From: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com (aml-list-digest) To: aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: aml-list-digest V1 #968 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 Wednesday, February 5 2003 Volume 01 : Number 968 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 03 Feb 2003 20:32:05 -0700 (MST) From: Fred C Pinnegar Subject: RE: [AML] Nominations for AML Awards I was going to back out of this conversation with an =93excuse me,= =94 and =93pardon my rant about the dimensions of the AML awards,=94 but it seems that the= re is an ideological conflict between what the AML website says about the aims= of the AML and what Chris and Melissa say about it. Chris says: =93It=92s also VERY important to remember that the AML= =92s focus [is] on belletristic literature, not ALL written literature in Mormonism. To = remind myself again what that word means, I just looked it up and found = =93literature that is an end in itself and not merely informative.=94 My reply: First, the AML website says nothing about the organization being focu= sed on belletristic writing, and the term is not used there at all. In fact,= the first sentence there reads: =93By Mormon Letters We Mean. . . literature by= , for, and about Mormons and criticism of same. We mean essay, family history, autobiography, children=92s literature, sermon, and the literary dime= nsions of scripture. Or join the conversation and come up with your own definit= ion.=94=20 Second, the term =93belletristic=94 is anachronistic and nonsense as = a concept in literary criticism. The concept of =93fine writing=94 seems useful, b= ut Holman=92s Handbook to Literature tells us that the term is =93Now sometimes use= d to characterize light or artificial writing.=94 The definition from Webs= ter=92s Collegiate Dictionary which Chris offers as our standard, =93literatu= re that is an end in itself and not merely informative,=94 seems to be =93writing t= hat is about nothing.=94 LDS writing is intensely about informing, and we, as a pe= ople, are suspicious of artistry that is only about itself and does not have an= ything to say about life eternal. Third, for an organization which is focused, as Chris claims, on = =93belletristic literature,=94 we sure spend a lot of time talking about third rate m= ovies and books. I am OK with Melissa=92s explanation of why the awards are res= trictive in categories, but I will only go half way with the belle-lette idea. I = am interested in =93fine writing=94 =93by, for, and about Mormons=94 whe= re ever it is found, regardless of genre, including the walls of the bathroom stall= s.=20 Fred Pinnegar - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 03 Feb 2003 18:33:36 -0700 From: AML Subject: [AML] Corrected Preregistration Links Apparently the PayPal preregistration links in our earlier message about the AML's Mormon literature conference did not work. If you wish to preregister via PayPal, use one of the following links by Feb. 14. (If by some misfortune these links also don't work, reply to this e-mail and we'll send you the links directly.) GENERAL PUBLIC Conference only, no luncheon ($15) https://www.paypal.com/xclick/business=irreantum2%40cs.com&undefined_quantity=1&item_name=General+public+Sat.+conf.+%28no+lunch%29&amount=15.00&cy_code=USD Conference and luncheon ($30) https://www.paypal.com/xclick/business=irreantum2%40cs.com&undefined_quantity=1&item_name=General+public+Sat.+conf.+%28with+lunch%29&amount=30.00&cy_code=USD AML MEMBERS Conference only, no luncheon ($10) https://www.paypal.com/xclick/business=irreantum2%40cs.com&undefined_quantity=1&item_name=AML+member+Sat.+conf.+%28no+lunch%29&amount=10.00&cy_code=USD Conference and luncheon ($25) https://www.paypal.com/xclick/business=irreantum2%40cs.com&undefined_quantity=1&item_name=AML+member+Sat.+conf.+%28with+lunch%29&amount=25.00&cy_code=USD FULL-TIME STUDENTS (No preregistration or fee required for attending conference.) Luncheon for full-time students ($15) https://www.paypal.com/xclick/business=irreantum2%40cs.com&undefined_quantity=1&item_name=Full-time+student+Sat.