I can run a camera," and the producers believed him. The story starts out well enough, with Jonathan being dumped by his apostatizing wife, who only joined the church in the first place so she could marry him. The experience leaves him cold to the gospel and inactive from church. We get all the sarcastic jabs that you would expect from a cynical Jackmormon, and many of them are quite witty. He regains interest in the church when, in the singles ward he's assigned to, he runs across a woman he's attracted to. We never actually find out what about her is so attractive to him--she's cute enough, but not ravishing, and borders on Molly Mormonism. One was left wondering what about her could motivate a confirmed cynic out of his cynicism. The plot required that he be attracted to her, and that was that. Eventually the story loses its way. It meanders to an eventual climax, but feels sloppy getting there. It's good for people to smell the flowers along the way, but a movie plot has no such luxury. _Singles Ward_ had a number of cameos by local celebrities, but for the most part, they were wasted. The celebrity seemed uncomfortable and stilted, or the joke just wasn't funny, or in the case of ex-BYU football coach Lavell Edwards, couldn't keep from grinning as he delivered his lines. (Could the producers only afford one take per cameo celebrity?) Only computer ad lunatic Superdell seemed at home making a fool of himself as a supergeek. In addition to a constant focus problem, the film had the familiar small-budget problem of having poor sound, to the point where I couldn't understand some dialog. As any low budget independent filmmaker worth his salt will tell you, you can get away with some poor quality images, but if the sound is bad, the whole film will seem shoddy. _Singles Ward_ filmmakers obviously never learned that lesson. In spite of all the reasons to criticize the film, viewing it in a sold-out theater was an eye-opener. The audience was chuckling and laughing throughout, thoroughly enjoying themselves. There can be no doubt the audience was almost 100% LDS, because the film is so insider-oriented that no non-LDS person could get much out of it. Yet this is a film that pokes fun at everything LDS--right down to the schmaltzy tear-jerk climax that gets a delicious mocking--and has a main character that's inactive and about as cynical towards the gospel as you can get without becoming meanspirited. There was even smoking and beer-drinking shown on-screen, by a member no less (albeit an apostatizing member). The score included primary songs about deity that were performed in very unorthodox musical styles (which may very well be the most delightful part of the film). Yet an LDS audience enjoyed it. Maybe Mormons have more of a sense of humor about themselves than some think. But that doesn't excuse the fact that the filmmakers didn't know what they were doing. Filmmakers are professionals with serious skills they've developed to ply their trade in as effective a manner as possible. Please, children, do not try this at home. The last thing LDS art needs is another sloppy piece of artwork that becomes popular. _Singles Ward_ was a film that should have been made, but it should have been made by people who know how to make a movie. - -- 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: Mon, 12 Aug 2002 10:39:17 -0600 From: Christopher Bigelow Subject: [AML] Sunstone Panel on Missionaries Returning Early Following is a Deseret News report on the panel Levi Peterson pulled together mainly through AML-List. Sunstone looks at missions gone awry Outside help is urged to counter the stigma By Carrie A. Moore Deseret News religion editor LDS missionaries who return home before their two-year assignment is complete face unique challenges that affect not only themselves, but their families as well. Sharing their stories at the annual Sunstone Symposium on Thursday, a panel of people affected in various ways by such a scenario discussed the intricacies that confront Latter-day Saints when a mission goes awry, whether because of illness, mental health concerns or lost faith. Louis Moench, a psychiatrist at the Salt Lake Clinic who treats such missionaries and their families, said The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has come "a long way" toward recognizing the emotional needs missionaries have. Early leaders tended to view mental health professionals with suspicion, he said, preferring to place their trust in God over the precepts of men. But in recent years, "the church missionary committee has recognized the need for science as well as faith to keep missionaries functioning." Just within the past 18 months, he said, several new services have become available to missionaries and their families for those who need mental health counseling or who return home early. Just within the past two months, he said, materials have been distributed to local leaders that emphasize the need to welcome and assist missionaries who return home early, whatever the reason. Statistics show that while 90 percent of those who return early because of physical illness will return to complete their mission, only 20 percent of those who return with mental health concerns will go back to the mission field, "and a substantial number of those will return home again" before their assignment ends. The pressure on missionaries is great in the best of circumstances, he said, but those with unresolved or latent mental health concerns are often "broadsided" by their illness when the traditional support system is left behind. Many experience intense feelings of guilt "thinking they just have to work harder" and everything will get better, he said. Three things he said that help such missionaries and their families understand are that "complete self-reliance is a myth, that we are saved by grace after all we can do, and that their offering is acceptable to the Lord." Kathy Tyner, whose son returned home early for medical