Rock Center, Mormons, you know.
So, tomorrow is going to be a big, hairy day and I REALLY should be in bed, but I have to write what’s on my mind before I forget or decide there are other things to do instead.
So here goes.
Tonight I watched the special on Rock Center about being Mormon in America. I expected it to be bad. In my opinion, it was most definitely not bad. Let’s talk first about the good things. I’m assuming you’ve watched it, so I won’t go into super deep details here.
#1. The interview with Jet Blue guy was great. Super cute to hear him sing “Put your shoulder to the wheel.”
#2. They could have thrown a dart on a Utah map and easily picked a totally dorky Mormon family to spotlight, but instead, they picked a really great family in Lehi, who, to top it off, was interracial.
#3. The segment on Welfare Square was nothing short of divine. I’m still smiling about it.
#4. So many Mormons they interviewed specifically mentioned Jesus Christ. Yay!!!!
#5. They had a real life church historian answer a few questions about polygamy. Not too in depth, but that may actually be another positive. Overall, consider that unlike most TV specials about Mormons, this one didn’t make us look just like the Warren Jeffs folks. That is one great big gigantic victory in my book. (I do wish they had been able to interview our prophet or an apostle at some point in the show.)
Now for some of the negatives. And some of these actually are still positives in a way. Stick with me here.
First I’ll get the clear negatives out of the way first.
#1. Garments. Tacky to show a picture, of real humans wearing them, no less. I understand why a journalist would want to, because that’s all people ever want to know about Mormons these days. The underwear. But it definitely made me cringe. A little offensive to see it all there out of context. So there’s that.
#2. The account of The First Vision left out the most important part. Sure, Joseph Smith saw Moroni. But first, FIRST, he saw The Father and The Son. I know the special was only an hour long. But that could have been included fairly swiftly, without delving into the whole story.
Those were my two main things. So now for the tricky things.
I’ve seen a lot of people complaining on facebook about the ex Mormons or unorthodox Mormons who were interviewed. Let’s start with the exes. First, Huntsman girl: Probably not the best authority to ask about the temple since she probably hasn’t been. But certainly an expert on the way it might feel to not be able to go there, and that’s fair game for a secular journalist to tackle. Next, Book of Mormon Musical cast guy. Actually I can’t even include him in the negative section at all because I really liked him. It really meant a lot to me that he could say so many sincerely beautiful things about what being an actual LDS missionary did for him. You know he wasn’t lying about it to make the church look good. He had no logical reason to. And he’s in a musical about how dumb Mormons are. (or at least what the writers think about that.) Anyway that was a touching moment to me and I know that was generous of him, considering the pain he’s probably gone through as a gay man leaving the church. So there’s that.
So now we also have the members spotlighted who don’t fit the typical mold. The celibate gay man who holds a leadership position in church. I’ve seen complaints that folks like him were highlighted. I don’t get why that would be a negative. I actually thought that was great.
I also have seen a lot of fuss made over the feminist Mormon woman, Joanna Brooks, pointing out that women don’t hold leadership positions. What about Relief Society and Primary? Well, they probably didn’t have time to include everything she might have had to say about all of that. I’ll bet it’s complicated. But let’s just stop right here and just say that if you were bugged by her, that she might not think the same way about all of those things that you do. You might not have any issues at all about things that are a big deal to her. Does that mean that she should be shut up, or that we should pretend to journalists that women like her don’t exist in our church? Wait a minute. Isn’t there actually something super uplifting about the fact that the Mormon church is capable of having very active members who are not all exactly the same? I think so.
I have seen a lot of different reactions to this TV special. The kind of reaction that makes the least sense to me is outrage and disgust. I’m trying to understand it. Maybe we Mormons get a little too much on the defensive. We huddle together where we can skip over some of the more complicated questions. We stick with people who are just like us. Then we get shocked when people unfamiliar with us want to pry a little deeper into things we might not want to talk about, because they aren’t issues with the people who are all exactly like us.
On the other side, there are these journalists who sincerely want to tell a good story, and I believe, as accurate of a story as they can tell in a short time. Why do they interview ex Mormons? What if all they’ve ever heard about Mormons is that they have to keep all of these big temple secrets. Maybe they could talk to someone who doesn’t feel obligated to keep those secrets anymore, but who might still remember them. In that sense, I think this TV special could have been so very much worse. They could have picked former members who were so much more bitter, who had much uglier stories to tell.
If you’re a Mormon, it’s tempting to want all the coverage of your faith to be just like what you’d see on LDS.org, or in a church video. Like Disneyland, where you see all the clean, shiny stuff and none of the complicated, hard stuff. Maybe you saw this show and you felt persecuted. That’s a little surprising, but maybe that’s how you define the feeling you feel, because of the mocking we Mormons sometimes get, that’s gone on since the very beginning. But maybe what it really is deep down inside is fear. Fear that the few cringe worthy moments are going to make people not like Mormons. Or worse, that people will decide they don’t like you. My wish is that we could all have a little more faith.
