DiscussMormonism.com

A couple of amazing write-ups by two excellent authors.

Judith Freeman is truly gifted.

http://lareviewofbooks.org/article.php? ... t=1&media=

and

John Turner is such fun

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-g-tu ... f=religion

If you get bored with the history part, then scroll down to Judith's account about receiving "the letter"

Not long after my novel, Red Water, came out, I received a letter from the Stake President of the Mormon Church in Los Angeles. It was dated July 15, 2002 and addressed to me at both my residence in L.A. and my place in the country in Idaho. It read:

Dear Ms. Freeman:

It has come to my attention that you reside, at least some of the time, in the Wilshire Ward of the Los Angeles Stake of the Church. I am generally aware of your reputation as a gifted writer. I am also aware of public reports that you have long since become disaffected with, and estranged from, the Church. I would be grateful for an opportunity to meet with you in person to discuss your feelings concerning the Church and what, if anything, should be done about them. I invite you to call me at my office number to see if there is a convenient time when one of my counselors and I could meet with you.

Sincerely,
Michael J. Fairclough
Stake President

And for all you history nuts ... further reading

http://www.common-place.org/vol-12/no-03/herman/

A big thank you to Will Bagley for sharing this with me.

This paragraph from Judith Freeman speaks to how I feel about the Church and the Bill Hamblins of the world .

There are some things people can take away from you and some things they cannot, and what the Church officials in Los Angeles – those immaculately groomed, well-dressed men I felt I knew from my youth – couldn’t take away was the connection to my own history, the reverence for my ancestors, and the respect I have for the many good people who call themselves Mormons. President Fairclough, with his all-too perfect name, was free to be as punitive as he wished and strip me of my membership if it made him feel more righteous. I came to see that unless I let him, he couldn’t actually hurt me.

Again, grateful thanks, Joe!