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Rory McFarlan
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Nephi's Courage: Story of a Bad Mormon Kindle Edition

by Rory McFarlan (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 94 ratings
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Winner of the 2020 Pinnacle Book Achievement Award in the Novel category and 2020 International Book Awards Finalist in the LGBTQ+ Fiction category. A heart-wrenching contemporary fiction novel. Nephi Willard is a practicing Mormon who loves God and his church. He grew up in Happy Valley, the center of LDS life in Utah, and faithfully served a mission. The perfect Mormon life would be his, if not for the fact that Nephi is gay, putting him at odds with his church leaders. No matter how well Nephi obeys the commandments, he doesn't seem to fit in at church, and his desire to follow the Mormon rules makes it difficult to fit in with the gay community. While he tries to reconcile his Mormon side with his gay side, Nephi navigates two worlds in a struggle to understand himself. When a new love interest introduces him to possibilities he never imagined, he must decide whether to embrace his nature or his faith, which takes him on a journey that is both devastating and beautiful.
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  1. Print length
    310 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publication date
    December 8, 2019
  5. File size
    2834 KB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
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  8. Enhanced typesetting
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"What's wonderful about this novel (in an often infuriating way) is that Nephi Willard is an exemplary Mormon. Unlike many other Mormons in good standing who bend or break rules occasionally, Nephi religiously does not drink alcohol or coffee, watch porn, or curse. Most importantly-even though he has always been same-sex attracted (which according to church doctrine is NOT a sin unless the attraction is acted upon)-he completely adheres to the no-physical-intimacy-outside-of-marriage rule, and has never been sexual with anyone, male or female. Yet important fellow Mormons find him (and LGBTQ people in general) distasteful, disgraceful and immoral. Readers may come away having more feelings about the ins-and-outs of Mormonism than about the characters themselves in Rory McFarlan's NEPHI'S COURAGE, but it's still a worthy tale of faith, friendship, being true to one's self, and the miracle of falling in love." -IndieReader
"A deftly written story that, while a work of fiction, quite accurately portrays the condition of being a gay man in a Mormon dominated society. An engaging and emotionally powerful novel by an author with an impressive flair for the kind of narrative driven storytelling that emotionally rivets the readers full attention from cover to cover, "Nephi's Courage" is the kind of story that will linger in the mind and memory of the reader long after the book itself has been finished and set back upon the shelf." - Midwest Book Review
"McFarlan's novel does an impressive job of laying out the stakes of being a gay Mormon--particularly one who continues to devoutly follow his religion after coming to terms with his sexuality." - Kirkus Reviews
"McFarlan's emotional contemporary romance debut grapples with being a gay believer in a hostile religious environment... This sympathetic exploration of the clash of sexuality and Mormon faith will have broad appeal for readers of contemporary romance." - Booklife Reviews
"Nephi's Courage: Story of a Bad Mormon by Rory McFarlan is about a man who is actually a good Mormon, but also gay. The story follows his life as he tries to balance the demands of his church with his real beliefs about a loving God and his own nature. There is so much here that interests me! And some things which had me questioning or made me uncomfortable... Overall, I enjoyed this book and found it well worth reading... I recommend it to anyone interested in the overlapping issues of religion and sexuality, especially if you want to learn more about the Church of Latter-Day Saints." - Rhiannon Grant - Brigid, Fox, and Buddha: a personal homepage and blog
"Overall I adored this book; the only thing that I found off-putting was the religious aspect... Other than that, I have no complaints. The book was professionally edited... For readers who appreciate books that are heavily based on character development, this book is for you! Nephi's story brings up important issues such as social injustice and discrimination, and I think this is an essential read for all human beings. For readers who are sensitive to death by suicide, I would dissuade them from reading this book as it may be a trigger.
"- Official OnlineBookClub.org Review
"An amazing read for religious and non-religious alike. Well written with... an empowering message of love and compassion." - a Goodreads Reviewer
"This is an extremely thought provoking debut novel from Rory McFarlan that has been sensitively and vividly written. The story is both heartbreaking and full of hope and will ring true with anyone who has struggled with the restrictions of their religion and the judgement of their family or peers."- a Goodreads Reviewer
"There are heartbreaking moments, but there is also a really sweet love story."- a Goodreads Reviewer

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B082HCDV52
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Rory McFarlan (December 8, 2019)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ December 8, 2019
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2834 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 310 pages
  • Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 1734179406
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 94 ratings

About the author

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Rory McFarlan

Rory McFarlan

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Rory McFarlan was born and raised in Utah and grew up in the Mormon church. Rory currently resides in Seattle. Rory is married with three children, and enjoys the outdoors and writing. Rory is a LGBTQIA+ ally and an advocate of equality for all. As an independent author who is not backed by a publishing house, your honest reviews are very much appreciated. Please always know that you are wonderful just the way you are, and you deserve love. None of us is perfect, but each of us is enough.

