Civility Lessons While on a Run

It was a beautiful warm day, perfect for a run. I strapped on my hot pink running shoes (the only color in my size) and took off for a little lunch-time run. I huffed and puffed up a couple of hills and came to a flat stretch with a sigh of relief.  That’s when I heard it. “On your left!”

Captain America?

No, it was two boys between the ages of 10 and 12 on bikes. As the second one passed I heard him say over his shoulder, “Good afternoon.”

My heart couldn’t have melted more if it had been Captain America himself. How polite these young men were! And, how sad that this kind of respect surprised me!

The reason Captain America appeals to me as a superhero is his manners. Well, there are lots of things that appeal to me about Captain America, but manners are definitely high on the list. Some might say manners are outdated, a product of years gone by, that no one could be expected to live up to that kind of standard any longer. The times are different. We don’t hide what we think; we say it. If anyone gets offended, well, that’s their own personal problem. We’re just being honest.

I’m not a graphic novel reader.  I only watch the new Marvel movies, so I can’t say that I know everything there is to know about Steve Rogers as Captain America. I enjoy watching the Avenger series movies, and all of the superheroes in the films charm me one way or another. But, by far Captain America leads the pack. There is something about that by-gone era of civility that brings a kind assurance. It’s masculine to the n^th degree. As a woman, I know that a man who is genuinely civil and polite holds me in esteem.  I feel respected and honored.

I’m not sure where those boys learned to be so polite in this modern era of incivility (i.e., the 2016 presidential race). Most likely they have been taught by goodly parents. Maybe they are taking a little lesson from Steve Rogers. Whatever the case, I just want to say thank you to these young men in training and to the parents and mentors who are teaching them polite civility. You made my day!

Writing About Unpleasant Realities in LDS Fiction

How important is it to write about unpleasant realities in LDS literature? Often people want to white-wash the darker realities in their writing so that they don’t need to worry about offending their audience. However, I believe that not writing about the nastier realities of life in literature is a little like taking a bath without being dirty. Sure, it feels good, but there’s really no point to it except for wasting some water.

As Latter-day Saints, adding unpleasant realities to our writing allows us to access some very powerful tools. Dealing with those darker moments in life gives us an opportunity to deepen characterization. We are able to moralize in a way that has much more meaning. And, unpleasant realities give our writing purpose. Let me explain.

• Character Depth – Without adversity, it is difficult to show a character’s growth. In an interview for a Deseret News article by Ben Tullis, Michaelbrent Collings, a professional author, said that adversity can use religion in the face of tragedy as a vehicle to show how good people can conquer evil and gain redemption. Our audience identifies with how characters face those adversities because they can see the characters facing situations that they encounter in their own lives. Characters become more interesting and easier to identify with.

• Moralization – Unpleasant realities in our stories can use religion as a vehicle to illustrate our beliefs. Not only does this make our stories more relatable to our audience, but they also become more interesting too. We all know that everyone faces adversity at some point in their life. Using unpleasant realities in our stories can be a way to show the difference between good and evil.  This opposition allows our readers to identify with the circumstances in which characters might find themselves. It instantly relates the story to our readers as they wonder how the situation can be resolved.

• Purpose – Eugene England, a former LDS English professor at Brigham Young University believed that LDS writers should write with a purpose, but not just any purpose.  He felt it was our responsibility to show in our writing the evils in the unpleasant realities of life versus the grace in the divine principles of the gospel. If we pattern our work after some of the greatest prose in LDS literature (i.e., the Book of Mormon), we will find great purpose behind all of the writings, including wars, genocide, murders, and intrigues versus the beauties of gospel principles such as repentance, faith, charity, hope through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, and Salvation.

Now that we see the value of writing about unpleasant realities, we should take care not to go overboard in our explicitness. As much as we want to take a bath to cleanse our filth, there is no reason to add mud to the bath water. In other words, there is no call in LDS literature to be graphic for graphic’s sake.  While horror and tragedy exist in real life, as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we honor our 13^th Article of Faith by seeking after good and uplifting things.  In an email interview with Michelle Thompson, an LDS author, she stated that if a writer views their work through the lens of gospel principles, then he or she needs to consider how the unpleasant realities will support the principle which they are writing about. If it doesn’t realize that purpose then the writer should reconsider the reason they are writing about such unpleasant things in the first place.

Writers are influential. There is power in words to shape how we feel about, how we think about, and how we view unpleasant realities. As LDS authors write with purpose, their audience will feel the power of their conviction, and this conviction will cause the reader to think more deeply about a topic. Our purpose should be to help others grow and ultimately feel uplifted by our creation. Now, go fill your tub with clean water and prepare for your next purposeful writing experience.