Editor’s note (11/12/18):  Since writing this article, Anecdoting.com and Writcreate.com were both combined with ChadRobertParker.com. Now blog content for “Anecdoting” is simply found in the Story Prompts section of this website.

Blogging has become an essential part of being a Published Author. In the Information Age people want to know not only about the creative work itself, but what is going on behind the scenes. My blog on this website is an attempt to document my Author activities. I hope this blog at ChadRobertParker.com will prove both interesting and informative. The other way I plan to make my blogging activities more inviting is to share with all of you a different kind of blogging concept. I also blog about stories on Anecdoting.com.

Anecdoting.com is a place where I share a writing prompt each week that triggers a memory. What I love most about this blogging activity is that it is interactive. Not only will I share one of my own stories each week for your enjoyment, I invite you to share one of your own with me. Don’t be shy and don’t worry if you just want to read stories for a while just to get the hang of it. No one will know if you choose only to be an onlooker. The more stories people share, however, the more fun it will be as a story sharing environment. Sharing stories among friends and people we meet is the earliest form of entertainment. It is at the center of building a community with folklore passed down from generation to generation. It is a great fun way to develop a culture and get to know each other. That is the type of blogging that will be most enjoyable to me. I will often refer to my blogging activities at Anecdoting.com when I think of stories to share on this blog knowing that story is the best way to convey information. It makes it memorable, enjoyable, and relatable.

A week ago I attended the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival. I loved hearing other people’s stories. What struck me the most about the experience was not so much that professional storytellers had great stories to tell, but average persons like me had great stories as well. Granted it takes a lot of work to craft a story into an amusing art form, but when you have a great memory of something that occurred in your life you are the one who has all of the minute details of that instance, so you are the best person to tell that story. We even had breakout sessions at the conference portion teaching people like you and me–who are more curious about storytelling than we are about getting up on a stage ourselves–how to tell the stories that are inevitably in each of us. One of the presenters/teachers had a set of games that prompted everyday people to share moments of drama, hilarity, or intrigue from their past. And we did share those moments with one another, very well, on the spot. Well, that’s exactly what Anecdoting.com does, only it is free. It is a story sharing community to participate in and/or observe with continual story prompts and everyday life story shares. You will be surprised what interesting stories come from everyday life.

In the past I would have deemed sharing about my writing activities as keeping a Writer’s Journal, and it would consist mostly with writings and notes for and to myself. In the present you get to see the fun of developing stories and forming good writing habits of regularly putting fingers to keyboard. But I will spare you the hazards of the occupation by sharing all of my tedious record keeping at my business page at WritCreate.com. As a blog, behind the scenes at ChadRobertParker.com, I will need to be more entertaining than that, because just like everyone else I will have a larger audience in mind and I will want to put my best foot forward. Problem is, if jotting down the minutiae bores me it will most certainly bore you. Solution: while there are definitely interesting happenings as I prepare to launch my first book, Sterling Bridge, and I will continue to share blog posts about the writing journey along the way here, if you really like stories, goings-on of writers, and reading blogs in general, I propose a more casual setting. Come join me for simple story sharing at Anecdoting.com. I’m certain you will be able to relate to at least one topic and story. I’m sure a story of your own will come to mind. I hope you will join me in making blogging more fun for you and me to engage in together.

In college, I studied—with great interest—the different stages of literature and film that a culture must go through in order to evolve. If you believe that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the one true church ministering God’s one sure way to the children of men, then its culture already taps into the longest standing culture available. However, no matter what you believe, the sub-culture truly is only a couple hundred year’s old. In other words, what we will call the Mormon culture is very young as cultures go and it’s only just starting out when it comes to the arts.

Written as a film novel Sterling Bridge looks to take a step forward in our literary and quite possibly our film culture. Make no mistake, it is not so much that the culture has not fully matured as it is that the stories have not yet been told that would equate to a greater cultural whole. Put another way, the more Mormons share their message with the world the more Mormons are realizing how applicable our story really is to the greater story of the world and the more the world is realizing it as well.

