I have received a few emails about the HBO show Big Love. I have heard little about the show until now but the church has released an offical statement regarding the show and upcoming episodes. It just makes me sick to think that our sacred temple ceremony could be depicted on television for the world to see.
http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/commentary/the-publicity-dilemma
HISTORY
A Little History:
Our story begins in Pocatello, Idaho, circa 1972, when the lovely Debby Christensen agreed to a first, though fateful date with admirer, David Croshaw. Long story-short, he bade her follow him, and they went arm-in-arm to the Logan, Utah temple for establishment of an eternal family unit, Generation 1, on May 23 1973.
From their first blissful summer in Salt Lake City, educational pursuits took them to Provo/Orem, Utah, birthplace of Leslie and Rebecca, and to San Francisco/Oakland California, birthplace of Colin and Matt. Then, for establishment of livelihood, expansion of the tribe with Abby and Dana, and for raising/unifying of Generation 2, it was back to the roots in Pocatello for a rewarding sojourn.
In time, driven by a raging, but commonly shared sense of adventure and independence, one-by-one, Generation 2 escaped the homeland to distant regions of the country and the world, each ultimately developing their own tribal expansions by pairing with worthy mates and initiating Generation 3.
Now sensing fulfillment of their purpose in Pocatello, Generation 1 has also left those roots and transplanted to Cascade Idaho, from which base, they anticipate more abundant contact with The Posterity, Generations 2 and 3, in the future. That contact however, awaits fulfillment of a call to LDS missionary service in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, wherein they hope to help the state of the world by sharing the love of Jesus Christ.
So now, including Generation 0 (Grandma and Grandpa Christensen) home base includes Yuma, Arizona, Pocatello, Idaho, Cascade, Idaho, Vancouver, BC, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Spokane, Washington, Boise, Idaho, Los Angeles, California, back to Boise, Idaho, and on and on (Generation 3+) to infinity.
Our Mission Statement:
This is the blog of our eternal family unit. Initiated years ago, it served well as a journal, but even more so, as an archive of our personal interaction. It was a gathering place, a confabulation instrument, a unifying force for four generations of widely dispersed and progressively prolific posterity, and their valued associates. Though it served these purposes well for many years, it eventually took a back seat to new-kids-on-the-block, Facebook, and Instagram, and was sadly forgotten.
We now move to resurrect this blog with an added functional purpose of archiving the missionary experiences of Generation 1, of their movements and activities as they participate with The Gathering of Israel in the land northward. In so doing, we hope that via their own comments and posts, this blog will again serve to gather and unify the posterity and their friends.
As in the past, that the young and vibrant may know the old and tired, that enduring bonds may be fostered and maintained, that experience and encouragement may be openly shared, that posterity may embrace truth, and that hearts may be knit together, we must resist detachment despite our geographic divergence. We shall do so here.
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12 comments:
I know, it's pretty unreal that that is about to happen. But doesn't it just make you love the leadership of the church that much more when you read that statement? Nothing will bring us down.
That's exactly what I was thinking as I read the church's statement. There have been other things that have made us all cringe, but in the grand scheme of things their significance is minimal and in time no one remembers them (just like King Nebuchadnezzar's image in his dream was destroyed and turned to chaff carried away by the wind). The church continues to grow, "filling the whole earth...never to be destroyed... and it shall stand forever".
If you haven't read Daniel 2 lately, you should. It's pretty powerful stuff.
that statement by the Church is wonderful. just read a response from hbo. hbo said: "In approaching the dramatization of the endowment ceremony, we knew we had a responsibility to be completely accurate and to show the ceremony in the proper context and with respect," isn't that so thoughtful of them--to be completely accurate. also "We therefore took great pains to depict the ceremony with the dignity and reverence it is due." dignity and reverence in front of millions. hmmm
That was a really surprising thing for me. I just thought it was like the many "anti" things I have read about a show that is truly not about the LDS church. I actually watch (and like) the show and never has it "shown" anything at all about the Temple or anything like it. The family that is portrayed is overtly not LDS, it is a fundamentalist cult.
I was thinking about this and I bet that one of the wives who was raised LDS gets confronted with excommunication and remembers back to her own endowments and that it what will be portrayed... That makes me sad. I feel like the person who gave this information and the people who made this show have no idea what kind of trouble they are asking for!
