"Big Love," the Temple, and What is Sacred: A Review
After all the hype, the hate mail, the worry over sacred ceremonies exposed, and the concern over misrepresentation, HBO debuted Sunday the most controversial episode of "Big Love" ever.
And guess what? The foundation of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was still standing, still meaningful, and still sacred.
In fact, despite all the flack the network, this newspaper and I got after the reporting of a scene in the episode in which a character is seen going through an endowment ceremony in an LDS temple, it turns out that scene goes to the heart of why "Big Love" is perhaps the best drama running on television today. That's because it's about people, not just piety.
Not only that, the scene actually conveyed the sanctity of the church's practices and the importance of its faith better than any self-righteous and angry Mormon who has yelled at me or the newspaper since this story exploded Monday afternoon.
In the end, it was a thoughtful, provocative hour of television and perhaps one of the best episodes the three-season series has ever had.
Those worried that the scene would either misrepresent private endowment temple ceremony needn't worry. It was done with sincerity, emotion, and care. But I'm sure that doesn't matter to members of the LDS church who expressed utter anger and resentment - they'll hate however it is portrayed on the small screen. And what's sad is they'll express that acrimony without actually having seen the episode.
As you may know, "Big Love" is about a polygamous family living in Sandy. Bill Henrickson (Bill Paxton) is the husband of three wives: Barb (Jeanne Tripplehorn), Nicki (Chloe Sevigny) and Margie (Ginnifer Goodwin).
Bill is a the owner of a chain of home improvement stores who must live with the complexities of juggling three families while also dealing with a fundamentalist polygamist group in the fictional Juniper Creek, Utah.
In Sunday's episode, Barb was dealing with a crisis of faith. A once-devout Mormon from a family of six generations of LDS members, Barb had yet to be excommunicated from the church because she was living her polygamous life in secret.
But when her former ward's stake president discovers that she may be married to a polygamist, he visits her and asks if that is so. When she reveals the truth, the stake president schedules a disciplinary hearing for a possible excommunication.
That triggers within Barb her crisis of faith - not in her belief in the LDS church but in her belief in "The Principle," the guiding doctrine of her polygamous life.
Barb is afraid to let go of her past as a devout Mormon, afraid that if she doesn't live righteously by the LDS church that she will be "cast into outer darkness."
So she convinces her mother (played by Oscar-winner Ellen Burstyn) and her sister to borrow one of their temple recommends in order to get inside and receive her endowments, a sacred LDS ceremony in which the member is promised to receive all the blessings of God if they in turn make the promise to live righteously in the eyes of God and in the church.
Barb wants to go through the ceremony, even if she hasn't been a member in good standing, because she still has a strong faith in the LDS church and she doesn't know if she can give it up.
So begins the start of the controversial scene that has gotten many members of the church in an uproar.
Barb is seen going through the ritiual, her hands through the white veil, before she comes into the Celestial Room to greet her mother and sister. She is wearing the temple clothing, another divine facet of the ceremony that church members consider so private, they do not want people outside of the church knowing what it looks like.
The five minute sequence ends with Barb finally confessing to her mother and sister that she is at a crossroads over whether she should leave her religion in favor of her husband and family.
While the LDS church - through a statement it posted Monday on its site - and its members worried that the scene might misrepresent their religious beliefs or the context of the ceremony, it did anything but.
The purpose of the scene was to further heighten Barb's struggle between her family and her church.
When she's confronted by Bill and her sister wives about why she went to the temple, she explains: "I miss it. I miss the ritual and the sense of purpose," she said in near tears. "Bill, we're [she and her polygamous family] just free-floating out here."
(Spoilers ahead)
When Barb goes to her disciplinary hearing with her former stake president, she is asked to choose between her family and her church, and after agonizing deliberation through the course of the episode, she finally decides on her family. In the end, it's her family, even if she risks losing them for all eternity by leaving the church, is more important than anything in her life, including her most prized beliefs.
It was a heartbreaking moment for Barb, thanks in no small part to an outstanding and brave performance by Tripplehorn. And because we saw her mini-journey of doubt and fear - which culminates in the temple scene - we truly understand the sacrifice Barb makes at the end. As the episode concludes, we learn it's about a belief in the eternal afterlife, what it means to members of both the LDS church and the polygamists and what it means to be sealed in the church to those they love.
