In continuation from yesterday, let me conclude with a few thoughts about Helen’s final episode of The Mormons on PBS.
For two hours, the film takes you on a jolting ride through five acts: The Great Accommodation, The Mission, Dissenters and Exile, The Family, and The Temple. Here are the highlights.
Most Glaring Newspaper Headlines
Baptists Move Against Smoot: Demand for His Expulsion
(I would vote for Mitt Romney. He is a unique Republican candidate who doesn’t follow the printer’s error in the Wicked Bible (KJV) showcased with the Ink & Blood exhibit here in
Idaho Falls.)
The Most Vocal Denomination Against the Church
Especially the Southern Baptist . . .
The Extraordinary Ambassador of the Church
Mormon Tabernacle Choir
The Most Damning Statement by a Prophet
Prophet John Taylor – the idea that blacks were here to represent Satan (Darius Gray)
The Big Question for the Postmodern Trap
Terryl Givens – How do we [the LDS] remain distinct?
The Musical Prelude to the Big Question
Daniel Peterson – I worry we might become too assimilated. We ought to be bothered if everyone thinks we are peachy keen
The Best Storyteller
Tal Bachman (It is interesting that Helen places the commanding testimony of General Authority, Marlin K. Jensen, right after the young Tal who went A.W.O.L. from the Church.)
The Fiercest Determination
The wife of James Dalrymple, Sr. (She literally gave her life to bring into this world her little boy, but in her LDS thinking, another spirit child who needed earthly mortality for spiritual progression.)
The Best Financial Planner
LDS missionary Bryan Horn – You go, You go, You go . . . and you start earning at the age of five [for your mission].
The Classic Response of a Bystander pestered by Young Elders on the Streets
“Don’t shadow me!”
The Most Overused Slip of the Tongue
Betty Stevenson – LSD, no I mean LDS
The Sober Warning
Dallin Oaks – Intellectualism is a danger
The Strongest Voice of Mormon Orthodoxy
Boyd Packer
The Overrated Publicized Victims
Feminist – Margaret Toscano – There is something vicious about the niceness.
Homosexual – Trevor Southey – Being gay in that culture is beyond hell.
(No, actually hell is much worse.)
The Greatest Tragedy
None of the General Authorities or priesthood/patriarchal leaders in the film kindly brought forth any Scriptural exegesis for support against Toscano or Southey’s argument. There is huge vacuum when we are told just to be quiet and trust Church hierarchy. Show forth the objective Scriptural evidence.
The Fire in the Kitchen
Scientific Investigation of the Book of Mormon: Grant H. Palmer – I don’t see an ancient text . . . there is a large chunk of the King James . . . It is a 19th century record.
The Lame Comparison
Michael Cole – The Exodus in the OT, there is no archaeological justification.
The Honest Statement (Easily Defended by Scripture)
Jon Butler – imperfect beings engaging in imperfect behavior
The Definition of an Anti (This is the unpardonable sin for LDS and non-LDS)
Marlin Jensen – to attack the leaders or basic doctrine publicly
The Evangelical Leader taking Clues from Jensen (At least in public)
Fuller Theological President, Richard Mouw, on baptism for the dead – It speaks to a genuine human need. I don’t advocate it. But I don’t see it as purely flaky kind of thing.
Missing yet an even bigger, grander picture
Kimber Tillemann-Dick (spelling?) – To spend eternity with this person forever. We look at the family as an eternal unit. Eternal priority.
The Most Beautiful Music in the two days of PBS broadcasting
Charity – How Great Thou Art, Amazing Grace
The Worst Climax
Harold Bloom reading his notes at the end
The Final Narration (leaving you completely in the dark)
“All religions must move beyond their creation.”
So there you have it, depressed by the film’s final conclusion, I couldn’t wait to go to sleep. I woke up this morning, thanking God for His Word, an objective, trustworthy Message from a glorious, open heaven. It was a beautiful day in Idaho Falls in Southeastern Idaho.
Jesus in Idaho Falls 