I loved reading the "newsroom" release and was like "whhhoooa" I had no idea about most of the productions that were mentioned there. One thing I DO worry about is that with all this press, people will be more-likey to watch the newest episode. As for me, I think I will skip it.
Anyway. It is a shame, it really was an excellent show.
Sigh.
I did read that the guy who wrote the movie "Milk" is a writer for Big Love. He was raised Mormon but is openly & actively gay now and a big proponent for gay marriage.
If he's still writing for the show, I have no doubt this is a direct result of the church's involvement in Prop 8.
I saw his acceptance speech at the Oscars, He is BIT. TER. about the church, that is for sure... again, a shame. I wanted to see that movie until then.
I would not want to be whoever it is that has revealed what he once covenanted not to.
Very well said, dad!!
We hold the temple ceremonies to be sacred because our God said so. Therefore, we deem them to be private, reserved only for those spiritually prepared to receive them, and thereby, to be shielded from the ridicule of the world, again, all because God said so. We cannot expect outsiders to buy our claim to God’s involvement, but we can expect them to honor one of Society’s most revered norms, i.e. to have common respect for others' religious beliefs. Accordingly, we should be able to expect HBO to hold our ceremonies to be sacred and reserved, simply because we (the Church) said so. HBO implies acceptance of that norm and that concept when they say they wanted to "depict [our] ceremony with the dignity and respect it is due."
Their claim is disingenuous. If dignity and respect for our ceremony was truly their objective, then maybe they should have started by asking our opinion of their plan to depict OUR ceremony in any way at all. Wouldn’t respect include seeking out and honoring the wishes of those who own the religious belief? Also, knowing our belief that the ceremony’s dignity is maintained by its exclusivity, the moment they decide to reveal it to the world, they insult its dignity. They didn’t seek the Church’s opinion because they really didn’t want it. They knew they would not get our blessing on the matter. It would appear that the dignity and respect they applied "great pains” to achieve, were no real consideration at all. Either that, or they believe that respecting others’ private religious ceremonies requires only that you be “completely accurate” when you disclose them to the world, when you otherwise choose to ignore their wishes and cast their pearls before swine.
How paradoxical, that they with no authority in the matter, assume it on their mere presumption of “complete accuracy” in their self-proclaimed effort to show the ceremony in “the proper context and with respect." Since they produced this depiction without consultation from the real authority, i.e. the Church, who are they to claim complete accuracy or proper context? That would be like a job applicant claiming a right to the job simply on the basis of his mother’s high opinion of his qualifications.
It is difficult to believe that HBO cannot see the glaring discrepancies in their claims. Their “ex-Mormon consultant” for instance, has certainly disqualified himself as a trustworthy authority by his recent anti-Mormon statements and by his reneging on the covenant he once made with God to never reveal these things. Who knows if his disgruntled opinion and recollection of the ceremony is accurate? Even if his recollection of tangible details was precise, he certainly cannot claim qualification to address the spiritual aspect. Oh, you mean there’s a spiritual aspect? See, once a person abandons the Spirit, he tends to doubt it ever existed, if it did at all for him.
Also, HBO’s claim of “proper context,” is absurd. The real ceremony is authorized by God to be performed only in His holy temple, and only by proper priesthood authority for a specific eternal purpose. Depiction therefore, of that ceremony by non-members in a film studio, for the purpose of improving television ratings, is not proper context.
Anyway, what’s done is done, and we are powerless to stop it. We can only hope that all who are aware of these circumstances will recognize the audacity and the discrepancies. I believe we can be confident that God will hold us faultless in this matter, and will in His due time, deal with the perpetrators of disrespect.
Dad
Thanks Becky. The original comment you referred to was laid out weird because I had applied it from my office computer. So I edited and reposted it and then erased the old one. I'm considering commenting directly to HBO with some of this. What do you all think - too harsh, or OK?
Dad
I say go for it, dad! Send them a letter!
one final thought from me (mom). i really dislike all this that is going on, but i was thinking lasdt night that we have all been commanded to love our enemies, whoever they might be, and to do good to others who are very unkind to us. times like this make it hard, but heavenly father still continuously loves ALL of us.
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