Could you elaborate on the alien society in The Host mimicking Mormon society? I read it and even followed some discussions back in the day, but I never saw anyone approach it from that angle (unlike Twilight where half the criticism had to touch on Meyer's mormonism in some way), and it sounds interesting.
the alien society in the host is sexless, yet obsessed with sacred motherhood (which will kill you). it's nonviolent towards its own, but hyperfocused on corralling and converting outsiders. it's genuinely a better place to live than the secular world as it is today, there's no war or crime or poverty... buuuut also living there makes any woman with any sense of adventure want to claw her own face off with boredom.
and I honestly do think that the alien society being based on Mormondom is an intentional choice on Meyer's part, for two reasons.
#1: the scenes where Wanda is meeting with her - I can't remember what the word is in-universe, but her Assigned Friend. this is a thing that's deeply baked into Mormon Culture- every woman is assigned a Visiting Teacher. another woman in your ward/parish is assigned to, once a month, give you a lesson/check in on you/be your Friend, short term.
the scenes where Wanda is visiting her Assigned Friend are very much modeled on a combination of "your visiting teacher came in" and "you have to go talk to the bishop/pastor". it's the combination of spiritual intimacy and complete insincerity/detachment. it's written pitch-perfectly and I think that is completely intentional on Meyer's part.
#2: Mormons genuinely believe that you can tell a Mormon apart from a non-Mormon- or a good person apart from a bad one- because Mormons have the Light of Christ (TM) in their eyes. It's meant to be a Glow of Good Feelings and Brotherly Love. you just KNOW that someone else is a Mormon by looking at them. (in reality of course the way you tell someone is Mormon just by looking at them is by a whole bunch of subculture signifiers, just like how you can tell some people are Goth just by looking at them. but I digress.)
...in the Host, you shine a literal light into someone's eyes and you can tell they're an alien because they literally shine. Meyer's fond of this plot device, and it works- but it's also one of those things that's extremely rooted in Mormon theology.
...I genuinely think Stephanie Meyer is a smart person, and if you're a smart Mormon- even if you're devout and born into it- you're keenly aware that the Church has its flaws. If you're trying to create a society that seems perfect but isn't, and you're part of an insular subculture that tells you it's the perfect society, you're going to exaggerate those flaws to create something beautiful and horrible.
