From: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com (aml-list-digest) To: aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: aml-list-digest V1 #694 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 Tuesday, April 30 2002 Volume 01 : Number 694 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 26 Apr 2002 13:02:06 -0700 From: "Jeff Needle" Subject: [AML] JOHANSON, _What Is Mormonism All About?_ (Review) Review ====== Title: What Is Mormonism All About? Author: W.F. Walker Johanson Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin Year Published: 2002 Number of Pages: 224 Binding: Quality Paperback ISBN: 0-312-28962-6 Price: $12.95 Reviewed by Jeffrey Needle The recent Salt Lake Olympics presented the Church with a unique opportunity to show the world how Mormonism has grown from a provincial American sect to a dynamic world religion. Anyone with access to a television could see first-hand the Mormon state in action. And, if press reports are to be believed, they were impressed! The First Presidency of the Church had announced that missionary efforts among the Olympic visitors would be curtailed. But this didn't stop the anti-Mormons from hitting the streets with their publications and persuasion. I don't know that their impact was great; very little anecdotal evidence has arisen that their efforts were very effective. "What is Mormonism All About?" was written by Johanson to address the world audience that would be focused on Salt Lake City, attempting to explain Mormonism in a simple, catechetical method. In question and answer format, Johanson offers "answers to the 150 most commonly asked questions about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" (from the cover). Sounds like a good idea? It is indeed a fine idea. But how well does Johanson accomplish his task? The results, I fear, are mixed. Let me begin by saying that the author frequently asks the right questions. These questions are clustered into broad topics: "Are Mormons Christians?", "Polygamy and Other Curious Facts About Mormonism", "Women's Issues," etc. Assuming that many will not read the book from cover to cover, Johanson overlaps some material from chapter to chapter, providing for some repetition (allowable in this kind of book, in my opinion). When reading such books, I always ask myself two questions: 1) Does the author understand his religion? 2) Does the author understand other religions? I ask the second question because, inevitably, a comparison of Mormon belief with other belief systems becomes part of the apologetic. Addressing the second question first, it seems that Johanson holds to some curious ideas about Christian history. His biography states that he was "raised in the Presbyterian, Congregationalist, and Methodist traditions." This seems to cover many of the bases of modern Protestantism. And yet, his grasp of Protestant history is skewed by popular misconceptions: At the time of Christ, the people in the area around Jerusalem were mostly Palestinians, Romans, or Jews, and those who followed Christ were labelled Christians. Several hundred years after the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus (and the death of the Apostles), the Catholic Church was formed, claiming that it represented the continuation of the Christian faith. The word Catholic in Latin means "universal," so it claimed to represent the universal Christian Church. Aside from other splits that had occurred, the Catholic Church was "the Church" in Western Europe until the time of Martin Luther, who was a Catholic who split away from the Church and formed his own version of Christianity, which came to be called Lutheranism. This was the beginning of the reform movement in Christianity, now called the Reformation. Soon others also began to split off from the Catholic Church, and they were all called Protestant denominations, because they "protested" the accuracy and correctness of the Catholic Church, as representing Christ's true church. So all subsequent Christian faiths were considered to be Protestant, as opposed to Catholic. (p. 1,2) One can only cringe at this reading of Christian history. Luther never established a church (page 28 makes it clear that he believes that Luther "proceeded to establish his own church"). Not all subsequent splits were Protestant -- this dismisses such movements as the Anabaptists, etc. And his last statement above neglects the entire Anglican phenomenon, which considers itself both Catholic and Protestant, a "via media," a "middle way" between the two traditions. But as to his understanding of Mormonism, he seems to have a fair grasp of his subject matter. His bio states that he is "president of the National Institute for Organizational Research, an expert in