"I don't know if I'll stay in the church, the community, the culture that created me. I don't know if I'll live the kind of life my parents and ancestors did, or if I'll forge my own path in the dark. I don't know if I'll stay or go, though I want to stay. I want to stay as much as I want to live happily inside my own soul. I'll stay as long as I can do both. I do know that if I'm ever forced to choose, I will choose myself"
- Ellis Kimball in "Let's Call it a Doomsday" by Katie Henry
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
✓ Live Streaming✓ Interactive Chat✓ Private Shows✓ HD Quality✓ Free Actions
Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
I'm reading all the books about Mormons so that you don't have to
You ever cringe at sit-coms making Mormon polygamist jokes? Ever seen your favorite character confuse Mormons with Amish people? Ever groaned in dissapointed when a family of Mormons gets watered down to generic-fundamental-christian?
Aren't you tired of being the butt of not-even-accurate jokes?
Well, I certainly am. After years of being disgruntled and offended at portrayals of and attitudes toward Mormons in popular media I realized something : I was looking in the wrong place! Why would I look to non-mormons to tell Mormon stories!
Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints have been writing novels for as long as we've been around! Not to mention BYU TV shows!
Are they cheesy? Probably! Will they be preachy and propaganda-y? You betcha! Are some of them sexist and honophobic? Oh yes siree!
But that's why I am gonna read them! I've decided to go on a quest through Mormon fiction to discover the unknown gems. I'll read and review each book, and watch the TV shows and movies, then let YOU know what's worth your time.
If you know of a book/movie/TV show that features Mormon characters made BY Mormon writers, send it my way. I'll add it to my queue and rate it based on a few criteria:
1. Well written - is it written well
2. Fun level - regardless of technical stuff, is it FUN?
3. Complex faith - is this propaganda? Or does it show our religion in a nuanced way?
4. Homophobia scale - does this harp about the holiness of straight marriage? Or does it, perchance, actually have good queer rep?
5. Mormon weird - is this strictly realistic fiction or are we talking about Kolob or the 3 nephites O.O
6. Diversity of characters - is this white boys talking to and about white boys :/ or do we have some POC and women
7. Other problematic stuff
I personally am not a fan of "book of mormon fanfiction" so anything resembling Tennis Shoes Among the Nephites might not get read, same goes for straight-white-girl-religious-romance. (No hate if you like those just not my vibe). Additionally, I'm not super interested in pioneer-era stories so those will not be prioritized. I'm looking for action, urban fantasy, sci-fi, or realistic fiction that's not just romance.
But you never know, one of those might catch my fancy!
TL;DR send me books/TV shows/movies by mormons about mormons and I'll tell you if they're worth it!
"Gay Mormons exist; I know some. And sometimes I wonder, How do you stay? How do you stay when the whole system was designed without you in mind? When there are so many things you have to give up? When it's cruel and unfair and wrong that you should even have to? But I know how; I know why. They stay because they believe this church is true. I wonder if sometimes they wish they didn't."
-- Ellis in "Let's Call it a Doomsday" by Katie Henry
Wickedness never was happiness. That's in the scriptures themselves. I believe Tal, though, when he says he's happy. Maybe the passage is backward. Can real happiness, the kind that doesn't hurt a soul, ever be wickedness?
-- Ellis from "Let's Call it a Doomsday" by Katie Henry
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
✓ Live Streaming✓ Interactive Chat✓ Private Shows✓ HD Quality✓ Free Actions
Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
"From my window seat in the second-to-last row, I can't tell where Utah begins. I can't feel the split second I cross out from wilderness into home. But when the Great Salt Lake comes into view on the horizon, a little blue pool hemmed in by desert and mountains, I sigh. This is a homecoming.
"I was born in California and lived my entire life in the same zip code. Berkeley is the place that raised me on its chaos and oddball charm. Seventeen square miles of hills and canyons, elite universities and tent cities. Berkeley is my hometown, and it always will be. But Utah is my home, too. A different kind of home. An ancestral home. A place of belonging. A legacy."
-Ellis Kimball in "Let's Call it a Doomsday" by Katie Henry
This is the book I was searching for when I started this blog.
In so many ways, Ellis Kimball is me. Some of you have probably seen the quotes I've been sharing on my blog. Those are only snippets of the moments I felt deeply seen by Henry's narration of Ellis's thoughts.
I can't really talk about what I love about this book without some spoilers so, fair warning.
I never expected to find a story with a bisexual mormon teenage girl, dating an exmormon (also bisexual) guy. I never thought I'd read conversations I have had with people in my real life, repeated through the mouths of these characters. I never anticipated a book including that one ridiculously perfect and gorgeous Samoan Laurel President, and realize I guess I wasn't the only one with a girl like that in my ward.
and I adore that none of that was the focus. I love that Hannah and Ellis's connection was something complicated and intimate and that they needed each other, and that they weren't each other's love interests (despite Hannah being canonically a lesbian as Ellis is realizing that she's bi). The plot of the book took center stage in an intriguing and gripping way, while providing a perfect backdrop for Ellis's journey of self discovery (which includes understanding how to live with her anxiety, how to manage her intrusive thoughts, what belief and religion mean to her, and accepting that she is attracted to girls.)
