PBS Airs Story of the History and Beliefs of Mormons

Earlier this month
”
American Experience
”
and
”
Frontline,
”
two of the most-respected series broadcast by the Public
Broadcasting System, combined to present
”
The Mormons,
”
a four-hour documentary about the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints.
Earlier this month “American Experience” and “Frontline,” two of the most-respected series broadcast by the Public Broadcasting System, combined to present “The Mormons,” a four-hour documentary about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Filmmaker Helen Whitney gained access to Mormon archives and church leaders, as well as former Mormons and scholars inside and outside the faith. The show may have been particularly timely because of the religion of Mitt Romney, multimillionaire Republican candidate for President of the United States whose family is Mormon.

In 1827 in Palmyra, New York, 21-year old Joseph Smith told of digging up some golden tablets (at the direction of an angel) that contained the revelation for a new religion. He rapidly attracted followers, and his neighbors’ fear and prejudice led to repeated strife. Smith and his followers suffered persecution, which lead to pilgrimages from Ohio to Missouri to Illinois. In 1844, in Nauvoo, Ill., Smith was killed by an angry mob which stormed a jail to reach him.

Brigham Young succeeded to leadership of the Mormons and lead the faithful on an amazing trek to the Great Salt Lake Basin where they established Salt Lake CIty and were finally able to live their lives relatively free of persecution.

The second part of the documentary focuses on issues of church and state. One of these is the topic of polygamy. Joseph Smith and early Mormon leaders practiced multiple marriages and found biblical precedent for this. However, the U.S. Congress was unwilling to allow the Utah Territory to become a state until 1890 when LDS President Wilford Woodruff officially banned the practice.

There are instances today of people continuing to practice polygamy (mainly in Utah, Nevada, and Arizona). Some still call these groups “Mormon Fundamentalists” who are remaining faithful to the church’s early teachings. Latter-day Saints officials, however, point out that this illegal practice is cause for excommunication from the church; thus these dissenters have no connection with the official Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Derrell Foote is president of the Morgan Hill State, a grouping of LDS “wards” (congregations) between South San Jose and Hollister. I consulted him recently to find out how local Mormons feel about this show. 

He said that generally it was an objective account of the faith and a good way “to open up a conversation,” both inside and outside the church. Some things weren’t explained just the way he would have explained them, but “It’s not helpful to nitpick.” He feels the producers tried to represent fairly the history and beliefs of the Mormons.

The full four-hour program is available for viewing on the internet at www.pbs.org/mormons. Also on the Web site is a great deal of other information about the Mormons, including comments by both supporters and critics of the church. 

In addition, there are other internet resources listed:

– www.lds.org (official Web site for church members)

– www.mormon.org (official site for nonmembers to read about LDS history and doctrine)

– www.beliefnet.com (a Web site about world religions with a variety of  information about Mormon topics.