Last May, author Jason Wright made news with a confession–not the usual kind. He announced that he was Mormon. It wasn’t entirely a secret. I’d heard rumors of it for quite a long time. If he was asked, he answered, but it wasn’t on his website and it wasn’t volunteered. However, in May, he said,
When I began my career as an author I was involved in frequent discussions about how prominent I should make my religion. Should we mention Brigham Young University in my bio? Should I reference my two-year mission to Brazil? Should we advertise that one of my two publishers is Salt Lake-based, home to LDS Church headquarters and a high concentration of Mormons?
How shameful.
Five years and seven books later, I am ashamed those debates ever took place and I accept that the blame rests on my shoulders alone. I am embarrassed that for years I simply wanted to be a New York Times best-selling author who you may or may not find out later just happens to be a Mormon. How shallow that I allowed the small percentage of consumers who won’t buy a novel by a Mormon to dictate how I was introduced to readers (Mormon Times in the Deseret News, 23 May 2010).
Jason Wright mentioned that some bloggers had said they’d have never read his books if they’d known he was a Mormon. I understood this problem. Soon after my book came out, I was searching for mentions of my book on blogs so I could thank the authors or answer any questions. I quickly came upon some rather nasty discussions of my religion and some comments that due to my religion I had no business writing homeschooling books. A small minority think only evangelical Christians are allowed to write about or even participate in homeschooling. Many of the leading homeschooling magazines refused to review my book because of my religion.
I was encouraged to subdue my religion. It wasn’t openly in my books–I was aiming for those who are disenfranchised by the traditional homeschooling book which presumes an evengelical worldview. There was light non-denominational Christianity and even instructions on holding a family night, but no open Mormonism. I wasn’t hiding it. It just wasn’t a part of this book. Many people felt my book would do better if I’d quit being openly Mormon.
Since most of my readers find me on the net first, they come to my book already knowing I’m Mormon, so it was a little late for that. I had a large LDS website and had written several columns on the church for non-LDS sources. A very cursory search of Google would tell you I’m a Mormon. Secondly, I didn’t care if that would damage my books. Sure, I’d like everyone in the world to buy my books, but that doesn’t happen for any author. No matter what you write or how blandly you try to present yourself, you aren’t going to appeal to everyone and you’re bound to offend any number of people.
I decided early on I wasn’t willing to compromise who I am to sell books. Yes, that hurts me because I’m pretty blunt and intense about what I believe in, and that’s not just about Mormonism. Some Mormons don’t like my beliefs either. But that’s the way it is. My work will find its audience and my integrity will last longer than my books.
The thing is that I’m not all that great a writer. I’ve been pretty lucky, but I’ve also depended on God quite a lot to help me get the messages my writing conveys out into the world. If I want to ask Him for help, I can’t run around acting like I’m ashamed of Him. If I do that, I have no business asking for help. So I didn’t close down my LDS website or avoid religious stuff on my personal Facebook page or try to purge Google of all mention of my religion. If
No matter what your goals are in life, you’re going to have to decide one day who you are. Are you proud of your religion–proud enough to risk losing a few fans or clients or whatever if that’s what happens? For me, my decision helped to cement my priorities. I don’t want my writing to be first in my life with religion filling whatever space happens to be left-over or hidden away on secret Sunday church excursions. I want it first with the writing being what I do for a living, not who I am above all else. What about you? Are you willing to put God first and not keep your faith in Him a secret?
Many, many successful Mormons are openly Mormon–the founder of JetBlue, the Marriots, Mitt Romney, and a host of famous authors. It doesn’t seem to be getting in the way of their success, so you may find it’s less of a problem to put yourself out there as Mormon than you think.
Priorities…what are yours?