From: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com (aml-list-digest) To: aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: aml-list-digest V1 #903 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 Thursday, November 21 2002 Volume 01 : Number 903 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 20 Nov 2002 12:52:03 -0500 From: "Russell L. Hansen" Subject: RE: [AML] Church Music - ---> Thomas C. Baggaley said: "I was struck how the music changed the message of these songs without changing a single word of the lyric. Suddenly the singer who sings "I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" changed from a noble child of God to a hip, streetwise, even worldly person, and the rest of the songs also introduced an energetic night life feel, suggesting the poorly lit bustle of a night club or even the deadened senses feeling of a smoky back room. I had to wonder to myself if the well-intentioned musicians who recorded these songs really thought about how the music changed the message of the songs or at least commented on the lyrics bringing new levels and meanings that the original composers had never intended." - ---------------------------------------------- This is the main reason why I've been very wary of the contemporary christian music that seems to be gaining in popularity. (Especially the so called heavy metal christian music...) Certainly, some of it is very good, but some of it blurs the line between emotion and spirit. I know first hand how music can evoke an emotional response that is very close to the feeling you get when the spirit is with you. I remember hearing a sister comment in gospel doctrine class one sunday, "I always know when I'm feeling the spirit because I get chills up and down my spine." My thought at that moment was, "Wait a minute, I feel that whenever I listen to Aerosmith, and I'm pretty sure that's not the spirit." Unfortunately, I didn't voice that opinion at the time, but I didn't want to be imediately contrary to this sister's opinion. (There were other issues between us that I didn't want to make worse...) I also recall coming to this realization when watching the Steve Martin movie "Leap of Faith". Toward the end of the movie there is a scene where a crippled boy gets healed - for real (at least hollywood style). It was very moving, and I felt the chills and a warm feeling in my heart, but at the same time I recognized that it seemed counter to what I feel when I attend sacrament meeting. I became aware, that for me anyway, when it's the spirit, the warm feeling comes first, followed by the emotional reaction of chills. When it's purely emotional, the chills will come first, then the warm feeling may (or may not) follow. Tying this back into the subject, we need to be VERY careful when deeling with emotion evoking music in church. So many people are fooled into thinking an emotional experience is the spirit working in them. Certainly, sometimes it is, but also just as certainly, sometimes it isn't. We are taught that Heavenly Father will speak to us in our hearts and in our minds. Simply stated, this is our thoughts and feelings. If we are always emotionally charged, we'll never know when it's the still small voice that we are feeling. Russ Hansen - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 20 Nov 2002 11:22:45 -0800 From: "Kim Madsen" Subject: RE: [AML] Polygamy Jerry Tyner wrote: "Interesting thought would be since it was portrayed as a "test" in the book Kelly talked about what would happen in modern times if the same "test" was sent again? "Watch out Below!" " Oh my HECK!! You should read BROTHER BRIGHAM by D. Michael Martindale...oops, I fergit. It needs to get published first...I hope some publisher type souls are following this thread. (HINT.) Luckily enough for me, since Bro. Martindale shared his manuscript with my bookgroup, we should have an interesting 2 hour discussion on this subject tomorrow by a bunch of Mor-women who view polygamy with that same trepidation previously expressed. If he survives the experience, maybe he'll share it on the list. Kim Madsen - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 20 Nov 2002 11:53:01 -0800 From: "Kim Madsen" Subject: RE: [AML] New Age Mormons? Paris Anderson wrote: "There are some pretty amazing people on this list. Kim Madsen is at least four of them--maybe more." Paris, you are too funny. That probably explains my multiple personality disorder...or is it ADD...or is it the onset of menopause and not knowing WHAT the heck I really wanted to be when I grew up and worrying now it's too late...