Additional ideas for "My Mormon Literary Life"

I'd like to give some additional prompts to you as you consider how you might compose your miniature personal essay about your Mormon literary life (see the assignment post, here).

• Journal writing / reading
  How has this shaped your spiritual life? (Even when not writing about religious activities or explicitly about Mormon belief)? Has re-reading your own journal, or reading the journal of a relative, been a reflective and spiritual occasion for you? Have you felt a sense of identity with others who are not you but somehow like you?
• Letters
  As you've composed letters or email messages, or as you have received these, how has this been part of your religious or spiritual life? (Again, even if not directly associated with something like letters to/from missionaries, though that's okay)
• Poetry / Creative Writing
  Such writing need not have anything to do with your religious or spiritual life, but it can. Has this been the case with you -- either in reading poetry or composing it?
• Lyrics
  Do you write lyrics, memorize lyrics, share lyrics? Of course the texts written for hymns are a kind of lyrical poetry, but a lot of people are immersed in contemporary music (whether religious or LDS or not) and attach a lot of personal and emotional significance to such lyrics. Has this been the case with you?
• Reading history (personal, family, or church history; history in general; historical fiction).
  History can be pretty dry stuff and far away from your beliefs or spiritual feelings. But sometimes we connect powerfully with the past by way of a written history (or even historical fiction). Has this been the case for you?
• Plays
  In viewing, acting in, or even writing plays, have you felt connected to others (in the audience, in the cast, or even to the characters portrayed in the play)? Ever been involved in a church-sponsored dramatic activity?
• Social Media
  We don't think of this modern form of communication as literature, and much of it is superficial (or isn't even text-based). But if you've been involved in sharing your beliefs, even in very informal ways among your close online connections, this is a kind of literary experience with your religion. If you blog, have you blogged about your religion?

What is Literary Mormonism?

This blog, "Literary Mormonism," is primarily intended for students of Dr. Gideon Burton at Brigham Young University who are taking Engl 268 or Engl 368, Literature of the Latter-day Saints. It is also intended for anyone interested in our topic.

The Mormon Faith is Literary

Understanding the Mormon faith, either from within or outside of it, means coming to terms with the fundamentally literary nature of Mormonism and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This religion begins with a young Christian boy reading in the Bible who then goes on to publish his translation of an ancient American record, the Book of Mormon. This book, companion scripture to the Bible, is the foundation of the Mormon religion. Conversion and adherence to the LDS faith is predicated upon individuals reading and acting upon what is found in that book of scripture, just as Joseph Smith acted upon what he read in the New Testament. Within the faith, reading and writing are seen to have moral and intellectual benefits and also suit members to be active members of society and effective leaders and teachers within the church. Some literature is integrated into LDS worship, such as hymn texts, and this literary emphasis is evident in Mormon speaking and doctrinal studies.

Mormon Culture is Literary

The literary nature of Mormonism extends to the culture's general appreciation for and advocacy of literacy and and education. Mormon leaders have been men and women of letters and promoters of books, reading, education, and the literary life. Mormons are urged to keep journals and writer personal and family histories. Since the 1830s there have been numerous LDS periodicals, both official and unofficial, that both reflect and encourage Mormon engagement in literary pursuits. Creative expression has been formally encouraged by the church from its inception, across all the arts, including the literary ones. These now reflect the history and diversity of Mormon peoples and experience.