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as an atheist I'm glad Brandon is mormon


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I read the stormlight books before I found out Brandon is a devout mormon and at first it was really disappointing but after thinking about it for a year I've realized that it must be why he can write so much. I mean if I couldn't drink or smoke id have to have a lot more hobbies. I also was worried that Brandons mormonism would somehow show up in his writing but after reading all released cosmere works (still haven't finished Elantris though its so slow) I've realized that the religions are some of my favorite parts of his books and they're all so varied and imaginative yet believable. also on rereading WOK I came across a scene where Jasnah talks about her atheism and It was almost exactly how I personally feel, so shouts out to brandaddy for really taking the time to understand lots of viewpoints and writing the best books ever 

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1 hour ago, hoidanalsium said:

I read the stormlight books before I found out Brandon is a devout mormon and at first it was really disappointing but after thinking about it for a year I've realized that it must be why he can write so much. I mean if I couldn't drink or smoke id have to have a lot more hobbies. I also was worried that Brandons mormonism would somehow show up in his writing but after reading all released cosmere works (still haven't finished Elantris though its so slow) I've realized that the religions are some of my favorite parts of his books and they're all so varied and imaginative yet believable. also on rereading WOK I came across a scene where Jasnah talks about her atheism and It was almost exactly how I personally feel, so shouts out to brandaddy for really taking the time to understand lots of viewpoints and writing the best books ever 

There are a few things where Mormonism affects Cosmere writing, but it luckily has not controlled it, yet. The main effects are: 

1) How he writes relationships... which is typically prudish. Pretty much all of them. There is kinda one case in Warbreaker, but that's really the only case I see. 

2) There is a huge character arch in Hero of Ages that is heavily influenced by Mormon themes. Luckily, the conclusion of the arch isn't Mormon, which made it far more interesting as a result. 

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On 4/5/2019 at 5:57 PM, TheOrlionThatComesBefore said:

There are a few things where Mormonism affects Cosmere writing, but it luckily has not controlled it, yet. The main effects are: 

1) How he writes relationships... which is typically prudish. Pretty much all of them. There is kinda one case in Warbreaker, but that's really the only case I see. 

2) There is a huge character arch in Hero of Ages that is heavily influenced by Mormon themes. Luckily, the conclusion of the arch isn't Mormon, which made it far more interesting as a result. 

which character arc?

 

On 4/5/2019 at 5:54 PM, Pagliacci said:

He wouldn't be a good fantasy author if he couldn't write beyond his own experiences. ;)

true lol 

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4 hours ago, Scion of the Mists said:

I'm confused - do smoking/drinking prevent you from having hobbies?  And do you consider Brandon's writing career a hobby?

they don't prevent hobbies but they definitely reduce productivity and Brandons writing started as a hobby but yes its more than that now 

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As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons), I can say there is a lot in Brandon's books that bring my faith to mind, but much of it is just stuff that is present in many different ways of thinking and religions. It is the inspirational themes of redemption, of right and wrong, and characters experiencing growth through adversity. In his BYU lectures he talks about how much he hates "straw man" arguments, where characters are set up to argue their view point poorly and then be proven wrong, and he was determined not to do that in his books. The results are brilliant characters like Jasnah! 

On 4/4/2019 at 8:26 PM, hoidanalsium said:

 I've realized that the religions are some of my favorite parts of his books and they're all so varied and imaginative yet believable.

Me too! To the point that I am weirded out with other book series that don't really mention varied and different belief systems and how they effect society. IRL they are pretty darn influencial!

Brandon is probably not going to venture into anything particularly pornographic or extremely dark because that isn't the kind of person or writer he is. I don't like reading that myself so I am grateful for it, though there are plenty of phenomenal books and authors who go there.

Basically, I think it is awesome that his characters can be so diverse and varied so that they speak to so many different people. He's going to keep branching out and pushing himself and I can't wait to see where that takes us. There is going to be more and more representation in his books and I am stoked!

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The only thing I have to contribute is that there is currently a big push amongst members to stop referring to ourselves as "Mormons" or 'LDS" and use the official name which is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints". It's a little confusing to people that think we worship mormon and other things. They have even changed several official websites and the main choir to reflect this emphasis.

Not really interested in debating religion or anything; just wanted to do my part to respect the wishes of everyone who is belongs to that church (which seems to be a significant percentage on this site). 

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On 5/4/2019 at 5:26 AM, hoidanalsium said:

I read the stormlight books before I found out Brandon is a devout mormon and at first it was really disappointing but after thinking about it for a year I've realized that it must be why he can write so much. I mean if I couldn't drink or smoke id have to have a lot more hobbies.
 

I don't smoke or drink because I don't like it, and I have a lot of other hobbies; but i don't have the  drive to excel, because I am too lazy. that has nothing to do with religion.
 

Quote


I also was worried that Brandons mormonism would somehow show up in his writing but after reading all released cosmere works (still haven't finished Elantris though its so slow) I've realized that the religions are some of my favorite parts of his books and they're all so varied and imaginative yet believable. also on rereading WOK I came across a scene where Jasnah talks about her atheism and It was almost exactly how I personally feel, so shouts out to brandaddy for really taking the time to understand lots of viewpoints and writing the best books ever 

 

I think you too were spoiled by the vocal minority of religious people who are always attracting attention to their religion and are disrespectful to others.

it is not something exclusive to religion. I really don't like terry goodkind for the way his political opinions show through the book.

however, those are just the cases that are visible. there surely are a lot of religious authors out there, but with most of them you never learn because they keep it for themselves. You cross many religious people along the road, but they don't start preaching at you, so you don't notice them. The ones you notice are the ones that annoy you, which leads to a case of cherry picking bias. Same goes for politics.

