Soooo....

Popular culture then!

The most famous Mormon here in Sweden is not the God-ordained prophet of Swedish roots, Monson. Not even the local Mormons here of prominence are famous enough for being Mormons.

I think of the Herrey Brothers (who one year won the Eurovision Song Contest with a very stupid song, but have since left the Church), so they don't reeeeally count.

That leaves us with STEPHANIE MEYER! The author of the Twilight series of books.

Now, we all know they're pretty shitty literally... but what do Mormons actually think of her and her books?

They're clearly not Christian. I mean, they have vampires and werewolves and the vampires are even dead (no Spirit World here, eh?).

But the vampire and human girl (who desperately wants to become a vampire herself) refuse to have sex before they're married. I think. I haven't actually read the shitty books, I've been watching some of the films.

Anywayyyyy... would these books be considered "good reading" in an LDS setting? Are they allowed to be enjoyed? Any other issues you can think of? :)

I think Mormons are split on this one. They don't overthink the issues you mentioned and aren't good with subtle messages. They aren't overly analytical. The women tend to like the books because they are highly emotional, like Mormon women themselves. The men see these books as similar to a Harlequin romance - or any romance book. Not worth reading but something the wifey likes.

That being said, some of the more judgmental, rule-bound, hard-core Mormons used these books as a chance to be outraged by how inappropriate they are. My husband's bishop gave a talk to the ward, haranguing the parents about being a better example to their children - dressing more modestly, not listening to rock music, not reading Twilight. He brought up a bunch of things from the book that he thought was inappropriate. He did it right after he became bishop, which did not get him off on a good foot in the ward. No one likes to be scolded by a new bishop who hasn't earned the ward's trust or respect yet. A lot of people thought he was a dope, right off the bat.

One time, the first counselor in the bishopric came over to talk to DH and I was reading Twilight and he asked me what I thought about the bishop's counsel not to read it. I told him I thought the bishop was wrong and his advice was stupid so I decided to ignore it.

THAT went over well. LOL :)

All the mormons I know LOVE Twilight. They love it because Stephanie Meyer is mormon. They love it EVEN MORE that one of the actors in the movie is mormon- one of the wolves, I can't remember who...

Anyway, here's an interesting article about mormons and twilight:

http://blog.beliefnet.com/flunkingsainthood/2010/07/yes-robert-pattinson-there-are-mormon-themes-in-twilight.html

I agree with all of the conclusions in the above article. In addition I would add that the scene where Edward first shows his sparkly skin to Bella reminded me strongly of the first vision story, complete with the shaft of light in the forest clearing.

Stephenie may deny that Mormonism had a direct influence on her stories, but I would argue that it has had a very strong indirect influence.

Me too. I agree with this comment:

"What I find most fascinating in Twilight is Meyer’s treatment of the dangers of sexuality (rolled up into very real physical danger for Bella). The forbidden aspects of sex, but also the idea that there is a right time and a right place, and that it can be a transformative experience. Another very Mormon theme."

I noticed some mormon themes when I read the series, not as many as the article lists but some.

My exmo niece loves the Twilight series.

Someone once posted a short & very funny mormon defined review of Twilight here on RfM; where are you?

Mormons, ex-mos, jackmos....I seem to be one of the few who has no interest in them. One of my former co-workers waited in line at midnight to get the newest book a few years ago. In Yuma, AZ, there was a book reading club devoted to the series at my former workplace. Well, at least people are reading, right?

I like the whole vampire mythology and ideas in books, but I prefer Anne Rice and Laurell K. Hamilton. I think the idea of sparkling vampires is silly at best. The fae folk are supposed to sparkle, not the undead.

If you like vamp you MUST read the books by Charlaine Harris. The Sookie/True Blood books. Not only do they have all the regular vamp stuff, they are FUNNY as hell.

I get a lot of recommendations for that series! I will have to read them after I finish the "Princess" series, which is a biography of a Saudi Arabian princess and her life.

Mormons love vampires because they live in fantasy land.

Reality eludes them.

As a kid I remember all the mormons in the ward who would talk about nothing but "Dark Shadows".

Now days it's Twilight.

That's true, it's also why they get more excited about a Disneyland vacation than going to Europe.

For them, the Twilight series is pure fantasy and fits a lot of their beliefs such as a girl getting married right after high school, and there's no premarital sex. They don't care that the thought of a boyfriend watching one sleep at night is a stalker and very creepy to anyone else.

Dave the Atheist Wrote:
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> As a kid I remember all the mormons in the ward who would talk about nothing but "Dark Shadows".

I loved "Dark Shadows" as a young teen! Everyone will be talking about it once again since Johnny Depp just completed the new DS movie.

Oh yeah, the housewives love Twilight! Almost every TBM 40th or 50th birthday party I go to, has a Twilight book as one of the gifts. Is this for adults?

It's technically a YA (young adult) book targeted at teens. But it developed an adult audience as well. I've also known kids as young as fourth grade who've read the series.

http://stoney321.livejournal.com/317176.html

Enjoy!

Oh, I believe Twilight was supposed to target adolescent girls -- which could explain the Mormon women slavering over them.

No, Bella and Edward did NOT have sex before marriage, because Edward was just too manly and in control to allow it -- although he battered her unconscious during their honeymoon -- twice if I remember correctly. (Battered her unconscious during sex, not as domestic violence.)

The True Blood series is great and I'm currently working my way through the Noble Dead series, which isn't as funny but at least has vampires that don't sparkle and do act vampire-y.

And, for the record, I loathed Twilight. I read the first three books just in the hope Bella would get her morbid wish and be killed. The review of the fourth book I read made me really glad that I didn't read it -- and I virtually NEVER quit a story before the end. I just couldn't like Bella enough to read them, though. Frankly, I didn't really like much of anyone else in the books either. ;)

And yes, I also have a cousin. Actually, they are both named Isabella, but we call them Bella.

Rebeckah, you beat me to posting the Sparkledammerung link! Bravo. Everytime I see anything Twilight-related, I think of it and laugh. Hysterical. (And ABBA's "Take A Chance on Me" makes me think of the wolves and laugh, too.) I can't even tell you how many people I've sent that link to. Not to be missed.

And there are tons of feminist critiques about the books out there; as vasalissasdoll wrote, the themes in these books are definitely not ones I'd want to encourage among any young women I know.

I agree with the analysis that the Twilight books are ultimately not woman friendly.

You have a confused young woman who tries to choose between a possessive stalker and a rageaholic who's family includes someone who permanently disfigured their significant other. After pushing both away she engages in risk-taking behavior in order to feel closer to the latter, then marries before she has a chance to figure herself out.

Doesn't sound like a good role-model to me, personally...not one I'd give my child if she were older.

For instance, when the young werwolf (Jacob? Joseph?) forces a kiss on her, Bella's police officer father responds with something along the lines of "He's finally acting like a man". And, as observed earlier, the whole watching her while she sleeps thing and making all the decisions for the two of them... absolute dreck.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/29/2011 08:39PM by Rebeckah.

There you go...I've never read the books so I wouldn't know.

Gag.

I haven't read the books either, but perhaps, as a Mormon, the author instinctively understands the presence of a dark force that sucks the life out of you!