reasons, said a mission equals a "right of passage" in LDS culture, and that the planning and celebrating surrounding a mission call and farewell is topped only by a temple marriage and wedding reception. Because the prescribed routine for receiving a call, entering the mission field and serving the full term is so inculcated within cultural expectations, anyone who falls short of the ideal will suffer, she said. Rather than leaving reaction to her son's early return in the hands local church leaders, Tyner said she and her husband explained the situation to their ward members during a testimony meeting. The resulting support he felt helped him immensely, she said. Gae Lyn Henderson, an English instructor at Salt Lake Community College and mother of six sons, said she watched in agony as one of her sons received a mission call, had his farewell and ended up staying at home. "People began asking why he was still around." After months of worry and conversation with other ward members concerned about her son, she tried to imagine "the stress that his mother and his friends' mothers anxiety put on him. He didn't go on a mission despite the prayer and positive thinking." Life was hard for him, she said, and "nothing seemed to work or fit for him." After years of living at home and trying to find himself, he finally moved out and got on with his life. Despite the challenges he faced by not serving a mission, "I believe God loves my son and loves me," she said. The experience provided many difficult lessons, and "I have no more expectations for his life. It belongs only to him." Christopher Bigelow, editor of Irreantum, the journal of the Association for Mormon Letters, shared his own mission experience of "checking out" during the last year of his service in Australia. "I honestly felt I was cut out only to serve about 12 months." When the mission president realized he wasn't motivated, "he put all of us unmotivated people together, and it was a big waste of time and money." He suggested a six month "trial period" may help many who find themselves in a situation they couldn't comprehend and lessen the stigma for those who find the experience doesn't suit them. Thom Duncan, who has written a play about a missionary who returns home early, said many church members who've seen "Matters of the Heart" at the Center Street Theater in Orem have found it to be "therapeutic." One missionary who came home early told Duncan after seeing that he felt it was the first time "anyone really understood him." He said missionaries would be better served to understand the realities and challenges of missionary service before they make the decision to go. "I think knowing up front makes it more effective and not as disappointing" when things don't go as planned. The symposium, held at the Sheraton Hotel downtown, features dozens of presentations on a variety of LDS-related topics. It continues through Saturday. - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 12 Aug 2002 10:53:55 -0600 From: Christopher Bigelow Subject: [AML] Jerry Johnston on Chaim Potok Novelist, rabbi led by spirit By Jerry Johnston Deseret News columnist When I heard that Chaim Potok - the novelist and rabbi - had passed away, my first thought was of the evening he visited Salt Lake City and spoke to an overflow crowd at Kingsbury Hall. Most of the audience were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I also thought of a scene from the movie "God's Army," the Mormon missionary film. There, winsome Sister Fronk declares that one of her favorite books is "My Name Is Asher Lev," Potok's novel about a Jewish boy branching out into the world while trying to hold fast to his roots. For decades now, a kinship has been kindled between Potok and the LDS faithful. His novel "The Chosen" became a movie that is almost always checked out at local video stores. His book "Davita's Harp" was a Utah bestseller. Potok had a way of sounding the same themes and feelings that LDS people hold near and dear. For example, when national-caliber journalists write about Brigham Young University, they often capture the social and economic aspects of the school but gloss over the spiritual motivation of the people. Potok never glossed over spiritual motivation. In his novels and stories, characters are driven by their spirituality. Potok also felt the friction that exists when the "world" begins to seep into the lives of religious communities. The conflicts in his stories occur when young people - raised as traditional Jews - become seduced by the wonders of the world around them. How much of that world should religious souls embrace, his novels ask. How much should they shun? And where is the line between God and mammon? These are questions that religious souls - be they LDS, Amish or Muslim - ask themselves late at night. They are also questions that keep parents awake fretting about their kids. I was confronting those same questions in college when my friend, Randall Hall, slipped me a copy of Potok's novel "My Name Is Asher Lev." I could have sworn Chaim Potok had been reading my private journal. Asher Lev is a young Jewish artist. He has been raised to be an Orthodox Jew, but the colors and themes he sees in the artwork of the world is more than he can resist. He pants after the daring and beauty he sees in those paintings the way a deer pants after the streams. He hides his more "worldly" work from his family, of course, until one of his paintings bursts on the art scene and creates a scandal. It is a painting of his mother standing at the window of their home. The frame of the window - in the shape of a Christian cross - bisects her image. Asher calls that painting "Brooklyn Crucifixion." And when critics discover it, Asher becomes famous. He also becomes torn between his inner demons and angels. He, himself, becomes crucified between two cultures. In the end, Asher Lev has become the poster boy for the kind of choices that spiritual souls must learn to