While Mormons admittedly intend to be a unique and peculiar people set apart from the ways of a dying world, we are actually not so different, as it relates to being children of the Creator who are seeking to know who He is and therefore who we are and who we can become. In fact, the central point of humanity is the great question that Mormonism claims to answer. Mormons believe they know the purpose of life. The only problem is telling that story, it turns out, is a very touchy subject. The very reason Mormonism sets itself apart as a better way, in fact the way spoken of by the Savior, comes off as very presumptuous and elitist, and it is the reason that Mormons who really just want to share the glad news—and yes even convert everyone in the process—thereby uniting us all to the good that has made their lives so wonderful, actually oftentimes end up doing the opposite: effectively alienating their neighbors, who naturally feel excluded unless they go as far as deeming themselves Mormon and fully becoming part of the group. Sterling Bridge explores this interesting dynamic of a small town with Mormon settlers unsure about the government’s intent when housing international workers, primarily Catholic, in a mining community within its borders. The town does not know how long its neighbors will be staying and if their multiplicity of nationalities and ethnicities can even jive with them.

America itself is still young at this time leading up to the Great Depression (quite frankly, America as a culture, along with its ideals of freedom and liberty for all, is young to this day as far as world cultures go). Sterling Bridge is a microcosm of the “Great Experiment” that was the melting pot of America played out in a small town trying to decide if Utah would become another Missouri for the pioneers to flee or if Utah was truly a sanctuary (and somehow a safe haven inviting to all at the same time) to set up religious rights in the tops of the mountains. As we know Utah and the story of the trek west is an integral part of United States history and statehood: a story of success for the endurance of religious freedom for the young country. But, while most stories focus on the legacy of pioneers or fast forward to the current structure of Mormonism’s interaction with the world, such as Mormon missionaries going out to the world, little is shared about the many lives lived in between. Here is where I found a wealth of stories yet to be told. You likely have access to many of these stories as well. Mormons could easily make claim to being the best at doing family history. The stories are there. Sterling Bridge started with a story from a man’s personal history research, where he learned of his ancestor Sterling Harris, an incredible individual credited with bridging large gaps of religion, race, and cultures between two communities. One of the wonderful things about researching and writing a story based on a true story is how it helps us to learn a little about ourselves. For me, when a story does that is also when a culture advances itself in the greater literary culture.

I wrote this article from the perspective of a Mormon because I am a Mormon and my work will be judged as a Mormon writing about Mormons, but it is much larger than that. In fact, a greater portion of the story comes from the perspective of several more Catholic characters that were interviewed and better represented in their views beyond just the research for this work. At any rate, hopefully Sterling Bridge is a step in the right direction. It purposely delves deeper into historical contexts to bring out a richer relatable story from Mormon culture interacting with other cultures. It attempts to be honest and fair and straightforward about what it has to tell the world, but it does so in an artistic way telling it through the memorable form of story (albeit in a filmic way). As a Christian I believe the greatest storyteller is the Savior, Jesus Christ. His stories are vivid but intentional. After listening to His stories you come away a little better person and the experience is repeatable because it relates to different situations we all face in one way or another throughout our lives, again and again. I am just starting out as a writer. All I could hope for at first was to write a good story. There was no formula to it: just sound writing to tell it like it is, emphasizing the key aspects. Now I hope to bring it to as wide an audience as possible because the story has become larger than itself; it has something important to say and holds a universal message beyond Mormonism, Americans, Slavics, Farmers, Miners, Catholicism or any other denomination. It is about humanity finding itself, living together in harmony, and learning to work as a community.

What is the deepest question of existence? Could it be something like what is the purpose of life? If not, then that important question still must rank right up there. Nearly every day of your life you are determining the purpose of your life whether you intend to or not. There is purpose in everything we do, from the most mundane decisions to the gargantuan ones. Sterling Bridge may not have all the answers for our human condition, but at its core it gets right down to the heart of the matter: How can people  with very different beliefs unite in commonalities without fearing influences that would threaten their most cherished ideals and maybe even destroy a good way of life?

Sterling Bridge considers this difficult scenario that has likely been a central concern for any society anywhere at any time. The question of civil rights and its relation to religious freedom has become a hot topic of society again today. In the state of Utah the majority of the citizens are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which has strong beliefs and attracts equally strong opposition. This presents unique challenges. Within the pages of my book is a universal message of how people of an earlier time, when America, and especially Utah, was young. You will see how one town successfully dealt with this universal issue. The compromise was not without conflict, however.