(she types while she is supposed to be making rolls for the sit down dinner for 60 the YW are putting on tomorrow night to honor the lives of single people in her ward, while doing the laundry, trying to fit in some writing time and feeling guilty that she slept in this morning instead of teaching yoga at 5:30 AM because the family is passing around this cold and she is struggling with body aches and OH MY HECK the book group is coming tomorrow at 11:00 AM and she'll get to meet D. Michael Martindale but the house better get cleaned up first...) Maybe it's just my version of being anxiously engaged. And I don't do windows. Kim Madsen - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 20 Nov 2002 13:55:13 EST From: RichardDutcher@aol.com Subject: Re: [AML] Y'All Need to Get Out More In a message dated 11/19/02 7:36:35 PM Mountain Standard Time, katie@aros.net writes: << When we were house-hunting, one real estate agent we talked to (a perfectly nice fellow, by the way) opened a folder to introduce us to the house-buying process, and displayed discreetly but prominently inside the folder was his temple recommend. And thus we knew that he was an active Latter-day Saint. He wouldn't have put it there if that wasn't a way of helping him to gain clients. >> This is messed up on so many levels! Witnessing this trick would have caused me to suspect this "perfectly nice" character. This would be hilarious if it wasn't true. Outrageous. Unbelievable. May I please use this scene in a movie? Richard - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 20 Nov 2002 13:00:07 -0700 From: margaret young Subject: [AML] Adultery and Consequences Okay, I'll take the bait. I would have been VERY surprised if Deseret Book had decided to sell _Heresies of Nature_. It has long been my understanding that DB has a policy on not selling Signature books. (And incidentally, _BYU Studies_ won't review anything done by Signature.) I'll even be real honest and admit that I was concerned that the advent of _Heresies of Nature_ before the last book of the trilogy (_Standing on the Promises_) could discredit me to some Mormon readers. (Signature had accepted it seven years ago.) I went so far as to talk with a Desert Book editor about it. Now, I haven't read Richard Evans's book, but from what I've heard, I'd say _Heresies of Nature_ is not nearly as morally dangerous as his--even though the illicit lovers do indeed have sex (implicit) in my book. In _Heresies_, however, the whole route gets covered. A man whose wife is paralized meets a woman who seems somehow a moving version of his wife and falls for her. As the story progresses, this other woman takes steps to actually appear an exact replica. They commit adultery, and the consequences follow. Ultimately, he stands up for his marriage and returns to his wife. He knows he will be excommunicated--or at least brought up to face a disciplinary council--and he has already told his bishop all about what's happened, though that confession is more a trial for the bishop, who can't find a good answer to the man's pain outside cliches. I suppose the unfaithful husband reflects my own conviction that the violation of marriage covenants somehow disrupts the universe. Anyway, it was controversial as a play script, and was nearly nuked before its debut at BYU. Eric Samuelson and I both had to go to bat for it. But we won. The play was produced and my sister-in-law (the basis for the paralized character) died two hours before we opened the show. So her nurses and her family all saw the play, which became a tribute to her. (The program even included a tribute written by my husband about his beloved sister.) Now, why would I say that my book is less dangerous than Richard's (as I understand Richard's)? Because I know what it's like to be in an abusive marriage. (NO, Bruce Young is not abusive. I'm talking about a prior marriage). I don't trust ANYONE to portray an abusive husband who doesn't really know what it's like. It's far too easy to demonize. And, frankly, it's far too easy for a woman or a man in a difficult marriage to demonize the spouse and justify a little extramarital excursion--even if that excursion doesn't quite include sex. Nobody in a difficult marriage needs any encouragement--literary or non-- to seek "companionship" outside the bonds. It's about the easiest temptation out there--and I'd suggest it's an easy temptation for a writer, too. Didn't Anita Stansfield write something similar to Richard's book? It seems I recall reading AML comments about her book with a very similar plot--except that the bad spouse either died or asked for a divorce so the better marriage could happen. Well, obviously, I believe in better marriages, since I have one, but I also believe in the ethic of complete fidelity. (C.S. Lewis responded to the issue in an essay called "We Have No Right to Happiness" which list members might want to look up.) I'm reminded of another student who visited me and mentioned that one of my colleagues showed _The English Patient_ in class and announced that anyone who was offended by the nudity had no right to be offended. I responded to the student (who hadn't been troubled by the statement but saw it as a call to sophistocation) that the nudity in that movie happens during a depiction of an adulterous relationship. If I had a student whose family had been split up because of adultery, I believe that student would have a right to be offended by the presentation of the titilating side of it. That student would understand what it had actually meant to the family, what the reprucussions had been, how the universe had indeed been disrupted. I remember one story a student turned in (same assignment as the one I discussed previously--where a significant event the writer shared with another person is told from the other person's perspective) in which a five year old child (the student herself depicted from her own memory) tries to understand her father's explanation of why he is leaving