+lunch&amount=15.00&cy_code=USD For complete info about the conference, visit http://www.aml-online.org. If you have any problems or questions, contact us at irreantum2@cs.com. ==================================================================== Update your profile here: http://topica.email-publisher.com/survey/?a84D2W.batlYA.YW1sLWxp Unsubscribe here: http://topica.email-publisher.com/survey/?a84D2W.batlYA.YW1sLWxp.u Delivered by Topica Email Publisher, http://topica.email-publisher.com/ - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 03 Feb 2003 19:31:11 -0700 From: Barbara Hume Subject: Re: [AML] Disappointing People At 07:36 AM 1/31/03 -0800, you wrote: >. I was just >trying to juxtapose two incompatible concepts to create a comic effect. >There are some disappointed people out there who now think I'm a religious >bigot. Well, _I_ thought it was funny. barbara hume - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 3 Feb 2003 21:48:28 -0700 From: "Jacob Proffitt" Subject: RE: [AML] Unity and Community - ---Original Message From: D. Michael Martindale > Jacob Proffitt wrote: >=20 > > As a wildcard, though, you can toss out a lot of the above=20 > if you have=20 > > a respected authority that can resolve disputes (and has=20 > the desire to=20 > > do so). If there is a refuge of final appeal that all agree has=20 > > absolute authority, then you can suffer any number of schisms and=20 > > factional strife secure in the knowledge that if it were=20 > strong enough=20 > > and important enough then this authority would step in to=20 > resolve the=20 > > conflict. I'd hate to use this deus ex machina in a=20 > fictional work,=20 > > though, because God (the only authority that could actually=20 > unify the=20 > > majority of Mormons) doesn't seem much interested in solving our=20 > > problems for us. >=20 > But isn't that the ultimate indicator that the "appeal to=20 > authority" approach is not the desirable one, if God avoids=20 > it so completely? Appealing to authority never taught anyone=20 > love or compassion or patience or nonjudgmentalism. It just=20 > creates winners and losers and submission. Well, that's how I read it, but I'm open to other interpretations. It = could be that we're not mature enough to handle the availability of God's authoritorial intervention... Jacob Proffitt - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 04 Feb 2003 01:14:18 -0700 From: "Morgan Adair" Subject: Re: [AML] Black History Fireside >>> OmahaMom@aol.com 1/30/2003 5:51:21 PM >>> > >But whatever, it's time to get over it. How can >we make a better future if we continue to flaunt the past as if it were the >present and wear a chip on our shoulder because someone was mean to our gr >granddad, or to us or whatever/whoever? At some point in time, we have to >get over it and move on. If only it were so easy. As Faulkner said, "the past is not dead; it is not even past." Men we believe to be prophets and apostles, God's representatives on earth, said things about race that we would prefer were forgotten. For example, Brigham Young taught that slavery was a divine institution, and that abolitionists and the Civil War would not succeed in ending it. It's difficult for the Church to denounce statements like these without calling into question Brigham Young's standing as a prophet. Instead, the Church's approach is to pretend such things were never said. In an otherwise excellent article on racism, Elder Alexander Morrison made the dubious statement, "How grateful I am that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has from its beginnings stood strongly against racism in any of its malignant manifestations." ("No More Strangers," _Ensign_, Sept. 2000, p. 16.) The idea that blacks inherited the curse of Cain was taught at the highest levels in the church: "And after the flood we are told that the curse that had been pronounced upon Cain was continued through Ham's wife, as he had married a wife of that seed. And why did it pass through the flood? Because it was necessary that the devil should have a representation upon the earth as well as God; and that man should be a free agent to act for himself; and that all men might have the opportunuty of receiving or rejecting the truth and be governed by it or not, according to their wishes, and abide the result; and that those who would be able to maintain correct principles under all circumstances might be able to associate with the Gods in the eternal worlds." John Taylor, _Gospel Kingdom_, p. 103. You may correctly point out that Pres. Taylor's statement was made in 1881, and say we've abandoned that doctrine and moved on, but this quote was included in G. Homer Durham's collection of Pres. Taylor's teachings (_Gospel Kingdom_) in 1944, which was republished in 1978(!) and again in 1990. In 1996, Church employees received a leather bound, gilt edged copy of _Gospel Kingdom_ as a Christmas gift from the First Presidency. I don't believe I've ever heard an unambiguous denunciation of this doctrine from any church authority, general or local. MBA (Morgan B. Adair) - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 04 Feb 2003 08:50:53 -0700 From: "Eric R. Samuelsen" Subject: Re: [AML] Black History Fireside Karen Tippetts wrote: >I find it annoying when people refer to the Mormon people's racist past. = =20 >We're taught that we are not accountable for Adam's transgressions, = >nor=20 >should we hold ourselves accountable for something people did 150 >years = ago. =20 Racism was institutionalized, as part of official Church policy, in my = lifetime. In fact, when I was on my mission, we were given specific = proselyting instructions that cannot be construed as anything but racist. = When I speak of us confronting our racist past, I don't mean anything our = ancestors did. I mean that I need to personally confront the uncomfortable= fact that I did not, as a missionary, go in and teach families who were = willing to let me in the door, because they were black. I know this raises the ire of lots of y'all, but I mean it in all = sincerity; the policy on priesthood, established by Brigham Young (and not = Joseph Smith) and rescinded in '78, was a racist policy. It was simply = institutionalized racism, and not much else. That's the legacy we need to = confront and overcome. Eric Samuelsen - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 4 Feb 2003 12:37:01 EST From: RichardDutcher@aol.com Subject: Re: [AML] Singles Ward Laraine, I applaud your effort to provide an intelligent evaluation of "The Singles Ward." However, in my opinion, you succeeded in communicating your own intelligence, but not in revealing any value to the film. An intelligent, soulful person can (and should) find meaning in anything and everything. Your education, background, and personal philosophy provided depth for you in the experience of evaluating this film. I would argue, however, that the movie provided no such depth. You brought it with you. The ideas you expressed would not have occurred to any other intelligent viewer, unless they had attended the same classes and read the same books as you. Your following statement had me rolling my eyes. << If there is an essence to "the gospel," or to Mormon Culture, or The Church, then, the film seems to say, it is ineffable, unrepresentable, unfathomable. Maybe it's real. But you can't portray it on the screen. >> It does not logically follow that because the movie fails to communicate this idea that it is making any statement whatsoever regarding it. The movie is not even aware of the problem. Its absence does not indicate its presence. Also, I disagree with the statement. I believe the essence of the gospel is effable, representable, and fathomable. It is not artistically impossible. Maybe we haven't yet achieved the cinematic eloquence to communicate it, but we're getting closer. Those who believe it can't be done will never do it. If you are right, however, and the makers of "The Singles Ward" truly were saying that the essence of the gospel is unrepresentable, then it is just one more reason to wish they hadn't made the movie. Richard Dutcher - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 04 Feb 2003 10:56:48 -0700 From: "Eric R. Samuelsen" Subject: Re: [AML] Singles Ward As one of the most vocal and vociferous Singles Ward haters, let me = express my deep admiration and gratitude to Laraine Wilkins for her = thoughtful and intelligent defense of the film. I found myself re-evaluati= ng at least some of my responses to the film, which I freely admit were = visceral and off the cuff and not terribly well thought through. =20 Having said that, I do still disagree with Laraine on what seems to me the = key point in the film, Cammie's self-righteousness. Cammie does not, as = Laraine suggests, listen reasonably and openmindedly to Jonathan's = stand-up act. Well, she does at first. She likes the part of his act = where he's being judgmental and self-righteous and holier than thou, = specifically about cigarettes. His audience doesn't like that part of his = act, as indeed they shouldn't; it's not funny, except to someone who is = self-righteous too. It's when he starts the mildest jokes aimed at LDS = culture that she freaks out, overreacts. It's that freaking out and = overreacting that I've seen far too many times in LDS culture. She = behaves, frankly, like some of the anti-Harry Potter activitists, or the = anti-rock music crowd. So, for me, she embodies the very worst, most = reactionary, most judgmental, most, yes, self-righteous aspects of our = culture. That wouldn't be so bad, of course, if the movie didn't = subsequently agree with her, a very weird choice given the fact that the = rest of the movie itself would seem to represent most of what she seems to = be against.