Mormons in Literature - Historical Accuracy?

[Refus de Sejour]

We already have a thread on how silly Mormonism is, but here's a different question: how bad were they?

I remember being quite surprised when I first read the Sherlock Holmes tale "A Study in Scarlett" to find that the dastardly villains were Mormons - I just didn't have the LDS pegged as a particularly villainous bunch. More recently, I've been getting into old Western novels, and was intrigued to find that Zane Grey's wonderful Riders of the Purple Sage also portrays Mormonism in a very negative light. Broadly speaking, the novel depicts the persecution of a free-spirited Mormon woman by her fellow church members, who conspire through robbery, violence, and kidnapping to destroy her both physically and mentally. While Grey reserves the full force of his ire for the church elders, he emphasises (at considerable length) that even the more good-natured members of the church are so in thrall to its authorities that they will betray any trust, commit any atrocity, if so instructed.

Did the actual historical church to anything to deserve such literary attacks, or are Doyle and Grey simply perpetuating religious intolerance? Also, does anyone know of any other literary depictions of the church, either positive or negative?

 

[RobRoy]

We already have a thread on how silly Mormonism is, but here's a different question: how bad were they?

[snip]

Did the actual historical church to anything to deserve such literary attacks, or are Doyle and Grey simply perpetuating religious intolerance? Also, does anyone know of any other literary depictions of the church, either positive or negative?

I'm not certain what you mean by "deserve such literary attacks". The LDS are as good or bad as any other religious organization, especially one that finds itself on the defensive, attacked violently, and ousted from their homes and property. Two specific references do come to mind in regards to this question of "historical depictions" which might assist: the Danites and the Mountain Meadows Massacre.

The Danites were a particularly dangerous group of LDS, but they were organized during the hostilities in Missouri, and initially, not directly connected with the LDS hierarchy. It was claimed that the Danites disbanded after the LDS left Navoo, and that’s entirely possible. But certainly the skills of certain members were sought after as bodyguards among the LDS. Orin Porter Rockwell, being one of the most famous, served as a protector of both Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, and was often referred to as the “Destroying Angel”.

The Mountain Meadows Massacre occurred during the “Utah War”, and resulted in the murder of all the adults and older children (about 120), and the kidnapping of some 15 younger children for placement in LDS homes. It’s hard to say if the LDS leadership, up to and including Brigham Young, knew or instigated the attack. But it’s clear that the attack was born out by the LDS against non-members, and that the event was carried out with forethought and an attempt to cover the evidence and blame it on local Paiutes.

The thing about literature (or any form of entertainment) is that a singular group like the LDS are something of a novelty/rarity in regards to their beliefs. Thus, they make for interesting fodder as it appears in literature or other forms of entertainment. Deserved or not, a reputation for polygamy and other "strange" religious practices does tend to set the imagination on fire.

 

[Refus de Sejour]

I'm not certain what you mean by "deserve such literary attacks".

Poor choice of words on my part. What I really meant was how historically accurate these texts were - whether they belong to the same category of fantasy as, say, Sax Rohmer's "Yellow Peril." The Mountain Meadows Massacre that you mention is clearly behind the many references to kidnapping in Riders - the book features three separate abductions, two of female children, the third of a married, pregnant woman who's kidnapped in Texas and taken all the way back to Utah.

I think a fascination with polygamy is also of central important: both Riders and A Study in Scarlett equate a Mormon marriage with slavery (for the woman), and the plots focus on women being pressured into such marriages.

 

[RobRoy]

Poor choice of words on my part. What I really meant was how historically accurate these texts were - whether they belong to the same category of fantasy as, say, Sax Rohmer's "Yellow Peril."

It depends then on what aspects of the text you’re referencing. I’m not familiar with Riders or Yellow Peril so I can’t comment there. I am familiar with A Study in Scarlett, so I can comment there. Doyle is impressively wrong on a number of historical points, but I wouldn’t declare him to have missed the mark entirely. Certainly, there are some elements of the LDS culture which I think he mirrored correctly, if not with historical accuracy.

I think a fascination with polygamy is also of central important: both Riders and A Study in Scarlett equate a Mormon marriage with slavery (for the woman), and the plots focus on women being pressured into such marriages.

Most Christian faiths, and the LDS in particular, seem to have a low opinion of women in general. I’m not certain why this is the case, but there it is. The LDS faith is a male-dominated and thus male-centric religion. To that end, I have no doubt that some LDS marriages were the result of pressure and did create a kind of slavery-by-faith. Even in the current incarnation of the LDS church, while the role of women has increased greatly, even dramatically, they are still reliant upon men for certain “blessings” of the faith. This has the immediate impact of reducing women to lower class within the faith, similar in many respects to how black men were treated up until 1979.

 

[CriticalSock]

There's a collection of short stories by Orson Scott Card called "Folk of the Fringe" which is a loosely connected set of stories about the mormons in a post-apocalyptic future. It portrays them in a positive light without being sickly sweet (OSC is\was a mormon I believe).

 

[RobRoy]

There's a collection of short stories by Orson Scott Card called "Folk of the Fringe" which is a loosely connected set of stories about the mormons in a post-apocalyptic future. It portrays them in a positive light without being sickly sweet (OSC is\was a mormon I believe).

Card is heavily LDS. As I recall, he made a statement about choosing Brigham Young University over other choices he had, because he would only attend a college that took the Book of Mormon seriously. Although he did PhD work at Notre Dame, so perhaps he revised his opinion, or his opinion only applied to his undergraduate degree. I believe he is currently a faculty member of Southern Virginia University, which is run based on “LDS principles”.

