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Author Laurence Moore said:
Mormons invented themselves just as other religious and ethnic groups invented themselves. But Mormons did so in such a singularly impressive way that we will probably always remain baffled as to how exactly it happened.
Discuss.
Alison Moore Smith is a 61-year-old entrepreneur who graduated from BYU in 1987. She has been (very happily) married to Samuel M. Smith for 40 years. They are parents of six incredible children and grandparents to two astounding grandsons. She is the author of The 7 Success Habits of Homeschoolers.
I have always been a fan of Laurence Moore and, while I take umbridge with the idea that religions, as a whole, are “invented”, I appreciate his understanding that we Latter-day Saints are “singularly impressive.” The real cruix of the matter is that the LDS faith traditions had the audacity to take the “Christian myths” of 1800 years earlier and assume they could be replicated in modern times. It is impressive that such beliefes as visions, angels and Divine scripture would be perpetuated in the age of reason. Yet, here we are.
Gilgamesh, my thoughts exactly. And it’s not quite so baffling if you’re a believer, is it? 🙂
honestly, I feel like I need context. I don’t understand what he is talking about.
At the same time, I think, we all do a little inventing ourselves every time we put on our nice clothes and best behavior and go out in public. 😉
jennycherie: Thanks for that!
I had a conversation recently that resonated with me. This person was relating how grateful he was that he got to have a deeper conversation with me and get to know me better. He ended with, “We are all so disconnected in the church. We know our church selves, but rarely do we really know each other.”
The more I learn about Joseph Smith, the more I wish I could really know him.
anon-“Information and interpretation that might appear to be mildly hostile, imbalanced, or “not quite right” to some Mormons may have the unexpected effect of producing sympathy among non-Mormons who come at the subject with differing points of view.”While insightful, your comment makes the same assumptions others have made: that Mormons are going to evaluate this movie in terms of it’s evangelical potential. I happen to know that in some cases you’re right. In my parents ward a Catholic couple came to church yesterday because they were convinced the documentary had been heavily anti-Mormon and wanted to see the truth for themselves. So in the sense “is this a good proselyting tool?” you have a point.But I’m not criticizing the film from that perspective. I’m not treating it as a proselyting tool, but as what it is: a documentary. It is as a documentary that I believe the film fails.