ZION CULTURE
One aspect of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that sets it apart from many religions is that it is not only a religion but a way of life. The church is a culture and one of the most diverse cultures in the world. One of the goals of the church is to build up Zion: create a haven of security and goodness in a world embracing Babylon (see D&C 133:7?9). If Zion is not a true culture and does not produce everything a good culture produces, then it fails its purpose.
Elder Orson F. Whitney said in a 1888 talk, ?Home Literature,? that Joseph Smith ?knew there must come a time ? when Zion ? would arise and shine ? when music, poetry, painting, sculpture, oratory and the drama, rays of light from the same central sun, no longer refracted and discolored by the many-hued prisms of man?s sensuality, would throw their white radiance full and direct upon the mirror-like glory of her towers, [and] he knew that his people must progress, that their destiny demanded it; that culture is the duty of man, as intelligence is the glory of God? (par. 3?4). So how do we capture this great vision of Zion?
Elder Boyd K. Packer gave a talk to BYU students in February 1976 titled ?The Arts and the Spirit of the Lord,? which says that if the LDS people are to have great art and culture, the gifted and ungifted people of the church must be inspired by the Holy Ghost and seek to build up the church.
I hope those making Mormon films and music ? all art forms ? seek the inspiration of the Holy Ghost. I think bands like Jericho Road and other LDS artists produce uplifting and good music for youth.
I would rather the youth of the church, including college students, listen to LDS artists than some of Babylon?s popular artists who only think of profanity and sensual subjects to write and sing about.
As for the Mormon movies, they have a long way to go before they reach Academy Award level, but it is a start. It is hard to find clean PG movies in our society.
But, a Mormon produced film, however corny or clich?, will be clean and uplifting. I think art Mormons produce, as long as it is uplifting and focused on the gospel, is good and seeks the grand vision of Zion we are all striving for.
KELLYANNE URE
Roy
NOT WHAT I SAID
I was disappointed by an article, “Phone loss shakes up dorms” June 17, 2005, in which my husband and I were grossly misquoted. As residents of Wymount, we have been discouraged by a disregard for our needs as tenants; rent is increasing although services ? the phone system ? are being cut; and during re-carpeting next month all contents from the two bedrooms is required to be moved into the main living space. This difficulty could be alleviated by carpeting the bedrooms one-at-a-time.
After we shared these frustrations with your reporter, we were shocked when our words were used out of context. Contrary to what this piece conveyed, my husband’s gripes were not about the phones. That was an example of why he feels rent, which increases in September, should be stabilized.
I was ?quoted? as saying that we have looked elsewhere, but that other places don’t have as much space. Anyone familiar with the tight quarters of Wymount apartments would be confused by this statement. I was explaining that the outdoor spaces here are unmatched by other places I’ve seen and outdoor space is important to us as parents.
We were embarrassed by the foolishness of the words attributed to us, but more than that, we are concerned by the unethical nature of distorting a person’s comments to fashion an article.
I’m sure the reporter is a nice person, but this does not exempt a journalist from ethical obligations attached to their pen. I’m grateful this topic was not of a weightier nature, though this experience has made me wonder about the overall reliability of The Daily Universe.
SARAH ERWIN
Salt Lake City
A CONCERNED FATHER
Brother Petersen, I read your recent editorial, and I question your intentions. If you were trying to just raise discussion on ?Mormon Pop Culture,? then you succeeded. However, it was thoughtless and almost as if you had written it just a few moments before your deadline. I don’t know if you are a parent, but I am, which is probably why I find one of your comments insulting and lacking real thought.
?I realized 70 percent of the store contained Mormon fiction, children?s coloring books or Book of Mormon action figures. Only a very small section of the store was focused on the actual gospel, the rest was church culture.?
While this may be true, I wonder if you could provide me with some help on where I should shop for my children. If the bookstore or Deseret Book is not willing to carry coloring books or action figures, perhaps I should jump in my car, drive to Wal-Mart and buy them books I don’t find appropriate. Perhaps I should also buy them dolls of today’s standards, which I also don’t find appropriate.
Though you may call it culture, I believe it is an essential part of the church. We are told to seek out all good books, not just books by FARMS. I am grateful to live in a time when we can produce products that give an earlier interaction into the gospel, rather than having to wait. But lets just get rid of it all, and perhaps we should throw your article out as well. I don’t remember seeing your name on the list for FARMS contributors either.
TERRANCE S. ALLEN
WARD FOR ADHD
I have a disability called ADHD. For those of you that have never experienced this difficulty you should know that sitting through one hour of meetings for me is like sitting through three hours for anyone else.
I think that the church should make a special ward where this handicap is accommodated. Meetings would be shortened from a three-hour block to a one-hour block with 15 minute meetings.
All the hymns would be sung at a faster tempo and with the congregation clapping to keep rhythm. Possibly we could incorporate some actions like the “Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree” song. We would never sing more than one verse of a song either. The speakers would do more to involve all of the congregation’s senses; such as have visuals, skits and background music.
For those of you that consider this to be an outrageous request, remember we have similar programs for other groups of people, such as wards for deaf people, people who speak different languages. Even single people are considered to be a separate group deserving of a special ward.
SPENCER MILLER
Mead, Wash.