And I am glad that brandon is mormon, because I was also suffering that bias before finding out about him.

Furthermore,

On 5/4/2019 at 6:54 AM, Pagliacci said:

He wouldn't be a good fantasy author if he couldn't write beyond his own experiences. ;)

this. If he can write a woman, a drug addict, a guy with depression and post traumatic stress disorder, then there's no  reason he should not write an atheist. A good author can think with someone else's head to write a character.

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On 4/4/2019 at 8:26 PM, hoidanalsium said:

I read the stormlight books before I found out Brandon is a devout mormon and at first it was really disappointing but after thinking about it for a year I've realized that it must be why he can write so much. I mean if I couldn't drink or smoke id have to have a lot more hobbies. I also was worried that Brandons mormonism would somehow show up in his writing but after reading all released cosmere works (still haven't finished Elantris though its so slow) I've realized that the religions are some of my favorite parts of his books and they're all so varied and imaginative yet believable. also on rereading WOK I came across a scene where Jasnah talks about her atheism and It was almost exactly how I personally feel, so shouts out to brandaddy for really taking the time to understand lots of viewpoints and writing the best books ever 

Huh.

Yeah, agreed on (almost) every point

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On 4/8/2019 at 0:27 PM, Singer said:

Basically, I think it is awesome that his characters can be so diverse and varied so that they speak to so many different people. He's going to keep branching out and pushing himself and I can't wait to see where that takes us. There is going to be more and more representation in his books and I am stoked!

I agree wholeheartedly :) 

 

On 4/9/2019 at 0:24 PM, king of nowhere said:

this. If he can write a woman, a drug addict, a guy with depression and post traumatic stress disorder, then there's no  reason he should not write an atheist. A good author can think with someone else's head to write a character.

I grew up in a very conservative and close minded religion so to see someone who is religious but also open minded about other viewpoints was just very impressive to me

 

On 4/9/2019 at 0:24 PM, king of nowhere said:

I think you too were spoiled by the vocal minority of religious people who are always attracting attention to their religion and are disrespectful to others.

it is not something exclusive to religion. I really don't like terry goodkind for the way his political opinions show through the book.

however, those are just the cases that are visible. there surely are a lot of religious authors out there, but with most of them you never learn because they keep it for themselves. You cross many religious people along the road, but they don't start preaching at you, so you don't notice them. The ones you notice are the ones that annoy you, which leads to a case of cherry picking bias. Same goes for politics.

I agree with you here, I have strong opinions on religion, politics and many other things but I never feel like its my place to beat people over the head with it

 

On 4/9/2019 at 0:06 PM, Ammanas said:

The only thing I have to contribute is that there is currently a big push amongst members to stop referring to ourselves as "Mormons" or 'LDS" and use the official name which is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints". It's a little confusing to people that think we worship mormon and other things. They have even changed several official websites and the main choir to reflect this emphasis.

Not really interested in debating religion or anything; just wanted to do my part to respect the wishes of everyone who is belongs to that church (which seems to be a significant percentage on this site). 

I'm probably gonna sound like a jerk here but The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is just a lot to type

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35 minutes ago, hoidanalsium said:

I'm probably gonna sound like a jerk here but The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is just a lot to type

It is, and the push is coming from the "new leader", not an organic cultural development. Particularly when for the past couple decades, millions of dollars have been spent by the church to associate it with the label "Mormon." 

It's kind of like people getting mad when you write X-Mas instead of Christmas. It ignores the history of the word by making up a problem and leads to, frankly, petty policing of language. 

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@hoidanalsium Just to let you know, you can hit the Plus by the Quote symbol to put multiple quotes in the same post. Try not to double post :) 

Additionally, I'd like to generically remind people to be overly respectful in discussions of religion. We will be watching this thread.

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On 4/8/2019 at 11:06 PM, Chaos said:

@hoidanalsium Just to let you know, you can hit the Plus by the Quote symbol to put multiple quotes in the same post. Try not to double post :) 

Additionally, I'd like to generically remind people to be overly respectful in discussions of religion. We will be watching this thread.

Dang it, the first time the lord ruler of the forums notices me and its to mildly scold me. I'll be better next time Brightlord I swear. :) 

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1 hour ago, hoidanalsium said:

Dang it, the first time the lord ruler of the forums notices me and its to mildly scold me. I'll be better next time Brightlord I swear. :) 

I wouldn't take it as such. @Chaos always tends to post his "we are watching you" warning whenever a religious debate is starting or about to start. That's from experience on the internet telling him that things could go terribly south. 

Edited by Chaos
Editing out obvious thing which is irrelevant to discussion that served no purpose other than to make people upset
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(Would like to point out that yes, the full name of the Church is quite long, but Latter-day Saint is still an acceptable way to refer to members, and that there is more to it than a simple name-change.)

Anyways. Agreed that Brandon's ability to write viewpoints other than his own is one of the reasons he is such a good writer, and is a skill that is unfortunately all too rare.

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