LDSPMA

Empowering Latter-day Saints to spread light and truth by connecting them at the intersection of faith, creativity, and professional skill

Faith & Mindset

Why Fiction Is as Precious to God as Nonfiction

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By Nicole Bay

When I first began writing, I dabbled in YA fantasy, early readers, middle grade fiction, and picture books. I loved all these genres and the worlds I had created, but after a while, I started to wonder if I was spending my creative time wisely. I wondered if, rather than writing fantastical fiction, I ought to be researching and writing family history stories or writing nonfiction related to the gospel of Jesus Christ or the Restoration of the Church. I started questioning the value of what I was writing and the wisdom of taking time to write fiction that might be better spent using my talents to build the kingdom of God.

I thought about it, worried about it, and prayed about it. My prayers were answered in several ways over the course of a few years.

The Desire to Create Is God-Given

In the October 2008 General Conference, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf shared an important thing we can do to feel God’s happiness—we can create. “The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul,” he said. He emphasized that as children of a creator, we have a desire to be like Him, to create something that did not exist before. This is something I have felt. Ever since I was little, I have known there was an artist inside me. I took classes and participated in activities that allowed me to learn principles of drawing, writing, sewing, and acting, and I basked in the inner glow that creating provided me. 

The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul.

Dieter F. Uchtdorf

President Uchtdorf continued, “Creation brings deep satisfaction and fulfillment.” Even when I struggle to get just one sentence on the page, I feel better for having taken time to work on my art. And nothing beats the floating-on-clouds feeling of being able to type the words “The End” when I finish a draft of a new story. 

Taking time to be creative has more benefits than just feeling good. President Uchtdorf added, “We develop ourselves and others when we take unorganized matter into our hands and mold it into something of beauty.” Over time I have realized that development of self and others isn’t just referring to the development of talents. This development is all about the sometimes life-changing effects our work can have on us and those who experience our art. Both parties can learn. Both can grow spiritually, intellectually, emotionally, and socially. And both can discover truth through art.

“Out of the Best Books” Includes Fiction

The Lord commands us to seek words of wisdom out of the best books so we can teach each other and strengthen each other’s faith (DC 88:118). Of course, He is referring largely to the standard works and inspired writings of members of the Church. The truths found here are the most important truths to develop a testimony of. 

But there are also many, many other works that can build our faith and lead people to be better for having read or experienced them. As an avid reader growing up, I was touched by fiction and nonfiction stories of heroism, triumphing over trials, clever thinking, kindness, and forgiveness. I will not soon forget the moving themes woven throughout my favorite books of sacrifice and redemption, good versus evil, the power of love, or the huge effect that one person choosing to stand up for what is right can have on the world. And if those stories can resonate so strongly with me, might I not also be able to tell a story that inspires someone else?

If fiction stories can resonate so strongly with me, might I not also be able to tell a story that inspires someone else?

I hope so. Because I believe that the best books can do just that.

God Cares about Your Creative Gifts

I’m grateful for a commandment to seek out the best gifts and to develop my talents (D&C 46:7–33). My desire to create is a way that I can enrich my own life and bless the lives of others. 

And because this is a gift that is important to me, it’s important to the Lord as well. Amulek advised us, “Cry unto him over the crops of your fields, that ye may prosper in them. Cry over the flocks of your fields, that they may increase” (Alma 34:24–25). Whether creating art is my hobby or my living, the Lord wants to bless me in my efforts, so I can pray for that guidance, and my work will be better for it. 

Any Genre Can Be a Conduit of Light

When Christ exhorted His listeners, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matt. 5:16), I believe He was talking about letting our testimonies shine through our actions and work. And that includes our creative work. My writing, whether nonfiction, fantasy, or humor, is a conduit for my testimony.

I’m thankful for the divine desire to create, for the understanding that all can learn from the best books, for the knowledge that God wants to support me in my work, and for the calling to share my light through my work.

Nicole Bay teaches linguistics and English language courses at BYU. She is also the Internships Coordinator for the Linguistics Department. She loves to write for children, especially when she can include fun facts about language and linguistics in the story. She spends her non-work time gaming with her family, reading, writing, doing New York Times crosswords, and volunteering for writing conferences. She currently serves as LDSPMA’s director of education.

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The Other Christmas Miracle

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By Robert Starling

On a certain night every year all over the earth, millions of families gather together and share a two-thousand-year-old story, of how a baby was born in a humble stable who would become the long-awaited Messiah of Israel, and save the entire world from sin and error.

To non-believers, it is an incredible tale of angels appearing like UFO’s to frightened shepherds in the Middle East, as they were camping out in the hills tending their flocks.  According to the story, there were also wise and pious men in a far country to the east of Bethlehem who saw a bright new star in the sky, announcing the birth of the Christ child and fulfilling ancient prophesies. Like the shepherds, they would undertake a journey to go and worship the baby boy. Who these men were, where they were from, and how many were in their party is not known. It is a well-known but little-understood mystery of the Christmas season.

But there was another amazing and wondrous celestial event that took place on that fateful night, in an even more distant land a world away. And with that heavenly sign of his coming, the child Jesus, by his very birth, prevented the kind of horrific slaughter of innocents that took place at the hands of Herod in Bethlehem about two years later.  This was the “other” Christmas miracle.  How did it happen?

The Other Christmas Miracle

As millions of believers throughout the world are aware, yet few celebrate, another wise and holy man named Samuel had come preaching on a distant continent among the people whom Jesus later referred to as his “other sheep.” Samuel had prophesied that a savior would be born in about five years’ time and that the sign of his coming would be not only a new star in the heavens, but that in that land there would be a day, a night, and a day without darkness.

There were many who believed the words of Samuel and looked forward to these heavenly signs, but they were scoffed at and ridiculed by the rich and powerful. As the five-year deadline approached, the intolerance and persecution intensified, until at last the rulers proclaimed that if the new star did not appear, and the night without darkness did not occur by a certain date, those who would not deny their strange beliefs would be put to death. Like the many Christians who later suffered martyrdom in the coliseums of Rome, these believers were ready to lay down their lives in their commitment to their faith.

But the sign did come. As the sun began to set on that fateful day, there was no darkness.  In all that night, it was light in their land as though it was mid-day. The faithful were spared, and many more were converted. The celestial signs of the birth of Christ had indeed brought about “peace on earth,” at least in that land, and at least for a short time.

That’s a beautiful story, but how could it be true? In today’s world of scientific facts and hard reality, how could any reasonable and intelligent person believe such a fable? Is there any evidence that such a thing can really happen?

Actually . . .   For centuries Christian and non-Christian astronomers have speculated on what might have been a reasonable explanation of the so-called “Star of Bethlehem.”  Some have postulated that a supernova explosion in a distant galaxy might account for a “new star” in the heavens. Others have calculated a rare alignment of planets that could have created an extraordinary light in the night sky. In fact, on December 21, 2020, a spectacular conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn occurred that hasn’t been visible for almost 800 years. It was covered on major news networks and brought people out of their homes all over the world with their binoculars and telescopes to scan the evening sky.

