Mormon Mentions: B.A. Shapiro

If you don't know what a Mormon is, let alone a Mormon Mention, let me explain:

As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (commonly known as the LDS or Mormon Church), I am naturally concerned with how my religion is portrayed in the media.  Since this blog focuses on books, every time I see my church mentioned in a book written by an author who is not LDS, I post it here.  Then, I offer my insider's view of the subject at hand.  It's a chance for me to correct false statements, elaborate on subjects important to me, and, a lot of times, just to laugh at my (sometimes) crazy Mormon culture.

If you're not interested in these kinds of posts, feel free to skip them.

Alright, here we go ... in B.A. Shapiro's literary thriller, The Art Forger, the heroine is trying to find information about a family using the Internet.  The passage reads:

Rik doesn't call until close to nine, and by then I've given up on Rendell's family for the night—even the Mormon Web site doesn't have anything—and fallen asleep on the couch" (310).

One of the things most people know about Mormons is that we're big into families.  Because we believe that family ties are eternal, we go to great lengths to preserve them.  Thus, we're known as the people to contact about genealogy (family history).  The LDS Church does, indeed, have the best genealogical resources around and anyone can use them.  Don't believe me?  Go to Family Search right now.  Type in the name of a deceased ancestor.  Watch what happens.  Cool, right?  Shapiro's heroine may not have found anything, but chances are, you will.  Give it a try.

What do you think?  Are you interested in family history?  Ever used the Internet to find your own kin?

(Please not that the text quoted above came from an ARC of The Art Forger.  It may have been changed in the finished novel.)