Bloggin' 'bout Books: Mormon Mentions: Carol Goodman

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Mormon Mentions: Carol Goodman

9:52 AM

If you're not sure what a Mormon is, let alone a Mormon Mention, allow me to explain: My name is Susan and I'm a Mormon (you've seen the commercials, right?). As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (commonly known as the Mormon or LDS Church), I'm naturally concerned with how my religion is portrayed in the media. Because this blog is about books, every time I see a reference to Mormonism in a book written by someone who is not a member of my church, I highlight it here. Then, I offer my opinion—my insider's view—of what the author is saying. It's my chance to correct misconceptions, expound on principles of the Gospel, and even to laugh at my (sometimes) crazy Mormon culture.

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Nan Lewis, the main character in River Road by Carol Goodman, teaches creative writing at a college in upstate New York. At the end of the novel, she's describing pieces written by her students. She says:

An exchange student wrote a funny, irreverent piece about growing up Mormon in Scotland (270).

There's not much to this passage, but a few things come to mind:

I would totally read a memoir (probably even an irreverent one) about growing up Mormon in Scotland!
The LDS Church was introduced in Scotland in the mid-1830s. Over the next 2o years, almost 10,000 people joined the church. More than 7,000 emigrated to the United States to join with Mormon pioneers from the U.S. and other countries on the trek to Zion.
Although I couldn't find any current statistics for church membership in Scotland alone, there are 186, 423 members in the U.K. (according to MormonNewsroom.org).