But what about a night without darkness?  Has that ever happened before?  Wouldn’t a person be deluded and crazy to believe in something like that?

A candle in the dark. For the Nephites, light when it should have been dark was the other Christmas miracle.
Scientific Signs in the Heavens

Actually . . .  In a September 2003 conference of the Book of Mormon Archaeological Forum (BMAF), John Tvedtnes presented a paper called “Book of Mormon Hits,” in which he provided several scientific possibilities based on historical events:

  • Glowing night fogs have been observed in various places. The cause is unknown although it is thought that it might be electrical in nature. The phenomenon was first described in 1982 by meteorologist William R. Corliss.  One such luminous fog extended from Africa to Sweden and throughout North and South America.   Another happened in 1783 in the Alps, and another in Western Europe in August 1821.  An 1831 glowing night fog was observed almost world-wide. Corliss concludes that “nights were so bright that the smallest print could be read at midnight.”
  • There is also something that is called “earthquake luminosity.”  On 9 December 1731, following an earthquake in Florence, Italy, luminous clouds appeared over England.  Similar things have happened in places like France and South America. In fact, it is very common in South America where it is called the “Andes glow.”  Sometimes it follows the mountain ridges for as much as 300 miles in length.
  • In 1908 there was a period of time during which there were some very, very bright skies when an object burned up in the atmosphere and exploded over the Tunguska region of Siberia.  Most scientists now believe it was a comet or asteroid.  People in Scotland reported that in rooms facing north, objects cast shadows at night. In London, it was possible to read the small print in the London Times at midnight.  It was possible to read the large print indoors at 1:30 a.m. The room was as light as if it had been the day.”  Photographs were taken by this natural light at 1:00 a.m. at Stockholm, Sweden, and also at Novorzhev, Russia.

A Cornell University research paper published by the American Geophysical Union in 2009 explores the 1908 “Tunguska Event” in greater detail, and attributes the “nights without darkness” to ice crystals in the upper atmosphere similar to those caused by frozen water vapor from the Space Shuttle exhaust plume.  This “noctilucent cloud phenomenon” (the scientific term) was observed for days after the space shuttle Endeavour (STS-118) launched on Aug. 8, 2007. Similar cloud formations had been observed following launches in 1997 and 2003.

Whatever caused it to happen, and however widespread it was, the “night without darkness” came at the precise time prophesied by Samuel.  And this “other Christmas miracle” physically saved the lives of believing Nephites on that holy night so long ago, just as we are saved by trusting in Christ in our crazy world today.

Merry Christmas.

Robert Starling is a creative consultant for Book of Mormon Central  (www.bookofmormoncentral.org). He has been a writer and producer for the NBC Television Network, and at Schick Sunn Classic Pictures, Osmond Productions, and the media production department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  His recent book “A Case for Latter-day Christianity” is available in many bookstores, on Barnes and Noble, and on Amazon.com in printed and e-book versions. He lives in Riverton, Utah with his wife Sharon. They have four adult children and eleven grandchildren.

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Why We Should See Goals as the Means, Not the End

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By Jeremy Madsen   

We’ve all been there. We set a goal. We make plans to reach it. We have the best of intentions. We work hard. And then we fall short.

For me, this happened a lot on my mission. Each transfer, my companion and I would set daily, weekly, and monthly goals for standards such as lessons taught, new investigators found, investigators in church, or investigators baptized. And most of the time, we ended each period with zeros for the last two categories and woefully low numbers for the first two.

What frustrated me most was the seeming capriciousness of whether we met our goals. One week we could work incredibly hard and get ten new investigators; the next we could work equally hard and get one. There seemed to be no correlation between our efforts and how close we came to our goals.

Now, the mission is an extreme example. Unlike most areas of our lives, success in mission goals depends almost entirely on the agency and choices of others. But even when we’re completely responsible for our goals, we still often fall short. For example, in the summer of 2017, I set a goal to write a novel from start to finish in a year. Four and a half years later, I’m barely two-thirds of the way through the first draft.

But back to my mission. By the time I finished my two years of service, I had developed a dislike, or at least a distrust, of goals. Why set goals, if most of the time we fail to reach them? Why subject ourselves to feelings of inadequacy and frustration over and over again?

Then, a few months after coming home, I was reviewing chapter 8 of Preach My Gospel (the missionary manual). The chapter, which was on using time wisely, had a section about goals. And I began to notice something. While the chapter talked a lot about setting goals and working towards them, it rarely talked about achieving goals. The closer I looked, the more I began to notice what the chapter didn’t say about goals.

To illustrate, I have selected some statements from chapter 8, and beside each I have written what the manual doesn’t say:

What Preach My Gospel says:What it doesn’t say:
“Meaningful goals and careful planning will help you accomplish what the Lord requires of you” (p. 143).“Meaningful effort and careful planning will help you accomplish your goals.”
“Through goals and plans, our hopes are transformed into action” (p. 148).“Through actions and plans, our hopes are transformed into reality as we meet our goals.”
“When you fall short of a goal, evaluate your efforts and seek for ways to accomplish the goal” (p. 148).“If you fall short of a goal, evaluate your efforts and identify what you did wrong.”(Notice the contrast between if and when.)
“For each key indicator, set goals that help you stretch, exercise faith, and work effectively” (p. 153).“For each key indicator, you must stretch, exercise faith, and work effectively in order to achieve your goal.”
“The ultimate measure of success is not in achieving goals alone but in the service you render and the progress of others. Goals are a means of helping you bring about much good among Heavenly Father’s children” (p. 148).“The ultimate measure of success is in achieving goals. Only by achieving your goals can you render service and help others progress. By achieving goals, you bring about much good among Heavenly Father’s children.”

This exercise taught me a powerful lesson. I had always seen goals as part of the end: we need to do x, y, or z, so we set a goal and work hard to bring about x, y, or z. But I was wrong. Goals are the means. And they aren’t the means to a certain achievement, prize, or destination. They are the means to a better journey—a better life.

We set goals and strive to achieve them because by so doing, we exert greater effort than we would otherwise. Goals push us off the couch and out of our comfort zones. Goals motivate us to work harder and smarter than we normally would. Goals help direct our energy, time, and resources towards what’s truly important. As Preach My Gospel says, goals “help [us] stretch, exercise faith, and work effectively.”

For me, the main takeaway from this realization is that we don’t need to feel bad when we fail to reach a goal. As long as the act of setting the goal pushed us to greater efforts—as long as the goal helped us be more godlike than we otherwise would—then it was a success.

I’m learning to adopt this new attitude about goals. Remember my ongoing project to write a novel? A year ago, I set a goal to complete two chapters of my rough draft a week. The first week, I completed one chapter. The second week, I completed another chapter. Then it took me two weeks to finish the next chapter, and four weeks for the chapter after that. School, work, and family responsibilities pushed me farther and farther behind. But I didn’t despair. I didn’t get down on myself for not meeting my goal. Rather, I recognized that setting the goal had pushed me to complete four more chapters during a busy semester than I probably would have otherwise.

