LDS Church buys ad space in 'Book of Mormon' musical playbill

Steve Densley Jr. of the Foundation for Apologetic Information & Research, a long-time observer of the treatment of Mormonism in the media, agreed.

"The popularity of the musical presents a great opportunity for the church," Densley said. "I think most people recognize 'The Book of Mormon' musical to be satire, and not an accurate representation of Mormons or their beliefs. So many of them will naturally wonder what Mormons really believe. I think it's great that my church is taking this chance to respond to the curiosity that will arise after people see the show."

It isn't likely that you'll get any argument from the musical's production team. Late last year NPR interviewed Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the creators of television's "South Park" as well as "The Book of Mormon," and they talked about the LDS Church's response to the show.

"The official church response was something along the lines of, 'The Book of Mormon' the musical might entertain you for a night, but the Book of Mormon — the book as scripture — will change your life through Jesus," Stone said. "Which we actually completely agree with That's a cool, American response to a ribbing."

Stone said that "before the church responded, a lot of people would ask us, 'Are you afraid of what the church would say?' And Trey and I were like, 'They're going to be cool.' And they were like, 'No, they're not. There are going to be protests.' And we were like, 'Nope, they're going to be cool.' We weren't surprised by the church's response. We had faith in them."

Email: jwalker@desnews.com

Email: jwalker@desnews.com