I’m rambling now. And I really do need to go to bed. In closing, let me say that I am a devout Mormon, and I really want to thank the folks at Rock Center for doing what I thought was a pretty great piece about my faith. I’m mature enough to believe you did the best you could. The end.
Tags: Cherie Call, Mormons, Rock Center
Very thought provoking and well written. I was working tonight and thus did not get to see the TV special. So I am very interested to hear your perspective. Thank you for sharing.
Kristin
Nice! I agree with your evaluation of the Rock Center Show. I actually believe that it shined a very bright and pleasant light on the Mormons which in turn casts a positive revealing light on Mitt Romney.
I would very much like to see Rock Center do a show on Jeramia Wright and the Baptist Church. The comparisons of anti-gay and anti-women are much the same. Although, the organization of the Baptist Church is far less structured with many variations of that church that extend from Southern Baptist to the more relaxed Baptist that you might see with the non-denominational baptist church.
Most organized religions are against gay relationships and women in leadership so this is nothing new to the world.
It is true that many people do not know that much about being Mormon and this show was fair and balanced.
Cherie ~
Thanks for this great commentary on the special. We don’t have network TV so I have to figure out where I can go online to see it, if it’s available but I loved everything you have to say. Great post. Thanks!!
Blessings,
Stephanie
I really like what you have posted here. I think it’s very good and I feel the same way as you. People need to manage their expectations. I thought it was done very well.
SOLID.
Seriously you have a gift for \COPY\.
Each line pulled me to the next line and then to the next.
I loved your review and assessment of the show.
I completely appreciate the stand in your message, which to me was…
\Can we just admit we are all different yet at the same time ONE!\
The Cookie Cutter Mold of Mormonism is shifting…
…in my experience we are leaving the land of \Believers\ to the land
of \KNOWERS\
In order to KNOW one must experience…question…and push to upon
ones heart to the COMPASSION of CHRIST that loves everyone where
they stand…
…and at the same time allows the individual to expand…
\Brighter and Brighter until the perfect day.\
In the end…people who were offended by the show have alot to work
on in there inner game.
In my experience I can ONLY be triggered with Anger, Frustrations,
Bitterness because the THING I am observing (In this case the show)
is mirroring back to me some unprocessed emotions, judgments, and
areas of my life that I do not want to look.
Thanks again for contributing VALUE into the marketplace.
Love and Light,
Garrett J White
Founder, Paid To Play Academy
Creator, Paid To Play Secret System
Leader, Wake Up The World Movement
P.S. I would love to see you turn this BLOG post into a video..thoughts?
Great review!!! I enjoyed the program as well. I grew up in a time when any little mention of the Church anywhere was cause for celebration. Now we’re all over the place and it’s just fun.
I agree, what can you fit into an hour…there’s SO much awesomeness they could report! Did they ever mention our belief in eternal families? And to say men and women aren’t equal in the church and then only focus on men when they talk about leadership seems self-serving–just to prove their point. Inequality seems to be assumed mostly by those looking in from the outside.
Good call, Cherie –
I, as you know, was quick to post a “down with Brian Williams” updated on Facebook. I’m with you on a lot of your points – especially the cast member of BoM – I adored him. Most of all, what left a bad taste in my mouth was the TONE of Brian Williams throughout the whole thing, and the brief jabs with no explanations. I felt like the way he said things was negative rather than unbiased, as “news” should be. The correspondant who covered the humanitarian portion was obviously more cheerful, eager to learn, and open.
But, you’re right – I was being defensive. I was hoping the special would be a little more factual and unbiased, butI can’t help but feel like the creators had a lingering negativity towards the church and were trying REALLY hard to stay positive, rather than being neutral.
Something I wish they had covered more was how “world-wide” our church is. No one seems to know about that here in the U.S.
Okay – I’m done rambling too. Thanks for your clear thoughts. They’ve helped my knee-jerk reaction.
(p.s. – we need to hang out soon)
Jess
Great, great review! One minor note – the church historian, Steve Snow, is, in fact, a General Authority, too. Or at least he was – maybe he’s been released or made emeritus.
Cherie, I came to read your thoughts because I trust that you have a solid testimony and your intelligence and goodness shows through all that you offer the world. I was not disappointed. You also saw fairness and good in most intent. I didn’t see the show (we don’t do TV) but I have read quite a few opinions of others about it. Surprisingly to me, most non-LDS folk were positively affected. They loved it and thought it was fair and interesting. A lot of the LDS folk however have been grumbly. Perhaps much of what you said about the correlated lds.org type presentations is what they want? Isn’t going to happen, and frankly shouldn’t in a balanced treatise. I love, LOVE that we are becoming more open to the problems that do exist as HUMANS struggle to live a divine life. I love that we can look them in the eyes and talk about them in our meetings, in our blogs and our media. I’m a little sad when we feel we have to take sides and lose the oneness in an issue, that really we are over %80 one. As one of the many spot on things that Garrett White said, “Thanks for contributing value into the marketplace’.