Was the temple scene necessary in the show? Absolutely. Positively. Without question. It added weight to Barb's dilemma and conveyed her strong sense of faith in God and her original church, and it was all handled with reverence and care. Given the way that Hollywood has portrayed other religious practices, from murders in Catholic confessionals to parodies of fiery baptist sermons, the scene in "Big Love" was one of the more respectful religious moments in television history.
And yes, there were some moments in Sunday's episode in which mainstream LDS characters were not shown in a positive light.
Bill's brother-in-law, a self-righteous church member, has been trying to secure a historical church letter that enforces the practice of polygamy for the purposes of hiding it.
But as I've mentioned before, who hasn't met at least one self-righteous member of the LDS church?
Yet the real focus of this week's debate has been whether such a sacred and private ceremony should be open for public inspection.
For many of the millions of LDS members, the answer is a resounding no. But for the rest of the world who knows nothing of these rituals, it is not, and it is for them that "Big Love" is made for.
I've had some devout members complain in the last week that "Big Love" will only confuse viewers into wrongly believing that polygamists and Mormons are one and the same. The show has not.
They fear that revealing such a sacred ceremony, with its white temple garb and green aprons worn by those who go through the temple, will only strengthen outsiders' beliefs that the church is full of strange and unusual rituals.
The problem with putting a veil over the whole process and creating an air of secrecy only reinforces outsiders' perception that the church is strange and full of unusual rituals. It only exacerbates the problem.
Just because Hollywood reenacts a temple ceremony in a television show for others to see doesn't take away or diminish the sanctity or importance of that practice or belief. It just introduces it to others.
Church members can still cling to the meaning of the ceremony and the value of what it represents. A mere television show could never diminish that. And in the case of "Big Love," the show has always been responsible and accurate with how it portrays mainstream Mormons.
For example, most non-Mormons are puzzled by the concept of the church's baptism for the dead, in which members can baptize those into the church who already are dead. That is why family genealogy is so big in LDS culture.
But several weeks ago, "Big Love" had a scene in which Bill and his family baptized Margie's mother in a motel swimming pool after she died in an accident.
It wasn't played for laughs. It wasn't a parody or a satire of what non-Mormons think is an otherwise bizarre concept. It was an emotional and sincere scene that demonstrated why it is important to prepare someone for ascension to Heaven so that the rest of her family can soon rejoin her. That scene conveyed to me the purpose of baptism for the dead better than any Mormon has in my 44 years living in Utah.
Now, the creators of "Big Love" have unwrapped the secretive temple ceremony and done the same thing - they have explained to me why so much reverence is paid to something so important to so many.
9:33 PM
| 
44 Comments:
Great review, thanks!
That was the opposite of a real neutral and professionally written article. That was embarrassing to read.
This post has been removed by the author.
True, HBO owes nothing to the LDS Church. Neither do members of the LDS Church owe anything to HBO...or, for that matter, to newspapers.
You mentioned in your article the ceremony is PRIVATE. The temple is not a public park to which everybody has the right to enter it. It is a private property. You have the right, according to the Constitution of the United States to keep the privacy of your home to yourself and you are the one who allow whoever you want to enter your home. Why should the LDS Church be treated different? Even if the ceremony was reproduced 100% without any alteration, the matter here is the right to privacy was violated. The LDS Church has no obligation to disclose anything they don't want and there's no law according to the US Constitution to make them do it.
hey jp,
can't believe i have to tell you this, but this is a review. objectivity has no place in a review. it defeats the purpose.
i found the scene very matter of fact, and the rest of the show melodramatic and, well, boring.
I found your review unconvincing. Perhaps non-Mormons in Utah will not be confused about the differences between Fundamentalism and mainstream Mormonism, as portrayed by Big Love; however, I live in Chicago where a great deal of people I meet often think Mormons are the same as the Amish. Big Love is the only snapshot that many of the people I meet have had of tenets of Mormon faith. Not only do they confuse the differences between Fundamentalism and Mormonism but they also walk away with some of the mistaken perceptions that Big Love portrays.
Your article referenced self righteous Mormons numerous times but you sounded like you were seeking for vindication and appealed to a great deal of self righteousness yourself. Your article was, at best, barely credible.
