Book Of Mormon Musical Popularity May Not Be All Bad For LDS Church

[theothersituation]

i saw this recerttly and today i met with elders and im thinking of joiing the faith

[AnFhirinne]

@theothersituation I know that there is nothing that has given my life more value and meaning than belonging to the church of Jesus Christ and the values it has taught me to love all unconditionally regardless of who they may be, if members actually practice the teachings there are no more kind, campassionate people on the earth. I think one reason so many attack mormons on youtube is because they know we are the opposite of muslim extremists whom everyone is afraid to mock.

[hanohanonacowboy]

Well, I saw the show in New York in March when it was still in previews and thought it was sweet. It sure doesn't pull any punches in criticizing the LDS faith, but also shows individual characters in a very sympathetic light.

As someone who knows how kind individual Mormons can be, I think this came through well. As one of the many Americans whose family has been directly harmed by the LDS Church and its meddling in politics, I think the serious mocking the show delivers is well-deserved.

[AnFhirinne]

@hanohanonacowboy thank you for the kind comments and positive review but I am not sure any mocking of any group of people who simply have a traditional view of the role of family as being a man and woman is 'well-deserved' by anyone in any form. However, I get the feeling that is really not the intention of this show and I also believe imitation to be the highest form of flattery. May we all learn to love and respect one another despite our differences, this is what makes America great.

[omiolo2]

South Park creators are bullies.

[SANPH]

@omiolo2 Actually they aren't. The fact that you say so shows that you don't understand them at all. Just because they make a TV show or a play with uncouth humor doesn't mean they are bad people. They just want to make people think, especially in terms of satire and freedom of expression of ideas. Having seen The Book of Mormon musical, I can tell you it will probably go down as one of the greatest musicals ever made. It wasn't just a big, mean joke to them. It was a serious artistic endeavor.

[klausweasley]

I just listened to the score. Based on that, the musical is DEFINITELY pro-Mormon even though they make fun of them and religion in general and it's quite vulgar and blasphemous. But if you can get past that and you have a sense of humor about yourself (and you're a fan of musicals), anyone can love it, regardless of religious belief.

[Troul478]

Isn't it a good sign in itself that so many people are interested in a musical with the title "The Book of Mormon"?

Also, on the internet we LDS are continually confronted with people who consider us as the incarnation of the absolute evil. Therefore we tend to forget that by far most people do not have such an extreme mindset.

[AnFhirinne]

I truly believe that any press is good press. Just look at all the celebrities who do things and get into trouble and simply get even more popular than they were before. If anything it makes more people curious to know more about the actual Book of Mormon, the LDS people and what we actually teach and believe. For the truth about our doctrine go to lds dot org.

[pangeanet]

@AnFhirinne I completely agree just as the anti-Mormon videos all over youtube actually often have the exact opposite effect of what their creators intended, which is rather than deter them from our beliefs it actually sparks much more interest to put the effort into finding out our actual teachings rather than what they are told by naysayers. I also believe that it is important to be able to laugh at yourself as well just so long as you don't degrade anyone's deeply held religious convictions.

[JesusMcChristus]

@AnFhirinne

I only read about your religion because of that musical. I (evil atheist ^^) still won't believe it of course, but it actually sparked some interest. I don't think the musical is all that offensive - sure it pokes some fun at mormons but it makes up for it with a sweet story and such nice and loveable characters that I don't think anyone will walk out of the theatre thinking you guys are idiots. They might even associate you with the positive feelings they experienced there :)

[AnFhirinne]

@JesusMcChristus personally, I never had enough faith to be a true atheist that is much harder for me to believe than in Christ :) Thanks for lettting me know your thoughts, I am very glad there is something of the truth of the efforts that we teach of in our faith to love all others unconditionally, this is what Christ taught after all. Again I believe that all publicity is good publicity, and anything that teaches others to love others for the good we each have in us is of great value.