The Mormon Diaries traces the
journey of the author Sophia L. Stone through her life as a Mormon woman to her
eventual abandonment of Mormonism for a broader interpretation of Christianity. Written as a challenge to write daily about
the author’s life experiences and expanded into 28 chronological essays, this
book explores the reality of being a woman within the confines of Mormonism. As with all good memoirs, this story is about
a journey, a period of time where the author challenges her thoughts and
arrives at a new understanding.
Stone details her life growing up
in a Mormon family; the challenges and comforts of growing up in a religion
that provides a complete road map to life.
As she writes “Everything
important was drawn out for me through living prophets. All I had to do was use the thick, black
marker of my choices to trace the lightly penciled sentences that were written
by those with authority, who’d lived longer and knew better about my life’s
purpose.”
Stone details the realities of life
as a Mormon woman in a way that is very intimate and real. She relates her anxiety surrounding her
baptism and testimony, the challenges of finding the right husband, as well as
the manner in which her identity became wrapped up in being the nurturer, at
the cost of her own needs and desires.
There is a list of Mormon “Thou shalts” – starting with “Thou shalt keep
the Sabbath day holy” and ending with “Thou shalt not doubt, ever” – that spans
a full four pages and serves as a brilliant reminder of what the realities of
living a Mormon life is like.
The author also tackle the thorny
issue of leaving the Mormon Church – the dismay and confusion of loved ones, the
strain that her journey left on her marriage, the delicate navigation of
religion with her children. There is a deep
thoughtfulness in this book, along with a lot of love for family and friends. Towards the end, the author bears her new and
expanded testimony:
“I
believe God loves me and that he can save everyone. I believe there’s light and goodness in all
religions, in all traditions, and in all people.”
Mormon Diaries is available on both Kindleand Nook for $0.99, as well as in paperback form for $8.99
and Nook for $0.99, as well as in paperback form for $8.99
I went beyond christianity in search of god, that last excerpt screams of willful ignorance.
ReplyDeleteI don't consider myself Christian, however, I am happy that the author found something that works for her and makes her a more tolerant, more thoughtful person.
DeleteLujlp- The quote seems to be anything but ignorant. Sophia specifically allows for everyone to find their own path or their own religionious or non-religious journey, including yours, going "beyond Christianity." If you think anyone who does not follow where your journey took you, to be "willfully ignorant," it seems that you are at least as close minded as the most stringent members of the "One True Church" crowd.
Delete"I believe there’s light and goodness in all religions, in all traditions, and in all people.”
DeleteThere are religions which practice human sacrifice and others which advocate rape and spousal abuse. There are traditions which call for the murder of apostates, there are people who revel in the death of non believers.
Some religions, traditions, and even people are just plain evil.
That last excerpt screams of willful ignorance.
Honestly, there is a lot of good in many people and many religious traditions. Not everything is good - there is a hell of a lot of abuse - but the potential for goodness is there.
DeleteLujlp-
DeleteI could say that about any group, anywhere in the world. I am willing to take you, at your words, that your path is helpful and healthy for you. In accepting it, I am showing faith in you. Obviously there are societal standards that are used to judge whether a person meets in minimum of societal standards. Not everyone believes that a particular group of people who don't agree with the law, and depending on the society, different amounts of light and knowledge might be reflected in those laws. Having differences in focus, through laws, traditions, resources means that the light or knowledge may have a wide variety of tones.
By the same way of looking at the world, in every group, ethnicity, religion or country, there are those who do not have light or goodness in their lives. There have been Mormon serial killers, but no one who say that 9-12 (depending on exactly how you define member, see the post on my blog and PMG's earlier post for some thoughts on what a Mormon is) Americans who were serial killers would render millions of church members without goodness. Having lived during the "RashNishee (sp?) Moment," when many people were not only abusive to the adults in the commune, they also treated the children terribly. Even after leaving the commune, former members were ostracized in most area close to the commune. The former members I have met were not terrible peopl. They loved God. The loved other people. They did their best to do the right thing. I may think that joining that commune, they (the adults) made a bad choice, or at least a choice I would not have made. That doesn't mean that they are bad, or light any goodness.
Willful ignorance generally means that someone has opportunities for experiences to learn more information, and chooses not to study the available information, or avoids experiences where that learning could happen. I don't know about the rest of the book because I haven't read it yet. If I know about it and someone told me that information it contains info I want. Once I know something exists and that I have access to it, then I have enough information to make a choice that might lead to willful ignorance.
I see a possible overstatement, since I don't know of anyone who knows people of someone of the religions of the world. The rest of her statement is about the beliefs that *she* holds, based on *her* experiences.
I am willing to concieded the point and change my remark from willful ignorance to just ordinary ignorance
DeleteI think I need to read this book.
ReplyDeleteIt's a great book - very thoughtful and well-written.
DeleteI'm glad you liked the story. It was an exhausting but rewarding venture doing some of the personal and emotional digging necessary to write it.
ReplyDeleteIt can't have been easy to put yourself out there like that - but I am very grateful you did. And writing is therapeutic, it's a big part of why I write. :)
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