their home to live with another woman. He asks her, "Don't you want Daddy to be happy?" Now, how does a five year old answer that? "You mean you have to hurt me to be happy?" It was a poignant story. Anyway, I would not even try to get Deseret to carry _Heresies of Nature_, even though I consider it highly moral, and I'm not the least bit offended that no Deseret Bookstore will carry it. It'll find its own audience, which will no doubt be limited. But I am not bothered by Sheri Dew's moral decision either. I suspect she heard many, many stories from many, many women during her term in the RS General Board. [Margaret Young] - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 20 Nov 2002 14:35:31 -0700 From: Christopher Bigelow Subject: [AML] Newest Deseret News spin on Deseret Book Deseret Book rethinks offerings By Dave Anderton Deseret News business writer 11/20/02 Deseret Book is not taking any chances when it comes to products that may offend its customers. The perennial seller of LDS-based literature and music has not only launched a new television and radio brand campaign, but also is conducting an extensive review of its 65,000 products after new research revealed some customer dissatisfaction. "We found that there were a lot of customers who had at one time or another purchased something at Deseret Book that for them created a feeling of distress. . . . One area where we on occasion had lost trust was we had stocked items that did not match with the core beliefs of our key customers," said Sheri Dew, president and chief executive officer of Deseret Book Co., a subsidiary of Deseret Management Corp., the holding company for the Deseret News and other businesses affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Deseret Book survey, conducted last year by Wirthlin Worldwide, a Virginia-based research and consulting firm, targeted roughly 350 customers who identified themselves as practicing LDS Church members. "What this body of research led to was a new set of brand guidelines, a more focused set of brand guidelines," Dew said. Those new guidelines will reject material that offers a sympathetic view of behavior contrary to LDS standards or rewards immorality, Dew said. That policy hit headlines last week after the retailer refused to carry Richard Paul Evans' new book, "The Last Promise," because of a passage suggesting an adulterous relationship. "That's the kind of thing, it appears from what our customers tell us, to just stand their hair on end, and it makes them not trust us," Dew said. However, Deseret Book, which has sold more than $2 million worth of Evans' other products, will special-order the book for customers who request it, Dew said. Jon Kofford, vice president of marketing for Seagull Book & Tape, an American Fork-based book retailer that also carries LDS products and is a main competitor of Deseret Book, said its 18 stores originally carried "The Last Promise" but pulled the book off its shelves after it was determined the book did not meet the company's guidelines. Unlike Deseret Book, Seagull Book will not special-order "The Last Promise" for its customers. "Deseret Book is instigating a new policy, and we've always had our policy and pulled books off the shelf before," Kofford said. "We typically have just focused on the LDS market, and we have carried very few trade books." Kirsti Gilbreath of Puyallup, Wash., said while visiting Deseret Book's downtown store Tuesday that she has never encountered anything objectionable at the store but expressed surprise over its decision not to carry "The Last Promise." "I have other books of Richard Paul Evans. Seeing his new book out, I would probably come here looking for it and be disappointed that it wasn't here," Gilbreath said. The new policy may pose future dilemmas over what to pull off shelves. Currently, one-third of Deseret Book's inventory is made up of products from national publishers, including reference books like "Frommer's France 2003," which includes places gays and lesbians would be comfortable visiting. "I don't think we have gotten to that category of books yet," Dew said. "We'll probably have to look at that, because that is the kind of thing that potentially could offend a lot of customers." - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 20 Nov 2002 20:37:12 -0500 From: "Walters, Isaac" Subject: RE: [AML] New Age Mormons? - -----Original Message----- Margaret Young wrote: Isaac, are you the guy who did the amazing adaptation of C.S. Lewis's _The Great Divorce_ in BYU's Nelke theater? The guy who helped shape up _Dear Stone_ in the WDA workshop? If so, I'm so thrilled to have you join the list. And if not, gee, your post is great. Welcome. I'm suspecting you're the brilliant man I'm remembering, though. