My last post about the Mormon Literature & Creative Arts database generated some great suggestions for its improvement, and I thought I would respond by describing where we are at and how we see the MLCA feeding into a larger project of supporting Mormon Studies.
The scriptures speak of those “kept from the truth because they know not where to find it” (D&C 123:12), and I believe as much can be said about Mormon works of literature and art as about LDS doctrine. Most people are very ignorant of what has been done. But unlike LDS doctrine, there is no canonized body of literary or artistic works that bear a divine imprint. How is it, then, that people get their ideas of the nature or quality of LDS artistic works? Well, I think they draw their conclusions based on what is visible to them commercially and what is discussed socially. So, for most Mormons, “Mormon literature” probably equates in their minds to the genres that have been most popular through LDS retailers in recent years: 1) historical fiction (Gerald Lund, Ron Carter, etc.); 2) Young Adult fiction (Jack Weyland, Dean Hughes, etc.), and 3) LDS Romance fiction (Anita Stansfield, Rachel Nunes, etc.). Each of these is an important genre deserving attention, but there is so much more! This is one reason we created the Mormon Literature & Creative Arts database years ago. We wanted there to be a place where, as much as possible, Read the rest of this entry »