Well said, Cherie! Wonderful review.
Well said, as always. You have quite a gift for articulating what so many of us are already thinking…
Cherie,
After 2 grueling years of doing my utmost best to prove the truthfulness of the LDS church – through church archives in Salt Lake and the Library of Congress where only church published books were researched, I found the church to be a fraud. Truth can be examined. It can be sliced, peeled back again and again and it will still be truth. Examine your truth.
Colleen
`
I agree with most of what you said about the show. Yes I too was a little put off by showing the garments outright. Almost everyone they interviewed were fine with me except the feminist member. I’m sorry if she has issues regarding women holding the Priesthood but either you follow the Prophet or you don’t. One of my dearest friends who is gay had left the Church some years ago, but I know he still loves it and misses it a great deal. I was very happy to see that the openly gay member was able to come back and live the gospel as long as he doesn’t practice it. I am hoping for this for my friend one day. I think now that we are in the very last of the last day’s the Church is becoming more prevalent. I think this is also going to be the sifting of the wheat and the tares.
Cherie, although it is not the misconstrued garbage that often is reported by many in the media, I also did not really think it even spoke very much about the LDS church itself. No matter what group you may look at, there are exemplary members and idiotic members as well as critics. That does not reflect the organization itself. I was really bugged that they portrayed the Mormon church as basically a “White” church when recently published statistics show that “White” people are actually in the minority in the church. Maybe not in Salt Lake City, but a white person sitting in a congregation in South America, Japan, Philippines, etc… would look just as conspicuous as the black guy in Salt Lake City. Also, I get so frustrated with people insisting that they need to be defined as a gay or strait person first and then a child of god second. The LDS church is really clear about its teachings. It does not care if you are gay or strait, what it does care about is whether you are morally clean or not and as far as I know you will be kicked out just as fast if you are immoral in a heterosexual manner just as you would if you were immoral in a homosexual manner. Being gay is an issue for the church, just some of its ignoramus members. I think if the media focused more on what the organization is and what it stands for and less on what peoples personal bias may be toward the church positively or negatively, people would understand more about the organization and judge its members accordingly, not the other way around.
Sorry, I just realised I need to clarify…
“Being gay is NOT an issue for the church, just some of its ignoramus members.”
I stumbled upon your blog after googling “Mormons Rock Center” this morning. Somehow you seemed to have read my mind and written down my exact thoughts. I’ve shared your post on my Facebook page.
So Someone linked this post from Facebook and I drifted over to your commentary and found to that I would like to add something.
First I agree the show was overall a positive, no such thing as bad publicity. However as for Abby Huntsman how is she a spokesperson or even a legitimate commentator or critic that NBC would seek and sought her opinion and then channeled her views that the Church isn’t doing enough to be open? What with our Missionaries Worldwide, Ward and Stake Missionaries Local, Every Member a missionary, \Visitors Welcome\ message on every building, radio ads, websites, visitor centers, TV commercials, TV Stations, General Conference Addresses which are shared and distributed in every conceivable form of media in most the world’s languages which someday will be all, and every other opportunity we try to seize in sharing and opening our message and world to anyone who would hear and listen without trying to be pushy or infringing on anyone’s agency, how are we not trying? And as for no admittance in to the Temples I would say There are many places that have requirements for admittance, as an example a movie theater will not allow me to enter unless I meet there criteria which in this case is to give them some money at the requested ticket price. Likewise anyone can enter the House of the Lord no matter who they are, as long as they do so on his terms, which has been the same for everyone else who have entered or who may want to do so. Those who complain simply choose not to abide by those terms and so they are not admitted unless they at some future point choose to. As for Brian Williams I would say to him I’m not allowed to go into the top of Rockefeller Center, as a Christian I can’t even go to the City of Mecca, much less the Masjid al-Haram, or the non touristy spots in Vatican City, as well as numerous places of Businesses, Government Buildings of Federal, State and Local jurisdiction, not to mention other Religious institutions as well as numerous libraries, schools, foundations, organizations and museums etc. all over this country without joining, adhering or abiding to the terms, socially, morally, financially, politically or whatever other stipulation that may be required.
As for Mitt Romney he should not need to discuss anything about his religion if he doesn’t want to. It has nothing to do with him or his job unless people want to find out more about his belief and background then they can talk to the church, but not as an requirement to seek public office in a land that promotes and promises the ideal of religious freedom and the unmolested exercise thereof. No Such Vetting was ever shouldered by our current Commander in Chief. NBC should not be inspecting any religion anywhere in this country especially as some sort of litmus test. Nevertheless I know such things are discussed in private forums and sometimes public ones, and as for NBC it often times tries to portray itself as a public Forum, but quite simply it is not, and we should not forget that.