=20 Laraine finds Cammie to be a likeable, admirable, though perhaps flawed = character. I find her to be profoundly unlikeable, and not remotely = admirable. Any of her possibly admirable qualities from earlier in the = film are cancelled out by that one atrocious scene. And that's not an = unfair judgment to make about the character, because the screenplay is = structured in such a way that we're clearly meant to see her, in that = scene, as she really is. =20 Ultimately, of course, I hated the film because of how it made me feel. I = did laugh a little at some of the earlier gags. But as the film progressed= , I became more and more depressed by it. For one thing, the film used a = kind of visual short hand, in which unrighteousness is equated with beer. = This, it seemed to me, was not used satirically, as in 'look at how = foolish Mormons are, thinking they're better than anyone else because they = don't drink beer.' I felt it was taking seriously, and inviting the = audience to take seriously, the idea that we're genuinely better than = other people because we don't drink beer. Later, the Other Girl, the = non-member girl from the comedy club, is portrayed as not only Drinking = Beer(!) but also as Smoking(!!), as a prelude to Maybe Fooling Around(!!!).= And yet, theologically, it's a pretty important part of my personal = belief system to believe that someone who is not LDS who drinks, smokes, = and maybe fools around, has a better chance for salvation than a judgmental= and self-righteous Mormon would. It's Pride that damns. =20 But the film teaches, essentially, that Pride saves, that when we think = we're better than those benighted Gentiles, we're right. In essence, the = film insists that Cammie's rejection of Jonathan's stand-up act saves her = soul, is necessary for her salvation, and also, that it saves his soul = too. And I think most people in the audience the night I saw the film = thought that too. And that makes me really really not want to be a Mormon = anymore. =20 Okay, it's a pastiche. Fine. Okay, it's got a sort of Brecht-lite = approach to filmmaking that's interestingly avant-garde (but only if you = think something like Ferris Bueller is avant-garde.) I still loathe the = film. I found watching it to be the most depressing and spiritually = degrading aesthetic experience of my life. Give me anything else, the = worst examples of R rated soft-porn dreck. They won't hurt me spiritually = nearly as much as Singles Ward did. Eric Samuelsen - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 3 Feb 2003 22:06:58 -0700 From: "Jacob Proffitt" Subject: RE: [AML] Slate Commentary on CleanFlicks Lawsuit It's an invalid comparison, LauraMaery. It's not as if Amazon is = selling a large-print edition. It's as if Amazon were selling an edition where a screener had gone through and marked out all the swear words. The = customer wants this edition, and you (if you were a Hollywood filmmaker) have = refused to provide it, so the customer decides to have the version they bought altered professionally. The tricky bit is that the book/video is = altered before the customer has actual possession of the book. CleanFlicks = would be on much firmer ground if they didn't sell videos at all. Making it a two-party transaction opens up the copyright issue better because while = the author maintains rights about *copying*, they don't keep the rights of *ownership* (of the actual article sold). As the owner, you can take = your copy and burn it, rip out selected pages, sell it, write your own novel = in the margins, or pay someone to read it and mark out certain words... Jacob Proffitt - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 4 Feb 2003 09:24:14 -0700 From: "Elizabeth Walters" Subject: Re: [AML] Singles Ward No offense Amelia, but your posts make you sound like the resident pessimist on the board sometimes. I'll admit I'm one of the guilty ones who went, saw and had a good laugh at this film. Although many of the cultural jokes seemed forced into the script, I don't agree that the movie as a whole was meant to reinforce Mormon culture. What I got out of the movie was that they were trying to get Mormons to take a look in the mirror to see how silly, but also how unique they are from other people their age. I've heard from people who saw the movie talk about how they never realized how culturally driven Mormons had become until they saw this movie. I feel that's one reason