higher-education marketing, and an accomplished marketing strategist, writer, and public speaker." (back cover) It should not be surprising that the book should have a marketing bent to it, putting forward the best possible face. In some cases, however, he goes a bit too far. Consider his take on Mormon families: For those who know a lot of Mormons, or live in communities where there are large Mormon populations, they realize that Mormons lead a very "Leave-It-To-Beaver, Father-Knows-Best, Ozzie-And Harriet" kind of existence. And for those who feel that no one actually lived like the families in those TV sitcoms, they must not know many Mormons, because that's the norm among most Mormon families. (p. 42) Is this really true? I know a lot of Mormons, and in many cases, it's difficult for me to draw straight lines between these families and the Cleavers. Substantial documentation of troubles within Mormon families makes it clear that such problems do indeed exist. To claim otherwise seems false to me, and paints more of a public relations picture than an accurate view. >From time to time, Johanson asks questions which are simply inaccurate: Why do we hear about anti-Mormons, but not about anti-Methodists, or anti-Lutherans, or anti-Catholics, or anti-other groups? (p. 70) To pretend that Mormons are the only group with enemies is absurd. Anti-Catholicism is deeply entrenched in American religious life. I have no doubt there are as many anti-Catholic ministries as there are anti-Mormon groups. And what about anti-Jehovah's Witnesses? The list could go on. Later in the book: Most religions are pretty vague, or claim that it's a mystery, about what the ultimate Plan of Salvation is. Do Mormons have some particular explanation of Christ's Plan of Salvation? (p. 153) This is simply inaccurate. "Most religions" have a perfectly clear explanation of their view of the Plan of Salvation. They have written voluminously on this subject, and to present their views as "vague" simply misstates the case. And so it goes, throughout the book, we find bumps and swerves that range from the imaginative to the wrong-headed. To be fair, there is a lot of good material in the book. The bumps are there, but they fall between some solid material. The irony is that it takes a person familiar with Mormonism, and with wider Christianity, to sort the good from the bad, and this is precisely *not* the audience to which this book is addressed. When this book is factually accurate, it does a very fine job of answering the reader's questions. An entire section on Mormon practice (including baptism, confirmation, the celebration of holidays, etc.) is nicely done. The answers are straightforward and accurate. In one instance, he presents a very sympathetic view of Mormonism's diverse population: Are Mormons really this good? Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are a cross-section of every possible kind of person you can imagine. Are they perfect? Of course not. Are they sinless? Of course not. But most are sincerely trying to get better, little by little, day by day. They try to be honest. They try to be charitable. They try to be friendly and helpful... So are Mormons really as good as they're often portrayed? Sometimes yes, and sometimes no. (p. 108) This book would have been well-served by a careful reader who could have directed the author into a clearer explanation of the Mormon faith. There is always a need for such books. As Mormonism continues to grow in both numbers and influence, there will inevitably be those who will inquire about the faith. I hope the next effort will be better than this book. - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 30 Apr 2002 14:28:17 -0500 From: Jonathan Langford Subject: [AML] Moderator Apology Folks, Apologies for yesterday. Between a strange schedule and problems with my Internet connection, very little went out over AML-List. I shall endeavor to do better today... [Note: This message will not count toward the day's total of 30.] Jonathan Langford AML-List Moderator - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 26 Apr 2002 15:18:29 -0600 From: "Steve" Subject: Re: [AML] Competitive Righteousness on 4/25/02 4:23 PM, Gae Lyn Henderson at gaelyn@mstar2.net wrote: > I planted my peas in April (me). Oh. Well, MY wife always plants hers mid-way through March. ;-) Steve - -- skperry@mac.com - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 26 Apr 2002 14:52:51 -0600 From: "Mary Jane Jones" Subject: RE: [AML] Money and Art I haven't been following this thread from the beginning, but I want to = chime in with two points: 1) patronship is not dead and 2) my take on the = differences between Europe and the US where arts funding is concerned. Patronship is certainly