PBS on "The Mormons"
A strikingly positive review of the PBS show "The Mormons" in today's New York Times which will broadcast tonight and tomorrow.
If you watch it, come back and share your impressions with the rest of us.
posted by Sherry W @ 9:00 AM
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3 Comments:
Well, I just finished watching the first two hours. My response is that of someone who has never had contact with Mormons and knows nearly nothing about them.
It was very interesting in many ways. I learned a lot about *what* happened in the between 1805 when Joseph Smith was born and 1896 when Utah joined the Union but am left with no sense of "why?".
Joseph Smith comes across as charismatic, ego-centric man of little or no spiritual or moral depth. Why would the first and second generation of believers follow him, sacrifice their homes and lives, swallow repugnant new revelations, etc? They endured incredible suffering to do so - surely "why?" is a critical part of the story. But there was almost no glimpse of Mormonism's inner life.
Perhaps that will be explained in the second half - what is the spiritual core of the Mormon faith?
After seeing PBS's Part I of the 4hour special "The Mormons," I'm not surprised by two things. First, that the New York Times had a positive view of the film, and second, that PBS used taxpayer dollars to attempt a debunking of the Mormon faith.
In an attempt to be "balanced," much of the film's commentary is provided by a slew of anti-Mormon writers and historians. While I understand wanting to present two sides of everystory, I don't understand why PBS needed to do it with absolutely every story in a way that sounds like "well this is the way the Mormons tell it" and "this is the way the historians tell it."
Instead of having a cogent purpose to educate viewers about a growing faith, PBS has rehashed every ugly moment in Mormon history, every sore spot, everything everyone already knows about the faith. The film reveals nothing but a strong bias against an otherwise friendly faith.
I finally got to watch it. I thought it was well done from my outsider's perspective. I usually find similar approaches to Christianity (e.g., From Jesus to Christ) annoying, so I’m willing to concede that insiders likely see it very differently. The show did have a reasonable number of LDS leaders and insiders speaking, so perhaps it was better from their perspective. I wish the show had spent some more time on beliefs (other than celestial marriage and baptism). For me, Mormonism shows a lived example of why I could never believe in a faith that proposes ongoing public revelation. At the same time, I totally admire the Mormon commitment to being missionaries. It will be interesting to see how the internal struggles around historical scholarship impact and shape this evolving faith.
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