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ - --- I don't think I'm all that brilliant, but thank you for remembering me so kindly. Yes, I am the Isaac you're thinking of. If you're interested in more C.S. Lewis theatre, you should look for our production this next summer of "Till We Have Faces". I'm very nervous and very excited about it. I've been thinking about this ever since we did "The Great Divorce" at BYU. Thanks for the welcome. - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 20 Nov 2002 22:15:11 -0600 From: Jonathan Langford Subject: [AML] re: New DB Policy (comp 5) [MOD: This is a compilation post.] >From wwbrown@burgoyne.com Wed Nov 20 09:36:06 2002 I had another comment about Evans that got lost somewhere between submission and list, but before I leave the list for a few months to write B.C., (I must, you are just too interesting and time consuming to allow me the time I need to bury myself in the wonderful BRIGHAM CITY project) I just wanted to add one comment. Chris Bigelow cited Sheri Dew's stance: "It isn't an issue of good versus evil . . .That is a tension that makes for good reading and the best classics deal with it. Our concern is if a book makes immorality sympathetic." I think that's the key, all right. And I have a gut feeling Evans' book has a shade of Samuelsen's "emotional adultery" (as in PECULIARITIES) in it. Emotional adultery (or extreme shared comfort between people who really shouldn't be sharing extreme comfort) is not really righteous love. The woman should have been seeing a counselor or the bishop to tell her troubles to. I don't know because I haven't read the book. BUT I do want to say in parting I hope Des Book returns MY book GHOSTS OF THE OQUIRRHS to the shelves when they see after 80 more books are gone that I have dutifully fixed page 103. (I DID, I DID! I fixed that PAGE! But maybe I'm glad there are 400 of them still floating around. After all, my indiscretion got me on the "list" like my dear "twin" Margaret--and shouldn't we be twins on the black list together, just as twins should be? So I'm afraid in this case I am PROUD to be on the black list!) However, I still think that I'm calling a spade a spade in GHOSTS, and I'm hoping Des. Book will put it back on the shelves. It can't be all economic, because they have the rest of my books, and they don't sell either. (So that argument doesn't hold water.) GHOSTS is about OVERCOMING constant evil, and a "prophet" rising above the weight of unnatural odds by stepping into a crisis, sacrificing, and becoming a hero. (Someday somebody will get the connection between Brooker and his prophet counterparts.) Come on, Des Book. Put a "risky" book on your shelf--one that might reach Rocky Mountain readers (Cracroft says. . . "Establishes Marilyn Brown securely among the top Rocky Mountain writers of fiction"). Only, Des. Book, I won't feel bad if you wait until we get to the next printing. (Here's hoping the 80 books will SELL so we can get to it. If there are any readers out there who don't mind sacrificing themselves to some soft Mormon porn on pabe 103, so we can get to the next printing, then blessings on you!) Marilyn Brown - ------------------------------------------- [MOD: And another post from Marilyn...] >From wwbrown@burgoyne.com Wed Nov 20 10:49:40 2002 The point here is that the theme of the novel is faith, repentance, and forgiveness, not adultery. The adultery is merely the "inciting incident" as Marilyn Brown would describe it. Dorothy Peterson, this was a great comment, and I would definitely say in this novel of yours (which I have read and felt very good about giving an AML award to several years back), that you also call a spade a spade, and if that is the case, you can join the black list club. BLC (sounds a little bit like BLT, one of my favorite sandwiches!) Marilyn Brown - ------------------------------------------- >From rareyellow@yahoo.com Wed Nov 20 10:09:21 2002 > - --------------------------------------- > >From Chris.Bigelow@unicitynetwork.com Mon Nov 18 10:50:46 2002 > I think it would be > better to kill Deseret Book with kindness by continuing to review their > books with as much generosity as possible and to do things like > interview > Sheri Dew in the spring Irreantum, which, last I heard, she had agreed > to > participate in. I think our stance toward them should be, "Maybe you > know > something we don't; help thou our unbelief," and that way we can try to > keep > some doors of communication open that a condescending petition might > slam > shut. By considering and respecting their policies and products to the > highest degree possible without compromising our own integrity, maybe we > can > help them honor and respect some of our outlooks instead of circle the > wagons. > I agree with Chris. I think our stance should be that we want to foster, support and critique a diverse, vibrant, quality Mormon literature that reflects a spectrum of LDS experience and that we are interested in speaking to all sub-groups of the Mormon audience while at the same time encouraging all members (orthodox, liberal, etc.) of that audience to seek to understand the experience of others whose views and experiences differ from their own. I'm sure there will always be a large group of Mormon readers who reject anything that doesn't fit their narrow definition of faith-promoting, but I'm concerned about allowing their dichotomous brand of thinking to prevail by reinforcing that position with things like petitions. My hope (and suspicion---and its one that I know is shared by others on this list) is that there is a large segment of the Mormon audience that is not quite so rabid as the DB-focus groupers referred to in the article(s), but that is also somewhat uncomfortable with the inclusive point of view of most of those who view