A Bibliography of Mormon Missionary Literature

38 thoughts on “A Bibliography of Mormon Missionary Literature”

1. This is fantastic, Kjerste.

   I was not expecting to see Edgar Mint on the list. There must be a significant secondary character that I don’t remember. Of course, it has been a long time since I read it.

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2. There’s this movie (I don’t know much about it)

   http://www.amazon.com/The-Falls-Nick-Ferrucci/dp/B00996RSYM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1374631670&sr=8-1&keywords=the+falls

   There’s also a short story called “May the Good Lord Bless and Keep You” in the book The Rummage Sale by Don Marshall

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3. There are at least one or two more stories in Irreantum (I think). I’ll have to dig through my library and see if I can track them down.

   Bichos by Erik Peterson in M&M might count in the recent RM category.

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4. .

   Yes: how recent must one be to be “recent”?

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5. .

   I believe Johnny Townsend has written somewhere north of a gazillion missionary stories, but from Ben’s review I see at least “The Abominable Gayman” and “A Wife of Whoredoms.”

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6. Wm – I actually haven’t read Edgar Mint, but I think I added it because missionaries are mentioned in a few of the reviews. (I suppose I’ll have to read it in order to write a fuller annotation.) And I’d be glad to hear about more Irreantum stories.

   Jessie – Thanks!

   Th. – I’m going to say that “recent” means “recent enough that the mission experience is still strongly coloring one’s everyday life.” Truthfully, though, if I came across a story about someone reminiscing about their mission 20 years later, I’d probably be fine with including it. I just don’t think that an offhand reference to a character having served a mission is enough to justify inclusion.

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7. Just re-read Bichos. It’s about a young man who served a mission to Brazil returning to honeymoon there with his wife, but it’s not a strong through thread in the story.

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8. How about Halldór Laxness’ novel “Paradise Reclaimed” (“Paradísarheimt” in Icelandic)? The missionary character (the Bishop) is an important missionary character and the main character Steinar returns to Iceland as a missionary.

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9. I’m afraid you have left out what is perhaps the MOST missionary novel: Mr. Durant of Salt Lake City by Ben E. Rich (1893). The text of the novel is basically a dialogue between the missionary (Durant) and non-members staying at a hotel in the southern U.S.

   Also, many of Nephi Anderson’s short stories would qualify: By This Shall All Men Know, The Home Field, The Home Guard, How the Lord was Good to Aunt Johanna, The Letter from Mary, The Lewellen Family’s Christmas Present, The Lonesome Christmas, The Missionary, Out of the Abundance of the Heart, Salvation of Souls, and The Straw.

   There are, of course, many, many more. One resource is Keepapitchinin, Ardis Parshall’s blog which has reprinted hundreds of short stories from (primarily) 20th century LDS periodicals. Many include missionary characters.

   And finally, but not least, I’m currently correcting the OCR of a 1849 play featuring Heber C. Kimball as a missionary in England. I’ll try to get it finished soon.

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10. I think John Bennion’s Falling Toward Heaven could fit into this bibliography–only the first two chapters or so take place on the mission, but the mission experience drives the rest of the story.

    I know that the book The Other Side of Heaven is nonfiction, but is the movie fictionalized enough to count?

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11. Wow! Thank you. What a great resource.

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12. Kent,

    There’s a 19th century Heber C. Kimball play about his work in England?! What?! Please, send that to me sometime!

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13. Also in Saints on Stage, Thom Duncan’s play “Matters of the Heart” deals with a missionary who came home early from his mission to France, and the fallout that causes with his parents.

    James Arrington’s “J. Golden” (also in Saints on Stage) mentions Kimball’s missionary efforts extensively.

    “Best Two Years” was a play (musical?) before it was a film.

    Doug Stewart’s “Saturday’s Warrior” and “Star Child” are also other ones that should be included.

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14. There is indeed, Mahonri. I’ll try to get the corrections to the OCR done by next week and I’ll send it to you.

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15. .

    Was just in Facebook conversation with Jenny Proctor and her novel The House at Rose Creek sounds like it would qualify.

    Which reminded me that my short story “Do Not Open Until Christmas” also qualifies IF having characters engaging with missionaries with the missionaries usually offstage qualifies.

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16. Rogers, Thomas F. “Pax Vobiscum.” In Curtis Taylor and Stan Zenk (Eds.), Christmas for the World, pp. 313-323. Salt Lake City: Aspen Books, 1991. This one definitely qualifies; it consists almost entirely of dialogue between two missionaries, one of whom is thinking of going home.

    Tom Rogers’s play Reunion might qualify, but probably not. As I recall, it’s not about missionary experience per se, but rather about a family reunion where conflicts are catalyzed (in part) by the mission call that is received by one of the younger family members.

    From Monsters and Mormons, how about “A Letter from the Field,” by Paul James Crockett?

    I’m assuming that published nonfiction memoirs, etc., don’t count, or at least represent a separate (and probably much larger) bibliographic task, though as Jessie points out the inclusion of The Other Side of Heaven blurs the line a little.