So when the New Year rolls around soon and it’s time to set goals, don’t get down thinking about all the resolutions you failed to meet, the diets you failed to keep, and the books you failed to finish (or start) since the previous year. Think about how your goals helped you be a little better and work a little harder each day. Then set new goals that are means to those ends.

Summary

The value of goals is not so much in achieving them, but in how the process of setting and striving for goals alters our behavior. When we set goals that motivate us, focus our efforts, and exercise our faith, we work more effectively, accomplish more, and live better lives than we would otherwise. By seeing goals as means instead of ends, we can avoid the frustration and discouragement that come from the many times we fail to meet our goals.

Points to Ponder

  • What are my current goals, and how do they help me be a better person?
  • What is a goal that I failed to meet in the past? How did it help me grow?
  • What is the difference between a goal and a promise/commitment? Why is it more important to meet a promise or commitment than it is to meet a goal?

Further Reading

Jeremy Madsen is a fantasy writer, freelance editor, and biblical scholar. With his three siblings, he runs the website Atrium of Light, a repository for scripture memory songs and other uplifting media. Jeremy is the founder of Universal Cape Day (March 10), a day to wear a cape, look epic, and feel heroic. He currently lives in Columbus, Ohio, with his wife and daughter. He is also the operations manager for LDSPMA.

The Lady and the Map of Sorrow: How Stories can Offer Direction in Dark Times

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By Bridgette Tuckfield   

How Do You Know It Is Going to Be All Right?

There are a few neurological explanations for why time moves much slower when you’re younger, which I reflected on recently when showing the film Howl’s Moving Castle to my niece Sadie, who is four.

Sadie (aka the Lady) is a beautiful and sweet little girl with chubby cheeks, dimples, and the precise and uncanny ability to immediately and perfectly size up your insecurities and then unerringly cut you down to your core with a single sentence (a trait which I both marvel at and fear). She enjoys magic and peril and romance, and I thought Howl might appeal to her.

There is a scene near the beginning of the film when the wizard Howl saves the young protagonist Sophie from some soldiers in an alley. He walks her away, when they begin to be pursued by Howl’s enemies—amorphous undulating black humanoid blobs, sporting dapper hats.

It’s right before the first magical moment of the film—when Howl and Sophie take off flying, literally walking through the air to safety.

When this happened, Sadie crawled into the crevice of the couch, terrified. “FAST FORWARD,” she yelled, and I paused it.

“Sadie,” I said. “Don’t worry. It’s going to be fine. I promise Sophie is going to be fine. Just wait a minute.”

She was incredibly dubious. “How do you know?” she asked.

“I’ve seen the movie before,” I said, which left her unimpressed. I tried a few other tactics, to no avail: I promise you. I wouldn’t show you something terrible. I know it’s scary, but it’s only a few seconds, and then it will be magical (perhaps all the more so, given the peril). Actual time before the magic rescue? About fifteen seconds. I fast-forwarded it that time around; I’m not a monster. After we finished the film, it became Sadie’s favorite movie for a few months, which she could happily watch over and over with no fast-forwarding, but at the time, absolutely nothing worked to console her.

My mother always told Sadie and her sister something when they were afraid during a kid’s movie—something like, “Nothing bad ever happens in a kid’s movie.” Whatever it was, it always seemed to work.

Which was too bad, as I couldn’t ask her.

Mom had died a few months earlier, at age 55.

Grief: Both Universal and Isolating

Grief is, I believe, maybe mostly beyond words. As Daniel Handler put it in his children’s series: “If you have ever lost someone very important to you, then you already know how it feels; and if you haven’t, you cannot possibly imagine it.”

I will say that nowhere and with nothing else have I felt as keenly the conflation of time and space.

What grief can feel like, sometimes, is a wound that will not stop bleeding—and bleeding and bleeding. When you look back it seems you have left a blood trail back to the time and place you cannot get to—the last place in the past where your loved one once lived, and where it seems they still wait as you move further and further away in time, leaving them behind.

What it can do, sometimes, is shrink your entire world to only your loss and pain. Only your lack. With no hope of joy or meaning on the horizon—all that lies in the past, the only land you can never reach again.

It is then, of course, that you are most vulnerable to despair. And once despair sets in around you, it seems like you will never live anywhere else again.

I believe too that it can feel like this for everyone.

Our Sorrow Shall Be Turned Into Joy

Elder S. Mark Palmer addressed those feelings and fears for those of us mired in grief in his recent talk, “Our Sorrow Shall Be Turned Into Joy.” He centers his talk around what are the fundamental principles of our religion: that Jesus Christ died, was buried and rose again on the third day—that Jesus Christ lives and what that means for us:

  1. We will live again after we die. 
  2. This is possible through Christ. 
  3. We will see our loved ones again.

As he puts it:

This knowledge [of Christ’s resurrection] gives meaning and purpose to our lives. If we go forward in faith, we will be forever changed, as were the Apostles of old. We, like them, will be able to endure any hardship with faith in Jesus Christ. This faith also gives us hope for a time when our “sorrow shall be turned into joy.”

Palmer also supports his message with the story of his parents, and how they navigated the loss of his sister Ann.

By illustrating and testifying of these gospel principles, Palmer does a few things:

He gives us an endpoint: the point at which our sorrow will be turned to joy.

He gives us a way to get there: having faith, and following Christ:

He gives us the truth. A way of understanding the world, as it is.

And, in this case, a way out of despair and grief and sorrow.

And what that truth is—what maybe all truths are—

Is a map.

A map to help us find the way through the dark.

Stories Are Maps

What I speak of here—the interrelatedness and importance of maps and narratives (and respectively, space and time)—is not a new concept.

“To ask for a map,” writer Peter Turchi says, “is to say: tell me a story.”

He goes on to say about the similarity: “Maps themselves are stories. They’re simplifications, distillations, and interpretations of a hugely complex world.  Maps provide meaning and context; they reveal patterns and relationships…sometimes maps can reveal hidden stories.”

If a lifetime is a space, then times of grief and loss are a wasteland.

This is perhaps why Elder Palmer ends his talk by stressing the steps you can take through sorrow (although perhaps never out of it), and the place you will find yourself if you do:

I invite all who feel sorrow, all who wrestle with doubt, all who wonder what happens after we die, to place your faith in Christ. I promise that if you desire to believe, then act in faith and follow the whisperings of the Spirit, you will find joy in this life and in the world to come.

As someone amid despair myself, this map spoke to my heart.

Wrestling With Despair as a Saint

All that said, it is not always easy to see the whole picture or the way forward.

Sometimes—perhaps most times—we can only take it on faith.

After all, some things can seem too good to be true, and thus to be regarded with suspicion.

Stories tell us all this, too (Sadie knows this, even at four years old).

Elder Palmer illustrates these difficulties with the story of the apostle Thomas. When Thomas is told of Christ’s resurrection, he doesn’t believe it:

Later Jesus admonished Thomas, “Be not faithless, but believing.” Then the Lord taught the vital role of faith: “Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.”

