I don’t typically read LDS Fiction. A lot of it just doesn’t appeal much to me. Those few books that do draw my attention are often either, in my estimation, much too preachy, superficial, and emotionally manipulative on the one hand or on the other veer off into apostasy in order to be edgy, artistic, intellectual, and morally nuanced. Blech.
However, contrary to my usual interests, last month I picked up a newly released book by David J. West entitled Heroes of the Fallen. I had run across West’s blog a few months earlier, and I had been following his posts. I knew that he was an aspiring LDS author, but I hadn’t followed his blog closely enough to realize that he had a book about to be published. When he announced it’s release, I was intrigued by what I had already gathered from his blog. So I headed over to the local bookstore where he was doing a book signing and purchased an author-signed copy. I finished Heroes of the Fallen in about a week.
The book is set in the ancient America of the Book of Mormon, around 320 or so years A.D. This setting is both a benefit and a challenge for the author. West benefits from a pre-existing setting, complete with unusual names and places, a history, language, political system, and religious beliefs. My favorite fantasy writers, like J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and Lloyd Alexander, drew upon the histories, myths, and legends of the ancient civilizations with which they were familiar, borrowing names, plots, archetypes, and themes in order to lend weight and coherence to their works. In some ways, Heroes of the Fallen benefits similarly from the Book of Mormon. By adapting and extrapolating from the Book of Mormon, West is able to concentrate on filling in the details and bringing to life a fully-realized, exotic, ancient civilization without having to invent it whole-cloth.
No, no…this post isn’t about me. I’m not having doubts about my faith. So don’t worry.
I just wanted to direct your attention to, and solicit your comments on a great short story entitled “Confession” by a Philosophy student at the University of Missouri-Kansas City named James Hoskins. Hoskins’s story puts an interesting, fun new twist on a familiar scenario:
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Some time, somewhere….Adam began having doubts about his faith. His mother was deeply concerned about him. She had been an active member in the church for as long as he could remember and faith was her life. Adam’s doubts had progressed past his private thoughts and were starting to come out in his speech. His mother was heart broken to hear her son question all she had taught him. She feared he had been reading books of false doctrine or, even worse, that his brain had been corrupted by evil philosophies. But she feared most for his salvation. She urged Adam to go and talk with Father Antony. Finally, after much reluctance, Adam agreed. After all, he regretted his lack of faith almost as much as his mother did. Indeed, he felt guilty for it. Yet, there were so many things that did not make sense to him.
Father Antony was an extremely intelligent man. He had quite an impressive vocabulary, yet he could still put complex ideas into common vernacular in a very thoughtful way. As Adam entered the Father’s quarters, his eyes passed over a long bookshelf containing all the books of the Holy Canon. Father Antony looked up through his reading glasses and greeted Adam with a warm smile.
“Hello Adam! Good to see you here. It’s been a while.”
“Yeah, well, it wasn’t entirely my idea,” Adam replied.
“I know, your mother called me,” the Father said with a grin.
“That sounds like her,” said Adam as he gazed at all the books.
“Your mother loves you very much Adam. She’s just worried about you. I’m glad you came. Please sit down.”
After a very uncomfortable silence of what seemed like an hour, Adam began,
“Well, I guess I should start by saying I’ve been having a lot of questions.”
“About what?”
“Everything!” Adam’s eyebrows raised.
The Father, twiddling his glasses in his hand, said calmly, “Why don’t you tell me some specifics and I’ll do my best to answer your questions.”
…
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Read the whole story:
Confession by James Hoskins (pdf)
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