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
4.1 out of 5
94 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Cameron B.
5.0 out of 5 stars Intense, sad story, that works out in th end. Love it!
Reviewed in the United States on January 14, 2020
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This is NOT a light-hearted book. If that is what you are looking for, look elsewhere. Having said that, I loved this story.

Nephi is an active Mormon with a calling and teh church is important in his life. He struggles being accepted by certain members of the church because he is gay. He also has friends in the church that are accepting and loving.

Nephi goes through many struggles as he decides to start dating and experiences several hardships. Make no mistake, this book is heartwrenching. Parts of it are among the saddest books I have read. Nephi develops relationships with some in the LGBT community that help him along his way.

It is a story of self-discovery and comming to grips with your real self and learning to love and accept your true self. Although some parts are sad, the book ends on a positive note.

I honestly loved this book. It made me cry but it also made me laugh quite a bit.

For some background, I am a gay Mormon, and I strongly relate to Nephi. For me, this was an intense and enjoyable read. I was engaged from the beginning through the end.

The book does go into discussions of Mormon doctrine and culture and does a pretty good job giving the reader insight into those aspects of the church. I'm not sure if someone who isn't Mormon would appreciate that part of the book as much as I did.

For me, this was well worth the read and I recommend it. We need more people in the church to generate discussion on important topics like sexuality. If we never talk about it, things will never get better.
5 people found this helpful
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ERH
4.0 out of 5 stars Staying true to who you are
Reviewed in the United States on January 28, 2020
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Nephi is a good Mormon committed to his faith. Unfortunately he is gay, and the Church is not really accepting of that. In order to fit in, he has to deny who he is. Although he follows the rules and commits no ‘sin’, he is excommunicated for daring to hope that the rules might change. It takes courage to hold onto one’s principles in the face of intransigence. Interesting and worthwhile read. Recommend to anyone interested in personal growth or spiritual journeys.
4 people found this helpful
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Sahreth 'Baphy' Bowden
5.0 out of 5 stars A Powerful Story of Being True to Oneself
Reviewed in the United States on December 23, 2019
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"Nephi's Courage" is an uplifting story about being true to oneself despite the odds. It explores the warring nature of religious faith vs the LGBT community not from one side alone, but showing multiple angles and experiences. No matter where you fall in the issue, the story is very enlightening.

Nephi is a kind, compassionate man who has dedicated his life to the church regardless of how it alienates him due to his sexual orientation. Thus far he has maintained his position working as an active Mormon, but when he voices his concerns that, according to doctrine, he may never reach God's graces after death, the people he has loved and prayed with for so long begin to remove him from the church he loves so dearly. He decides to finally venture into the gay community, only to be met with antagonism for refusing to give up his faith.

Throughout the story, Nephi tries to reconcile these two very real and very important aspects of himself, facing discrimination in the church, in the workplace, and in the rest of the world. But with the help of a few accepting friends from both the Mormon and LGBT worlds as well as his absolute faith in a loving God, he finds the strength to face the flawed nature of humans and press forward for the good of others and his own personal happiness.