I have always felt for Thomas—it’s very human, to not want to believe something so longed for. It’s also human, with our limited perspective, to fail to see the whole picture because we only perceive the bad.

Often in scripture, Christ encourages taking a broader perspective. Peter in particular seems to struggle with this (which I love him for).

In Matthew 16:21-25, Christ is walking with and teaching his disciples. He tells them he needs to go to Jerusalem and says he will suffer and die there, to rise again.

Peter objects; he says surely this doesn’t need to happen.

Christ admonishes him and says, functionally, you’re looking at this from a narrow framework.

You’re not looking at this from the view of God and seeing my true mission: the redemption of mankind, and that my death will not separate us for eternity but only for a brief moment. You’re looking at this from your limited mortal eyes, where my death would be just a catastrophe and separate us forever.

In short:

You lack perspective.

You are not seeing the end.

The whole picture.

Darkness Can Delineate Light

Elder Palmer also speaks of the wrenching ways this perspective can be gained and what else can come of it.

He tells the story of the tragic loss of his sister Ann when she was only a toddler, and how it affected his parents:

“Many years later Dad told me that if not for Ann’s tragic death, he would never have been humble enough to accept the restored gospel. Yet the Spirit of the Lord instilled hope that what the missionaries taught was true. My parents’ faith continued to grow until they each burned with the fire of testimony that quietly and humbly guided their every decision in life.”

This illustrates how important contrast can be: dark and light, sorrow and joy.

I know that I have fundamentally changed for the better as a person after the loss of my mother. My faith and connection to Heavenly Parents and Christ have improved.

This does not mean, I must stress, that a specific loss or pain is good or warranted or just or necessary, but rather that it can point us in the right direction.

It can make truths resonate with us more, just as the black ink of a map delineates meaning and space. Just as you can’t know light without dark.

Small Truths

Howl’s Moving Castle is not gospel, of course; it’s just a little gem of a film. And although I didn’t have my mother’s words or presence anymore in this time and place, I could at least comfort Sadie by sitting with her and promising her it would end well.

When it came to Howl at least, I had the whole picture. I knew what was going to happen, and how, and why.

Sadie had to find out for herself. She (like the protagonist Sophie) had to take the next steps, go through the (literally) fifteen seconds of dark (or in this case, again, very mild animated peril), to get to the magic part.

But in that moment, and in that film, are small truths. Facts that resonate, and that you can hold on to in times of fog and despair.

That you can never be certain of exactly how the end will look until you get there.

That you have reserves of strength and power and beings who care for you, that you aren’t even aware of right now.

And that ultimately, everything is going to be all right.

Maybe—almost certainly—it will be better than anything you can imagine right now.

Our Role: To Show a Way Through the Dark, as Best We Can, With the Truths We Know

Truths (and the stories they’re embedded in) can be maps through darkness and despair. This is the case whether they are an ultimate truth such as Elder Palmer spoke of, or a small one like in Howl’s Moving Castle.

I appreciate talks like Elder Palmer’s because his message was the promise of the purpose and the ending, given to us.

He gave us a map to follow. Like all narratives do.

For me, taking this message to heart meant flipping around the proverbial map of sorrow I was working with.

I was not moving away from my mother, as I once believed — I am moving towards her. The lines between myself and her in the time and space that separates us are not trails of blood and tears as they felt and sometimes still feel, but bonds.

The world around us is getting darker and brighter all the time.

And storytelling is—and has perhaps always been—a “deeply spiritual act,” as the poet Clarissa Pinkola Estés says.

It’s our job to add to the light.

I believe we do this not by shying away from the dark — by timidly skirting a way around it, as we seldom get to do in life.

I believe we do this by, instead, showing a way through it.

Bridgette Tuckfield is a writer and semiotician.

I Can’t Even Get a Job at McDonald’s: Overcoming Impossibilities in Life and Writing

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By Steve Dunn Hanson   

I’m at the age where some of my closest friends have passed on. While I miss them, what they have taught me by their words and lives continues to affect me deeply.

Lloyd Rasmussen was a few years older than me and over the years, our relationship moved from him being my church leader and mentor to the kind of close friendship I’ve had with only a handful of people. He was the kind of friend you can talk to about anything. While his stellar life was a great example to me, one of his oft repeated statements continues to give me direction, both as I write and as I plod along on my own mortal journey.

There are two kinds of choices a successful person makes: the right ones and the ones they make right.

I can modify whatever choice I make, whatever circumstance I’m in, whatever word, sentence, or chapter I write, to make it better. To make it right. Knowing I can do this has made all the difference in my life.

Another friend, Kaye Terry Hanson, has been an extraordinary example of that principle. Kaye passed away nearly five years ago and was very close to my wife and me for some 50 years. She was my writing mentor, editor, and a constant encouragement. She would tell me, “Writing is easy, Steve. Just dip your pen in your blood and write.” That metaphor has been powerfully descriptive of my writing challenges at times!

As vital as her tutoring in my writing has been, it is her life that has been my inspiration. Kaye taught high school English to help put her husband through medical school. They were not able to have children, and they adopted a boy and a girl. Her husband was finishing his medical residency in Southern California some 45 years ago, and that Thanksgiving, my family and others went to their house for dinner.

The next morning, Kaye showed up on our doorstep with her two little ones. What she told us was shattering. After everyone had gone home that Thanksgiving evening, and without any warning, her husband gathered his clothes, told her he no longer loved her, and left. We were stunned. We wept.

She had been thrown under a bus and was utterly overwhelmed. “What am I going to do?” she lamented. “I can’t even get a job at McDonald’s!”

There was nothing in my limited understanding at that time I could draw on to even begin to console her, but the Spirit put words into my mouth. I said, “I don’t know how, but I promise you if you keep your covenants and focus on the Savior, this experience will redound to your blessing.”

That seemingly impossible promise happened.

At Kaye’s funeral, her stake center in Provo was filled almost to the stage, Virginia (Ginny) Pearce, daughter of President Hinkley, gave the eulogy. She spoke about Kaye’s chronic bout with rheumatic fever as a child, her mother dying from a freak accident when Kaye was on her mission, and Kaye’s divorce and raising her two children as a single mother. She reminded the congregation of Kaye’s struggle with breast cancer and subsequent double mastectomy, and of her latest health challenges with neuropathy, blood clots, and heart irregularities.

Then she related a few of the things Kaye had accomplished—all since her divorce. She earned her PhD in Theater History and was a professor at BYU. She taught theater, a religion class, and communications in the Marriott School of Business. She became the associate director of BYU’s world-class MBA program. In addition, for three years she resided in Jerusalem as associate director of the BYU Jerusalem Center and was on the Young Women’s General Board for the Church.

She traveled all over the world giving seminars on communication to leaders of businesses and organizations and spoke at BYU’s Education Week and at a BYU Devotional. She led tours to Israel and served as a full-time senior missionary in Europe where she worked with young adults throughout the continent and the British Isles. She was an author, a Relief Society president, and a Sunday School teacher. Most  importantly, she was an unexcelled mother, grandmother, and friend.

