Verdoia, who is not identified as a Mormon or non-Mormon in the film (he is the latter), proved to be so compelling and articulate that Whitney made him the lead voice of the film, taking it from one point to the next.

Says Whitney, "I thought Ken was a stunning storyteller, enormously knowledgeable about Mormon history, with a unique perspective as an insider living in Utah and making numerous documentaries about Mormon history and at the same time as an outsider to the faith. I knew all of this about Ken before I chose him as my chief storyteller/historian. My instincts about who will work in front of the camera are honed by 30-odd years of experience and by my own strong instincts. But quite honestly I did not anticipate how powerful a presence he would be on camera. I knew he would be very, very good, but superb? No, I was wonderfully surprised.... He was a gift to me."

If there's one thing we learned as a result of "The Mormons," it's that this man has a gift for gab. Ask Verdoia about the subject of the documentary, and he's off and running.

To wit: "(Mormonism) is one of the great American stories of all time. That's why I'm drawn to it as a journalist. This is a religious movement that has its genesis right here on the North American continent. As it grows, it's part of a nation defining itself. How does the nation react to the rights of individuals as related to religion? The law at first turned away and offered no protection to the church, but then it confronts the church and designs laws to break the church in this century, with decisions from the Supreme Court, Congress and presidents. They challenge the right to practice religion. They decide it's not unlimited. You can believe anything you want; you just can't act upon it if society says it's uncomfortable."

Verdoia, who is 54, talks like this naturally. Without trying, he sounds as if he's reading from a script. The words just flow.

Which wasn't always the case, and that's the irony, of course. In a twist of his own history, much about Verdoia — his penchant for doing films about underdogs, his fascination with history, his career choice, his intense need to succeed, even his habit of overkill, marathon-length interviews for his films — can be tied to a childhood malady.

Verdoia had a paralytic stutter during his grade-school years. It was so severe that there were times when he actually couldn't communicate, which made him a target for abuse from peers. He was the "dummy" who sat in the back of the room hoping the teacher wouldn't call on him.