u/RaisinFinancial6865

I got caught in between. A throwing spear cut clean through my neck and severed my head.

I'm starting to understand why Forlorn Hope is the way it is.

Bury my head in Zion. The ground is softer there.

I see a lot of interesting art of the man known as "J.G." across the fandom, which is cool. I've never been a huge fan of him myself, but that's by the by.

*However*, I think Graham fans are (understandably) not often very informed about Mormonism's particulars.

One small detail in how people depict him has always bothered me (and at this point I've started to think it might come from the game itself).

The detail is just this: when Joshua is shown with a book (which I assume is the Bible), I almost always see a cross on the cover. And also there should be two books.

The thing is, Mormons really don't fuck with the cross as a religious symbol. Unless something fundamental shifted in the theology (open to hearing about that), I can't imagine this changing in the fallout universe.

In fact, the cross can be something of a provocative symbol. The LDS doctrine is way more focused on Jesus' baptism, Jesus in the garden, and the resurrection--responsibility, reckoning, and rebirth. The crucifixion itself is not positioned in the same way as other Christians use it, partly because Mormons define themselves in opposition to all other Christian churches.

It's also partly because Jesus is less of a distant figure, more like a family member. He's supposed to be your brother, why would you gawk and stare at his mangled body? Why would you celebrate his torture and the instrument that killed him?

Etc etc, nuance, etc

All this to say--if you *want* to do an accurate Joshua Graham, look up a picture of Mormon scriptures. They're two, plain-cover texts; one is marked Holy Bible (Big Boy) and the other marked Book of Mormon (little boy). The lettering is often gold, which might look cool with fire.

Source: I grew up Mormon in Utah and then became evangelical, the cross was one of the sticking points in our many theological spats.