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What are your thoughts concerning this film on the history and beliefs of Mormonism? Did it broaden your understanding of this very American religion?

My thoughts on this program is that it is about time that some of the truth of this magnificent religion comes out. As a Latter Day Saint, I strive to be a superb example to my friends, neighbors, collegues and anyone in which I may come in contact. As LDS members of the Church, we are not perfect in anyway. We have many missionaries out there everyday trying to spread the word because we want everyone to experience the joy that we LDS members experience everyday. It is so heartbreaking to think of what our early settlers went through for us to have a more comfortable life. I would like to thank PBS for airing this documentary and I invite them to air it again and again.

Ravenna, Ohio

 

It is interesting to see how such a fascinating story is told from many perspectives. Sadly, as is typical of such "outward looking in" tellings it is heavily weighted with "enlightened" ex-mormons and their unique perspectives. What I found most missing from the "comprehensive" piece was the perspective of the many, many practicing, scholarly mormons--historians, professors, anthropologists (literal "experts" on mormonism)-- who have considered and researched all facets of their religion and its potential controversies and still cling to the assertion of the truth of its principles. A more balanced look would certainly be a more accurate telling of the mormon story, and frankly, more interesting.

Suffolk, VA

 

I thought the subject matter was well thought out; however, there was a disproportionate number of excommunicated Mormons and anti-mormons compared to the truly objective historians and theologians. The number was dramatically disproportionate as compared to active Mormons. This made the program unfairly slanted. There were at least five times where something negative or contradictory to Mormon beliefs was said with no rebuttle from an active member. I expected the program to have some negative statements, but I thought it would be more balanced. Overall I was disappointed in the scholarly integrity of the program.

The program also spent a lot of time on what it termed Mormon fundamentalists and the practice of polygamy. If it is a documentary on Mormons, then polygamy has its place, but it would have to be limited by the scope in which it was practiced in that Faith. I felt like I was watching a documentary on Mormon fundamentalists instead of a documentary on Mormons for the last 10-15 minutes.

Lincoln, NE

 

As a devout Mormon, I watched your first installment of this documentary with great interest tonight. Overall, I think the religion was fairly treated. As a convert at the age of 28, having never belonged to any church before but identifying myself as a Christian, I can tell you that the simple promise the Mormon church teaches is that any person with a sincere heart can get irrefutable confirmation of the truthfulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ as taught by the Mormons through the application of the promise given by the Lord in the book of James in the New Testament, Chapter 1, verses 5 & 6: "if any of you lack wisdom, let him (or her) ask of God, who giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not, but let him ask in faith, nothing wavering..." In short, the Lord promises to reveal the truthfulness of the gospel we preach and the church as an organization by way of an impression given by none other than the Holy Ghost. And by this way can we know the truth of all things.

Edward Roeser
Plano, Texas

 

I know many people think that Mormons are crazy and weird, but we aren't. Yes I am a mormon, and I think that people need to look at the big picture. fist off, we are christians. we beleive in God, the enternal father, and in his son, Jesus Christ. This is like any other religon. Second, no, we do not drink. no we do not smoke. both of which are considered unhealthy for the body. Mormons are not the only people who don't drink or smoke. Third, we don't not have sex before marriage. we also do not practice plural marriage today. We don't have sex before marriage and that is okay because it isn't the best idea to have sex before marriage because of all the possibilies in this world such as diseases. we do all of these things to protect our bodies well-being. Again, we are christians. not only do we consider us christians, but we are. we are also good people just like every body else and i think that others should take a chance to get to know mormons rather than just judging us by what you hear on tv and around you.

Sally H
san diego, CA

 

This program literally made me sick to my stomach. It was such a biased view of what the church is like. They didn't discuss half of the hardships that the early members endured and spent most of the time discussing things that didn't really pertain to what the church is about. I hope that tomorrow night gives a better view of who we are and what we believe. But so far, with the anti-mormon spin that has been placed on this documentary, I doubt that will be the case.

Cassilyn Rhodes
Oshkosh, Wisconsin

 

This is far too partial to the Mormons, at best a very misguided group. I would actually call them not only Christian heretics (something that can be put up with), but socially dangerous as a group. They are spreading throughout the world as well as the US because of their evangelical practices. Your commentators are mostly in sympathy with this horrible group of people and the coverage is among the most unbalanced I've ever seen on PBS. SHAME ON YOU! And I'm not an extremist in my views on religious toleration--but I consider the Mormons to be only slightly less dangerous than Islam. They are sneaky and one of the groups trying to create theocracy. Even the right-wing evangelicals are trying to push theocracy, but not in this covert and sneaky manner. My opinion of Joseph Smith is that he was probably both a schizophrenic and a sex obsessed control freak. The man was truly crazy; he had a God-complex and intended to rule a separate earthly kingdom. I'd call him an early Jim Jones. I'm really terribly disapointed in PBS for allowing such a program, not only sympathetic, but unbalanced, to air.

Terre Haute, IN

 

While educational, it's not balanced. There are more negative and unbelieving opinions of the history of the church than there are positive and believing opinions. Regardless of the truth or untruth of the history, fairness should be applied.

SLC, UT

 

As a recent convert to the church, I think so far, your portrayal of the church was very good. Of course, it is interesting teasing out personal opinion from fact in some interviews, but that is the way it is with all historical discussion and particularly, when the circumstances are so fantastic.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Virginia

 

I feel a little let down about the show The Mormons. I felt as though the information told during the show was inaccurate about the Mormon religion. Many of the people interviewed shared some truthful insights but they also shared some twisted truths. Also the narrator shared many things that are different than what the Mormons actually believe. This let me down.

Joel Robbins
Ogden, UT

 

I really enjoyed your great documentary. The similarities between other "revealed religions" are apparent. However, on a more global scale, others must realize that "prophets" like Smith were a dime-a-dozen in those days. Smith got "lucky" and his "revelation" stuck.

The Mountain Meadows Massacre just shows how violent religion can be. Sad that some commentators in the documentary showed such sympathy for the killers. Especially as someone of Native-American ancestry, I tire of Anglo-Americans blaming Indians for their own crimes. Though Smith and Young preached that they were the true religion, their behavior, and the behavior of the Church as a collective was typical of the aggressive behavior found in the actions of so many religions.

Travis Rogers
Austin, Texas

 

I am only watching the program from the beginning as it is unfolding, but there has been nothing said so far of the account of the restoration of the Aaronic and Melchizedek. This is a huge oversight in the examination of this faith - the restoration of the priesthood that governed the primitve Christian Church and the necessity of it's restoration is key to the Mormon faith.

Nathanael Davenport
Rexburg, ID