not dead in America. Almost all of the major = symphony orchestras in the United States survive primarily because of = patrons. I'm not just talking about season ticket holders either. Here = are a few examples: The San Diego Symphony recently received a gift of $100 million dollars = from Irwin Jacobs, who founded Qualcomm. It is the largest single gift = ever given to a symphony by a single donor. =20 Here in Charleston, the symphony my husband conducts was in grave danger = of going under until an anonymous donor wrote a check for $1 million with = a promise for another $500,000 if the board could raise a matching = $500,000. For a symphony with an annual $2 million budget, that was an = incredibly significant gift. =20 A $40 million grant awarded to the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra last year = by the family of Andrew Taylor, Enterprise Rent-a-Car's chief executive.=20= In 1996, Carnival Corp. founder Ted Arison donated nearly $40 million in = shares to Miami's New World Symphony, and there are thousands of other = examples around the country.... And now, my take on the comparison of US and Western European arts = organizations. (This argument may apply more to symphonic music and opera = than other forms of art, but that is the genre I'm most familiar with). I = think that a bigger part of the reason why the arts flourish more in small = western European towns has less to do with the source of funding and more = to do with the overall attitudes of the general population towards art. = 99% of the repertoire in symphonic music and opera has its roots in = Europe. Culturally, the people there are much more closely tied to the = reportoire than people in the US. The study of that art is much more = prevalent in schools, families go to the symphony together instead of = going to movies, etc... It's just seems more relevant to everyday life = there, because it's where that art was born and has lived. It's easier to = understand Mozart if you've seen Salzburg. Sibelius makes a lot more = sense if you understand Finnish culture. I'm not saying that you can't = appreciate that music if you aren't familiar with the culture, but that = your appreciation can double and triple when you start to recognize and = identify with what's going on underneath. I think European government funding for the arts is simply a reflection of = the fact that the people are culturally tied to the art. (And for what = it's worth, Europeans pay extraordinarily high taxes.) I think we could = replicate arts funding in America (maybe not through government, but = through corporations) if the same kind of cultural bond or cultural = relevance could be established between the population and the art form. = Fundamentally, I think it is a question of education. If youth today are = able to forge a connection with a particular art form, when they grow up = and own multi-national corporations they may feel the desire to support = that art form. As an art form, movies certainly haven't had any trouble finding financial = support. That's because the medium is relevant to the culture. Let's = face it--in America we have a culture that needs visual stimluation. = (That's another part of why I think symphonies are suffering--they don't = play up the visual aspect of the experience nearly enough--but that's = another discussion.) My husband and I talk about this last issue a lot. His symphony has seen = financial trouble, and every season we watch the numbers dwindle as the = audience for symphonic music dies off--literally. He struggles to find = ways of making the music that he loves so much relevant to everyday = American life in order to attract new audiences. That's why American = orchestras have Pops series while European orchestras shudder at the = idea--it's a way of making symphonic music relevant. Maybe it's a losing = battle, but it's one he has sworn to fight his entire life. (If European = symphonic music can speak to him, raised Buddhist in Thailand, surely it = can speak to children in American homes....) Mary Jane (Jones) Ungrangsee - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 26 Apr 2002 16:01:24 -0600 From: "Jacob Proffitt" Subject: RE: [AML] Mormon Environmentalism [MOD: A reminder here that discussion of specific environmental issues really is off-topic for AML-List. The only reason I am allowing this post is the tie-in Jacob makes to the original question about LDS attitudes toward environmentalism. Please, if you want to respond, make sure to include a significant focus on this element or some other part of the question that relates to Mormon letters.] - ---Original Message From: Jana Pawlowski > I keep thinking of the comment reported by the AML-lister of > the LDS person who didn't