why the protagonist in the movie was someone out of the norm for a Mormon single. A divorced less active man who hated everything about Mormon culture. In the end, I don't feel that he had completely asimilated himself into the Mormon collective just as his love interest and friends never cross over to Babylon. But both characters were influenced for the better by adjusting to one another without having to go through a character overhaul. So yes, Singles Ward is a stupid movie, but I don't look at it as a flag waving example of the negative aspects of Mormon culture, but rather a blunt and comical insight into the life of Utah Mormon coeds. The producers chose a slapstick comical approach to this subject because they know Mormons can be a really sensitive bunch when there's a serious cynical portayal of the Mormon experience. A fullscale Mormon comedy had never been made until this movie. I am glad it won't be the last, but I do hope for a cleverly written satire about the LDS culture in the near future. Perhaps Richard Dutcher, instead of trying to hang himself over this movie can make a comedy himself to show us all the proper way of bringing Mormon humor to the silver screen. I'm sorry that it depresses you that millions of people liked the movie. There are several movies out there that my friends and family just love and I loathe, but the differences in opinion will not cause me to lose sleep at night or order a prescription of prozac. Singles Ward is pure schlock and that's not always a bad thing. People by nature, love a little schlock as long as it's good schlock. Whether or not Singles Ward lives up to the latter is debatable of course. I think Sean Connery says it best on the movie, "Finding Forester" and I'll paraphrase it to our discussion on LDS movies: I had God's Army for breakfast, The other side of heaven for lunch, Brigham city for dinner, but The Singles Ward, that's dessert. [Elizabeth Walters] - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 04 Feb 2003 10:43:55 -0700 From: "D. Michael Martindale" Subject: Re: [AML] The RM and Mormon films (BYU Newsnet)=20 > The LDS film trend doesn't appear to be ending anytime soon. "The > RM," directed by Hale, hits theaters Thursday. Another comedy > titled "Church Ball" is scheduled for release in January 2004. > > "We can make 50 movies based on how strange we are," Hale said. Be afraid. Be very afraid. - -- 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: Tue, 04 Feb 2003 10:48:15 -0700 From: "D. Michael Martindale" Subject: Re: [AML] Effects of DB Policy Jeff Needle wrote: > Yes, the book ought to be published. I also have read it, and I think I > reviewed it. > > The problem, as I see it, is that it doesn't further the goals of the > Church. I'm wondering what the real criterion is: does a work need to > be simply non-offensive (passive support), or does it need to actively > support the mission of the Church (active support)? I didn't know it was my job to further the goals of the church. I thought the church was supposed to further the goals of the church. I'm supposed to further my goals. Of course, my goals often coincide with goals of the church. But it's not my job to do PR for the church. It's my job as a writer to tell the truth about the human condition. Telling the truth about the human condition is educational. It's the first step in repentance: recognizing and acknowledging where we fall short. Only then can we do better. And isn't repentance a goal of the church? - -- 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: Tue, 4 Feb 2003 15:38:43 EST From: RichardDutcher@aol.com Subject: Re: [AML] Shameful First Works In a message dated 2/3/03 6:22:32 PM Mountain Standard Time, margaret_young@byu.edu writes: << I vote yes to a public viewing of "Girl Crazy." Actually, wouldn't it be fun for a bunch of us to read or display some of our early work and reveal what garbage we've put our names to? Sounds like a fun AML session to me. >> Oh, Margaret, dear Margaret. You don't understand what personal torment such a screening would cause for me. Recently, Thom Duncan wrote on the list that he couldn't fathom ever "repenting" for any work of art he had ever produced. All I can say to that is: "Thom, you didn't make 'Girl Crazy.'" Let me explain: the thing about "Girl Crazy" that causes me such shame isn't its audacious display of remedial filmmaking skills, but rather its complete lack of substance and meaning. It represents five years of hard work by a grown man to produce something so utterly immature and trivial. Most would watch "Girl Crazy" and