    It’s a bit of an odd duck, but how about including an entry referring to BYU’s folklore collection and its immense collection of missionary folklore? My argument for including it is that even if it isn’t (strictly) fiction, it’s a resource that anyone investigating Mormon missionary literature (or particularly wanting to write their own) should be aware of.

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17. First of all, I think this list is fantastic. I hope we can come up with future similar lists for other Mormon lit subgenres.

    A couple of additions:
    Nephi Anderson’s Added Upon has some missionary characters, although none of the central characters–if I remember correctly–are missionaries.

    Douglas Thayer’s The Conversion of Jeff Williams does not take place during a mission, but one of the important secondary characters is preparing for a mission throughout the book. A lot of attention is paid to missionary work, missionary preparation, and expectations placed on YM about serving missions. It may or may not qualify for this list, but I think it could arguably have a place.

    Also, the film Orgazmo and the musical The Book of Mormon probably should be on the list. I haven’t seen either of them, but they do center on Mormon missionaries.

    Also, Walter Kirn’s Thumbsucker and “Whole Other Bodies”

    And The Friday Gospels by Jenn Ashworth

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18. If I remember Edgar Mint correctly, the missionaries are very secondary. They are important for a couple of chapters when they are teaching Edger, but that is it.

    Okay, a few more.
    Novel
    Allred, Gordon T. The Companion. Bookcraft, 1992. Dad goes to the same mission his son serves.

    Short stories
    Anderson, Tory, “”Mission Rules.” Wasatch Review International # 4 , 1996.

    Bell, Elouise. “A Generous Heart.” in Christmas for the World. Aspen, 1991. Sister missionaries in France in the 1960s.

    Theater
    Golightly, Max. The Forge and the Fire. BYU, 1974-75. Musical series of vignettes and songs with a missionary theme.

    Hale, Nathan & Ruth. Are the Meadowlarks Still Singing. Comedy about missions, and the conversion of a minister.
    —–, The Girl Who Came to Dinner. Comedy about missionaries

    Hawkins, Lisa. Change the Night to Day. 1996. BYU. Kidnapped sister missionaries.

    Kelly, Martin. And They Shall Be Gathered. BYU, 1969, 1976. Missionaries in Armenia. Purchased by the Church for local productions. In the A Believing People anthology.

    Livingston, Scott. Free at Last. Performed at BYU, Spring 1996. About black investigators and white missionaries in Tennessee in 1978.

    Lundberg, Joy Saunders. It’s A Miracle. Music by Janice Kapp Perry.

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19. Thank you all for your responses! I’ve updated the bibliography with the entries that don’t require more research or thought, and I’ll work on adding the rest when I can.

    Jessie (and Jonathan) – My argument for including The Other Side of Heaven is not so much that it’s fictionalized, but that it’s dramatized. (I.e., I wouldn’t have included it if it was a documentary based on Elder Groberg’s experiences.) That said, I’m aware that it is the edgiest of edge cases between fiction and non-fiction, and I wouldn’t have a problem removing it if enough people think it doesn’t belong.

    Mahonri (and Jonathan and Andrew) – My issue with The Best Two Years (the play) and some of the other plays suggested is that, as far as I can tell, the scripts/books haven’t ever been published, and if the purpose of the bibliography is to be useful to researchers, I’m not sure that I see the point of including works which are effectively inaccessible. (However, I also see their value in terms of being aware of the history of the genre, so I’m open to suggestions for how to handle them.)

    Jonathan – I think that mission calls are part of the overall missionary experience, so I wouldn’t have a problem with including works like Reunion if the call is a major theme. Also, you raise a good point regarding the research value of non-fiction sources (including BYU’s folklore collection). Maybe I’ll just make a new section of the bibliography with some general research tips regarding non-fiction sources and collections.

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20. Scott – I agree regarding the possibility of doing other similar lists. (I’ve actually already got one in mind, but I need to focus on this one for a little while.) And thanks for the nudge regarding The Book of Mormon–I originally left it off because I didn’t realize that the script had been published.

    Andrew – Thanks for the additional suggestions. I’ve also removed Edgar Mint from the list, since both you and Wm don’t seem to think the missionaries are a large enough presence to warrant inclusion.

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21. I think that The Other Side of Heaven definitely belongs.

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22. .

    Here are two book announcements from the most recent Sunstone:

    Harvest by Jacob Young

    In this memoir [ergo, you may not want it], an earnest nineteen-year-old leaves his family’s Idaho wheat farm to share the gospel with the people of Samara, Russia. Once there, he learns how to approach strangers in thick fur coats and testify. But his heard can’t echo the testimony his mouth is constantly uttering. Collapsing under the cognitive dissonance, Elder Young embarks on a journey to find his own conviction, vowing to go home if he can’t find his own connection to the gospel. This journey leads him to the inside of a Russian jail, a night with a beautiful Russian woman [sigh], and nearly leaving the mission altogether.

