Enlarging the Joy

My first experience at BYU was a late summer honors course on novel writing. Our professor started each period with a brief exercise to get us in the creative mindset.

On the third day, the prompt was to reflect on our happiest moments. As I started to write, I realized all of my happy moments were connected to my family. I pictured nights at the little league diamond watching my brother, drives in the car with my mom, and outings with my dad to our favorite ice cream shack in the cornfields.

Earlier that morning my mom had gone home to Illinois. Sitting at my desk in the Maeser Building, I felt sadness over being away from my family bubble up in my throat and rush out my eyes in tears.

I stood up to leave, and my professor asked me what was wrong.

“My happy moments make me really sad right now,” I said, leaving the classroom.

When I returned ten minutes later, the professor had written what I said on the board. I was embarrassed and worried she was mad, but she motioned me back to my desk.

“This,” she said, striking the chalkboard, “is what real writing is.”

The Spirit spread warmness through my body, sending goose pimples down my arms. She went on to explain how writing is often strongest when grounded by emotions, especially the ones that are hard for us put into words.

Her lesson and the Spirit’s confirmation taught me that writing helps us work through difficult feelings. I’ve found the experiences that elicit strong emotional responses are often my favorite to write about because they bring me to the Savior. He helps me see and write the story, while also healing the pain or enlarging the joy.

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?