After Ginny talked, Kaye’s grandchildren paid tribute to their grandmother, and her two children expressed their love and unqualified respect for their mother. Then, we all had one of the experiences of a lifetime. Nine of the great women of the Church, all who had served with Kaye in one capacity or another, stood in a line across the stand and, one-by-one, each came to the pulpit and spoke of how Kaye had blessed her life. That group included two former General Young Women Presidents, a past General Relief Society President, and temple matrons, and counselors in general auxiliary presidencies. Their presence, and what they said, was electrifying.

When I spoke, I asked all in the congregation who had been taught or tutored or mentored by Kaye to stand. Nearly all 700+ who were there rose to their feet. It was an overpowering witness of the influence this woman had on the lives of countless.

A few nights before the funeral, my wife and I went to dinner with Julie Beck and her husband Ramon. The conversation centered around Kaye. With considerable emotion, and in detail, Julie told us how Kaye had taught and trained her. Then she said, “If it hadn’t been for Kaye, I would never have been qualified to serve as General President of the Relief Society.”

Kaye was the woman who, decades before, felt so low and useless, she didn’t think she could even get a job at McDonald’s. She was the woman whose outstanding experiences and opportunities for service would not have likely occurred but for a crushing Thanksgiving event so many years ago. Her choice to somehow make her hopeless situation right, made all the difference.

Her life has been an undimmed beacon for me.

Kaye authored a memoir about growing up in the small Utah town of Beaver and published it in two volumes for her family and friends. I have put these on FamilySearch and invite you to download the (free) PDF copies of Tula I and Tula II to get a glimpse of the life of this remarkable woman. They are found under “Documents” at www.familysearch.org/tree/person/memories/KWHF-N24. You may have to sign in to access them.

Steve Dunn Hanson lives with Joyce, his wife of 57 years, in northeast Washington and is the author of several books, including The Course of Fate trilogy currently available at Amazon. His website is https://stevedunnhanson.com/

Faith and Fear are Two Sides of the Same Coin: 3 Steps to Creating in Faith

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By Lauri Mackey   

Both faith and fear are a belief in something unseen and yet to be experienced; why do we sometimes give fear more power than our faith?

While there are several analogies we can use to prove this point, let’s focus on sharing our creative talents with others as members of LDSPMA—in whatever form that may take. For me, it is a love of the microphone in inspiring others with my words and a love of stringing words together into a poem, a blog, a book, my journal, or simply penning a letter to a friend.

For you, that may also include creating music, editing someone else’s words in the form of a book or lyrics, or acting in front of the camera or catching the scene as the cameraman. 

There is a certain amount of faith and fear that can be in constant battle with each other.

Whatever your chosen form of media from publishing to podcasting, I believe there is a certain amount of faith and fear that can be in constant battle with each other. Faith is the moving force to propel us forward with our work and fear keeps us frozen in place or worse, moving backward.

Let’s examine both for a minute, shall we? Where do faith and fear come from?

Fear

In 2 Timothy 1:7 it reads “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” Let’s be clear that we are not talking about a “fear of God” which is actually not to be afraid of our loving Heavenly Father, but is akin to “awe, worship, and reverence” of God as outlined in the Bible Dictionary. I therefore suggest that fear is most definitely not of God, but of the adversary to stop us in our tracks of not sharing our talents and gifts with others for fear of rejection, shame, guilt, or simply making a mistake.

Faith

But faith, faith is beautiful! Geeking out a bit more in the Bible Dictionary, let me share a few passages found under the definition of faith.

  • Faith is to hope for things which are not seen, but which are true.
  • Faith is kindled by hearing the testimony of those who have faith.
  • Faith is an action word.
  • Faith is a principle of power.
  • Faith is a gift.
  • Faith must be nurtured and sought after.
  • Where there is true faith there are miracles, visions, dreams, healings, and all the gifts of God.

Just reading about faith makes me want to grab my pom-poms and cheer for you to rise up and be the best you can be in whatever your chosen field, but even I have that fear that can cause me to find a million excuses to not work on my book or blog today…the laundry needs to be done, I have errands to run, the dog ate my homework…

How then can we choose faith over fear on sometimes a daily if not hourly basis?

I’d like to suggest three powerful antidotes to your fear:

First, motivation is not step one.

Second, leveling up your support.

Third, cultivate a green thumb.

First: Motivation is Not Step One

If you are waiting for motivation to hit you between the eyes, you are putting your life and your work on hold unnecessarily. Motivation is a powerful tool, but you will never keep it going if you don’t take the first step.

The best example I can use is that of attending an awe-inspiring, motivating, rah-rah conference. It could have been an amazing podcast you listened to or a Time Out for Women event, or the latest LDSPMA conference. You go, you get inspired, you meet people in your field and chat with them, you take copious amounts of notes, and then rush home to do the work only to be waylaid yet again. What happened? You were completely fired up and then fizzled out after day one or week one. It’s because motivation is step two.

Step one is action. Motivation is step two. But there is a third step you absolutely must take in order for this to work. The third step is momentum.

You absolutely must take step one which then motivates you. You then create a cycle of action, motivation, action, motivation, action, motivation, which in turn creates momentum.

Have you ever tried to move a large object uphill? You need a running start, maybe an extra person or two or three, and then momentum is created to get your large object up the hill. Without it you stay at the bottom of the hill simply staring at your large object and the large hill and never try.

So who are those extra couple of people that helped you get the large object up the hill to create the momentum you needed? That brings us to our next item of support.

Second: Leveling Up Your Support

Jeffrey R Holland said it best: “Faith-filled life is not a stress-free life.”

I believe that we are always going to have some sort of stress in our life. One of my favorite sayings lately is that “I don’t love drama, but it loves me.” I’m over here minding my own business when KAPLOWEE!! A friend is in distress, relatives are bickering, a sister I minister to has gotten offended once again and wants to tell you all the reasons she will never come to another church activity ever again…you get the idea.

I understand that we can also create our own stress, but the point is that even if you’ve done everything you can to eliminate stress in your life, things happen. It’s life! It wasn’t meant to be smooth and if your life has been a cakewalk I truly want to visit with you and learn your secret as soon as possible.

Stress comes in so many forms—physical stress, emotional stress, work stress, school stress, family stress, relationship stress, and yes, even church stress. Stress is something that in main stream media has become the enemy. It is wrapped up in a big ol’ ball of yuckiness that attacks at any given moment. Sometimes it sneaks up on you ever so slowly and sometimes it just smacks you in the face…right between the eyes. Let’s break down stress a little further.

My motto has been “to clean a mess you have to make a mess.” 

Have you ever cleaned out a closet, a drawer, or your file cabinet? You have to make a mess to clean a mess. It gets worse before it gets better, but downsize and get rid of you must.  Admittedly, I’m an organizational freakazoid. Whenever I start feeling overwhelmed and completely stressed out, my first line of defense is to take inventory, evaluate what I can possibly let go, and then manage my feeling of being overwhelmed.…I clean out a closet.

