From Deseret News archives:

Reader responses regarding "The Mormons" PBS series

Published: Thursday, May 3, 2007 12:10 a.m. MDT
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Just a quick thought. Overall I think the presentation was good. I was not offended. I think that this sheds some light on the church and will help dispel some of the misconceptions that people have. Of course, as will all things there are parts that people will focus on both good and bad, to justify their view point.

I am a member of the church, with a long family history with family in Hans mill, Nauvoo, pioneers, etc. I am currently in the Rusch Park Ward in the Citrus Heights, California Stake. — Chuck Livingston

I felt that the concentration of the Mountain Meadows Massacre and the time spent describing the event was exorbitant. Also their insinuation that Brigham Young somehow encouraged the massacre without any evidence whatsoever that he did such an act is ridiculous. Also the statement by one "scholar" that Joseph Smith was the author of the Book of Mormon is preposterous. This "scholar" conveniently left out the testimony of the witnesses to the Book of Mormon including the continued testimony of those witnesses that eventually left the church. — Donald Johnson, Afton, WY

My daughter said it best. "I wouldn't present it to an active investigator of the church, however, it provides a good dialog for non-members to learn more." Any publicity concerning the church will prompt people of good will to investigate and seek the truth of the matter. — Jeff Lawson, Longmont, Colo.

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As a faithful Mormon, I must say that overall the piece "The Mormons" was good. I've seen far worse representations of our faith and far better. Of course the better ones are usually produced from the inside of the faith and the bad ones from the Anti's. So Helen Whitney has shown, for the most part, a balanced enough view that both sides are not completely happy...which has to be a good thing I guess if you are a documentary producer.

There were times I got mad, like the ex-members sharing just a tad more about the temple rites than they know they should have, but it's a free country and that's between them and God. I also didn't appreciate so much time on the Mountain Meadows Massacre, since it was a one time incident that we learned a great lesson from as a church in whole. We're not Muslim extremist here, but one could certainly see how if our people hadn't learned that important lesson, we could have wound up like them. An important doctrine, found in the Book of Mormon, strictly forbids "secret combinations", which are oaths that are essentially cover-ups for murder to protect the murderers.

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