believe in environmentalism because > the scriptures say there is "enough and to spare". I think > the scriptures also speak of the abuse of the corporate > conglommerates, etc. in the last days (maybe?), They do? Where? I don't think I've ever seen the phrase corporate conglomerates in the scriptures. Are you saying that corporate conglomerates are equal to secret combinations? The key to secret combinations is Cain's secret--getting what you want by murder. I'd have a hard time laying that charge against corporate conglomerates. Even if you broaden the definition of secret combination to mean employing force to get what you want, we live in a free country where all consumer transactions are entered into by choice on all sides. > Anyway, if anyone in Utah is interested, there is > one last chance to speak against N-Waste storage in Tooele. > There is a hearing at Tooele High, 240 W. 100 South from 3:30 > to 5:30 PM and 7:00 to 9:30 PM ..............TODAY. Sorry > for the short notice, but it hasn't been well publicized. > You can read more about it here. > http://www.sltrib.com/04262002/utah/731619.htm > > Just > participating in something like this would provide fodder for > writing (Think of Kirby at the Legislature) about Mormon > issues in relation to social topics, whether you're for or agin' it. Why would I want to speak against nuclear waste storage in Tooele? I'd rather nuclear waste was disposed of properly and at a price agreed upon by those who supposedly control their land than that it just lie around a little longer. How is it "Environmental" to oppose nuclear waste storage? The tribe who supposedly holds sovereignty over that land has determined that they want it at that price and the proposed storage meets federal standards for nuclear waste disposal, so what's wrong with the whole deal? How do you justify stepping in and preventing willing participants from engaging in a legal transaction? How, exactly, does the proposed storage hurt you, me, or our Environment? Okay, the big, scary n-word is being flung around pretty prominently, but that doesn't justify this kind of call-to-arms. Which is what I, personally, dislike about so much "environmentalism". I can't get behind a movement that absolutely refuses any kind cost-benefit analysis, or that mobilizes against nuclear waste storage even as heavily regulated as that process currently is. Particularly when the protesters who show up at Tooele High aren't likely to bring proposals of where to put the stuff if not Tooele--they just don't want it here... I'm not about to make the argument that just because it is legal means that it is okay. But I'm not going to accept the argument that just because it is nuclear means that it is evil and must be stopped, either. I think that this is the core of LDS skepticism of environmentalism. We're practical. We don't scare easily. As a whole, we're not so interested in following a crowd as we are in being free to make choices based on our understanding of right and wrong. I know those are some pretty broad statements and they fly in the face of the lock-step stereotype so prevalent of Mormons. But I believe it is true, nevertheless. As a whole, we're hard to convince in secular matters. It's only when things become tied to our beliefs that we get worked-up about them. Jacob Proffitt - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 26 Apr 2002 17:52:55 -0600 From: "BJ Rowley" Subject: Re: [AML] Graffiti Art A friend of mine worked as an overnight security guard at the Provo Temple (this was a few years ago, while he attended BYU). The security shack was well stocked with paint, the color of the walls surrounding the temple grounds. Part of his duties included making the rounds every hour during the night. If he discovered graffiti on the walls, he was to paint over it immediately, so that the perpetrator's art would never see the light of day. I would assume that the temples in SLC and other places probably have similar routines. BJ Rowley Orem, Utah - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 26 Apr 2002 18:20:26 -0600 From: "Clark Goble" Subject: RE: [AML] Disney Morals? ___ Eric ___ | I see a ton of these things, and it's true; most Disney | children's flicks, the main motivator for the main characters | is sex. ___ Isn't the main motivator for real characters in real life also usually sex? Heavens, can you even have literature without a sexual theme coming through? And lets not deal with the old Grimms Fairy Tales. Even avoiding silliness like Freud sexualizing everything, it seems like sexuality is such a basic part of human experience that we ought to expect this sort of thing. Sure its not to the only thing going on. We also have friendship of a more platonic sort. So in _Toy Story_ the them isn't romantic relationship but instead the nature of Platonic relationship. However even in _Monsters Inc._ the romantic subplot raises its head as it does in _A Bugs Life_ as well. I think if you'll look, romance/sex is part of most narratives. Sure the Platonic relationship sometimes pops up as does the other theme of violence (man against man, man against nature, man against God). But generally most narratives combine at least two of these. For instance _Toy Story_ combines Platonic friendship with a variation of "man against God" in which the humans are sort of old Greek demi-Gods that need to be tricked or combated. I should add that I don't see anything wrong in this sex narrative in Disney. So long as it is done in innocence and ethically, it seems a great place to begin teaching relationships. Perhaps you have to worry a little about unrealistic ideals or stereotypes. For instance the archetype of Prince Charming kissing Sleeping Beauty to awaken her and live happily ever after isn't a great way to base ones life on. But if you recognize it as a kind of archetype that controls not only written narratives but the narrative of life we live, then it is a good thing. - -- Clark Goble --- clark@lextek.com ----------------------------- - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 26 Apr 2002 15:25:45 -0600 From: "Paris Anderson" Subject: Re: [AML] Money and Art What bothers me about us arguing about government funding of the arts is that no one is arguing about govenemnt funding of the military or the space program. No one questions the morality of the M1-A1 Abrams. I think it is a very elitest tank--as it destroys only that which it targets. We have no more right to scrutinize the NEA than we have to scrutize NASA. So what if they fund a few embarassing projects. Do they do any good? Paris Anderson - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 26 Apr 2002 16:37:26 -0600 From: "Thom Duncan" Subject: [AML] Utah Arts Grants To those not inclined to see the worth in state support of the arts, I offer the following list of grants offered by the Utah Arts Council to Salt Lake City alone. All worthy endeavors, as far as I can tell. Not a urine soaked cross among them. In our rage at what may appear to us to be unacceptable art, let's not forget that the vast majority of arts money goes to wonderful organizations that the vast majority of our citizens would be pleased with. We Mormon artists should be especially understanding of less-than-popular forms of arts, belonging like we do to a religion that only in this century had gained respectability. Maybe we should stop and consider, and then consider again, whether to condemn a sculpture or a painting, or a film where our first instinct is to condemn. Our religion was once offensive to most Americans, pretty much in the same category as gay marriages are considered today (only worse -- for whatever people are saying about gay marriages, I've heard no one suggest that gays not be allowed to vote). Maybe that piece of art we are offended by today could be tomorrow's David. If poets and prophets share the ability to view the larger society and report to the benighted masses the "truth" as they see it, let the consequences follow, then maybe we ought to at least listen before condemning. Some have complained about their taxes going to support art they don't like. Well, our "taxes" also go to support religions we may not agree with, in that the Church of Satan enjoys the same tax breaks that our religion does. ===== Salt Lake City Abramyan String Quartet, 3,600 Art Access/Very Special Arts Utah, 5,000 A.R.T.S., Incorporated, 2,000 Asian Association of Utah, 4,000 Ballet Folklorico de las Americas, 3,000 Ballet West, 99,800 Brolly Arts, 3,000 Canyonlands New Music Ensemble, 1,000 Chamber Music Society of Salt Lake City, 1,000 Children's Dance Theatre, 6,500 Children's Museum of Utah, 3,000 Choral Arts Society of Utah, 500 City Art, 3,500 Contemporary Music Consortium, 1,500 Dance Theatre Coalition, 1,000 Eastern Arts International Dance Theater, 1,500 Faith Temple Pentacostal Church, 1,000 Friends of Gilgal Garden, 1,500 Friends of Tracy Aviary, 2,000 Friendship Manor, 600 Gina Bachauer International Piano Foundation, 7,650 Golden Section, Inc., 3,000 Heart & Soul, 2,000 Human Pursuits: The Western Humanities Concern, 3,500 India Cultural Center, 1,000 Madeleine Arts and Humanities Program, 8,000 Mary Meigs Atwater Weavers Guild, 1,500 National Society of Arts & Letters/SLC Chapter, 1,000 NOVA Chamber Music Series, 2,750 Opus Chamber Orchestra, 2,500 Oratorio Society of Utah, 1,000 Pioneer Craft House, Inc., 4,000 Pioneer Theatre Company, 67,500 Plan-B Theater Company, 1,250 Repertory Dance Theatre, 51,200 Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company, 51,200 Salt Lake Acting Company, 14,000 Salt Lake Art Center, 24,375 Salt Lake City Arts Council, 12,500 Salt Lake City Public Library, 1,500 Salt Lake Ethnic Arts, 400 Salt Lake Symphony, 2,500 StageRight Theater Company, 1,200 Sundance Institute, 4,000 Sundance Theatre Program, 5,000 Trust Fund for the Utah Women Artists Exhibition, 800 University of Utah/Graduate School of Architecture, 1,450 University of Utah/Guest Writers Series, 1,000 University of Utah/Quarterly West Magazine, 4,000 University of Utah/Western Humanities Review Magazine, 3,000 Utah Arts Festival, 20,000 Utah Classical Guitar Society, 700 Utah District Metropolitan Opera Auditions, 750 Utah Film & Video Center, 16,000 Utah Museum of Fine Arts, 34,800 Utah Opera, 75,000 Utah State Poetry Society, 1000 Utah Symphony, 148,500 Utah Symphony Chorus, 5,000 Utah Watercolor Society, 2,000 Utah's Hogle Zoo, 1,500 Viva Voce!, 1,500 Wasatch Community Symphony Orchestra, 750 Wasatch Dance Collective, 1,000 Westminster College/Ellipsis Magazine, 1,800 Westminster College/Weeks Poetry Series, 2,000 Westminster College/Westminster Concert Series, 900 Writers at Work, 6,000 Young Artists Chamber Players, 900 - ---- Thom Duncan The Nauvoo Theatrical Society "Mormon artists exploring Mormon life through theatre" - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 26 Apr 2002 23:22:49 EDT From: Paynecabin@aol.com Subject: Re: [AML] Introductions: Kelly Thompson Kelly, Welcome. It's appropriate that you should stand up and be heard about now. 33 is when hobbits come of age. Marvin Payne __________________ Visit marvinpayne.com! __________________ "...come unto Christ, and lay hold upon every good gift..." (from the last page of the Book of Mormon) - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 26 Apr 2002 21:33:25 -0700 From: "Kim Madsen" Subject: RE: [AML] Disney Morals? Disney and sex? OK, I guess that's a male view, because for men, love means sex. From a female perspective, it's not about sex, but rather, love. For women, sex is given (eventually, according to a person's moral views) because they love. It's about the feelings first. So are you saying Disney movies are about lust? (My definition of sex without love). Your comments seems to indicate you find this a problem in Disney (or other?) movies? Most stories, told on film or the page focus around love (whether eros or agape), money/greed and power. I agree that the more "modern" movies have consequences of casual sex embedded in the plots (such as the biological mother/father...children conceived and born out of wedlock, etc.)and most of the audience doesn't even think about it, because that's the world we live in and have grown used to. But Disney being about sex? I disagree. Disney movies are mostly about love. It's a logical conclusion that love will probably lead to sex somewhere down the line, in the escalating ladder of human intimacy, but they don't exploit that. That's an adult take on things, not a childlike, innocent take on things. Of course people meet each other and fall in love. What greater motivator is there in stories? However, I do agree that although Disney has made leaps and bounds in making their female characters stronger, more proactive and intelligent, their physical bodies are still lingering in the realm of adolescent male fantasy land. I wonder how many of the lead animators, the ones who design the characters are men? As far as Hunchback of Notre Dam is concerned, I was amazed when Disney announced they'd make it into an animated film. It's a dark story, with the consequences of immoral choices woven into the plot. Yes, I'd agree that lust is a part of Hunchback, and that it had a sinister, multi-leveled presentation through Frolo's (sp?...the evil government official) song...something about "she will be mine or she will burn". I think that show resonated more with teens and adults than with children....children focused on the warm and fuzzy gargoyles. (Now THERE's an oxymoron.) But isn't it rather like the story in Luke 7:36-50 where Christ tries to gently teach the Pharisee about the nature of love and forgiveness? Because of the dark depths that some of the characters have sunk to in Hunchback, their redemption is deeply meaningful. Unfortunately, the world (Disney) only addresses this "redemption" in the nature of love...not looking to the author of it: our Savior. Kim Madsen - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 26 Apr 2002 23:34:45 EDT From: Paynecabin@aol.com Subject: Re: [AML] Disney Morals? Eric writes: << Sex drives the plots of nearly all Disney children's films. >> And all the Covenant Communications fiction. So I raise my hand to object, and then remember that, oh