    Heaven Up Here by John K. Williams

    When John gets his mission call to Bolivia, it’s like a joke come true. Boliva [sic] is, after all, the worst-possible foreign mission. But, as a faithful kid from a troubled family, he is determined to devote himself entirely to the Lord’s work. What will the realities of mission life call forth in the young Elder Williams? [Looks like this is another memoir. Can’t we at least tweak these into roman a clefs? Whatever happened to class?]

    Beginning with the discovery of a body on a bridge on a cold winter night, the book brings the reader into a worlds that is far different from the stereotypes and PR images. Beneath the white shirts and ties are young people trying to bless the lives of others, even if they don’t understand how they’re doing it.

    The books listed in Sunstone are generally pretty generically of a type. Cracroft’s old column in BYU Magazine had more variety but alas, it it gone.

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23. Belonging to Heaven by Gale Sears
    Historical novel of missionary work in Hawaii
    The Silence of God by Gale Sears
    I only read the first couple chapters in this one but missionaries show up to speak with Russian saints. Does that count?
    The Ariana Trilogy by Rachel Ann Nunes
    Set in France. Main plot has a lot to do with how missionary work is done there and main character and her family being converted to the gospel.
    Castles on the Sand by E.M. Tippetts
    Main character is found by brother who is currently Mormon missionary. He only has a few weeks left of his mission but keeps in close contact with his sister after his mission also.
    Love in the Darkness by E.M. Tippetts
    Alex is serving a mission in Japan when he realizes that he has inherited his mother’s schizophrenia.
    Bumpy Landings by Donald J. Carey
    Not a mission book, but people are mentioning RM fiction. Don’t know if this really qualifies but being an RM is a major part of the main characters internal narrative for the first part of the book.

    Are Early Church History missionaries included on the list? Here are a few…
    The Wind and the Waves and Through Cloud and Sunshine by Dean Hughes
    The Undaunted (technically the call to settle Bluff, Utah was a mission call. Is that within the parameters? Even if is it not technically a proselyting mission.)
    The Shakeress by Kimberly Heuston

    What about Book of Mormon historical missionary stories?
    Ammon by H.B. Moore

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24. Ammon is an interesting proposed addition to the list. It does read very much like a missionary novel.

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25. I’m also trying not to judge Harvest by its cover…

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26. My play Prodigal Son (published in The Best of Mormonism 2009 and Out of the Mount) would qualify. One of the key crises in the play is when a convert son goes on a mission against his father’s wishes. The mission is in Thailand if you want to track place.

    Don’t remember anything else in The Best of Mormonism 2009 that would qualify.

    In Out of the Mount, Melissa Leilani Larson’s Little Happy Secrets would also qualify: both protagonists are returned missionaries and their missions come up frequently in the text.

    My short play Book of Mormon story would also qualify: it is set during a missionary visit with an investigator.

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27. Saturday’s Warrior and Star Child could also technically go under film, as there are DVD versions of them.

    There’s also The Christmas Mission, a straight to VHS/DVD Mormon missionary film made in 1999 (with a young Corbin Allred, and the talented Chris Bentley).

    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0279732/

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28. Th. – It looks like Heaven Up Here is also a memoir, so not eligible for this bibliography (but as Jonathan pointed out, it might be worth it to make a missionary memoir bibliography, as well).

    Gamila – Thanks for all your suggestions! I’m hoping to do a bibliography of non-American Mormons at some point, and I think a few of your suggestions would work better on that list (although some works could certainly go on both).

    Early Church history missionaries are absolutely included, but I think I’m going to focus on the proselyting / temporary missions (although I’m fascinated to learn that some new settlements were considered mission calls).

    Gamila and Scott – I find myself oddly on the fence about including Ammon, maybe because I’m thinking more of stories about formal, post-restoration mission calls? (E.g., I also don’t think I’d include a retelling of Paul’s New Testament proselytizing, although it definitely qualifies as missionary work.) But I haven’t read the book, so I’m open to feedback.

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29. James – Thanks!

    Mahonri – I actually had the first two under film already, but thanks for suggesting The Christmas Mission.

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30. Found another novel:

    Called to Serve Again by Jeffrey Olsen

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31. Kjerste, this is a great list.

    I am glad “Little Happy Secrets” is on here already. One other that I didn’t see was Doug Thayer’s “Opening Day,” in his Under the Cottonwoods collection. It’s about an elder who is worried to return home because he knows his family will assume he wants to go hunting with them just like old times. It is his internal conflict over the violence of hunting, which his missionary service has complicated. The tension culminates out on the range on Opening Day, just a day or two after coming home. Brilliant.

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32. I love “Opening Day” but I forgot about the missionary context. That is such a great story.

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33. Yes, I agree–not only is this story a real Mormon experience–at least it was a generation ago–but Thayer’s prose is also quite beautiful in parts. Very enjoyable.

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34. Jessie and Gerrit – Thanks! (I feel sheepish that I didn’t think of “Opening Day,” since I’ve actually read it and I agree that it’s a great story.)

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35. .

    Levi Peterson’s “Trinity” as collected in Canyons of Grace.

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36. Th. – Duly added. Thanks!

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37. Cory Davidson
    Randall L. Hall

    One of my favorite mission novels!

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38. Thanks, Tom!

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