PBS Mormon documentary is balanced, stinging

by M.J. 16 Replies latest watchtower scandals

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  Gerard

  I thought they really exposed some rather incriminating tidbits from Mormon history. I found myself wishing I could see such a thorough and balanced documentary on JW history.

  I also watched it. I likek it as it did look critically into its history. Actually, the historians were very precise and held nothing back. I liked the guy who said that Smith was a complete fake (an ex-convict, actually) who eventually started to believe his own religious lies.

  I was unaware of their bloody battles and Smith's plan to seize the presidency of the USA. Freaking cult.

  It will be interesting to watch the analysis on their current doctrines.

  Knocking is cheap propaganda. I wonder if the executive producer of the Mormon documentary would be interested in creating an other high quality documentary but this time on the Watchtower/JW. Flooding his email account would not be nice; We could send him a letter with a few hundred signatures. Someone care to get it started?

  Cheers,

  G
• 

  Handsome Dan

  We live in a land of diversified corruption and power don't we, in part due to freedom of religion...............

  Good idea Gerard about the jws.a documentary would be beneficial and informative to both jws and the general public !
• 

  willyloman

  Jw's should watch this; yes. Will they? I doubt it. Why? It will make them uncomfortable

  I agree. If I were still a dub watching this (part 2) I'd be extremely discomforted. Not only because of the similarities in the two high control religions and the obvious disconnect between what is taught by the church (and the dubs) and the way it truly affects the human beings within. But also because of how much better the Mormons appear to be doing in terms of lifestyle, education, economic success and access to so many mainstream activities. Watching this show would make a doubting dub very uneasy.
• 

  SusanHere

  Gerard,

  The man whose quotes you liked so much was spouting his own opinions. And he had a lot of them, all negative. He was way off the deep end.

  Tell me, what prison was Joseph Smith incarcerated in and for how long? What was the crime that he was legally convicted of?

  The answer: None. None. None.

  Susan
• 

  Double Edge

  I liked the guy who said that Smith was a complete fake (an ex-convict, actually) who eventually started to believe his own religious lies.

  I was unaware of their bloody battles and Smith's plan to seize the presidency of the USA.

  Were we watching the same show? First of all, although being brought before magistrates many times, I don't believe anything was said about Smith being convicted of anything. Secondly, I felt that it was really balanced, presenting both sides. Yes, there was a man whose opinion was Smith was a fake, but there were others with deep conviction that he wasn't, along with others who although not believing the doctrine, believed Smith was sincere. Additionally, interestingly, one of the non-mormon scholars pointed out that any religions' history, including Christianity itself could be examined and found wanting with very similar overall issues people seem to use against the mormons - in other words - ones belief is a matter of faith, whether weak or strong.

  Lastly, I don't recall hearing about Smith trying to "seize" the presidency.... how would that be possible, especially being what was then the edge of civilization and far from the power in Washington? The program just said he was planning on running for President (so, by the way were many people at that time - just look at the field of contenders we have today from both parties).

  All in all I thought it was well balanced..... people come from all walks of life and take different journeys.
• 

  willyloman

  One of the scholars interviewed in Part 2 hit the nail on the head when he said religion was man's attempt to explain why we die and what happens after death.

  Absent death, he points out, there'd be no religion. As I understood him, there are so many religions because there are so many possibilities and no shortage of speculation about the afterlife, assuming there is one.

  The Mormons came up with an outside-the-box "take" on all this and then built on it successfully. Their efforts got critical boost after they had the foresight to move to the desert en masse and dominate a sparsely populated territory that became Utah, giving them a refuge and a base to operate from. They were able to thrive in a protected environment.

  Jehovahs' Witnesses have attempted to emulate this success but are missing some of the key ingredients, such as Utah and communal materialism.

  Some of the Witnesses' fatal flaws: They deny their followers the right to pursue success and education and they don't take care of their wounded.
• 

  M.J.

  The Mormons came up with an outside-the-box "take" on all this and then built on it successfully. Their efforts got critical boost after they had the foresight to move to the desert en masse and dominate a sparsely populated territory that became Utah, giving them a refuge and a base to operate from. They were able to thrive in a protected environment.

  I guess Jim Jones tried to emulate that. But Jim Jones weren't no Brigham Young I guess.