Whatever is stressing you out, step back, take an inventory and see what you can let go. This is the first step in letting unnecessary stress go. Then step two would be to up-level your support to not only match your stress, but hopefully surpass it. Stress is ok. You heard me correctly.  Stress is ok, but it absolutely must be tempered with support. If your scales are not balanced between your state of being overwhelmed and your support, you are stressed.

Sometimes the stress we are working with can be handled on our own through prayer, scripture study, talking it out with a friend or relative. But sometimes you need more than that. Anytime I’m feeling overwhelmed and I can’t seem to shake it I inevitably reach for one of two things—my therapist’s phone number, or someone specific to help me in whatever is the stressful problem. If it’s an emotional problem, yes, it’s the therapist, but if it’s a spiritual problem it may be my bishop. If it’s a problem with my book and I’ve hit a wall, I call my author friends.

Stress may be our constant companion at times, but I believe with the right type and level of support, faith will win over fear every time. Grab those one or two or three people to help you push that large object up that even larger hill.

Third: Cultivating a Green Thumb

Faith starts as a seed…but just like a seed it takes time and cultivation to grow into something worthwhile. What does that mean for us in practical terms? Practice!

Abraham Lincoln once said that “Discipline is choosing between what you want now and what you want most.” Discipline is all about practicing. It’s about choosing again, again, and again to work toward what you want most instead of what you want right now.

What does [faith] mean for us in practical terms? Practice!

Think about this with exercise. From the professional football player or ballerina to the mom wanting to gain strength back so that she can keep up with her toddler, discipline is needed to take the time and required effort to exercise to achieve your goal.

Think about this with a musical instrument. When I interviewed Jenny Oaks Baker for my podcast, the thing that struck me most was the time commitment her parents had taught her growing up in playing the violin. She has lovingly passed on that trait to her children who now tour with her. Discipline is all about practicing.

Admittedly, I was born with more of a black thumb than a green one. I’ve killed more plants than I can count—so sad. But I kept at it. I learned how to choose plants that were more hardy and could survive my black thumb issues. I employed people who knew how to take care of plants and asked for help. I’m happy to report that while I may have not gotten all the way to having a green thumb, it’s definitely more brown than black.

Faith is the same. Perhaps you were born with a green thumb and I am so happy for you! But if you tend to lean more towards the black or brown thumb persuasion, there is hope! Don’t ever give up! Practice can and will support you in your journey towards more and more faith.

Decide now to do what President Nelson in the April 2020 general conference challenged us to do when he said, “The Lord loves effort.” Discipline takes effort, and sometimes that effort includes a lot of hard work, but with our Heavenly Father, the Savior Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost by our sides, we can try a little harder.

Faith and fear are two sides of the same coin: both are a belief in something unseen and yet to be experienced.

Your gifts and talents in your chosen field are needed. My hope is that you can find some motivation in these words and plan right now to take that action step that will create your own motivation, and then momentum in giving faith all of the glory and power it deserves and kicking fear to the curb.

Lauri Mackey, Positivity Crusader, is the proprietor of Lauri’s Lemonade Stand, a Positivity Podcast for Women and authoress of Positivity Happens, Creating Happiness and Finding Hope through The Art of Holiatry. Lauri is currently working on her next book and holding firesides throughout the Western United States with the goal of sharing hope, light, and love with others. Lauri’s unique background of struggle through experience has her shouting from the rooftops that if she can come through it, anyone can! 

Links to Lauri’s work:

Facebook @LaurisLemonadeStand

Positivity Happens Book

LLS Podcast on Apple Podcasts

LLS Podcast on Spotify

Lauri’s Lemonade Stand Website/Blog

Humbly, I Market: 5 Reminders of the Power of Humility in Creating

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By Emma Heggem  

When I first started editing, I thought I had all the necessary job requirements because I knew how to identify weaknesses in a book and recommend solutions. Then I realized I had to convince real humans—people who had spent months or years writing their book—that I had useful advice for them. When I first started, all they saw was a stranger telling them what was wrong with the product of their labors. Until I proved my expertise, we didn’t get anywhere. 

Marketing our expertise is true about any product or service. Whatever role you play in the media industries, you are eventually going to put something out into the world and hope other people find it. However, if you want people to actually discover the existence of your work and pay attention, you will have to get involved in some level of marketing.

We’re all marketers in the end.

1. Recognize Humility isn’t About Being Ashamed of Your Talents

Most of us go into publishing or media creation because we have a talent that we want to share.  There’s nothing wrong with that. After all, God gave us those talents for a reason. Personally, I have felt His guiding hand in my career, helping me find jobs and pushing me towards opportunities to work with some amazing people.

But He has never convinced someone else of my skills before. He provides the opportunity for me to prove myself, but He doesn’t send promptings to the client or hiring agent that I am the editor they need. He sends me a picture of a job notice from a friend or puts my website in front of a potential client. The rest is up to me. Sometimes I prove my skills through a résumé or an editing sample. Sometimes I do it through social media or by writing blog posts. Regardless of the method, proving what I can do is a necessary part of using my talent to the fullest.

2. Know Where Your Talents Lie

I didn’t just wake up one day and believe I was a good editor. I started out as a student, taking classes and doing industry research. Once I’d learned enough, I began applying those lessons to actual books. Over time, and with feedback from other editors, authors, and readers, I tested those skills. I found some weaknesses that I could work on (some are still works in progress!) and I learned what strengths I have. For example, I have determined that my work is able to help authors write stronger plot lines and engage their audience, but it isn’t great at catching all the typos and grammatical errors. This knowledge gives me the confidence to tell people about my editing skills, but also the humility to know when my services aren’t the right fit. 

It isn’t pride to tell people what you can honestly do. If you use known facts and unbiased reviews, you can create marketing messages that genuinely reflect the quality of your work and help the right people find out about it.

You can use beta readers, reviewers, or industry gatekeepers to test your work. You can attend classes and conferences to continually adapt your knowledge to the changing industry and expand your skills. You can even create claims that you know to be true. For example, you may believe that everyone will love your movie. But what a humble creator will tell everyone is that they know the movie is a classic fantasy adventure tale for 12 year olds. You may believe the special effects are unbelievable, but you can know for certain that top industry professionals made them. (Think of all the movie trailers that begin with “From the creators of X.”)

Making factual claims and using reviews to verify your work may not be as flashy as sweeping messages about being the best and the newest, but it allows you to make public claims about your work that are coming from a place of honesty and not a place of pride. This is a huge step in creating a marketing message and still preserving your humility.

3. Get the Word Out

Marketing isn’t just about creating a message. It’s also about spreading it far and wide. In the modern age, there are many ways to do that. Social media ads, TV commercials, pitches to industry professionals, printed advertisements, giveaways, and many more opportunities exist. Because there are so many opportunities, you have to be careful not to over-saturate your audience.

