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I'm a huge fan of yours and I would just like to have said that I talked to you. Some Backround on me : I received Ender's Game, Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide, and Children of the Mind on my 8th birthday. I read them and loved them for what they were. I picked up The Shadow series and have read them numerous times. Once A year (and sometimes more ) i would reread Enders Game and each time find something new. I turned 15 a couple of months ago and decided to reread all the Ender series. Having only read Speaker-Children of the Mind when I was eight, i didn't realize what was truly their. I am almost done reading Children of the Mind and I just love it. My Enders Game tally just hit 17 reads through...
I have been raised in the LDS faith my entire life, and love everything about the gospel... After rereading Xenocide, I stumbled upon a quote that got me thinking "Real Gods would want to teach you how to be just like them..." My seminary Teacher, (who btw says he knew you in college Roger Merill) taught us that if we achieved the celestial kingdom we would become "like unto god" I was just curious if that was a deliberate Mormon "infusion" if you will....
Thank you for listening and taking time for a response.. Anything would be awesome Kellen Laker
Posts: 332 | Registered: Apr 2005
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That's a good point about a subtle "LDS doctrine infusion" by OSC. If you look through Speaker, Xenocide, and Children, you'll find a little more. It's fairly subtle and you have to look really hard.
I don't think it's a deliberate infusion by OSC. I think, rather, that it is a side effect of his being raised within the realm of LDS doctrine. It is a natural part of a person's worldview and will come out eventually, even if the person is not trying to.
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I also think (nearly a threadjack) that a lot of people overlook the fact that above all Christian religions, LDS has the most similarities to other world religions and forms of mysticism. If you're going to include mysticism in your novels, chances are it's going to read a lot like LDS.
Then there's always the writers axiom, "write what you know."
Posts: 68 | Registered: Mar 2005
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I don't know if "mysticism" is an accurate comparison to the LDS faith. But, having grown up in the middle of the Bible Belt (south Louisiana) as a Mormon, I'm willing to admit I'm a little sensitive on the subject.
But, I do agree that it has more similarities to, say, Islam, than does Protestantism or Catholicism. The abstinence from alcohol, the 5 daily prayers, the roles of family members, etc. are all common ground with Islam. It has been my experience with many Muslims that, amongst all Christians, they find us a little more approachable.
That said, I don't think that either of the Ender branches (Speaker for the Dead & the Shadow Quartet) has much in the way of mysticism. They largely read like straight science fiction. Even the subjects of the pequininos trees and the auias are handled in a very "sci fi" kind of way. I'd certainly say that they are more sci fi than, say, Star War. While I love the Star Wars series, one has to admit that it's more fantasy than science fiction.
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Dear Kellen: It was more like a wink to Mormon readers. It IS what the character would have said. But I knew Mormon readers would see an extra layer of irony.
LIKE God, though. As in the New Testament verse, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your father in heaven is perfect." so it should also mean something to non-Mormons who know their Bible.
Posts: 2005 | Registered: Jul 1999
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I just saw a Tree of Life reference... In Children of the Mind.. Nice Thanks for the reply Card
Posts: 332 | Registered: Apr 2005
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I listened to a medieval history course on tape 3 or 4 years ago (I was homeschooled) and I remember thinking that the mystics sounded a lot like Joseph Smith. But the word "mystic" doesn't carry very strong "truthfull" conotations nowadays, does it?
Posts: 152 | Registered: Apr 2005
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quote: Even the subjects of the pequininos trees and the auias are handled in a very "sci fi" kind of way.
Actually, I find those elements the most fascinating LDS-influenced concepts in all of Card's work. I didn't even realize the significance of them until, well, a short while after I became LDS and thought about it in hindsight.
Posts: 2689 | Registered: Apr 2000
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I'm also LDS. If you want to see something _really_ cool, read the Homecoming Series (Memory of Earth, Call of Earth, etc.) The whole series is one giant "wink" at LDS readers. I started reading it without knowing what to expect, and I got so excited about it that I couldn't put the books down. They are amazing books, and they bring a lot of new insights to some very familiar themes.
OSC's other religious historical fiction works are also good. Stone Tables, and the Women of Genesis, are very enjoybale too, though they're not really sci-fi like the Homecoming series is.
Posts: 52 | Registered: Mar 2005
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Just one more thing that creates a similarity throughout his books that makes his fans feel like they are reading true OSC.
Posts: 832 | Registered: Jan 2005
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