Mormon literature as a valid category. These are folks who are not interested in the more challenging work found on the Mormon cultural scene, who are a bit squeamish about sex and profanity and lost testimonies, but who can accept some of that stuff if the overall context seems 'faithful.' These are folks who may see 'God's Army' and read some Orson Scott Card, but probably wouldn't pick up Levi Peterson (sidenote: sorry to pick on Levi like this---but his name usually gets invoked in these circumstance and an alternative author isn't coming to mind at the moment). This audience (anybody have a catchy name for it?) is one that I think we shouldn't shut the door on. And I think we do that if Mormon literature is considered to *always* be equivalent to Signature Books and Sunstone. If we can establish Mormon literature more solidly as a valid category that encompasses a range of tastes and types, and, (perhaps more importantly) establish Mormon literature as a valid discourse for exploration of Mormon experience and theology (alongside the apologetics and self-help discourses) then we might be able to capture this audience and Mormon literature becomes a much healthier field. If not, the dichotomy prevails and Mormon literature gets defined by those who see it as a discourse in opposition to official LDS Church discourse. A side issue: Could the AML get funding for its own market research? Maybe from the NEA/NEH? ~~William Morris - ------------------------------------------ >From MADAIR@novell.com Wed Nov 20 14:52:52 2002 Seagull has decided not to carry Evans' book, either, which shouldn't be a = surprise because they tend to be even more conservative than DB. By = refusing to carry a popular title like Evans' book out of a misguided = sense of what their customers want, the bookstores are only hastening = their irrelevance. Market pressures are already squeezing them out. Book = buyers have a greater selection by buying online directly from the = publisher or through Amazon or B&N.com, and can frequently save money = besides. MBA - ----------------------------------------- >From LSWeber@aol.com Wed Nov 20 18:19:42 2002 After reading through several of the posts on the DB decision, I've been trying to decide which way I lean on the matter. I came to realize that I really don't care one way or the other what books DB publishes or sells. However, I do care that DB publishes and sells books at all. And this is why. Several years ago, before fundraising activitities by church organizations was stopped (except for the Scouts), our Elder's Quorum had a small bookstore--basically a glass-enclosed bookshelf in one of the halls in our building. We made enough money to fund our EQ socials and what not. Everything was fine until a family moved into the ward, who also happened to run their own bookstore out of their basement. Church policy was that a ward or ward organization could not operate a bookstore if someone in the ward owned and operated a private bookstore, whether out of their home or out of a storefront. We weren't allowed to compete against a private enterprise. At least, this is what I was told at the time. If someone knows any different, I'd be happy to hear it. We were in Ohio, so we didn't face the situation in the Intermountain West where it would be hard to find any locale without a privately owned "LDS" bookstore, so I don't know if the policy applied there or whether it was even an issue. Wards there probably had other more lucrative forms of fundraising. So, we shut down the bookstore. Nevermind that the family hardly did anything with their little business. I think they had a bookshelf in the basement with a few books. I don't remember them promoting it at all. The question I have is why couldn't our EQ bookstore compete with a private business, but the church through DB can? I've been a fledgling publisher for a few years now. We've put out three books and hope to put out more. We're starting small and hope to grow. Now, I can't hope to compete head to head with DB (and I'm talking more about the publishing buisiness, but the retail business applies as well). But why is the church in the book publishing and retail business at all? Surely, there are enough private publishers and retailers out there that the church is competing against. It may have made sense 60 years ago for the church to provide a publishing and retail business to get church-related materials to members. But why still? Why isn't the logic that was used to shut down our little EQ store, used to shut down DB? I would be the first to admit that the church should publish works written by the General Authorities. That makes perfect sense to me. I never understood why many GAs published through Bookcraft, or alternately published through DB and Bookcraft. It would seem to make the most sense that they publish soley through DB. But, after that, why is it the Church's business to publish fiction or even theological material written by a non GA, let alone other forms of nonfiction? Why in the world should DB sell a copy of _Chicken Soup for the Soul_ when there are plenty of privately owned businesses that sell it? This apparent double standard has kind of always annoyed me deep down. The church has over the years divested themselves of several businesses, such