It's so much all stuffed into one perfect package. I would love it if everyone read this book, because that would increase the number of people on earth who could understand me and my experiences. But I strongly urge at least every Queer Mormon to give it a go. It was exciting, fun, and healing.
Breakdown under the cut
1. Well written - 5 stars
I loved absolutely everything about this book. The internal narration of anxiety was gripping, the family dynamics were complicated and relateable, the main character went through a few overlapping character arcs and the were woven together so well. And every description of being a Mormon Teenage Girl was so accurate it felt like Henry had reached into my own mind and put my memories on the page.
2. Fun level - 5 stars
It's been a minute since a book made me want to stay up until 4am. This book did that multiple times. I laughed, I cheered, I cried.
3. Complex faith - 5 stars
This is exactly what I'm looking for in a mormon book! She's a member of the church and she talks about why she loves church, and she's scandalized by certain things, but she also is friends with people who smoke weed, and there's an exmormon who explains why he left and he is respected (and also respectful!) and Ellis questions things that she's been taught and redefines her faith for herself and it's all so wonderful and perfect.
4. Homophobia scale - 5 stars
SPOILERS
The main character discovers that she IS a queer mormon. This is what I'm talking about. There is an explanation for how current policy is harmful to queer people. There is self-discovery and questioning, and acceptance. It's beautiful and wonderful. There are also other queer characters!
5. Mormon weird - 4 stars
This is a strictly realistic fiction book, but it doesn't shy away from the mormonness. There are multiple descriptions of church services, family home evening, belief about the afterlife etc. Tal talks about watching the temple videos on youtube (and Ellis is horrified). It's also all about a girl who is obsessed with emergency preparedness which is part of mormon culture, in a way.
6. Diversity of characters - 5 stars
We've got queer characters, we've got south americans, we've got asians, we've got jewish characters. In other words, a pretty accurate picture of the population of Berkeley, California.
7. Other problematic stuff - 5 stars
I have no complaints. Henry grappled with issues like mental health, homelessness, family trauma, belief, etc with lots of care, compassion, and nuance.
Summary: This collection of comics (3 issues and an Annual) has the worlds first ever Gay Mormon Superhero! In fact, it has a lot of different Queer and Mormon (or Mormon-adjacent) characters, all fighting against injustice.
The main character, Sam Shepherd, gets visited by an Angel soon after marrying his husband Jase. The Angel (Abish from the Book of Mormon) calls him to be The Hand of God and punish sinners. He fights homophobes, misguided missionaries, and Cain himself, alongside his companion, Fe, who also received powers from Abish.
Read at your own risk: This book is has a complex approach to mormonism, as well as deceptions of queer sex (Not explicit but pretty nsfw). I think it's a lot of fun, and is an honest portrayal of queer mormon experiences, with fun fantastical versions of Mormon beliefs (Like a Holy Ghost Force Field).
Overall, I enjoyed it! I've been dying for a Mormon Superhero, and queer mormon superheroes are even better. I would love to see more stories with Sam, Fe, Jase, Shonda, and Riley in the future.
Spoilers and Review Breakdown Under the Cut
1. Well written - 3.5 Stars.
Overall, I think the writing is done well. Some of it is cheesy, and there are a couple of deus ex machina's but it feels like it fits in the genre and with what the comic is trying to do.
2. Fun level - 4.5 Stars
I really enjoyed it! I read the whole thing in one sitting and it was engaging and exciting and it made me laugh.
3. Complex faith - 3.5 Stars
This one is complicated to answer. This definitely feels like media aimed at ex-mormons. Most of the characters are Ex (or "Jack") Mormons, and don't have high regard for the church as an organization. They do believe in Angels and Heavenly Mother (cause that's where their power comes from) but the church officials (like mission presidents) are shown as villains. It's a very irreverent story. And there's a part in the last issue where Heavenly Mother and Heavenly Father are pitted against each other that I didn't really like.
The only exception is Riley, an asexual missionary who states his firm testimony a couple of times. He is one of the heroes, but still firmly believes in the gospel.
I like it because it has characters from all over the spectrum of mormonism (from actively serving a mission to "my parents were mormon but we don't really talk about it" and everything in between), which I think is cool, but it's also definitely got an exmo bias.
4. Homophobia scale - 5 stars
it's so gay!!!!! They have a character for each letter of LGBTA, it's delightful.
It is also NSFW. Nothing explicit (?) but characters are often naked, and the two married couples are shown being intimate quite a few times. I don't normally love stories like that, but for a comic that is about the sacredness of queer intimacy, I understand why it's included.
5. Mormon weird - 5 stars
SOOO much mormon weird. Abish is an angel. The heroes have Liahona Guides. The big villains are Cain and Ammon. It's so much fun.
6. Diversity of characters - 4 stars!
The main character and his husband are both white guys, but Fe is latina, her wife is black (and trans!), and Riley is a POC.
7. Other problematic stuff - 3 stars
I love this comic but I don't think it's for everyone. On top of being irreverent and nsfw, it also incorporates some indigenous american culture into the mythos in ways I'm not sure about. This is going to happen with anything that talks about Nephites and Lamanites, but mostly I don't know why Ammon has a pet Quetzalcoatl. 🤷
But, like I said, I did enjoy it. I think there's a lot of potential in these characters and I would love to see more stories with them
