Joanna Brooks describes herself as an unorthodox Mormon who continues to practice her faith from inside the tradition. She’s a literature professor, journalist at Religion Dispatches, and blogger at Ask Mormon Girl. And Politico named her as one of “50 politicos to watch” as many Americans experience this so-called “Mormon moment” of national politics.
We live-tweeted highlights of this 75-minute conversation and have aggregated them below for those who weren’t able to follow along. Follow us next time at @BeingTweets and starting Thursday, October 20th, look for the produced show via our podcast or on your local public radio station:
- “My ancestors, my father’s mother was an Okie who went to pick cotton in Arizona, where they found the church. ” -Joanna Brooks 1:04 PM Oct 6th
- “Mormonism was my whole world, my whole imagination, (it) profoundly shaped what my goals should be as a human being.” -
@askmormongirl 1:05 PM Oct 6th - “Our bibles are fatter! We’re taught to memorize, study and underline, pursuit of knowledge…an important part of Mormon culture.”-J.Brooks 1:12 PM Oct 6th
- “It’s important to understand that the roots of Mormonism are firmly embedded in American Protestantism.” -Joanna Brooks
@askmormongirl 1:13 PM Oct 6th - “We (Mormons) were an exceptionally innovative strand of a desire to revive and restore Christianity.” -
@askmormongirl Joanna Brooks 1:16 PM Oct 6th - “Mormons view the family as the model for our eternities.” -
@askmormongirl Joanna Brooks 1:25 PM Oct 6th - “As we gain experience here on Earth the goal is to learn enough to become peers with God.” -Joanna Brooks 1:26 PM Oct 6th
- “We are each responsible for receiving inspiration to guide our lives.” -Joanna Brooks
@askmormongirl 1:31 PM Oct 6th - “Not all of us are correlated Mormons, and experience this tradition the same way.” -Joanna Brooks
@askmormongirl 1:36 PM Oct 6th - “The church hasn’t excommunicated people since the early 90s…(but) it was chilling.” -Joanna Brooks
@askmormongirl 1:37 PM Oct 6th - “There are so many people hungry to claim a place they can feel good about in this rich, powerful religious tradition.” -
@askmormongirl 1:39 PM Oct 6th - “There are many of us [non-Orthodox Mormons] who run the tapes of our excommunications in our heads.” ~Joanna Brooks (
@askmormongirl) 1:43 PM Oct 6th - “The experience of reexamining the foundations of your faith can be nurturing.” -Joanna Brooks
@askmormongirl 1:44 PM Oct 6th - “Mormonism is capable of sustaining nuance.” -Joanna Brooks 1:44 PM Oct 6th
- “Marriage has a very specific theology in Mormonism. My choice to marry outside the faith was devastating to my parents.”
@askmormongirl 1:47 PM Oct 6th - “Every parenting decision has the weight of God-hood on it.” -Joanna Brooks
@askmormongirl 1:48 PM Oct 6th - “Write anything about Mormonism for the public and at least 30 commentators are going to say underwear, underwear underwear!”~
@askmormongirl 1:57 PM Oct 6th - “How many jokes will they make about Mormon underwear on late night television?”~Joanna Brooks
@askmormongirl on 2012 Presidential coverage 2:00 PM Oct 6th - “My people were scraping by in Southern Idaho - theirs were at the center.”
@askmormongirl on Romney and Huntsman’s elite Mormon roots. 2:04 PM Oct 6th - “There’s a lot of flavors of Judaism. Mormonism - allegedly you’re either in or your out.” ~Joanna Brooks (
@askmormongirl) 2:08 PM Oct 6th - “Obedience and conscience are issues that every thoughtful Mormon has to deal with.” ~Joanna Brooks (
@askmormongirl) 2:09 PM Oct 6th - “No one ever asks to have a writer in their family.” ~Joanna Brooks (
@askmormongirl) 2:10 PM Oct 6th - “Mormons love to cry…Mormons are really waterworks.” ~Joanna Brooks (
@askmormongirl) 2:16 PM Oct 6th - An absolute pleasure, Joanna! RT
@askmormongirl thanks for having me, krista. Thanks for making real space for the humanity of Mormonism. 2:33 PM Oct 6th
Leave a Comment