yeah, sex pretty much drives life. I think we're stuck with the driver. I think we need, as consumers and creators, to pay close attention to where it drives. Everybody watch for Steve Perry's and my choral celebration of the Family Proclamation, all about (you guessed it) sex. Marvin Payne __________________ Visit marvinpayne.com! __________________ "...come unto Christ, and lay hold upon every good gift..." (from the last page of the Book of Mormon) - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 26 Apr 2002 21:42:43 -0600 From: "Nan McCulloch" Subject: [AML] _Seeing the Elephant_ (Performance) So glad I didn't miss _Seeing the Elephant_ at The Salt Lake Acting = Company. I guess the Mormon connection was the stunning performance of = Anne Cullimore Decker. I remembered her from B.Y.U. What a = well-written play by J.T. Rogers. It was Oscar Wilde without the = English accent. Usually abstract theater with flashbacks leaves much of = the plays meaning obscured. Not so with this play. You leave the = theater having "seen the elephant." Every gem of thought was repeated, = so you couldn't miss it. The dialogue was brilliant. It was poetic, = provocative and moved at a lovely pace. Since I had read the reviews, = it was easier to endure the offensive language. It was an important = part of the play. I don't think it was gratuitous. The play explores = life and death and the meaning thereof. Hope all you playwrights beat = the April 28 closing. =20 [MOD: Sorry we couldn't get this announcement out earlier...] Nan McCulloch - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 26 Apr 2002 22:24:22 -0700 From: "Kim Madsen" Subject: [AML] re: Competitive Righteousness I had to laugh reading Gae Lyn's list, because the bizarre thought crossed my mind that if Martha Stewart were a Mo, she'd have said ALL those things...and because the only one I could claim--"hey, I did that too!"--was plant the peas in April. Here's My Light, Shining Forth: **I neglected some of my housework last week, but I read a book. **I spent $30 to send a batch of my son's favorites cookies to him (overnight, thank you very much)in Texas--a missionary birthday. I didn't really have the $30 to spend, but what the heck. **I got up every morning at 5:30 to teach aerobics to a group at the church...except Thursday when the alarm didn't go off and I left who-knows-how-many women shivering in the pre-dawn darkness. THEY got up at 5:30! Oops. **I spent many hours the past month helping the Special Needs Mutual rehearse for their big two day production. Then I skipped out on the opening night because my husband surprised me with Harry Connick, Jr. tickets. Hey, I have my priorities. (I made closing night at least.) **I neglected the laundry too, which meant my daughter had to wear dress pants instead of jeans one day to school. I wonder if she'll be scarred for life--but what the heck. **I ended up cleaning the bathroom in the nude one morning, because I took one look at the scum in the toilet bowl and couldn't take it any more. At least no one else was home at the time. **I didn't return a phone call to a friend who called to as for a favor, even though I don't know what the favor is, because I don't have time this week, between Special Needs Mutual, carting the Young Women around, helping my daughter with her yard (newly married and not knowing how to run a lawn mower...), helping a friend prepare food for 100+ (big family, missionary farewell this Sunday). Don't follow my light, or I may lead you off the path. But I'm happy--it works for me. Kim - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 27 Apr 2002 00:42:04 -0700 From: "Kathy Fowkes" Subject: [AML] Telling Our Stories Ideally, when a person shar= > es his or her story, he or she finds connection and validation on some le= > vel, with someone. To nurture one another along, I think that it is so im= > portant for us to be compassionate and patient as we all share our storie= > s. Kelly Thompson =20 You know, this reminded me of something personal that has affected in every way the manner in which I interact with others. I am always telling my story or pieces of it to someone, whether it be stranger or friend. It's, well, like watching a little 3 year old jumping around an adult's legs and saying, "look at me, pay attention to me, know me!" It's that last that is the strongest. Know me. And in that need to be known is a desire to be loved unconditionally. Why am I like this? Is it a weakness? Is it a strength? Did I come pre-pregrammed this way or did my environment provide the programming? I did everything and anything to obtain the unconditional love of my father, a man almost completely wrapped up in his own demons and trying to anesthetize the pain with copious