As far as I know, there is no commandment that says, “Thou shalt not tell everyone thou knowest about thy book release.” But I think we all have been annoyed by a marketing attempt at least once in our lives, and I feel there is a commandment about that. I think it’s safe to assume that “love thy neighbor” includes things like not adding them to your email list without their permission and not messaging them weekly about liking your Facebook page. Still, as long as we are being kind and courteous, it’s okay to ask if friends and family are interested every once in a while. 

Your current friends and family are not the only people you will likely reach out to. Endorsements from respected industry professionals can be a useful tool. Reviews from popular bloggers can get the word out. People with big email lists or social media followings can help spread the news beyond your own personal connections. Some people may feel that humility prevents them from assuming these big names and large reaches would have any interest in their work. However, asking for help is a principle of the gospel. We are encouraged to allow others to have a chance to serve their fellow man. As long as you are polite and give them a genuine chance to say no, there is no reason to be afraid of reaching out to influencers for help.

Asking for help is a principle of the gospel.

4. Do Not Raise Yourself Above Your Fellow Man

One of my favorite things about the publishing industry is the way it tends to be a supportive community rather than a cutthroat competition. Books and movies are an inclusive interest. It’s not like buying a phone or a house. Just because a customer buys one doesn’t mean they won’t buy another. In fact, in my experience, readers are more likely to buy books later if the first one they bought is good. Good media supports other good media.

Because of this, being a good marketer doesn’t have to be a competition. A humble person can advertise their own book and still leave positive reviews on books by other authors. A humble person can market their own editing skills and still give contract tips to other editors. To be a good member of the media industries, you need to accept help and offer it.

You can offer help in many different ways. An aspiring author can share the news that a publisher or agent is accepting submissions. A humble editor can pass on clients whose work falls outside their realm of expertise to other editors. A bestselling author could speak at conferences or recommend their favorite learning materials to those still trying to make a name for themselves.

Your success does not need to come at the expense of others; an attitude of humility is recognizing that your success puts you in a position to help others instead. Heavenly Father didn’t give us these talents to stop anyone else from creating. If we allow our success to prevent us from caring for our brothers and sisters, we are no longer using our talents to serve the Lord. We are only using them to serve ourselves.

5. Let Your Light Shine

I have felt the guiding hand of my Heavenly Father many times in my career and have seen Him do the same for others. The work we do by putting out good books and movies and other media adds brightness to the world. We should not be ashamed of our talents and should not let a false sense of humility stop us from sharing them with the world.

The world deserves to know what you can create. Whether you provide a service to creators or a final product to consumers, the work you do can be uplifting to those around you as long as you keep in mind that sharing our labors is about spreading joy and goodness into the world.

By realistically representing our talents, accepting negative feedback, and treating competitors, coworkers, and potential customers with kindness, we can share our talents with the world and still remain faithful, humble servants of our Lord.

Emma Heggem is the managing editor at Future House Publishing where she specializes in content editing sci-fi and fantasy novels. When she’s not editing, she loves to attend writers conferences to take pitches, give critiques, and demystify the publishing industry. She also runs a writing/editing advice blog (www.editsbyemma.com). Emma graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in English language and a minor in editing.

Cussing & Creating: 3 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t (& Should!) Use Profanities in Your Writing

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By Lizzy Pingry   

During World War II, American soldier Audie Murphy earned a total of twenty-eight medals, including two from France and one from Belgium, making him the most decorated soldier in American history. His story was so extraordinary that in 1955, it was sensationalized in a film that Murphy himself starred in. To Hell and Back is his biography, and at one point, it shows the death of Murphy’s best friend, Lattie Tipton (named “Brandon” in the film). The scene was understandably difficult for Murphy, as Brandon is shot, looks at him from a distance, and falls down dead. However, this scene as depicted in the movie is not what really happened. Murphy stated, “When we shot the scene, we changed the part where Brandon died in my arms. That was the way it had really happened, but it looked too corny, they said. I guess it did.” 

This highly decorated soldier had to relive one of his worst days, and a director or writer looked him in the eye and told him that the truth “looked too corny,” and the concept of that situation is just as shocking as the death itself. When writers censor or change the truth of a situation because it makes them uncomfortable or because it may be unpopular, they risk invalidating the truth, especially in nonfiction. Latter-day Saint authors have to grapple with the concept of censorship when trying to decide whether or not to use profanities in their writing. 

Language: What Is It Good For? Absolutely Everything

The debate of appropriate use of language is an argument spanning centuries. It is one of the reasons the English language is so adaptable. Some words in English didn’t start as profanities but eventually evolved into something inappropriate for polite society. The Journal.ie’s article “The Historical Origins of 6 Swear Words We Use Every Day” explains that the Proto-Indo European’s base word skie, or the Old English scitte, started as a verb and noun (respectively) for “separating” or “purging” from the body. This base eventually evolved to suit the needs of the speakers until it stopped meaning “going to the bathroom” and started being a vulgarity for excrement. Meanwhile, some words started as vulgarities and eventually shifted into every-day terms. For example, a silly sounding word, zounds, is an archaic exclamation (popular in Baroness Orczy’s The Scarlet Pimpernel) meaning “God’s wounds,” and it was a terrible curse when it was first introduced. 

Words are not capable of being bad by themselves. Even our synonyms for the phrase “swear words” supports that idea: vulgar means lacking in sophistication, and profane means disrespectful or irreverent. The word is only as powerful as our reaction to it as individuals and as a society. God’s name is a prayer—until it is used as an exclamation. The way we use the word defines its appropriateness, and we have to vet each term and syllable. Is it worse to say that it’s a “damn beautiful day” or to tell an overeager child to “please shut up”? Writers must evaluate the way they express themselves: how does our use of language and its profanities build or destroy our stories?

The word is only as powerful as our reaction to it.

Writers who are disinclined to use profane words in their writing might be familiar with a First Presidency message, in which Spencer W. Kimball addressed the world—specifically writers!—on profanities. He stated, “I lately picked up a book, widely circulated, highly recommended, a best-seller, and my blood ran cold at the profane and vulgar conversations therein, and I cringed as the characters used in an ugly way the sacred names of Deity. Why? Why do authors sell themselves so cheaply and desecrate their God-given talents? Why do they profane and curse?” Those who prefer to avoid using strong language in their writing may reflect on Book Cave’s article, “Profanity in Books: Show Don’t Tell Emotion,” which points out that “there are more effective ways to make the world ‘bloom’…the use of vulgarity quickly becomes a cheap, convenient device to give the impression that the book is up-to-date and realistic.” These individuals argue that profanity in any form is a sin and an example of weak writing styles; they believe that profanity is an excuse to express strong emotions without having to be vulnerable.

