“Anne Bradshaw, an author of Christian books, gained recognition for her short stories in the New Era, an internationally acclaimed magazine for LDS youth. Her inspirational fiction appeared in the magazine for over sixteen years.”

Thanks Hawkgrrrl – I think their is a big industry in the church that thrives on Fiction. -

LDS fiction (or Mormon fiction) is a growing niche market of fiction novels featuring themes related to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the LDS Church, see also “Mormon”). Much of the recent rise in the number of titles and the improvement in the quality of LDS fiction is often attributed to Gerald Lund’s popular LDS historical fiction series The Work and the Glory. LDS fiction now accounts for more than half the sales of some Latter-day Saint book publishers. Growth in modern LDS fiction sales show no sign of slowing in spite of general criticism on quality and content.

Absolutely. I would feel it to be even more urgent. That said, I wouldn’t just walk up and say: “Y’know, Bishop Jones, you’ve been given bad information, the way it REALLY happened was…” Christ had to appeal to his audience; we do as well. And much would depend on the severity of the error. I would say, “Bishop, I was interested to hear your account of the BOM translation. I’ve done some research of my own from sound believing scholars and I’ve found credible evidence from Joseph’s and others contemporary accounts that…(insert correction–explain Joseph’s upbringing). Reminds you of Peter’s handkerchief or the hem of Christ’s robe a bit!”

Again, the most important element to me is genuine love for both the bishop and for the history.

James, I don’t like the Mormon fiction industry much, but there is a BIG difference between generic LDS fiction and perpetuating urban legends and mis-statements as fact. The first, I simply ignore; the second, I try to correct privately and tactfully.

The question, is, in part, as to what kind of person are you?

http://users.aristotle.net/~diogenes/insane.htm

Why does the world seem to be completely insane?

Yes, it always appears that you are in a minority of sane people (or perhaps you are the ONLY sane person) in a sea of completely confused crackpots. The reason that so many other people seem completely confused and wrongheaded is that they use different symbols and metaphors to view the world. It is impossible to discuss important issues such as politics, families, violence, justice, etc. without resorting to symbolism. Anything that does not directly refer to something that can be physically sensed, such as justice or one’s concept of God must be referred to by metaphor and symbol. If you and another use different symbols, you will be unable to communicate effectively. Some of the main metaphors in use today are:

* Conventional religion
* Science
* Power, that is, dominance and submission
* Artistic and aesthetic worth
* Traditional political categories
* Material wealth and security
* Romanticism and relationships
* Honor, valor, and courage
* Bigotry, racism, and exclusivity
* Depth psychology (Freud, Jung, etc.)
* Humanism and “new age” psychology
* Traditional philosophy

Chances are that your views and beliefs about the world center around one or several of these metaphors. For example, if you see the world in terms of moral worth and submission to a higher law, you are conventionally religious. If you see the world in terms of cause and effect and experimenting to find the right solutions, you are oriented toward science.

People who share one or more basic metaphors will find that they can communicate effectively with one another and work together constructively. People who do not share any metaphors will usually be unable to regard one another with anything beyond fear, hostility, and contempt. Because of this lack of communication between groups, most discussions of important issues in the public arena quickly degenerate into grandstanding and name calling, because in the absence of real understanding between the disagreeing parties, only mob psychology is left to sway public opinion.

In all of this you may be left frustrated and unable to act, because you have not yet realized that:

The World Doesn’t Want to be Saved.

The world is a teeming mishmash of cultures with a bewildering array of values and ideologies engaged in their own version of the good life. People are generally not interested in changing the metaphors through which they view the world, so real understanding between groups with conflicting viewpoints is not achievable in the short term. The good news is, that’s OK, because the world isn’t supposed to be saved on a global scale. It must be saved at the level of the individual. And despite the fact that the level of the individual appears to be statistically insignificant, it is in fact the most significant, because it is only at the level of the individual that a creative synthesis of conflicting metaphors can occur. Once a connection is made at the individual level, the process of spreading successful new metaphors throughout society is essential automatic if the society is ready for them. If the society is not ready, the new metaphors will not be accepted under any circumstances. So don’t beat you head on a rock. Solve your own interpersonal communication problems. If the world is ready to benefit from your solutions, you will not be able to stop it from using them.

I had a bishop who interrupted a stake speaker who was leading up to the story about the Utah National Guard. A few years later, when the Relief Society president read the “generals in heaven” quote, I sent the bishop (a different one) a link to the debunking statement that came out a few years ago. The bishop had a conversation with her about it.

Regarding the Book of Mormon translation, I don’t see much doctrinal difference between one stone in a hat vs. two stones in a silver bow. Of course historical accuracy is better than inaccuracy, so I would probably say something if an appropriate occasion arose. Otherwise, I’d probably just let it slide. I don’t necessarily feel a need to correct every historical misstatement unless I think it’s important, and to me, that one isn’t.

Do we really know the color of the hat? I don’t remember that detail being in any of the accounts, but I might have missed it.

I tried briefly without success to find the National Guard story online. I don’t think I ever actually read the story, but I had heard that there was some faith-promoting but fabricated story about the Utah National Guard in Iraq that was making the email rounds. The speaker was taking a long time to lead up to it, but it was obvious that he had received the email. Evidently, the bishop was also aware that the story was bogus, and he interrupted the talk.