The whole purpose of Home Literature, as I understood it, is to have another outlet of literature for Latter Day Saints that isn't the Bible or The Book of Mormon and still have it be spiritually uplifting. It is important for members of the church to seek "the best books" all over the place, and not just within their own scriptural cannon. There are so many ways to learn and so many things to learn from, that it would be foolish to only stick to what we are already familiar with. The basis of our attempt to learn according to Whitney, "means history, poetry, philosophy, art and science, languages, government--all truth in fact, wherever found." This can include stories, fiction or non-fiction, that are not explicitly didactic in their form and can be about a wide variety of topics, yet are filled with meaning and help us learn and grow
Nephi Anderson accomplishes this in Added Upon by sticking to a familiar principle in the plan of salvation, that many people within the LDS church and identify with. Pre and Post-mortal life, however, is a subject that is widely thought about and discussed among people of many religions. Giving names and dialogue to people up in heaven as they discuss which plan is best and what earthly life is like for them is an effective tool in presenting choices that the audience can connect with the choices of the characters and think about in a way that will motivate them to think in a more spiritual way.
I like how you brought up that it isn't only us within the Church who believe in the Pre- and Post-mortal life, but also other religions. It can be nice to look through someone else's lens sometimes, to see their perspective on the situation.
ReplyDeleteI got a similar feeling from "Home Centered Literature" that in addition to the scriptures, I found it interesting that Whitney encouraged in a forceful way that the members of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day saints need to be out and receiving secular knowledge in addition to spiritual knowledge
ReplyDelete"Humanizing heaven" sounds both helpful and paradoxical. I suppose that by fictionalizing the pre-earth life, Anderson does allow a new way for his audience to think about it. I will say that it gave me a more vivid perception of the process that people went through to making a decision, even if it wasn't as convincing as Saturday's Warrior.
ReplyDeleteAdding dialogue and names was really interesting! I agree with you and with Wesley that it makes it more vivid but it was quite an interesting thing to do. I do like the envisioning of it. And I liked Saturday's Warrior. I remember feeling tricked though when I learned it isn't Mormon doctrine that we "chose" each other in the pre-earth life. I wonder if a lot of the stories have that same idea, or if they kind of fictionalize other doctrines.
ReplyDelete