forget about it five minutes later. For me it is a graphic illustration of my anemic spiritual state during those five years. I remember the pain of my subsequent repentance as well as the shame of my cinematic sins. Lest anyone get too curious, the movie itself is not as naughty as the title might indicate. It was, after all, rated for television at PG-13. You don't see much flesh, except for half of my own skinny white bottom (the whiteness of which exceeds all the whiteness you have ever before seen. Yea, it exceeds the whiteness of the driven snow). To satisfy the curious: "Girl Crazy" is about a man named Tommy (Richard Dutcher) who grew up surrounded by wonderful, caring women in the absence of any males. He did not become gay. Rather, he became wholly, unmonogomously heterosexual. In fact, he worships women, all women (short, tall, old, young, fat, skinny, black, brown and white). And he has a neurotic aversion to men which causes him to vomit in the presence of machismo. Anyway, he surrounds himself with women. He owns and manages an apartment complex filled with women, and he falls in love with one of them (Linda Bon). Truly in love. Then she learns that he shares physical intimacy with other women (he fools around) and the caca hits the fan. So, in order to win his true love back, Tommy has to change and become monogomous and "become a man" and learn that it is better to love one woman 100% than 100 women only 1% each. The highlights of the film are the "man lessons" given to Tommy by a big, red-headed macho certified public accountant, Tim (Tim Hansen). Some truly funny, low-brow scenes that I would consent, under the right circumstances, to share with charitable, generous, non-judgemental friends. There you go. What a waste of five years. If I had been in the right state, spiritually, I could have made "God's Army" in 1993 instead of in 1999. And LDS filmmaking would have been so much farther along by now (and I would have been mocked less for playing a missionary). I beg your forgiveness, Richard Dutcher - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 4 Feb 2003 17:05:27 EST From: RichardDutcher@aol.com Subject: Re: [AML] Singles Ward << 1. Isn't Singles Ward (SW) the most watched LDS movie to date? >> Actually, believe it or not, the most watched LDS movie to date is none other than my own little guy, "Brigham City." True, it fell short of "The Other Side of Heaven" and "God's Army" and even (ack!) "Singles Ward" in the theaters, but...God is merciful and his work cannot be frustrated. :) "Brigham City" has done very well on foreign television. I licensed the film to HBO Latin America. Over the past month and a half they have broadcast the movie many many times throughout all of Latin America, from Northern Mexico to Southern Chile. It would be hard to estimate how many hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of people have seen the film. "Brigham City" has also aired on television in Greece and Israel. I can't tell you how much satisfaction I get out of having a Mormon bishop protagonist and a sacrament meeting broadcast in Israel. This should be a great lesson to LDS filmmakers how, through entertainment, we are able to accomplish a certain type of missionary work in a country where missionary work is prohibited. Sales to other foreign territories are pending. And here's something interesting: I was recently in Mexico publicizing the Mexican theatrical release of "God's Army." The street vendors there are selling bootleg sub-titled copies of "Brigham City." Pretty cool. Sure, it's illegal, and my company isn't getting any revenue from it, but hey, people are seeing the movie. And they're seeing it in non-Mormon markets where some of our LDS movies will never go. After all, you don't get a much more non-Mormon market than the Mexican black market. Also, I went to Wisconsin for Christmas. We stopped in a small town called Platteville for dinner. As we ate, I noticed the town's only video store across the parking lot. Just out of curiosity, I walked over to the store to see if they had any of my films. The only LDS film they had on the shelf was "Brigham City." Right there in the New Releases. So, although it is true that we sold fewer video/DVD copies of "Brigham City" in the jello belt, we've sold far more to video stores outside of Utah/Idaho than either "God's Army" or "Singles Ward." The point is: Although my movie didn't break any records in the Mormon market, I humbly point out that it is kicking some serious butt in the rest of the world. Richard Dutcher - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 