make. They are choices that range from the small (How many earrings are too many? How much midriff is too much?) to the monumental (How literally should we take the Biblical account of the creation?). They are the kind of choices Chaim Potok could write about with insight and integrity because he had been forced to make them himself. Now he is gone, the wonder and wisdom in his books are proof enough that Rabbi Potok chose very well. - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 12 Aug 2002 10:59:40 -0600 From: margaret young Subject: Re: [AML] Institutional Repentance To Tony Markham's idea that there must have been some text, some writ= ten word given to those in the temple on June 1, 1978 (the day the revelation was ac= tually received--it was made public a week later), some words by President K= imball prior to the revelation might be enlightening: "Many people expect that if there be revelation it will come with awe= - -inspiring, earth-shaking display. For many it is hard to accept as revelations = those numerous ones on Moses=92 time, in Joseph=92s time, and in our own year=96thos= e revelations which come to prophets as deep, unassailable impressions. The sound of the= voice of the Lord is a continuous melody and a thunderous appeal.=94 When John tells us that "in the beginning was the Word and the Word w= as with God and the Word was God," he's obviously not referring to a text but to a ma= nifestation (even a corporeal manifestation) of power. (I've always found it int= eresting that the Spanish translation for "Word" in that scripture is not "palabra"= but "el verbo"--the VERB, inplying something active.) One of the principles = of good writing is to leave enough blank spaces for the reader to fill in. If you ha= ve a character feeling through folliage knowing that there's a poisonous snake somew= here in the leaves, you don't need to say, "He was feeling apprehensive." The re= ader knows, and telling him something so plain is not only an insult to his intellige= nce, it's just bad writing. Likewise, God does not spell everything out for us. We= learn principles and then fill in the blanks with our own lives. We're aske= d during temple recommend interviews if we consider ourselves worthy to enter the tem= ple. Since the temple is the symbolic presence of the Lord, it's a little silly to s= ay, "You betcha. Right now." As I answered the questions yesterday, I said t= hat the more I grow, the more I realize how far I am from where I need to be; how fa= r my heart is =66rom being consecrated; how far my actions are from being Christlik= e at the core. Only through the grace of Jesus Christ can I answer that particular q= uestion in the affirmative, but God continues to reveal principles to me, new things= I need to learn, new ways I need to love, new challenges to my tendency to hold= a grudge instead of forgive. I have never literally heard the voice of God te= lling me specifics, but I have been absolutely led to understand what God's wi= ll was. This post is getting long, but I'll tell one incident I shared with Darius= Gray (thus tying it in with Mormon letters). You all probably think that we're = the best of friends and never have any disagreements. Wrong. We are both hard-h= eaded, stubborn cusses and are capable of fighting in really stupid ways. Our peacem= aker is my husband, who, fortunately, has a testimony that Darius and I have a m= ission we are to accomplish. About a year ago, Darius and I were disagreeing about= something in the book--I don't remember what it was. I told Bruce that I didn't t= hink I could work with Darius anymore and had a long list of why not's. The man w= as just too difficult. Bruce called Darius and had a long chat with him and, of = course, got Darius's side of the story--somewhat different than my own. Then my = sweet husband told me, "I have a testimony of many things. One is that you two are= to do this assignment. Margaret, you need to figure out a way to get past this = and do what the Lord has asked you to do." I thought about it, prayed to feel some m= ercy in my hard heart, and then felt strongly that I needed to drive the 45 miles up = to Darius's house and talk to him in person. Bruce agreed to supervise the kids = while I did this. But Darius wasn't home when I got there. I didn't hear a voic= e, but I felt a distinct impression that he was at Green Flake's grave. (If you don'= t know who Green Flake is, please go buy several copies of our books.) Now, you= need to understand that I get lost just about everytime I try to find a locat= ion--even if I have a map. I am "directionally challenged." Somehow though, I didn= 't get lost that day, though I had only been to Green's grave on one other occasi= on. I drove directly to the cemetery, and there was Darius. As I walked up to hi= m, he said, "Well, I know we're supposed to work together. I asked the Lord that= if that was the case, to have you come here. I didn't think there was a chance i= n hell that would happen." No text was ever given to any of us. In fact, two of= the three of us (Bruce gets to be the righteous one) were resisting righteous prin= ciples. Direction was given anyway, in a still, small voice and quiet impress= ions. I learn that if I can keep my own shouting selfishness at bay, I hear the imp= ressions much better. I have a testimony that Spencer Kimball, though he had to "w= restle" with his own perceptions and all he had been taught about the issue, recei= ved clear direction--not in words (which are restrictive by their nature) but i= n the silent opening of further light and knowledge. After the revelation in the = temple on June 1, 1978, NO ONE SPOKE. All the apostles went to their lockers in sil= ence. Often the most sacred experiences are too precious to try to encapsulate in= words, and doing so would somehow be blasphemous. [Margaret Young] - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ End of aml-list-digest V1 #800 ******************************