PBS's "The Mormons"?

Question

Tomarrow is the debut of PBS's "THe Mormons." Are you going to watch it? Do you think it will be any good, and do you think it will do justice to either side of the argument? (I'm LDS, and not going to be able to watch it becasue it will be on late where I live.) If you see this message after it's come on what do you think of it? Any good? Here's the link http://www.pbs.org/mormons/. It has all of the info that theyhave yet to release on the documentary and also the trailer.

thanks for the wonderful detailed oppinion Calvary.....*sarcasm*

Thanks you Aconstas1! If I were Baptist I'd shout "Amen Brother,": but I'm not so I won't. (Sorry if that offends any Baptists.) A friend of mine in another stake actually said that stake leaders warned her stake agianst watching it becasue of all of the anti-Mormon connotations. That was before it came out. Thanks for informing me. I don't want to see it much now.

I just watched the beginning of itonline and was disgusted. It's aweful. Why don't they justmake an Anti-LDS website? What offendedme to beginwith is the fact that we are yet again labeled Mormon. Why not LDS?

Answer 1

Yes I watched it and it confirmed my previous experience and knowledge that Mormons are kooks.

Answer 2

My wife and I saw it last night and we were quite disappointed. At the end of the documentary we felt there was a definite agenda to the program. Afterwards, my wife and I were discussing the problems with the documentary without really trying hard. For example, why was the entire second half devoted to polygamy and the mountain meadow massacre? During the part about polygamy, why were the Mormon's depicted as evil for starting it and then afterwards evil for getting rid of it? Why were polygamist families depicted in the documentary when they aren't even Mormons?

Other problems we saw were the commentators. Several authors, a poet, and an English professor were used prominently throughout with only a spattering of historians and church officials. What have the authors and poet written? English professor from where?

I think my absolute favorite part dealt with the massacre and immediate conclusion the historian gave after ten years of study that Brigham Young was involved and then the LDS historian saying Brigham was not involved. I would really like to know this person's religious faith, what documents he has written and for whom, you can say the same for the LDS historian, but it is obvious what faith he is from. If this portion did not indicate an agenda, then there were plenty of others to fill the void.

The whole documentary seemed more like an anti-mormon pamphlet than an actual documentary. Shadows and odd music always surrounded images of the temple or members. Dramatic emphasis was always placed on the negative from commentators and finally logical progression always came to the conclusion that church leaders were power hungry, sex addicts or deceptive leaders. In essence, I would not recommend the documentary to anyone.

Answer 3

I did watch about the first hour and half. They were unbelievably incorrect and biased in so many different areas. They portrayed Joseph Smith as an illegal gold digger for a years while young, said he use different instruments for the majority of the translating of the B.O.M. instead of the Urrim and Thumim. Didn't mention almost anything about the personal persecutions that he suffered such as a the resulting death of a son, due to a mob attack the night he had been tarred and feathered. For every true or accurate thing they said there were 5 falsehoods to go with it. They played horrendously on previous statements by historical church members. They kept using larger words as if to disguise that they were really doing which ultimately was bashing the church in every way they could.

Answer 4

The program promises to show "both sides of the equation, ie views from Mormons and non-Mormons alike. The Mormon Church did not produce the documentary, and had no influence on the program.

The program is correct in stating that even in as much as the denomination began in America, is is often misunderstood and neglected in the studies of American history.

Answer 5

This was not made by the "Mormon" church. It is supposed to give pros and cons of the church as seen by outside observers. Although the leadership of the church has given interviews that will be aired, they have no control over the editing of the program. Should be interesting.

Answer 6

Although my expectations were low, I was still disappointed in the misrepresentation of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints by this PBS "documentary". One of the first complete fallacies was a statement at the beginning that "Joseph Smith is the Mormon's Alpha and Omega". This statement alone is an outright insult to me. Latter Day Saints never refer to Joseph Smith as the Alpha and Omega. That title is reserved for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Next, the Smith Family were reported to be people that make "bad judgments", always "living on the edge". These statements contradict all of the many testimonies given of the Smith Family by their fellow citizens reporting them to be outstanding citizens. I was insulted when Joseph Smith was called a "schemer", "shamen", "faker", someone who is "way out there". What an insult to the Church. Imagine if a report on Islam, Catholicism, or Buddhism referred to Mohammed, the Pope, and the Dahli Lama similarly! They portrayed eerie pictures of the angel Moroni and Christ which were paintings that I've never seen. It was obvious what their intentions were. I found it ever so "convenient" that Joseph found the plates, translated them, and gave them back to the angel with no mention of the Witnesses and their bold testimonies of having seen the plates and handled them. I was again outraged at the statement where someone claims that it is "an embarrassment to the members to think that an angel delivered the plates to Joseph". We are not embarrassed by this statement. On the contrary, we declare it boldly to the world to be true! We declare that it is in direct fulfillment of Biblical prophecy found in the book of Revelations among other places. Furthermore, I was disappointed to hear the visions by hundreds of Saints in Ohio to be characterized as "experiencing mass hallucinations". Another incorrect statement claimed that "Joseph Smith created the Priesthood". Neither Joseph nor anyone in Church history has made that claim. We believe that the resurrected John the Baptist, followed by Peter, James, and John bestowed that authority not only on Joseph, but on Oliver Cowdery as well. PBS claims that the LDS faith was the "religion of the poor people". This is an outright lie. There were MANY wealthy and prominent landowners who were members of the early Church. If anyone was poor, it was usually due to unrighteous and illegal seizure of property and estates by "real Christians". Their statement that the Book of Mormon is "Frontier Literature" ignores all of the Ancient Semitic characteristics of the Book of Mormon such as Throne Theophany Motiffs, chiasmus, and cognate accusatives to name a few. There were numerous other misrepresentations and inaccuracies throughout the entire "documentary" (if it can be called that) which made me cringe when I heard them. Lastly I was personally offended when referred to as still being "odd". I wouldn't be surprised if PBS lost a large audience. Their efforts to discredit the church and mislead it's members astray have been in vain. The Saints will not be swayed by every wind of doctrine invented by men. God's kingdom will continue to roll forward and never cease until his gospel has filled the earth. I bear witness that the Church is true, that the Book of Mormon is indeed the word of God, and that the living Jesus Christ is the head of this church, and do so boldly in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Answer 7

Yes, I will watch it. It should make for interesting viewing (especially from PBS), and I would like to learn more, apart from hearing other religions bash the LDS folks.

Answer 8

Hi, according to the website you will be able to watch the full four-hour video online (streaming) through the website. I'll probably watch it, it looks interesting. You might check the website later to see if you can watch from there.
Thanks for pointing this out!

Answer 9

Yeah I will probably watch it. I've read enough on Mormons but its good to keep learning.

Answer 10

probably not- I'm not very interesting in documentaries right now. my brain is fried by the time I get home