as the LDS hospital and more recently, ZCMI. It's high time they did the same with DB, except for publishing and selling material written by the General Authorities. That's why I don't care that they choose not to sell Rick Evans' book. I'll be happy when they choose not to sell the other 249,700 titles in their catalog, leaving about 300 for the General Authorities. That should be enough shouldn't it? Lloyd the Lurker [Lloyd Weber] - ------------------------------------------ >From Jacob@proffitt.com Wed Nov 20 19:47:33 2002 - ---Original Message From: Eric Samuelsen > > Let me paraphrase the policy as I understand it: [snip] I don't know the reasons for the policy, though my guess wouldn't be any of the above. When I first read Sherri Dew's statement, my immediate thought was that it wasn't possible to uphold that policy as stated and we'll have to see what it turns into in practice. Frankly, it looks to me like they'll have to indulge in selective enforcement. What I figure to be important, though, is how we react to the news. Petitions and boycotts are all well and good, but all that will do is upset the upsettable and alienate the alienatable--and it won't touch DB. To me, I read the statement and got excited about the opening they've just made for competitors. They just differentiated themselves out of a market. *AND* tied it to *Richard* *Evans*--who, whatever his talents, already has a following and reputation as harmless and bland. If I were an LDS Bookstore, I'd be whooping with joy. I'd hit every customer in my database with a flyer touting the new Evans book with a banner reading "Not available at Deseret Book!" I'd probably pop a bit of a review as well to further differentiate. We've griped here about DB being the 900 lbs. Gorilla and that's true enough. And there's a certain conservatism in regards to LDS fiction that makes people wary of sources. Thing is, if DB holds to this new policy for any length of time, then they've crossed an important line and opened some room for others to be faithful without being so ultra orthodox. I know that I have new interest in DB competitors, now. Jacob Proffitt - ----------------------------------------- - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 20 Nov 2002 20:53:50 -0600 From: lajackson@juno.com Subject: [AML] Re: New Hymns, New DB Policy, and New Wine in Old Handbooks Jerry Tyner: ... I think some rules are hold overs. Like the one my old Stake President said about not having marital relations on Fast Sunday. Where is that in the Handbook of Instructions? Larry Jackson: My old stake president (who was an orthodontist, by profession) once said that it was ok to brush your teeth on Fast Sunday as long as you didn't swallow the toothpaste. Neither his advice, nor your stake president's, ever found its way into the Church Handbook of Instructions. Thom Duncan wonders if DB will continue to stock the Bible (Lot's daughters) and: What about Church History, specifically, volume 7 where John Taylor mentions that he and the others in the jail prior to Joseph's martyrdom knocked back a couple of brewski's an hour or so before the mob arrived. Rebecca Talley: PS I'm interested to know the exact location in Vol. 7 of the brewski party that John Taylor had just prior to the martyrdom. Larry Jackson: Joseph, Hyrum, and others were in Carthage Jail. The mob was assembling and was not permitting those who left on various errands to return. This is John Taylor's account. _History of the Church_, vol. 7, p. 101-102. Begin quote. Sometime after dinner we sent for some wine. It has been reported by some that this was taken as a sacrament. It was no such thing; our spirits were generally dull and heavy, and it was sent for to revive us. I think it was Captain Jones who went after it, but they would not suffer him to return. I believe we all drank of the wine, and gave some to one or two of the prison guards. We all of us felt unusually dull and languid, with a remarkable depression of spirits. In consonance with those feelings I sang a song, that had lately been introduced into Nauvoo, entitled, "A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief", etc. The song is pathetic, and the tune quite plaintive, and was very much in accordance with our feelings at the time for our spirits were all depressed, dull and gloomy and surcharged with indefinite ominous forebodings. After a lapse of some time, Brother Hyrum requested me again to sing that song. I replied, "Brother Hyrum, I do not feel like singing;" when he remarked, "Oh, never mind; commence singing, and you will get the spirit of it." At his request I did so. Soon afterwards I was sitting at one of the front windows of the jail, when I saw a number of men, with painted faces, coming around the corner of the jail, and aiming towards the stairs. End quote. Willard Richards wrote, "Joseph and Hyrum are dead. Taylor wounded, not very badly. I am well." (p. 110) Larry Jackson lajackson@juno.com ________________________________________________________________ Sign Up for Juno Platinum Internet Access Today Only $9.95 per month! Visit www.juno.com - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 20 Nov 2002 20:38:58 -0800 From: Jeffrey Needle Subject: Re: [AML] Newest Deseret News spin on Deseret Book If the book is