Moth and Rust: Mormon Encounters with Death

by Stephen Carter

In Mormonism we are sometimes seemingly casual about it’s a veil or a mission call to the spirit world. But our actual encounters with the reality of death inevitably change us in ways that are difficult to articulate.

In this collection, Mormon writers wrestle with mortality and its aftermath. A family sings a hesitant rendition of Happy Birthday to a grief-stricken mother who buried who toddler just a few hours earlier; an agnostic son decides he’s Mormon enough to arrange a funeral for his believing father.

Some essays use death as a means to understand faith. One author imagines a world where Heavenly Mother visits her children in the form of their female ancestors, appearing to her descendants in times of grief or pain.

Others address how do you protect your children from death while still allowing them to experience the world; how do you get through one more nausea-ridden day of cancer treatment?

Still others delve into death’s does the overwhelming suffering that occurs in the animal kingdom have a function in the “plan of happiness”?

Sometimes humorous, sometimes heartbreaking, always thought-provoking, these personal essays, poems, and stories may never be heard at a Mormon funeral. But they probably should be.

Genres: Lds

255 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 30, 2017

About the author

Stephen Carter has been a member of Readaholics Anonymous since age four when Mister M with the Munchy Mouth first entered his life. In an attempt to make his addiction to words profitable, Stephen worked as a full-time journalist for a few years before running off to Alaska to earn an MFA in creative writing. He is currently a stay-at-home dad by day and a magazine editor by night. His writing has garnered many honors including citation in The Best American Spiritual Writing 2006 (Mariner Books).

Reviews

[David Pace · Rating 5 out of 5]

A diverse collection of some heavy hitters in Mormon letters as well as emerging writers writing out of the Mormon experience about . . . death. A smorgasbord of tender, disturbing, humorous, and elevated tales about what it means to be Mormon (LDS) and to encounter death. I'm proud to have a short story, "Stairway to Heaven" included in this collection edited by Stephen Carter,

[Brian Stuy · Rating 4 out of 5]

What separates us from nearly all other living things is the ability to contemplate our end. Few books approach death form as many different angles as this little gem. Composed of 46 short essays by as many different writers, the reader is allowed to see, and process, death from a myriad perspectives and beliefs. Nearly each essay will leave a mark, and all will follow you in your thoughts for a while to come.

[Wanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book full of essays on death, seemingly from a Mormon outlook, although I doubt that allegation. Some were truly inspiring, others thoughtful, and still others just plain off the wall. I bought this book from Amazon and read it on my electronic reader. It was poorly organized as an e-book. There were no page numbers and I had to swipe backwards to continue reading! It was extremely difficult to navigate through the book.

[Andrew Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful pieces, excellently edited and arranged. Many are heart-breaking (Harrell, Gibson) and thought-provoking (Peck). Maybe most memorable is Jonathan Penny's fiction about a post-zombie apocalypse, in which the Mormons learn to deal with death in a different way, and learn to change their worship style to a silent one, since the zombies key into sound. He scooped "A Quiet Place".

[Gina · Rating 3 out of 5]

A motley collection of essays about death by Mormons. Some essays were humorous, some heartrending. Interesting thoughts. all. It's an abyss we ironically don't like to look into very often or carefully, but life (and death) have a way of forcing our hand.