amounts of alcohol. When my father told stories of his childhood or our heritage, people gathered around, enthralled by the tapestry he wove. It didn't seem to matter to anyone but those of us who were his children that the threads were as thin and fleeting as cotton candy, sweet to the taste but without any substance or truth. So even though he told stories, I still never came to know the true storyteller or the truth about my heritage. My sweet and incredibly wonderful mother gave of her love, and provided me with a stability for which my gratitude is beyond expression, but never gave of herself outside of the present. Her personal boundaries, or perhaps her form of self-preservation, prevented her from ever telling stories about her childhood and growing up years. I heard very few stories from my mother about her side of the family, except our family's pride in being Mayflower descendents. (You think Mormons have pride in their pioneer heritage? Well, my family can rival the best of the fifth generation Mormons in ancestral pride.) I often asked her to tell us about what it was like when she was a child, but she would just smile her Mona Lisa smile (which one of my twins has inherited) and change the subject. Her inability to share anything of her life with me pained me greatly as a child. Even very young, I felt strongly that if a person couldn't share their history with me, tell their stories, we would never be able to really love one another, because we didn't really know each other. On one particular day, when the pain seered my lungs and made it hard to breathe, because she had again rejected my offer to listen to her stories (which really was a plea to let me know who she was besides my mother), I made a conscious decision to be exactly the opposite of my mother in this. I grieved for her, and grieved for myself, because we would never be more than mother and daughter, reaching out with our hands and hearts, but never connecting as sisters and friends. I have been the opposite with my children. I tell them stories constantly, and they tell me their stories just as often. In fact, one of my sons takes it as a very personal rejection if I don't drop everything and hang on his every word. Gee, I wonder where he got that from? :-) Their stories are often boring and I have so many things I need to be doing, and I understand my mother's Mona Lisa smile far more these days than I did as a child. But frequently their stories leave me howling with laughter, or crying with them as they snuggle in my lap --even my teenage boys. Especially my teenage boys. One thing my children know. There probably won't be clean clothes or a clean floor, or even a clean cup when they want it, but Mom will listen to their stories, and will drop everything if it's one of the big ones, the kind that will leave gaping wounds. I never had that with my mother. She never heard those stories until I was an adult, more than two decades too late to keep the scars from becoming ugly and disfiguring. It was comforting, though, to know that had I trusted her, she would have listened to the horror stories I had needed to tell so many years before, and protected me the best she could. (I imagine I'll find out when *my* children are adults that the lack of clean clothes, clean cups, and a clean floor will end up being the source of their scars.) So I tell my stories to anyone who will listen, and now I'm attempting (struggling!!) to tell them all over again in a book, especially the stories that left the scars, and the stories that tell how a good many of those scars were finally healed. I have hope that others will, like Kelly said, find connection or validation by hearing my stories because their own are so similar. I also hold out hope that they will then discover that they can also write new stories of their own, ones of healing and becoming whole. I'm still that 3 year old desperate for attention. Absolutely. But I think that's not such a bad thing in someone who wants to tell stories. A weakness that becomes a strength in the right context. I'm a story-teller raised in a family that, in a peculiar manner, provided me with both a conviction that stories should be true, or true to life, and that not only should they be told and listened to with compassion and unconditional love, but that they are needed to make connection with one another, needed to come to know one another, and through them hopefully also come to know God either for the first time, or in a new way. Not a bad legacy, for someone who can't restrain herself from telling her stories and trying to connect with others. Thanks for listening! Kathy Fowkes - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ End of aml-list-digest V1 #694 ******************************