Time to move on from big ol' Mormon joke

To paraphrase the famous saying, hell hath no

fury like a TV animator scorned. Specifically Trey Parker, who can't

seem to get over his first girlfriend.

Parker and Matt Stone have gone out of their way to lampoon the LDS

Church in every artistic medium they've explored, from their student

film in college to their huge success with the animated sitcom "South

Park" to the just-announced "Mormon Musical" set for Broadway next year

— all of which apparently stems from Parker having dated a Mormon girl

in his youth.

Whenever interviewers ask why Parker and Stone repeatedly skewer The

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Parker says that his first

girlfriend was a Mormon and ever since he has had a fascination with

the church.

When he discusses this, Parker can be quite complimentary to church

members in general, referring to them as "the nicest people." And in

truth, even his most mean-spirited gags often go all gooey by the end.

Of course, these guys aren't alone in their repeated use of Mormonism

as a punch line, and they also aren't the nastiest. These days it's

open season on the LDS faith and its members; Parker and Stone were

just ahead of the curve.

So, when I read about this new "Mormon Musical" it made me chuckle just because of their fixation on all things Mormon.

Their student film, "Cannibal! The Musical" (just re-released on DVD

for its "13th Anniversary"), is an off-the-wall western with

over-the-top violence and gore — and songs — which features a Mormon