Dispatches from Mormon Zion
Ryan W. Davis. Eerdmans, $22.99 (200p) ISBN 978-0-8028-8469-5
Political philosopher Davis (Why It’s OK to Own a Gun) explores Mormon faith and community in this diffuse essay collection. The best pieces wrestle directly with the tenets of Mormonism. “Millennial Imagining,” for example, suggests that Latter-Day Saint communities have “perhaps a little by accident” created Zion—a community “of one heart and mind”—by removing cultural scripts that can get in the way of genuine human connection. One such notion is that college is solely a place to drink and party; doing away with that idea, as Mormon universities have, can preclude some “prefabricated” interactions and allow for more honest ones, Davis suggests. In “Family Home Evening, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Quietist Theological Relativism,” he argues that Joseph Smith’s claim that all other religions are “abominations” stems from a more general “anticreedalism” that asks adherents to “seek out God for themselves” rather than leaning on doctrine. Other entries are less focused, including a meandering recollection of a fishing excursion, and a meditation on how grades are counterproductive because they can create divisions among students. Davis is a wry and assured storyteller with a knack for finding touchstones of Mormon ethics in contemporary life, though the variety of tonal registers can make the collection feel a bit patchwork. Still, this offers an intriguing window into Mormon thinking. (Mar.)
Details
Reviewed on: 01/21/2025
Genre: Religion