4 Feb 2003 15:44:18 -0700 From: Marny Parkin Subject: [AML] LDS Approach to World History Symposium An announcement for those around Provo interested in history. Marny Representing the first symposium of its kind, BYU will host "A Latter-day Saint Approach to World History" Thursday and Friday (Feb. 6 and 7) in the Harold B. Lee Library Auditorium. The symposium will discuss major events in human history from a Latter-day Saint perspective. Addresses will begin Thursday at 8:15 a.m. and conclude at 4:30 p.m. On Friday, presenters will start at 10 a.m. and close at 4:45 p.m. Students, staff and faculty as well as the general public are invited to attend the symposium at no charge. Light refreshments will be served at breaks. Please contact Brian Cannon at (801) 422-5211 for more information or for a complete symposium schedule. - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 05 Feb 2003 17:17:02 -0600 From: Fred C Pinnegar (by way of Jonathan Langford ) Subject: [AML] B.J. PETERSEN, _Hugh Nibley_ (Review) Book review of Hugh Nibley: A Consecrated Life by Boyd Jay Petersen. Published by Greg Kofford Books, Draper, Utah. 480 pages, including preface and appendices. $32.95. ISBN # 1-58958-020-6. Available January 2003. Reviewed by Fred Pinnegar. Several years ago I received an announcement from Kofford Books, a new publisher, concerning a forthcoming biography of Hugh Nibley. This was exciting news to me because I have always been a Nibley fan, and I know the author, Boyd Petersen, as a colleague in GE and Honors at BYU. Nibley's work is provocative to me because he seems to have access to knowledge and wisdom concerning the scriptures and the world, both ancient and modern, that other writers do not, and he has a clear and fast-paced writing style. Nibley's pages are always bottom heavy with notes, which suggests that there is always an infinitude of further light and knowledge readily available to anyone who wants to look. I like that. So many writers seem to exhaust everything they have to say in one skinny little book, and there is no more authoritative weight behind what they say than the unaided light of nature with which they were blessed at birth. Boyd's book helps us understand the complete Nibley: "He was a man, Horatio, Take him for all in all," and he helps us understand how that man came to be. The organizational pattern of Petersen's biography is sophisticated, weaving chronological discussions with thematic analysis. He pushes the essential information of names, dates, and places forward rapidly, but he also pauses for Reflective chapters on the major thematic concerns of Nibley's life and work. Introduction: The Man and the Legend Petersen offers a competent academic analysis of the Nibley folklore which accumulated over the years. Someone was telling me just a few days ago that Nibley had received a second endowment for his defense of the church against Brodie. He helps dispel some of the myths surrounding Nibley while at the same time confirming the validity of what others took to be legend and story. Without getting lost in pointless genealogy, the book provides sufficient information about Nibley's Scottish heritage and family background to help us see the life of privilege to which he was born. His family also moved easily in the highest circles of the church. We see the precocious boy, introduced to us years ago in that marvelous Intellectual autobiography, growing up in Oregon and Southern California. Nibley, like the Hippies of the 1960s, thoroughly condemns the wealth and affluence of his parents, without ever acknowledging that their wealth enabled him to have private tutors as a child, to have all the books and toys he wanted, and to wander the mountains all summer while he formulated his youthful philosophy of radical environmentalism. If the child is father to the man, the prodigy Nibley was spawned by the rape of the forest. It is a bit of leavening irony that I have never held against him, especially in light of the financial crises he later suffered when the family bubble popped in the Great Depression and the steady consistency and lifelong atonement for that rape in his personal and academic life. We see him nibbling [!] on birdseed as a missionary and student because his work and his study time were literally more important than eating, and always choosing to serve the lord at BYU, where he had the academic freedom to testify of Christ, rather than to serve mammon at any one of the many schools which offered to triple his salary in an instant. Still, it would be nice to see