Mormon Doctrine Hidden Within the The Golden Compass and His Dark Materials

I have received several emails over the past couple of weeks informing me that going to the Golden Compass movie is tantamount to declaring a lack of faith. Interestingly enough, these emails have mostly come from fellow Mormons. I have read all three books in the His Dark Materials trilogy (of which the Golden Compass is but the first), and what struck me is how much Philip Pullman's ideas coincide with LDS themes. He probably didn't mean it that way, but hey, it's how I read it.

It is true that in His Dark Materials the people on the side of good are battling against "god." But The Authority (as "god" is named) isn't actually the creator. And he's somewhat authoritarian. The real threat, though, we find out, is actually Metatron, The Authority's right-hand angel. Metatron wants to take over The Authority's place and force everyone to worship him. He wants glory, and he wants everyone to do things his way. Defeating "god" is really about defeating Metatron. For all you Mormons out there, you've probably already identified the usurping Metatron as Lucifer, who wished to take away humankind's agency and take God's glory, for which he was cast out.

But that's not all. The books (especially the Golden Compass) are very heavy on disputing the idea of Original Sin. Additionally, the main character, Lyra, is set up as a "second Eve." And this second Eve has a job to do: save humankind, and allow it to flourish as it learns from its mistakes and progresses. That's right, in Pullman's universe, something akin to "the Fall" is a good thing. Now, where have I heard this before...Oh, right. Sunday school, growing up in the LDS church.

And here's something else I know the Mormons out there will love: The Authority and the angels in the books have bodies. Corporeal bodies that are more refined than the bodies of humans. And get this: humans can become angels. Metatron was a human once (but for now, we'll ignore that he was Enoch). So that fits into a Mormon doctrine framework as well. And there's a spirit world full the spirits of those who are dead.