so offensive, then why will Deseret Book even consider special-ordering it? I don't get it. It's not as if there's a shortage of book stores. And there's always the internet. > However, Deseret Book, which has sold more than $2 million worth of >Evans' other products, will special-order the book for customers who request >it, Dew said. - ------------------ Jeffrey Needle jeff.needle@general.com or jeffneedle@tns.net - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 20 Nov 2002 14:29:50 -0700 From: Christopher Bigelow Subject: [AML] Help with Mormon Marketing Rationale? Here's a message I recently received from my agent about my missionary memoir proposal, followed by some material I wanted to get some input about: <<< Harper SF is VERY interested in the proposal, but will not have an answer (unless it's a negative one) before the first week in December. Between meetings and Thanksgiving, the bigwigs are out of the office and your champion can't get it through before then. It's at the stage of 'first reads' and if they pass it, it will go to the editorial board. She was a bit concerned that Heather was too prominent in the story, but I assured her you were open to editorial direction... Here are the questions she's been asked: will Mormons buy this - and why? How big is the Mormon population outside of Utah? I told her I'd assemble more marketing info, which in the end may push them one way or the other. (also told her about Mitt Romney, which shocked her...) So, if in the next week or so you can send more Mormon-marketing info, I'll send it along. She and I agree that it seems like a good match and I want to give her as much information as possible. >>> Following is the info I've pulled together for her. I'm a little uncomfortable if they're thinking of it mainly for the Mormon market, because I think it would bug most orthodox Mormons. Nevertheless, does anyone have any comments or suggestions before I send this off? There are 5.2 million members of the LDS Church in the United States, 70 percent of whom (3.6 million) live outside the state of Utah. Mormons have long been accustomed to receiving their faith-related culture through official and semi-official channels. As a result, the culture has a pent-up demand for more frank, realistic, challenging expressions than the LDS Church and its satellite propaganda machines seem willing or able to produce. Mormons are hungry for more authentic stories about their own experience. One of the main indicators of this untapped market is the recent explosion of independent Mormon cinema. This movement started in 2000 with God's Army, an out-of-left-field comedy-drama about Mormon missionaries in Los Angeles. The film made an initial splash in Utah and quickly spread nationwide, with box-office grosses totaling nearly $3 million and similar success in video/DVD. Although Mormons comprise the film's primary audience, much of its success can be attributed to members of other faiths or no faith who are curious about the Mormon experience, including several national reviewers who praised the film. Two subsequent Mormon indie films have already exceeded the box office of God's Army, and many more are in the pipeline. With enough publishing muscle, a similar phenomenon could happen with independent-minded Mormon books. Another illustration of the strength and depth of the Mormon market is the LDS Booksellers Association. Annual sales for the LDSBA's 250 retailers exceed $100 million. Following are some examples of successful titles: 360,000 copies of Gordon B. Hinckley's inspirational book Stand a Little Taller (Random House), more than 100,000 copies apiece of Gerald Lund's novel Come unto Me (Deseret Book) and Sheri Dew's devotional memoir No Doubt About It (Deseret Book), two million copies of Gerald Lund's nine-volume Work and the Glory historical fiction series (Deseret Book), 400,000 copies of Dean Hughes's five-volume Children of the Promise series (Deseret Book), and 500,000 copies of Chris Heimerdinger's seven-volume Tennis Shoes Among the Nephites series (Covenant). Notwithstanding the foregoing, I want to reiterate that my primary audience in conceiving this memoir has been mainstream readers curious to find out what Mormonism is like from an insider who is trying neither to prove nor disprove the religion. In addition to Mormon readers, I hope the book would be embraced by an audience that overlaps considerably with that of another HarperSanFrancisco title, Mormon America: The Power and the Promise, by Richard and Joan Ostling. Chris Bigelow - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 20 Nov 2002 15:22:43 -0800 From: "Jerry Tyner" Subject: RE: [AML] New Age Mormons? Barbara Hume wrote: But I've also found much that has given me peace from sources not = obviously connected with the Church. God gave me a son, whom I raised = by myself, and he is now a physical therapist who=20 helped me recently when I blew out my knee. That sounds as though it = could have happened anyway --- my son is naturally geared toward = helping people -- but without the Church I might not have been able to = bring him up as I did. When I first investigated the Church, I loved the fact that they were = accepting of all the gifts available to people, whether or not they = come through the