The Mormons
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Movie Reviews of The Mormons
Movie Review: Great Overall History
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a great video, told without prejudice and very thorough. If you know nothing or something about Mormons, its goodMovie Review: The Mormons - DVD
Summary: 4 Stars
PBS in conjunction with Paramount Home Entertainment just released a DVD called "The Mormons." It contains two parts of fairly extensive coverage of the history of the Mormons from Joseph Smith to their persecution to their settlement in Utah. Then Part II goes more into the daily life of the Mormon community, including controversial issues such as their stand on social moral issues such as the ERA, marriages between homosexual partners, etc...
I thought the documentaries were quite in depth and they showed a lot of different perspectives of various people on this particular sect.
From a personal standpoint, I was very interested in this DVD, because I've had quite a bit of interactions with Mormons or Latter Day Saints as they are also called. They are truly some of the nicest people you can meet. They claim to be a Christian sect, since the name of their church is really "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints." But just like you can't really judge a book by its cover, you can't really judge a church by its name. You really have to look at what their Statement of Faith and their application to that is.
The fact is that their beliefs are not Christian at all. To start off with, when you ask a Mormon, if they believe that there are more than one God in the entire universe, they will say "Yes." They believe there is only one God for this world though. They claim it is the God of this world. (Interestingly that phrase is used in the Bible as a reference to Satan, see II Cor. 4:4). As a matter of fact, Mormons also believe that they themselves will become a god, ruling with their family over some planet. Believing in more than one god is a polytheistic belief, thus not Christian, because Christianity is a monotheistic belief system.
They believe that Joseph Smith was shown the golden tablets by the angel Moroni. He then translates them into the Book of Mormon with the help of the "Urim and Thummin." This becomes part of the written revelation of God, so they say. That's quite a statement, especially since there isn't a whole lot of proof for that. If you study the Bible, you'll see that every time major revelations are given, they are always accompanied by signs or miracles to authenticate the revelation. For instance around the time the New Testament was written, both Christ and the apostles did many miracles, such as Christ rising from the dead. Over 500 people witnessed Christ alive. In the Old Testament, we also have the same thing. The Old Testament can be seen as the Law and the Prophets. As a matter of fact, Christ referred to the Old Testament as such. When the law was given, many miracles accompanied them, when the prophets appeared, such as Elijah and Elisha, many miracles accompanied them too. Those are also the times when major revelation was given. Interestingly, all three of those events are separated by about 700 years each. Hence the reference in Heb. 1:1,2 and 2:3,4 "God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world....After it was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard, God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will."
Of course one could argue that the angel Moroni was the authentication. I would be very careful with that though, especially since there is such clear warning in the Bible of receiving revelation from angels that is contrary to the written Revelation of God's Word, the Bible. See Gal. 1:8: "But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!" After all, Satan and his demons are nothing more than fallen angels.
The main concern, I have with the Mormon faith though is what they believe one has to do to enter heaven after they die. Their requirements are: 1. Belief in Christ, 2.Public Confession, 3. Water Baptism, 4.Laying on of Hands, and 5, Obedience to the Ordinances of the Church. That's not what the Bible says at all.
The Bible teaches that all of us are sinners, (Rom. 3:23) and that if we were to pay or be punished for our sins, we would have to spend eternity separated from God in a place called hell. (Rom. 6:23). To go to heaven however, one has to be perfect, (Rev. 21:27) hence no one is good enough to go to heaven or could be saved by their own good works. (Eph. 2:8,9)
God saw this situation and being righteous and just, our sins had to punished or paid for. So, He sent His Son, Jesus Christ to die on the cross for us, (II Cor. 5:21, I Peter 2:24). After Christ died on the cross, He rose from the dead, proving once and for all that He did pay for sins and that He was the Savior. All He asks us to do to receive that payment for our sins is to simply trust in what He did for us and all of our sins will be forgiven. (John 3:16, John 6:47).
John 3:16 says: "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him, should not perish but have eternal life."
This is not what the Mormons teach and as such they are leading people astray.
Movie Review: Wow. So many things I didn't know
Summary: 4 Stars
Helen Whitney does a superb job of presenting through interviews, a picture of the true Mormonism. So many things are generally not known among the membership, and many things are taboo. For instance, the Official account of the First Vision is as President Hinckley says is the cornerstone of the faith. Nobody will tell you about the other versions.
Another interesting tidbit is that even though he is a Professor of Islamic studies, Mr.Peterson is also one of the heads of F.A.R.M.S. and FAIRLDS (now the Neil A.Maxwell Institute) which are the premier apologist organizations for the church. He is the one who admits that the translation of the Book of Mormon is far different from the accepted and portrayed method.
The events in Mormon history such as the Mountain Meadows Massacre are often whitewashed and blamed on the emigrants and Indians. We know that that is not true, and it was good to see this event described in its true light. Many faithful members are told through out their lives that the things mentioned here were Anti-mormon lies. As a faithful Mormon, I was astonished by this video. More upsetting is that we were forbidden to discuss the show in church even though the material is true.
My hat is off to Helen and PBS. While the program was shocking and yet uplifting at the same time, it presents us with a clear picture of what Mormonism was and is. I recommend this video highly. The church places great demands on its membership, and expects unwavering loyalty. People should get a fuller picture before committing everything to the faith.
Faithful Mormons may be upset by this video.
Movie Review: Poignant Prokofiev!
Summary: 4 Stars
I found this special quite entertaining and engrossing. But what really stuck with me was the almost constant, vaguely hypnotic use of the opening of the Prokofiev Second Piano Concerto throughout, as theme music. I cannot figure out if the use of this great music had a deeper significance. The mournfulness of the score's opening would seem to be a strange fit for this bold religion. But, then again, maybe the very elusiveness of the theme, suggesting a culture quite different from our own (in that case a Soviet one), signaled a corresponding feeling of difference that Mormons reportedly variably have experienced. My one regret is that Glenn Beck was not musically educated enough to recognize the music as a Soviet masterpiece. If he had we could have been regaled by a conspiracy theory on his program announcing a nefarious communist plot to overtake his faith with dangerous music from Prokofiev. If only Professor Robert George had taken time off from his banjo-playing, to inquire through his connections with Salt Lake City news outlets, to inquire about a music not involving loud twangs. Glenn Beck and Robert George could have come up with some cryptic meaning for this modernist masterpiece being used to symbolize the progress of the LDS Church. A flouting of Natural Law, perhaps. Surely, Prokofiev might have a meaning against the gold standard too, though his music alludes to steel more than the precious ore. What a lost opportunity for multi-valent insight!Movie Review: This answers many questions
Summary: 4 Stars
This video, recently seen on PBS, is balanced and fairly comprehensive. It gives enough history to put the LDS church in perspective through the years. The 'story' moves along fast enough that an overall picture was developed before the viewer was overwhelmed or became disinterested. It is well worth watching again!!