I enjoy Card’s writing, though he’s not a favorite author, but his personal politics are deplorable and even reprehensible. He has called for laws against homosexuals and “homosexual acts” to be left on the books, renewed and enforced.

 

[Refus de Sejour]

I’m not familiar with Riders or Yellow Peril so I can’t comment there.

I was referring to Rohmers's "Fu Manchu" novels, about a Chinese super villain who, through various plots involving hypnotism, poison, kidnapping, sabotage, etc, was dedicated to overthrowing Western civilization (and getting lots of white chicks in the process). While it's possible Rohmer may have been inspired by stories of Chinese crime syndicates, the series clearly has little grounding in reality.


Thanks, RobRoy, for your responses, they've helped give the kind of historical context I was looking for.

 

[Refus de Sejour]

There's a collection of short stories by Orson Scott Card called "Folk of the Fringe" which is a loosely connected set of stories about the mormons in a post-apocalyptic future. It portrays them in a positive light without being sickly sweet (OSC is\was a mormon I believe).

Sounds interesting. I've enjoyed Card's work in the past, so will keep an eye out for this one.

 

[RobRoy]

I was referring to Rohmers's "Fu Manchu" novels, about a Chinese super villain who, through various plots involving hypnotism, poison, kidnapping, sabotage, etc, was dedicated to overthrowing Western civilization (and getting lots of white chicks in the process). While it's possible Rohmer may have been inspired by stories of Chinese crime syndicates, the series clearly has little grounding in reality.

Fascinating reading. I'm familiar with Fu Manchu, but only the movies. I had never delved into the books. This appears to have been a common theme in the early part of the 20th century. Having read up on that particular concept (albeit briefly) I would agree that it is very similar to most treatments of the LDS in literature, especially early literature such as we've mentioned above. The LDS, like the Asians of the "Yellow Peril" were different and, to some degree, easily identified as a group, thus they could be demonized for literary purposes.

Thanks, RobRoy, for your responses, they've helped give the kind of historical context I was looking for.

No problem. The LDS culture and history is always fascinating to me. The modern church is somewhat less interesting the more mainstream it becomes.

 

[catsmate]

I was referring to Rohmers's "Fu Manchu" novels, about a Chinese super villain who, through various plots involving hypnotism, poison, kidnapping, sabotage, etc, was dedicated to overthrowing Western civilization

Though there was a pervasive theme, that becomes more central in later books (after Rohmer/Ward revived the series in the 1930s) that the world would be better off if it just submitted to Fu Manchu.

and getting lots of white chicks in the process.

Emmm, no.

While it's possible Rohmer may have been inspired by stories of Chinese crime syndicates, the series clearly has little grounding in reality.

Well Ward did claim that the series was inspired by his time as a reporter covering the Limehouse district of London;

Of course, not the whole Chinese population of Limehouse was criminal. But it contained a large number of persons who had left their own country for the most urgent of reasons. These people knew no way of making a living other than the criminal activities that had made China too hot for them. They brought their crimes with them.

Fascinating reading. I'm familiar with Fu Manchu, but only the movies. I had never delved into the books. This appears to have been a common theme in the early part of the 20th century. Having read up on that particular concept (albeit briefly)

Very much so. Many of the active/adventure/mystery series of the early twentieth century (such as Sexton Blake) through to the Pulps (for example the original Buck Rogers) had an asian antagonist.
The "Yellow Peril" concept probably started in the US with the influx of Chinese railway labourers but also happened in Australia (rioting directed at Chinese gold diggers for example), Britain (80,000 people demonstrated against Chinese immigration to South Africa after the Boer War) and Germany (Wilhelm II may have coined the term, and commissioned the "Knackfuss" painting).

If you're in Dublin anytime let me know and I'll give you The Face of Fu Manchu tour.

 

[Refus de Sejour]

Emmm, no.

Must be my faulty memory: I thought one of the books I'd read featured Wayland Smith's girlfriend getting hypnotised and/or drugged, but maybe this was done for other reasons than lechery. My apologies to Dr. Manchu for sullying his reputation

 

[dropzone]

Fascinating reading.

Despite our other disagreements, trust me. Of the things the "Fu Manchu" books might be, "fascinating reading" is mighty low on the list, unless you were looking for a sociological slice of Western life in the early 20th century. And then you'd only read one or two. Once.

 

[catsmate]

Must be my faulty memory: I thought one of the books I'd read featured Wayland Smith's girlfriend getting hypnotised and/or drugged, but maybe this was done for other reasons than lechery. My apologies to Dr. Manchu for sullying his reputation

Prepare for a scorpion in the post
FuManchu himself, rather than his minions, is portrayed as asexual. He has no scruples about controlling brothels using sexual slaves he just doesn't appear to be interested himself. Delgado's portrayal of The Master is a comparable villain.¹
Kâramanèh (who was Petrie's love interest and later wife) was hypnotised for several reasons, mainly taking care of minor tasks like delivering venomous creatures or tracking Petrie (with whom she had some sort of psychic link).
OK enough of the obsessive fanboy.


¹ Interestingly Delgado appeared in "The Terror of the Tongs", a FuManchu knock-off, alongside Christopher Lee.

 

[RobRoy]

Despite our other disagreements, trust me. Of the things the "Fu Manchu" books might be, "fascinating reading" is mighty low on the list, unless you were looking for a sociological slice of Western life in the early 20th century. And then you'd only read one or two. Once.

You misinterpreted my comment. I was not suggesting that the books were "fascinating reading", as I have never read the books and had not even been aware of them prior to this discussion. I find it incredibly hard to develop a judgment on books (and movies) that I haven't completely. Rather, I was stating that Refus de Sejour's comments on the novels, as well as my own reading up on the Yellow Peril was fascinating. It is. I'm intrigued.