Uh . . . Stephenie was not inspired to write Twilight because of a “vision.” She had a dream. There’s a big difference!

Not into vampires, so won’t be buying her Mormon influenced vampire stories. $750.000 isn’t bad to write 3 books. She obviously is talented, or no one would have given her the contract.

As a fellow BYU alum, active blogger, aspiring writer and a dedicated father, I highly admire the success of Ms. Meyer. I also applaud her efforts to deal with strong themes in her literature.
True art contains real conflict whether they are of fiction, fantasy or otherwise. I believe that Stephanie is very talented at tapping a powerful resonance with so many people, dealing with the conflict of battling evil; I hope that someday I could have the possibility of doing so with only a portion of her numbers.
I hope the best for her, her fans and her art in the future.
God is good, and the world is healthy where normal people who strive to be good and decent can become so iconically successful.
Monsters usually reflect true impulses in the human and animal world. We need to learn how to overcome the “natural man”. Great artists, and even preachers, achieve that. Bravo.
Clinch

Here you have a guy named Edward, a vampire, who desires to have Bella’s blood every time they meet. So he has to fight that desire so very hard. Isn’t that a lot like life?
There’s something we desire but we know that we should not have it. It’s like resisting sin. Sin can be so tempting, so attractive, so desirable but we choose not to partake. I like that underlying conflict in her book and I’m looking forward to seeing the movie.
There is nothing wrong with an author writing about what he/she beliefs. It also makes it that much easier to write about. Great job Stephenie! I wish you much success.

Um, there is sex in Twilight. It’s not described, true, but how else would one explain how Bella gets knocked up?
Bella and Edward talk a fair bit about it afterwards, too.

I really enjoyed all four books. I’m not a teen or tween either. I work at a school and all of us ‘old school marms’ have really enjoyed the books. It has been fun to see the high school students reading these books. For many of them

In response to one poster above, no there is no sex in “Twilight”. There is sex in “Breaking Dawn”, the 4th book in the series and that is only after Edward and Bella get married. That is when she gets pregnant. Perhaps people should actually read the books before commenting on the subject. Stephenie Meyer does a beautiful job reflecting her moral views in her books. Also, I am 29 years old and enjoyed these books meant for young adults immensely. As a convert to the Church without growing up with the morals and beliefs of the Church I find it refreshing that there is a series out there that reflects good morals to the youth of the world.

I loved these books. So much of the anxiety that Bella and Edward feel in these books, has been present in my life, as I grew up in the Church. Thank you, Stephenie, for writing such great books.

I am 68 years old and enjoyed these books immensely. They have an appeal for all ages. I also did not grow up in the LDS church but did join in 1973. It is great to have books that have the appeal without the graphic sex that so many have. The story line shows great insight into human desires and behavior. I recommend them to all of those who want to read an intriguing series.

Does anyone not LDS have a comment?

If you want romance without blantant sex look for the old movies of the 30′s and the 4o’s. There was inference, only, and good always won out. It doesn’t have to be sanctioned by the Mormon Church or any Church to teach good morals. Read Grimms Fairy Tales, and other older books. Our tastes in movies runs to no taste, but it could change if enough people stopped buying tickets. I belong to the Literary Guild, and the books for the most part are violent, and negative stories as they describe them. I never buy them, but there are enough interesting books besides them to read. If this author gives a good story with romance between a man and woman that is good, and she brings a good thing from her Morman background to the public. If she were to desecrate GLBT children with her beliefs in a story that would not be a good thing.

I’m a 30-something LDS woman who enjoyed the Twilight series immensely (as well as The Host) and didn’t even know the author was LDS until right before the 4th book came out! I think Ms. Meyer did a great job of creating a clean series of books without being at all “preachy” or pushy about her religious beliefs. If I hadn’t found out she was Mormon I never would have guessed.

I’m a 69 year old who read the first two volumes to see what my wife, daughters and granddaughters were reading. I can’t read the last two, because they keep stealing my copies to read them themselves.
Keep up the good work.

