The Joseph Smith Foundation and L. Hannah Stoddard
More Torch-Lighters for The Torch
I recently discovered an organization called The Joseph Smith Foundation through the work of L. Hannah Stoddard.
Last year I read the first journal in the Joseph Smith Papers project as part of my efforts to create “The Prophet Joseph Smith Study Group”, and in my research I came across a couple of interviews with Miss Stoddard:
I shared these interviews in my study group, and I started to follow Miss Stoddard’s social media posts. Today she shared a post about heroes and heroines, and one heroine in particular, a young lady named Vivia Perpetua:
“Heroes & heroines have been one of the primary influences in my life for good. It's one thing to talk about the Gospel—having a real life example of Christianity changes everything. Today is the anniversary of the martyrdom of 22-year-old early Christian, Vivia Perpetua. A cartoon may seem a bit childish, but it's the best retelling of her life I know of and I highly recommend the entire Torchlighter cartoon series! I first saw it when I was 17, and her story (along with others such as Amy Carmichael, Jim Elliot, Ann Judson, Eric Liddell and many others) opened my eyes. I wasn't content to be who I was any longer—and their example showed me how to achieve the goodness I really wanted. This touching scene is when Perpetua refuses to compromise—knowing she will be executed and leave her infant son without a mother. Perpetua's account is one of the earliest known writings by a Christian woman—not to mention in the top list of ancient women's literature. Funny how you don't hear feminists pushing that in literature class.
Perpetua's prison diary is testimony to her desire to share Jesus Christ even after her death. My life is only one of many touched by her—even nearly two thousand years later! Full cartoon:”
This is a great post…
A few things stand out to me immediately:
The name Vivia Perpetua certainly has something to do with “eternal life”
Hannah understands the important need, especially in our modern, mediocre, democratic society, for heroes and heroines
The cartoon series is called The Torchlighters, which is perhaps not a coincidence since I just started a new Substack called The Torch
Hannah demonstrates a genuine interest in and yearning for goodness, and even greatness or excellence
She isn’t afraid to mock feminist literature classes
Thus far I can already tell that Miss Stoddard will not be popular in some social circles. She is a serious student of American history and the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and she is fearless in her approach to sharing her faith in Christ and her testimony of Him and of the Prophet Joseph Smith.
I don’t imagine that I will agree with her about everything, but I was impressed enough by her positive attitude and her work, and especially her vigorous defense of the Prophet Joseph Smith, that I couldn’t help but share her post and give her an early endorsement here on The Torch. She is a real torch-lighter.
In connection with Miss Stoddard’s defense of the Prophet Joseph Smith, I am confident that in the not too distant future, we will understand even better why recent proclamations such as the “Restoration Proclamation,” “The Living Christ,” and “The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” are so important.
Two-thumbs up for The Joseph Smith Foundation and L. Hannah Stoddard.