Nibley say, thank God there were some forests my dad could chop down so I could have the astonishing freedom I did when I was a child and adolescent instead of having to go to work at a tender age as a wage slave like everyone else. Indeed, it would be nice, occasionally, to see some gratitude from people in general for what the tithes and offerings of wealthy church members make possible rather than endless condemnation of them for their supposed selfishness and greed. It was, after all, Judas, the keeper of the purse, who thought the money spent to anoint the Lord would be better spent feeding the poor. I digress: the general pattern of the biography can be seen in the table of contents. 4. Growing up in Los Angeles 5. A Voice for the Wilderness; theology of Environmentalism 6. Mission to Germany 7. Nibley's wit 8. Higher education 9. Life of faith 10. Teaching at Claremont 11. Scholarship 12. Army Intelligence 13. War in Europe 14. Nibley on war 15. Brodie and BYU; marriage 16. on the Book of Mormon 17. Paterfamilias 18. Among the Hopi 19. Academic battles and the Brethren's Trust . Pearl of Great Price 21. Politics, Basketball, Patriarchs, 22. the Temple 23. Recognition 24. Nibley's call to leave Babylon and build Zion The book profits from the fact that Peterson first tried it out on the dog, presenting most of the books chapters independently, over several years time, at Sunstone and other conference venues. A few surprises: Nibley's relationship with Arthur Henry King is not mentioned at all, even thought the two great scholars and social critics shared many common attitudes and thematic concerns. They were born in the same year, and stood witness to the destruction of World War II. The decay of modern society was their common theme, and they were as hard on the faults of church members as they were on the critics and detractors. They were concerned about the environment and they were great defenders of the faith, possessing the brains and academic credentials to stand up to anyone. They, and other scholars of their generation, taught us that we have nothing to be ashamed or to fear from godless academics who condemn us for our faith. As Truman Madsen, another of that great generation, used to say, Joseph Smith is as profound as Plato, if not more so. Petersen's biography is an outstanding and stunning achievement, and unlike other recent biographies of church notables, it is equal to the life it portrays, and we don't walk away saying is that all there is? It is well worth reading and worth sharing with others. The faults are minor, and Boyd promises to address them in the next printing. Fred Pinnegar - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 4 Feb 2003 20:11:31 -0700 From: "Paris Anderson" Subject: [AML] Evil at Deseret Book Thinking of Thom's fine example I went into Deseret Book today. I went = to the middle readers aisle. There were lots of Harry Potter books on = the shelves, both hard back and soft cover. There must have been about = twenty copies. Too many for one person such as myself to buy. I know = Thom would have bought them--just to get them off the shelves. He's a = self-sacrificing kind of guy. I finally rationalized leaving those = dangerous books out where innocent people could get them. I decided = they really don't make people uncomfortable. That's just gas. Or maybe = Sheri Dew didn't make the policy change at all. Maybe this whole thing = has been one big weather balloon. =20 Paris Anderson - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 4 Feb 2003 22:12:34 -0700 From: "Kim Madsen" Subject: RE: [AML] The RM and Mormon films (BYU Newsnet)=20 Thomas Duncan wrote: "I was half convinced to see The RM until I read this line..." I have to admit to having some misgivings about seeing it myself, but the best endorsement for me came in last week's Trib when resident humorist Robert Kirby said "it made him laugh". http://www.sltrib.com/2003/feb/02012003/saturday/25308.asp Not only do I admire Kirby's writing and wit, but I know him and I respect his judgement. He's too cynical, too clear-eyed about this culture's foibles to not be honest in his response to the film. So I'm looking forward to seeing it, in spite of some of the reviews I've read. I'm not expecting anything except to maybe see some growth from what Halestorm sent into the world with SINGLES WARD. I'm hoping it makes me laugh too. Sheeze, if Kirby can laugh at it and I don't, I fear for my sense of humor. Kim Madsen - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ End of aml-list-digest V1 #968 ******************************