Meanwhile, we have stories about “the cursing apostle” J. Golden Kimball, who, when driving a stubborn stage of oxen, started cursing to get them moving. He remembered, saying: “Boy, how I did cuss! Did I wax eloquent! I’m afraid I did. But, did those oxen sit up and take notice? They sure did; every one of them got down to business. You see, they were Church oxen, and when you talked that language to them they understood it.” This humble and humorous story of working with Church oxen is a reminder that we are, none of us, perfect, and since that’s the case, we can’t expect the characters in our writing to be perfect either. The Writing Cooperative’s article “Should You Use Curse Words in Your Writing?” (heads up! This one uses strong curse words, so don’t read it if you want to avoid that kind of language) insists “swearing isn’t the only way to express emotion, but it is a tool in your arsenal.” Writers who use profanities in their work may relate to the article “Writing Dark Things as a Positive Person” by Zachariah Wahrer where he states, “If a story is all positive, it isn’t interesting. We have to have conflict, deception, destruction, lies, etc., to make it interesting, because that is how we experience everyday life (albeit usually on a smaller scale).” These individuals argue that strong language is representative of human nature and realism; they believe that profanity is an opportunity to represent a variety of character voices and experiences. 

This argument is relevant to writers all over the world. Writers can join the discussion by educating themselves on the pros and cons of using profanities in our writing. 

3 Reasons Why You Can Feel Justified Using Profanities in Your Writing

Lattie Tipton’s death was so traumatic that even nearly fifteen years later, Audie Murphy struggled to maintain composure while reenacting the scene. While the film’s representation of the scene is still potent, knowing the truth of the death is even more so. Failing to accurately represent the situation changed the meaning behind the scene, and one could argue that the same could apply to using profanities. For example, let’s take the phrase, coined initially by U.S. Naval officer David Glasgow Farragut: “Damn the torpedos! Full speed ahead!” This phrase is a popular colloquialism meaning to move forward despite the risks you may face.

If we were to take that phrase and change it to avoid the profanity, we lose the intention behind the phrase. Neither “Don’t worry about the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!” nor “Forget the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!” carries the same reckless abandon as the vulgarity; the original phrase stirs a level of shock and awe, and it is far more realistic to imagine a sailor cursing. The profanity is an exclamation we expect from such a character, and some authors (and readers) feel strong language is justified because it lends itself to realism. 

Don’t worry about the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!

It could be argued that fictional characters cannot be directly quoted, so providing alternatives to profanities is not going to change the meaning. To expand on that counter-argument, let’s look at Tim O’Brien’s novel The Things We Carried, which is introduced as a nonfictional memoir of American soldiers in Vietnam. Strong language is used throughout the book; these were real men surviving war, and if changing an experience invalidates it, we should expect nonfiction writers to honor the language as much as they can. However, at the end of the novel, readers come to understand that it was never a memoir; none of the men were real, and it takes first-time readers by surprise because the details are so accurate, so realistic, that it’s more unbelievable to think these characters weren’t human. The language they use is shocking, but expected. If O’Brien created fake characters and let them swear like soldiers, was he being profane, or was he representing the soldiers who did exist, even namelessly? Writers argue that these vulgarities are tools for intentionality. We would not correct real human beings for their profane statements; why should writers have to tiptoe around fictional characters inspired by those same people? 

Influential comedian Richard Pryor noted, “What I’m saying might be profane, but it’s also profound,” suggesting that strong language can convey powerful messages. What’s more is the fact that writers are crafting something; their decisions in their work are not always meant to represent their personal values. Conflict and antagonists must exist to create a story, and these conflicts can sometimes be gruesome, raw, and violent because the protagonist has to overcome these evils to develop. To this day, Cormac McCarthy’s The Road is impacting lives because of its haunting imagery. McCarthy wrote about characters that would kill their own children to survive; does that mean he agrees with the tactic and would implement it himself? No. The same could be said for writers who use profanity. These writers can uphold Oscar Wilde’s insight: “I didn’t say I liked it. I said it fascinated me. There is a great difference.” 

3 Reasons Why You Should Feel Justified Not Using Profanities in Your Writing

On the other hand, writers are meant to develop the skills of producing powerful emotions without leaning on the reader’s shock. C.S. Lewis wrote to a young author about adjectives saying, “…instead of telling us a thing was ‘terrible,’ describe it so that we’ll be terrified. Don’t say it was ‘delightful’; make us say ‘Delightful!’ when we’ve read the description. You see, all those words…are only like saying to your readers ‘Please, will you do my job for me?’”

Don’t say it was ‘delightful’; make us say ‘Delightful!’ when we’ve read the description.

C.S. Lewis

The same reasoning can apply to using vulgarities. Writers claim that using profanity is a signal of lazy writing, and Mark Twain humorously suggested, “Substitute ‘damn’ every time you’re inclined to write ‘very;’ your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be.” 

Writers who won’t use profanities have to adapt their work around the void, and doing so can make it just as impactful, particularly since vulgarity for shock value is a detriment to the reader and potentially to the work, especially the more it is used. For example, when you hear about the 2013 film “The Wolf of Wall Street,” you may not think about the story of corrupt stockbrokers in America. Instead, you probably remember it as being the most expletive film in history. The consequence of “realistic” profanity? This film won’t be remembered for the characters or their development, nor the conflict or how it was or wasn’t overcome, but for its use of over 700 swear words. Realistically, this is profanity. Outside a Latter-day Saint community, people use strong language as frequently as any other part of speech. If writers want to claim profanity as realism, they may find their work being analyzed for reasons they didn’t intend. 

Using profanities is not as tempting when you realize that there are ways to work around doing so. Great men and women throughout history have avoided using profanities, even when they could have been justified to do so. Teddy Roosevelt, America’s 26th president, didn’t swear.

Using profanities is not required to develop a unique character voice.

Instead, according to Mental Floss’s article “16 Savage Teddy Roosevelt Insults,” he employed colorful phrases to describe his frustrations. Rachel Hawkins’ young adult novel Rebel Belle produces a narrator who censors her friend’s strongest language throughout the story because “this is my story, so I’m cleaning it up a little.” Language contributes to realism, and using profanities is not required to develop a unique character voice. 

Who is Right and What Really Matters

Both sides of the argument are so compelling and it makes the decision that much harder. We are advised to use “praiseworthy” language, but as artists, we aim to reveal the truth of our reality. Toni Morrison’s novel Beloved is one of the most influential stories of our time, and it uses explicit violence and language to tell the truth. Writers can’t be expected to use profanities to deliver that truth, but I would say they can’t be expected not to either. This debate is one for the ages. 

In the end, I can only say to write what is true to you. Validation of your art is not necessary for it to exist; what you write will continue with or without others’ approval. Whatever language you decide to implement, I simply recommend that you do so deliberately and with the understanding that your words—profane or not—carry a meaning that will affect your readers. What you choose to put in or take out can change your story in big ways and little ways at the same time: To Hell and Back told the true story of a soldier who witnessed the death of his best friend, and whether Lattie Tipton died on a hillside or in Audie Murphy’s arms, he still died. 

Lizzy Pingry is a full-time editor and enthusiastic writer. She graduated with a degree in English and emphasis in creative writing from BYU-Idaho and has worked as an editor on multiple projects since 2016. She lives in Idaho with her husband and their cat, Jack.