formal structure of the LDS establishment. Paris Anderson wrote: >I've been very disappointed in the Church over the last year, because = there >never are results. With Ch'i Gung the results are dramatic. That's = hard >for me to understand, because I know the Church is true and it is the >Kingdom of God. So what gives? Does that mean you might find answers = in >the Church, but if you need results--go somewhere else? That's what >experience teaches me. I like many of the discussions here but especially the things Paris and = Barbara (and many others) have written. I'm very careful about how and = with whom I share this stuff referred to as New Age since in my = experience even long time members can be a little weird about the = unexplained (in their eyes) things that happen with it (i.e. Barbara's = comment about the Church being accepting of all gifts).=20 Some interesting things have been taking place in my life and my family. = For a literary tie-in I have been working on a book which deals with my = Social Anxiety Disorder and my mission. As my wife has written we joined = a yoga center around March/April of this year called the Dahn Center. = Most of what they teach is exercise but some of it deals with healing = chakras and learning how to assist others in their own healing. Last = weekend I and a friend went through a program they call "Shim Sung - = Self-Rediscovery". It pushes you to the limit of many of your personal = boundaries (especially shy or reserved people). I even consciously had = not taken my anxiety medication that weekend so I would go through it = with "no crutches" (I have not taken it since then, either). It was a = day and a half (Saturday from 2 to 7 and Sunday from 9 AM to 7:30 PM) = and there were 43 people who were participating from as far away as Las = Vegas (they spelled it Lasvegas on the name tags - very funny = considering most of the students were English speaking and the = instructors were Koreans with a few staff who were English = speaking/Americans). Because some of you may want to search this program = out and take it I can't talk about the exercises but I will tell one = thing special that happened there (is anyone is offended by this story I = am sorry but it is very personal and is a story which gives peace). I = will indent the story to separate it from comments at the end: I have struggled most of my life to understand why certain sibling(s) = seemed to be favored over others in my family. While I was in a very = intense part of the training Sunday I had a personal revelation. As an = infant/young child (three years and under) I almost died twice due to = digestive problems. The second time was so close the doctor called my = parents and told them if they wanted to see me alive they had to come = to the hospital that night to stay with me because I would be dead by = morning. Nothing the current medical science could do would save me. In = my vision my mother went to the hospital and my father stayed at home = with my brother and sister (both younger than me and under two). My = mother held me and rocked me all night. The incident she told me about = as a young man happened that night where I came out of my coma long = enough to see her crying and told her: "Don't cry, Mommy. Jesus will = take care of me." And then I lapsed back into the coma. I also saw my = father at home pacing the floor and periodically taking my brother and = sister from their cribs and rocking them. He too was crying. I saw into = his mind and realized the pain he was enduring that he was going to lose = his first born son. In order to shield himself from that overwhelming = grief (and I'm sure to try and be strong for his dear wife) he = transferred his love to one of my siblings. He never realized it and = didn't know it happened so he never thought about transferring his love = back to me. In addition he had been told if I did survive I would = probably be very sickly (which I was through most of my youth - = definitely slowed my physical growth - reached physical strength = maturity in my sophomore year of college) and could sustain some brain = damage due to the high fevers (which didn't happen - but some could = argue the other way ;->). In that moment I gained an understanding of = my father, a forgiveness of what happened (perceived to have happened), = a greater love for my father and my mother as well as a new love for my = siblings. Many will say: "Well wasn't this just and answer to prayers said long = ago?" Yeah, in a way. Or: "Are you really sure this is true?" It felt = awfully real to me!=20 But the real point here is now I REALLY understand how Enos felt in the = Book of Mormon when he said he wrestled in the Spirit and even raised = his voice to the heavens all the day long and into the night. The only = difference was this was in a group setting and each of us individually = received a personal message for our own life. The Gospel is true but sometimes we have to get the answer/individual = instructions on how to get it done from outside the "Mormon Norm" and in = that this "New Age" thing is not only enlightening but really, really = helpful. 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 ------------------------------ End of aml-list-digest V1 #903 ******************************