People of differing beliefs have learned again and again that if they all work at it everyone can figure out how to tolerate others, find common ground, get along, and maybe even become best friends. It is a central message in today’s world of political correctness and acceptance of others. The difference with Sterling Bridge is that it specifically concentrates on the challenge religions, in particular, face to uphold beliefs that certain ways of living leads to certain blessings, while accepting others who believe in very different choices, without making each other feel like second class citizens. But the message applies to everyone. Even if you do not have a religious belief system, your words and your actions show some form of belief structure, regardless.

When considering another persons position you must truly be willing to understand where they are coming from. You must put yourself in their shoes, as much as possible, even though no two people have experienced the exact same life. When writing about the past and trying to understand the people in a time period you must be able to apply a similar skill. We often judge others out of context. Plus, hindsight truly is 20/20. Even if we look back on our own past we would choose to do things a little differently. It isn’t long before we realize that everyone is a complex person. We all have good and bad sides to our character. At the center of every story is the nature of good and evil playing its tug of war to make the dramatic conflict more intense or the resolution more complete. But hopefully we choose to cultivate the good. A soft-hearted approach to life and to writing is to see the good in people even when they behave badly. Good things can come from tough lessons in instances where things go wrong and reactions aren’t the best.

When you read Sterling Bridge you will see how the point of view character, Joe Lacey, a young boy whose mother is Mormon and father is Catholic is caught in the middle of a conflict of beliefs. His parents get along just fine, but he must find his way in an environment that is not as prepared to accept one another’s way of thinking. Imagine trying to figure out which culture to embrace and if it is even possible to accept both when neither side of the equation is very inviting of the other. Joe navigates a situation I believe Utahns, and Americans in general, still face today. Here is my great reveal:

When I lived in Indiana my family was the only Mormon family in a small Christian town for a while. My Christian friends did not see much difference in my beliefs in the Savior from their beliefs. It really just came down to whose interpretation of Jesus was correct and therefore who was saved. But we could still be friends even though we each thought our church had the authority to represent Jesus in the saving ordinances. Some of the most Christlike people I know lived in that town. They were down to Earth. They were neighborly. They were willing to get to know everyone else and it still feels like family when I go there. Incidentally, I think they will be saved, even though their religion tells them I will not be saved. We learned from each other and grew up caring about each other’s lives. I wish for their success and fulfillment in life as much as my own. But when it came to marriage I could not see myself marrying outside of my faith. That’s what it ultimately came down to. When we went our separate ways it was simply because I needed to move somewhere where I could marry within the religious covenant I had dedicated my life to. This begs the question from other Christians. Why isn’t their Christian faith good enough for Mormons?

For Mormons they want the world to have the good news of the gospel that they believe are the very words of Jesus Christ for our time in these last days, a critical time to prepare for the second coming of the Lord. They are a covenant keeping people and they believe that temples are the house of the Lord and the only place where marriage can be entered into for time and for all eternity. In fact most weddings don’t even say it is meant to be beyond “death do you part.”

On the one hand Mormons don’t want to stand out on the corner holding a sign of the inevitable end of times, telling everyone to repent. They hope people will take the words of the Bible more seriously, on their own, feeling the spirit of the word of God and seeing for themselves the signs that are being fulfilled more rapidly, without having to blatantly point these things out and risk offending someone. On the other hand the more subtle approach to share their lives with others as friends and examples, as Jesus also did, does not come without its own risk. Mormons want to be in the world but not of the world. This means they love all the good things of the world, and love sharing in those talents and experiences, but are wary of the bad things the world does not seem to think is so bad (and draw them, or more likely their children, away from their covenants). Still this should not stop any of us from being civil with one another. There are a lot more things in common among people growing through this life than there are differences.

You would think two religions who both believe in the Bible would have a lot of similar beliefs. But Mormons claim two very different religions with very different practices at times such as found in the rituals of Catholicism and the puritanical ways of Mormonism cannot possibly both have the authority of God. Even He says “if ye are not one ye are not mine” (Doctrine & Covenants 38:27). And so it is with the institution of marriage, at least for those who are devout in their faith. People who believe deeply in their faith simply want to marry someone who believes just as deeply in that faith.

It is interesting to see the social ramifications that come from this reality. It is a fun situation to write about. That dynamic is ultimately what you get to experience when reading Sterling Bridge. I won’t ruin it for you but I expect you will enjoy the ride. Happy reading!