When I think about the audience that The Welcoming Door by Kenny Kemp appeases, though it is overtly Latter-day Saint, I think that a chord can be strummed in the hearts of anyone who is a parent. Riddled with symbolism, Kemp expounds on his fictional version of the story of the Prodigal Son from the Bible. It is more than a Biblical story. Entering the realm of this genre that we call “scripture based,” Kemp takes such a short verse of scripture from the Bible and expands it to emphasize a timeless lesson that so many parents may face with the loss of a wayward child. That lesson, as Jeshua tells Eli, is that: “there is no justice, there is no mercy, there is only love” (Kemp 70). The overarching theme I believe Kemp wants his audience to recognize is love and its association with Christ. But there are also other teachings throughout, though this list isn’t an exhaustive list, they include: faith, the father-like relationship people can have to a Heavenly Father, prayer, and the detrimental role of tradition. As a reader with an LDS background, one can identify that each of these teachings are based in Latter-day Saint theology, and as an LDS audience, can think about these concepts in a new light as we identify with the sorrow of the father of the prodigal son and rejoice in the father Eli's joy as he finds hope and meaning in the parable the Savior teaches.
I would agree that that line would definitely be one of the main themes of this poem. I would disagree though about the audience being only LDS. Though laden with LDS doctrine, the text uses language that every religious person would understand.
ReplyDeleteI would agree. Part of the reason why it is laden with LDS Doctrine is that we believe in faith, repentance, penitence, community, and other Christian mainstays. I think that Kemp used the general Christian audience because it allows him to make a general story. The story itself isn't too exotic, but it is a fictional account of Christ's life, which is definitely different. Keeping it general safeguards him diving into obscurity.
DeleteI would also disagree about the audience begin only members of the Church. As I read, I would make notes of references to the Bible, or different allusions to Christ, and I feel most Christians would be able to pick up the symbolism. Even people of other faiths might be able to see the hints towards the religious aspects of the book, as even the names of the characters are very common in Christian tradition, and are used throughout film and other sources.
ReplyDeleteCameron, while the doctrines Kemp uses are in large part LDS, and definitely would appeal to the LDS audience, I do think that they are meant to apply to a broader audience as well. You have done a nice job with your analysis otherwise. Thanks!
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