''Saintspeak'' (1981) is a satirical look at

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

by LDS author

Orson Scott Card Orson Scott Card (born August 24, 1951) is an American writer known best for his science fiction works. He is the first and (as of 2022) only person to win both a Hugo Award and a Nebula Award in consecutive years, winning both awards for both ...

. It is modeled after ''

The Devil's Dictionary ''The Devil's Dictionary'' is a satirical dictionary written by American journalist Ambrose Bierce, consisting of common words followed by humorous and satirical definitions. The lexicon was written over three decades as a series of installments ...

'' by

Ambrose Bierce Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce (June 24, 1842 – ) was an American short story writer, journalist, poet, and American Civil War veteran. His book '' The Devil's Dictionary'' was named as one of "The 100 Greatest Masterpieces of American Literature" by ...

. The pamphlet consists of a short glossary of common terms used by members of the LDS with humorous, satirical definitions. Originally published in 1981, ''Saintspeak'' is currently out of print. It contains numerous references to the Equal Rights Amendment and the way missionaries gave lessons to LDS "Investigators". The book is written in a light-hearted and pokes fun at the shortcomings and idiosyncrasies of

Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into severa ...

s. Frequent targets include hypocritical behavior by church members, the church's repression and denial of its history, and fanatics who take church doctrines a bit too far. In the introduction, Card makes comments to placate anyone who takes offense too deeply by claiming that Ambrose Bierce appeared to him in a vision and presented the text of this book to him, paralleling the Angel Moroni appearing to

Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death, 14 years later, ...

and telling him about the

Golden plates According to Latter Day Saint belief, the golden plates (also called the gold plates or in some 19th-century literature, the golden bible) are the source from which Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon, a sacred text of the faith. Some acco ...

that composed the ''

Book of Mormon The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, which, according to Latter Day Saint theology, contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from 600 BC to AD 421 and during an interlude d ...

''. Therefore, he isn't responsible for anyone being offended by it because it's all Bierce's fault.

References

External links

The entire text of ''Saintspeak'' on the publisher's web site

The official Orson Scott Card website
1981 books Mormon fiction Books by Orson Scott Card Signature Books books {{LDS-stub

See also

References

External links