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“Sister Marguerite, Our Darling,” was a beautifully written and informative article. I spent considerable time since you posted, trying to link her to the Brigham Young family and don't think she's descended from him or any of his brothers. Perhaps from one of his cousins, but it's sure tenuous. Maybe she adopted herself in, fictionally, after reading Fawn Brodie's No Man Knows My History.

For what it's worth, the author is mistaken about the Harmonists being from the same Harmony, Pennsylvania, as the Mormons. The Harmonists were from an entirely different Harmony, a village (now a borough) in Butler County near Pittsburgh. The Mormons, owing to the home of Emma Hale Smith and her parents, were in the Town of Harmony, in Susquehanna County, more than 300 miles east-northeast of the earlier Harmonists. On the other hand, Kirtland, Ohio, less than 100 miles northwest, may have been influenced by the Harmonists living with "all things in common."

I don't want to detract from the wonderful article, however. Thank you for publishing it.

John Hajicek

Independence, MO

I just read and really appreciated your analysis of The Whale yesterday, since I only knew vague parameters of the play but you really laid out the changes for the film adaptation; I think this is another manifestation of adaptations like Advise and Consent and Thumbsucker that have removed their Mormon elements for cinematic consumption, but it's a very different ballgame from the 1960s or even the early 2000s.

Randy Astle

New York, NY

I hear you on something I hold dear being the brunt of jokes and misrepresentation. I remember saying to a class of shocked graduate students (at the U of U), during a discussion on issues of othering targeted population groups, that there was a lot about the existence of a musical making fun of things I hold sacred (The Book of Mormon) I find downright offensive. I was trying to get them to see that issues of race and social class are not the only bases of prejudice and othering. I got some very surprised and thoughtful looks from the students when I said that.

Sue Neimoyer

Rexburg, ID

When I notice my group of people or things I hold sacred being joked about, it reminds me of when I have done the same, but towards what I consider “other.” How many times have I told jokes where the brunt is not my group or not my sacred thing? I hope it’s been a long time since I’ve made that mistake and only when I was young and ignorant.

Aaron Jones 

Charlotte, NC

I loved reading this! So fascinating to see a “potential” shift in how we're portrayed. And fascinating! Awesome write.

Courtney Lawson 

Charleston, SC

Nice observations Glen! However, I wonder what it will take to start seeing more positive representation of members of the LDS church in popular culture in secular settings. A majority of depictions of “Mormons” in the mass media seem to still be mostly religious in nature, minor characters, and their faith is often either trivialized or demonized. Why can’t the spotlight ever shine on some faithful member who is achieving great things in the fields of science, business, or the arts as many members of the church are? Perhaps that is too big of an ask for now, but the examples you give do seem to correlate with possible shifts in public perception and I hope that we continue to see positive change in this regard over the next several years.

Cade Roberts 

New York, NY

Great piece. It reminds me a bit of when Neil LaBute went from Provo to NYC, and as I read about his growing notoriety I thought, “Somebody in Provo goes to BASH, they think ‘Am I capable of being that awful?’ but somebody in New York goes to BASH and thinks ‘Are Mormons capable of being that awful?’” Also, I think you’ve touched on something broader: there seems to be a sense among a lot of folks that because the Church is rich/politically connected/etc. that any mockery of Mormons counts as “punching up.”

Jeremy Grimshaw

Payson, UT

Ted Bushman

Ted Bushman is a composer and writer currently based in the Hudson Valley. He is a member of the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop, and his fiction has been published in Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Metaphorosis, and Inscape.

Kathie Debenham

Kathie Debenham is Emeritus Professor of Dance at UVU where she founded the Dance Department and was inaugural Dean of the School of the Arts. She is a member of the CLDSA Advisory Board and The Season Editorial Board.

Mike Denison

Mike Denison is an entrepreneur residing in South Jordan, Utah who is equally at home in the outdoors and large cities. He can usually be found playing on the floor with his granddaughters.

Emily Larsen Doxford

Emily Larsen Doxford is the marketing and communications director for the Center for Latter-day Saint Arts. A writer and communications professional, she received her MA in American and English Literature from NYU.

Megan Eckersley

Megan Eckersley is a graphic designer based out of New York City and has worked with clients like Squarespace. She is currently at Square as a Brand Designer.

David Fletcher

David Fletcher is a composer, arranger, pianist and organist, educated at BYU and NYU. His music may be found on 10 recordings and is published by Sonos Music. He has been an organist in the New York New York Stake for 38 years. He goes by the nickname D.

James Goldberg

James Goldberg is a poet, essayist, and novelist who specializes in Mormon literature. By day, he writes for the Church History Department.  

Gabriel González

Gabriel González is a native of Uruguay who has also lived in Belgium, Ecuador, and the United States. In addition, he has spent several months in Colombia, Germany, Mexico, and Spain.

Jeff Parkin

Jeff Parkin is an award-winning filmmaker and film professor at Brigham Young University. He and his wife, artist Jana Parkin, live in Provo, Utah.

Julie Turley

Julie Turley is a mother, writer, old punk rocker, and faculty librarian in the City University of New York system. Her book Heavy Music Mothers: Extreme Identities, Narrative Disruptions co-authored with Joan Jocson-Singh is forthcoming from Lexington Books in May 2023.

Shelley Turley

Shelley Turley lives and works in Portland, Oregon, where the trees, rain, hippies and cults--old and new--continue to inspire her. Shelley is currently preparing for a solo show, opening in May 2023, at Portland gallery Helen’s Costume. 

Mykal Urbina

Mykal Urbina is the Executive Director of the Center for Latter-day Saint Arts. Arizona-raised, New York-educated, Orange County transplant, current Salt Lake City resident, Mykal previously worked for the New York Philharmonic at Lincoln Center and Segerstrom Center for the Arts.

Warren Winegar

Warren Winegar is a private Art Advisor based in New York. He was previously Head of Client Services at Sotheby’s. He currently serves as Chair of the Advisory Board for The Center for Latter-day Saint Arts as well as on several committees.

What albums or songs are currently playing?

Charlie Bird

Ted Bushman

Kathie Debenham

Gabriel González

Brian Kershisnik

Jeff Parkin

Arisael Rivera

Madeline Rupard

Joël Scoville

Benjamin Taylor

Kwani Winder 

Warren Winegar

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