From Deseret News archives:
'Mormons' elicits a mixed response
Some praise the broadcast, while others find it offensive
Sacred temple rites, death, family life, intellectual dissidents, excommunication, homosexuality, blacks and the priesthood, missionary work, conversion and obedience were among the topics chronicled in Tuesday night's installment, looking at the modern church.
Gold plates, angels, revelation, basic doctrine, persecution, polygamy and the Mountain Meadows massacre were covered in Monday's part one, which looked at the church's early history. The effort is believed to be the most in-depth broadcast examination to date on The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, both past and present.
Fred Woods, a religion professor at Brigham Young University, said he doesn't think people of other faiths "would have understood Mormons by this documentary. Just as Jews understand Judaism and Muslims Islam better than outsiders, LDS people understand their faith better than someone (Helen Whitney in this case) looking from the outside in."
Quoting the apostle Paul, he said, "The natural man (or woman) receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." (I Cor. 2:11,14).
On the other end of the reaction spectrum, Bishop Carolyn Tanner Irish, Episcopal bishop of Utah who grew up as a Latter-day Saint, said she was "just overwhelmed by the real sensitivity to the whole story from start to finish." She didn't watch part one on Monday, but part two was "very emotional for me it's part of my story. And it remains part of my story.
"I loved the different persons who commented and offered reflections and perspectives. It really was not monochromatic the way sometimes one can feel, like ward houses that all look the same. It was really a very textured piece. I found it emotional because those are my roots. I found it very tender in the discussions about family, and mine are mostly gone now. ... I found it had a great deal of integrity as a whole and was very balanced."
Comments
- Avalanche suffer 1st home loss 10:34 p.m.
- Thunder rout short-handed Magic 10:32 p.m.
- Evans helps Kings top Warriors 10:29 p.m.
- Lakers win 5th straight 10:27 p.m.
- Bystanders framed for child porn 10:27 p.m.
- WAC: Nevada drubs the Spartans 10:25 p.m.
- Yule essay contest seeking entries 10:20 p.m.
- Species on endangered list 10:20 p.m.
- Scientist: Dinos trampled in SE Utah 10:19 p.m.
- NBA roundup: Bryant leads Lakers 10:17 p.m.
- Gay advocates trek to LDS office
216 - House passes health care bill
197 - Lobo suspended
173 - Cougars crush hapless Cowboys
151 - Speed has never been BYU's game
136 - Utah Jazz fall apart against Kings
126 - RSL rallies to advance
103 - Thousands protest health bill
102 - Provo company innovating engines
100 - Utes pound winless Lobos
89
Why do so many people live so close to refineries in Utah and elsewhere?
NASA's Stardust probe continues to bring new knowledge about the nature...
All MWC football fans need to get behind TCU, it's the only way we can hope...
Several schools have turf now...so it is not the Turf. Playing in a...
Two weeks ago BYU quit against TCU. When was the last time Utah quit when...
I for one was impressed to see the coaching staff make better use of JJ. Once...
Funny that Cougar fans don't think that the Heisman Trophy winner wouldn't...
BYU fans take shots at Utah since they cannot talk about their own team....
Silver conservative are in a constant state of fear. There were only two...
I remember that game, it was a Shumway who ran him down. His little brother...
As a Utah fan I am nervous about this one, but I don't think TCU is going to...
I am a devotee of multiple talk radio hosts. They stimulate me to increase...



You can be the first to comment on this story.