An amazing read for religious and non-religious alike. Well written with a well rounded plot and developed characters, and an empowering message of love and compassion.
8 people found this helpful
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Tom
5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent and well written book.
Reviewed in the United States on January 31, 2020
Verified Purchase
This book was arresting and difficult to read because of the subject matter. The extreme hypocritical right-wing evangelical LDS religion and its adherents are shown to be the antithesis of what religion SHOULD be about. The assinine elevation of total disregard for people that don't adhere to every stupid "law" of the church populates the book and causes immeasurable harm to the main character. IF there is, indeed, a God, which I don't accept, he/she would surely NOT be the God that the LDS church presents. The title says the "Story of a Bad Mormon." I beg to differ, it appears to me that the book is FULL of actual BAD Mormons. Nephi is the ONLY Mormon in the book that is NOT bad. It was such a thrill to see that GOOD triumphs in the end.
5 people found this helpful
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bcollins1958
4.0 out of 5 stars Good message but could use a good editor
Reviewed in the United States on April 27, 2023
Verified Purchase
I stumbled across this book and since it was available with my Kindle Unlimited subscription, I thought why not? Being the mother of a transgender child, I could identify with the struggle of the protagonist. Much of the story felt autobiographical.
I would recommend this book to any young person who is struggling to reconcile the conflict between their faith and their sexuality.
This work would benefit from the efforts of a proficient editor, but the problems aren't so bad as to make it unreadable.
Good luck to you, Rory. I wish you the best!
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JustJoJo
3.0 out of 5 stars Good story, bad editing and copy editing
Reviewed in the United States on June 12, 2020
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I liked the story and the main characters in this book a lot, though I questioned many things about how Nephi was treated by his church. I wouldn't have been able to handle them this well. His friends and most of his family and some others were great characters, though; loving and supportive.
What I didn't like was that for most of the book, there was way too much detail about Nephi's ordinary routines - it wasn't necessary to know every time he showered or what he wore. I would say it wasn't necessary to say every time he prayed or read the Book of Mormon, either, but I know that established how devoted he was to his faith, so that's more understandable. For this same part of the book, the grammar was bad - changing from present tense to past or future tense in a single sentence frequently. Also, there were words left in or out of sentences inexplicably. But strangely, during the last several chapters of the book, that all went away and it was much easier and less frustrating to read - almost as if that part were written by someone else. It was very odd, and had me confused. Overall, though, I did like the book, and it's a pretty quick read, so worth the time.
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Top reviews from other countries

Stephen Hocker
1.0 out of 5 stars Awful
Reviewed in Brazil on February 1, 2020
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I had my doubts when I read the blurb 'about the author'. I should have acted on them. Besides the bad usage and grammar (learn the difference between the verbs 'lay' and 'lie', at least), the condescending and patronising writing finally got to me. I had absolutely no interest in the 'characters' and just gave up. Read it if you want to be a good Mormon. Don't read it if you want a good book. Rubbish. Full disclosure: the book was a freebie. Just as well.
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Lisa R
5.0 out of 5 stars A compelling read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 6, 2020
Verified Purchase
This is an extremely thought provoking debut novel from Rory McFarlan that has been sensitively and vividly written. The story is both heartbreaking and full of hope and will ring true with anyone who has struggled with the restrictions of their religion and the judgement of their family or peers. McFarlan paints a complex picture of Mormon life in modern day Utah as his lead character, Nephi, comes to terms with the consequences of his lifestyle choices and the courage he displays in rising above the cruel censure he receives.
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SamA
4.0 out of 5 stars Get ready for an emotional roller-coaster and a trip to Utah!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 5, 2020
Verified Purchase
I really enjoyed this novel. It is a gripping story that plunges you into the Utah culture. It took me back to Utah—I live in the UK—as it depicts the culture, and especially the LDS (Mormon) culture, perfectly. I enjoyed getting into Nephi's bittersweet world and follow him. The story made me smile and it also made me angry for the main character who's torn between the Church he loves and his sexual orientation. All sides can enjoy this book: There is no Church bashing. Instead it shows the beauty and the flaws of both the Mormon and the LGBT community. Above all, this novel is a poignant and heartfelt portrayal of anyone who wishes to hold on to their faith while acknowledging those homosexual feelings won't simply go away. For readers who are not too familiar with the topic or with the Mormon culture, don't worry: the author covers many points in the early chapters in a very succinct and yet thorough manner! The only piece of criticism would be that those explanations seem to stand out as answers in a FAQ page instead of being seamlessly blended in the storyline. This is just a minor point, though, and I wholeheartedly recommend this book as long as you're ready for an emotional roller-coaster and a trip to Utah!
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars A Story the covers all emoticons
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 8, 2020
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A person of faith I read this book with great interest. I learnt more about the Morman faith and appreciated and fully understood the agony Nephie went through.
It made mean thing carefully about my own narrow thinking 're people who do not fit into my view of society and faith. Excellent book well written. Highly recommend it.
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Kindle Customer. Shosho12
5.0 out of 5 stars Nephi courage:
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 23, 2020
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This book was so uplifting ,wholesome sad and happy all at the same time..sadly still true in all walks of life to this day.the author manager to encompass all this and more.I look forward to his next t book very much.
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