I read all 4 books and enjoyed the story but do not think it sends the same moral message as described in the article. From my LDS perpective, I think this book allows other young readers to think they too can get in the same situation as Bella and get too close to the sexual line without going over. This is not true…Edward is over a hundred years old and a vampire…most boys today are in their teens and cannot control their passions as Edward does. I think this sets teenagers up for trouble!

I could’ve guessed she’d never written before this series of books, they’re horrible. I understand they’re teen lit, but they could stand a few more complex sentences and heavy intervention with a thesaurus.
I couldn’t even finish the series. I was pleasantly surprised at the lack of sex though, much of the vampire lit out there tends to end up reading like erotica….

Greetings Fellow Twilighters!!!!
“…can be seen in the ways that Meyer has her teenage heroine stand up for marriage and, ultimately, motherhood,” says Jana Riess…,

You have to understand that poorly written or not she has set herself up for so much better and brighter. Having her very first article published and do so well is incredible! Your Name 2 you have to realize that this is not a pornovel. It is a break for those of us who are looking for one. One where the characters aren’t making stupid life decisions and not seeing or portraying the real outcome of STD’s and teen pregnancy. Being Mormon herself, yes she may have gone a little far but the characters, not LDS themselves, show a great deal of self control, something that everyone in this world needs to learn more about.

I agree with what Kristin wrote: “Edward is over a hundred years old and a vampire…most boys today are in their teens and cannot control their passions as Edward does. I think this sets teenagers up for trouble!” My husband and I are youth leaders at our church. I read these books as the gals in our YG were all aflutter about them. I read some parts to my husband and his response was, “great, another book setting up teenage guys to fail. No teenage boy will be able to compete with the suave, mature, decidedly devoted Edward.” Which is a sad commentary on teenagers today. Though at times I inwardly winced over the “predator” like qualities of Edward toward Bella, I found the books sometimes refreshing and a fun read! With so much junk lit out there today, these books offer something different. The movie was great and did not disappoint.

“…can be seen in the ways that Meyer has her teenage heroine stand up for marriage and, ultimately, motherhood,” says Jana Riess…
As an avid twilighter I just wanted to say that Bella doesn’t stand up for marriage OR motherhood. Bella, due to her mother’s beliefs about marriage, didn’t want to get married at first. However, Edward (knowing that Bella didn’t want to get married) said that he would change her into a vampire if they got married first, believing that she would say no. Bella did hesitate, and took some time before saying yes.
So I don’t understand how this person can believe that Meyer has Bella stand up for marriage. This person must not have read the series, or paid any attention.

This is all just ridiculous! Who honestly cares?! The majority of Twilight fans could care less about how the series relates to mormonism! It is what it is, an amazing story! Leave it at that and stop trying to pick it apart at the seams. Bella is a normal neurotic character that most teenage girls can relate to. I’m soo overly sick of people trying to pin Twilight down to religion, and criticizing Stephenie for writing about vampires, werewolves, and oh no, not sex too!! Yes, God forbid, a mormon write a book with “sexual tension” and passionate, crazy, headboard-breaking, sex scenes. Seriously people. Give it a rest. Congratulate her on her success and if you have problems with the Twilight series, take them elsewhere, or better yet, keep them to yourselves.

Twilight has sunk its proverbial teeth into pop culture since the film’s release on Nov. 21. By now, your tweens and teens have probably seen the box-office winner multiple times – and maybe you have, too!
The wildly popular vampire romance is as big a hit with the adult set as it is with kids, and Common Sense Media has plenty of content to help you enjoy Twilight right alongside your kids, including an exclusive, one-on-one video interview with your daughter’s newest crush, Twilight star Robert Pattinson at http://www.commonsensemedia.org

There is a great blog that explores the LDS connection in Twilight. “Twilight Preaches Mormonism”
http://writetools.wordpress.com/2008/11/22/twilight-preaches-mormonism/

I liked this i guess because i am an lds member as well