We are pleased to announce the 2022 Association for Mormon Letters Awards finalists in Film and Religious Nonfiction. The final awards will be announced and presented on April 29, as part of the 2023 Association for Mormon Letters Virtual Conference. The finalists and winners are chosen by juries of authors, academics, and critics. The announcements include book blurbs and author biographies, usually adapted from the author and publisher websites.
The judges for the “Film” category considered a wide range of video formats and genres, including feature films, short films, feature films, television programs, and documentaries.
Film
The Brilliant Darkness! (Dem Toi Ruc Ro!). Aaron Toronto, director, co-writer, and co-producer. Nha Uyen Ly Nguyen, co-writer, co-producer, and lead actor. Feature film.
On the last night of their grandfather’s funeral, a family is thrust into chaos when they learn their father has wasted the family fortune gambling, and the mafia comes to collect. They will be paid by sunrise, whether in gold or in blood. This Vietnamese-language movie won the Golden Kite Award (Vietnam’s Oscar), and was Vietnam’s entry to the Golden Globe Best Foreign Language Film category. Available on Amazon Prime in the US.
Cheer. Season 2. Greg Whiteley, creator, executive producer, director. One Potato Productions. Documentary series, broadcast on Netflix.
In the small town of Corsicana, Texas, hard-driving head cheer coach Monica Aldama demands perfection from her team of competitive college athletes.
Lucy and Whitney. Parker Gehring, director and writer. Feature film.
In Washington State, two sisters explore their relationship after the older sister is married, in the context of their Mormon faith.
The Mission. Tania Anderson, director. Danish Bear Productions. Feature documentary, 53 minutes.
The Mission follows four American LDS teenagers who leave the comfort of their families and their remote, religion-filled bubbles to travel to the frozen, forested lands of Finland, home of Europe’s most non-religious, private and skeptical people. As these wide-eyed, impassioned teens struggle with missing their families, language hurdles, aching feet, and daily rejection, they are pushed beyond their limits, falling deeper into their faith.
WWJD. Davey Morrison and Bianca Dillard, directors. Written by Davey Morrison and Anna Lewis. Based on a play by Anna Christina Kohler Lewis. Feature film.
Three college roommates get an unexpected weekend house guest: Jesus Christ, the Savior and Redeemer of mankind.
Religious Nonfiction
Daniel Becerra, Amy Easton-Flake, Nicholas J. Frederick, and Joseph M. Spencer. Book of Mormon Studies: An Introduction and Guide. Brigham Young University Religious Studies Center
Where does one go to learn more about Book of Mormon studies? For those who do not regularly engage with scholarship, it’s hard to know how to begin. Currently there’s no general guide to Book of Mormon scholarship available to the public. Even with all that’s happened in the last few decades, and especially all that’s happening right now in Book of Mormon studies, this situation needs to be remedied. There has been no general guide to Book of Mormon scholarship available to the public—until now. This introduction breaks down Book of Mormon studies, from its history to the obstacles that will need to be overcome as it moves forward. Additionally, this introduction provides readers with resources that they can turn to for further information on Book of Mormon studies.
Jason R. Combs, Mark D. Ellison, Cathrine Gines Taylor, and Kristian S. Heal, editors. Ancient Christians: An Introduction for Latter-day Saints. Maxwell Institute
Ancient Christians is a historical and theological window on Christianity’s first six centuries and beyond. It invites Latter-day Saints to encounter ancient followers of Jesus Christ, to hear what they heard, see what they saw, understand how they worshipped, and learn what they believed. Readers will come to see early Christian women and men as our sisters and brothers, fellow disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. Informed by the questions and interests of Latter-day Saints, each chapter explores the history of important ancient Christian beliefs and practices. Readers will also experience the ancient Christians’ material world, their art, architecture, and manuscripts, through beautiful images that adorn the text. Together, their writings and art stand as a witness to the profound faith and devotion of these followers of Christ. Latter-day Saints are connected with early Christians through Joseph Smith’s restoration project and what he called “the primitive church.” Yet the lives of these spiritual forebears are often overlooked, and their faith is sometimes misunderstood. In this book, readers are invited to learn from these venerable ancient Saints, feel their love of God, and rejoice in their testimonies of the Savior of the world.
Caroline Kline, editor. Mormon Women at the Crossroads: Global Narratives and the Power of Connectedness. University of Illinois Press.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints continues to contend with longstanding tensions surrounding gender and race. Yet women of color in the United States and across the Global South adopt and adapt the faith to their contexts, many sharing the high level of satisfaction expressed by Latter-day Saints in general. Caroline Kline explores the ways Latter-day Saint women of color in Mexico, Botswana, and the United States navigate gender norms, but also how their moral priorities and actions challenge Western feminist assumptions. Kline analyzes these traditional religious women through non-oppressive connectedness, a worldview that blends elements of female empowerment and liberation with a broader focus on fostering positive and productive relationships in different realms. Even as members of a patriarchal institution, the women feel a sense of liberation that empowers them to work against oppression and against alienation from both God and other human beings. Mormon Women at the Crossroads merges interviews with theory to offer a rare discussion of Latter-day Saint women from a global perspective.
Adam S. Miller. Original Grace: An Experiment in Restoration Thinking. Maxwell Institute/Deseret Book.
In Original Grace, Adam S. Miller proposes an experiment in Restoration thinking: What if instead of implicitly affirming the traditional logic of original sin, we, as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, emphasized the deeper reality of God’s original grace? What if we broke entirely with the belief that suffering can sometimes be deserved and claimed that suffering can never be deserved? In exploring these questions, Miller draws on scriptures and the truths of the Restoration to reframe Christianity’s traditional thinking about grace, justice, and sin. He outlines the logic of original sin versus that of original grace and generates fresh insights into how the doctrine of grace relates to justice, creation, forgiveness, and more.
Fatimah Salleh and Margaret Olsen Hemming. The Book of Mormon for the Least of These: Vol. 2, Mosiah-Alma. BCC Press.
Volume 2 of this social justice commentary of the Book of Mormon empowers readers to understand the text as a book that speaks to issues of racism, sexism, immigration, violence, inequality, and community. It offers an unflinching examination of some of the difficult and troubling sections in Mosiah and Alma, while also advocating for a compassionate reading of holy text. As a verse-by-verse close reading, this book examines new layers of interpretation and meaning, giving even those deeply familiar with scripture innovative tools for engaging powerfully with the Book of Mormon.