Dispatches from Mormon Zion

Publishers Weekly “Davis is a wry and assured storyteller with a knack for finding touchstones of Mormon ethics in contemporary life … Offers an intriguing window into Mormon thinking.”

“Dispatches from Mormon Zion is an extraordinary love letter to Mormon culture. To love someone is to see them in a way that inspires an awareness of their value. As an insider who’s been on the outside and an outsider who’s been on the inside, Davis has seen the church from every angle. From this, Davis has crafted a clear-eyed and compelling portrait of faith, family, and community that warmly invites outsiders to appreciate the aesthetic charms and philosophical insights of the Utah Mormons.” –Jessica Flanigan, University of Richmond

“‘Zion’ is one of the most sublime concepts in any religion. But as Ryan Davis rightly shows, ‘Zion’ is also found in the mundane–from fly-fishing to department meetings, and from Sunday sermons to Taylor Swift. This collection of delightful essays not only brilliantly exposes the unique variants of the Mormon Zion, but also demonstrates core principles of yearning and belonging that are shared across all faiths.” –Benjamin E. Park, Sam Houston State University

“Ryan Davis’s book is a beautiful–and often hilarious–exploration of the weird and wonderful experience of living in community. His stories show how a community can be distinctive and, at the same time, marked by generous hospitality. These delightful essays remind us why such communities are worth seeking out, worth building, and worth preserving.” –Kyla Ebels-Duggan, Northwestern University

“Reading Dispatches from Mormon Zion is a rare pleasure. You are in the hands of a delightful, endearing, and exceptionally gracious narrator, possessed of a dry wit and uncommon wisdom for our fractious times. You will be grateful, as I am, for his gentle tutoring in the art of seeing others more truly.” –George Handley, Brigham Young University

Ryan W. Davis is associate professor of political science at Brigham Young University. His academic research focuses on ethics, politics, and philosophy of religion. His work has been published in The Journal of Political Philosophy, The Journal of Politics, The American Journal of Political Science, The Journal of the American Philosophical Association, Religious Studies, and Pacific Philosophical Quarterly. He has also written op-eds for The Washington Post, Newsweek, The Boston Globe, and Deseret News.