Media grapples with the Big Love story

One of the challenges many press accounts seem to have grappled with is how the Latter-day Saint temple rites differ from other sacred rites performed by various faiths, including the LDS. In my view, the failure of some journalists to grasp just how sacred Mormons view their sacred temple ceremonies (so sacred that they covenant not to discuss the details of them outside of the temple), has contributed greatly to the lack of understanding on this issue among non-members and the feeling of disrespect among Mormons.

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The Temple endowment is more than simply a recounting of history and a granting of tokens and signs. It is filled with ritualistic symbolism. They are the mysteries of God, and therefore can not be understood without God's aid.

This is the point that non-Mormons miss, and Mormons often fail to explain because it's so obvious to us it goes without saying. The Temple is the House of God. It is His dwelling place on the earth. That means that while the Spirit of God comes and goes in other places, in the Temple the Spirit of God is always present. You walk into the Temple and you can immediately feel His presence.

Very few of the symbols used in the endowment are ever given an explanation- instead we are directed to let God teach us the meaning of the endowment ceremony. Thus in the endowment, each individual Mormon is being taught not by Priests or the instructors or the film- rather we are being taught directly by God.

This simply doesn't occur outside the Temple. The reason the endowment ceremony is kept "secret" isn't because we want to prevent the uninitiated from learning- it is because what is taught in the Endowment can not be taught outside the Temple.

Mormons would be just as aghast if a group of worthy endowed Mormons were to get together and watch or act out the Temple ceremony in one of their homes. They would almost certainly face Church discipline for such an act. Thus you can see that being an "Initiate" is not the main issue. The point is that the endowment can not be presented outside the Temple and still be the Endowment, because the purpose of the endowment is for God to personally instruct us.

This is why Mormons are upset. Not because we worry non-Mormons discover our "secrets". Rather just the opposite- they will think they understand us, when in fact they do not. Furthermore I suspect some of this is a deliberate attempt to drive a wedge between Mormons and evangelicals, and therefore I expect the depiction will be sensationalized and taken out of context. (Considering the endowment is over an hour long, I don't see how they could fairly depict the endowment, even if they wanted to).

It doesn't help that modern culture has essentially rejected true symbolism- which is why modern art thinks its being so deep when in reality it is usually shallow and meaningless.

This is the first fear, and following from that fear is that this misunderstanding will lead to persecution. Least you think that is an irrational fear, may I remind you that just a year ago, major American and British newspapers published editorials and opinion pieces arguing that being a Mormon should disqualify a person from running for President. Furthermore, while the rest of the country has forgotten, Mormons have not, that at one time here in America we were denied trial by jury, denied the right to vote, had our property seized, and were even murdered.

Nor is America even the primary concern. Just one decade ago the Church was suppressed in Ghana. Right now we are under immense pressures in Russia. There are other areas of the world that an inflammatory and deceptive depiction could cause trouble in. For example, will this depiction make it's way to some Chinese official who accepts it as fact instead of dramatization and decides to raid or seize the Mormon Temple in Hong Kong?

We have every reason, and every right to be upset with the actions of HBO in this matter.

Cicero,

Thank you for articulating why LDS are so upset about the anticipated episode. I think I now have a better understanding of why the episode has provoked such strong responses.

However, I think that you may be underestimating people's ability to separate factual accounts from fictionalized portrayals. Do you honestly believe that people viewing a television drama will assume that any religion is accurately portrayed or explained?

I, personally, do not believe that people are unable to distinguish between fact and fiction. All major religions are eventually portrayed in fictional drama. Most of those religions appear to have survived. ;)

I am not a Mormon, but I do watch Big Love. Religious ideas and practices within the show have so far been treated with great respect and wonder. Some of the most moving scenes in the show have centered around ideas such as baptism, sealing, etc. The show has not made me think ill of LDS, but rather sparked some ideas of why people may be drawn to LDS. Religious themes and practices are always used to develop characters and to cement the idea that the Henricksons are doing their best to serve their God as they understand him.

I haven't seen the upcoming episode and therefor can't comment on it directly. But previous episodes have been very respectful in their use of religious themes, and the show makes clear that the Henricksons are NOT LDS. Nor are the Juniper Creek crew.

My guess is that the primary characters are LDS/FLDS/Somehwere in between precisely because LDS is not well-known to the viewing audience. Faith, with all its challenges and responsibilities, is a central theme of the show. It's something these otherwise foreign characters share with the viewer. If the Henricksons had been Catholic, Jewish, Episcopalian or any other very popular religion, the religious and faith-based questions in the show would not resonate in the same way because the viewer would feel familiar with those religions. In choosing a lesser know religion, the show is able to approach questions of faith in a more open way. Viewers come with fewer prejudices because they don't know the religions portrayed. And in point of fact, the Henricksons are not ANY organized religion--they've charted their own path.

If you haven't watched the show, I can't really explain it to you. But in my view, the show has approached the big questions, challenges and responsibilities of trying to raise a family in faith in a very moving and respectful manner to date.

This must be a sign that Mormons are Christian. The producers are not afraid for their lives. Imagine a drama that portrayed Mohammed. You won't see that in your life time. You may not even see this post.

Hmmm ...

""Exposing sacred temple practice violates professional standards."

Odd. In my faith, our sacred practices are open to the public. Anyone can come in and witness baptisms, marriages, worship service, communion, funerals.

The fact that LDS temple practices need to be 'secret' in the first place says a lot. Sure makes it sound like a cult, just like the secrecy behind Scientology.