Vince, I get it that you are a paid critic. But in defending HBO's portrayal of ceremonies LDS faithful consider sacred you actually make the case many opposing the airing have been trying to make. HBO's representation was not accurate. It was contrived to fit a fictional storyline. You simply cannot argue that this was portrayed with honesty and integrity and grounded in reality -- A person of faith deceptively entering the temple “unannounced” to receive sacred rites just prior to a disciplinary hearing! This was pure Hollywood and pure pandering. This is the point. To me these matters are highly personal. Individuals who do not hold these beliefs as sacred have no moral right to put them on display.
the primary consideration of Big Love is to tell compelling stories, not teach about the nuances of Mormonism and its fringe practitioners. (by the way, can't mormons be sealed to more than one spouse? or rather, mormon men sealed to more than one woman? what does this say about their relationship to polygamy in the big picture?)
i'm amazed Big Love is as accurate as it is. a lot of shows don't take that step.
most good shows invite you to view a world you're not privy too. sopranos showed us what life in the mob is like. mad men shows us what a 60s ad agency was like. ER shows us what an emergency room is like.
are they 100% accurate? no, they're in the storytelling business, not the documentary business. but they offer a glimpse into these exciting worlds.
nothing in big love veers into bad taste. and i tire of mormons hiding behind the word "sacred." it is in their interest to be open.
nothing is off-limits from discussion and scrutiny. why should mormons get a free pass?
If Big Love is now your source for the facts on Mormon beliefs and life, what is your source for world news, The Daily Show?
I dare you to publish a cartoon or other visual representation of Mohammed then. If you don't, you're nothing but a lame hypocrite relishing the opportunity to mock the Mormons because you know they will leave you alone even if you mock their most sacred beliefs. Coward.
The particular scene was basically just religious voyeurism and a way to take a swipe at the LDS Church. The poignancy Vince was raving about was washed away immediately when the show portrayed a temple matron acting very coldly to Jeanne Tripplehorn, and the other characters in the temple. And if any question was in doubt as to the writer's attitude toward The Church, (and their real intention of portraying the temple) was answered when Bill Paxton's character declared that The Church is as corrupt as the compound group. In the first two seasons the LDS Church presence was fairly benign and incidental. It can't be a coincidence that the gay writer/creator couple has brought The LDS Church to the sinister forefront post Prop 8.
Great Review. Thank you for putting your opinions down so clearly. I agree that nothing was lost by viewing this ceremony. Get over yourselves if you are really concerned about privacy. You're upset that a TV show depicted a ritual that you believe is sacred. It doesn't make it any less sacred now that it's been filmed. Just as all the depictions of Catholic ceremonies aren't any less important because the way they've been shown. It's all about entertainment and I thought Big Love did a great job showing the struggle and pressure religion can have on a person's life.
I'm a temple-attending Mormon that watched last night. I was pretty offended by the part that they showed. They could have picked any part of the endowment ceremony, but they went with the most sacred part. The disciplinary hearing wasn't even accurate. So they didn't do their homework. That was just to make the church look bad.
That being said, I think Vince needs to look at this again with the idea that Prop 8 was attached to the Mormons. There were a few lines in the show that were subtly referring to Prop 8. When Barb was getting ex-communicated, she dropped a line about how the church can't tell her what her family unit should look like. Same argument the gay movement uses to justify gay marriages. So you can't tell me that they didn't have an agenda.
I've been a Big Love fan and I gave them a chance last night to make sure it wasn't over the top. But it was very offensive and I'm canceling my HBO subscription.
Vince, that was terrific, and exactly what I thought. About the episode and the whole overblown rigamaroll. And for those who found it melodramatic, they haven't lived all of the facets of that Barb's life...there are many members who HAVE lived variants on that theme, and a crisis of faith speaks to all religions, just the words change a bit. I vote for best drama.
Vince, No wonder that you sometimes are banished to "The Couch". Nothing disgusts a woman more than half a man.
My consolation is that at least the world can see that Mormons are Christians. No one will be beheaded for this. Imagine if this had been the portrayal of the annual pilgrimage to mecca or something sacred to Muslims like a fictional entry into the Ka'aba.
Vince would be telling us that we need to be more sensitive to the feelings of others and everyone would be ducking and covering.
It is unfortunate that, as a columnist, who by definition has added public responsibility to be accurate, definitive, fair, and without biased agenda, you obviously have not looked up the word ‘profane’ or used the VisualThesaurus to mind map the word ‘profane’. Just doing that will destroy your argument, and you would have had to write your column about something that truly belongs in the “profane” secular world, and not in the “sacred” religious world. Your ‘theories’ around your argument are just as incorrect as are the ones surrounding the “Left Behind” idea, and thus you are “Left Out” of being able to knowledgably present, or understand the principle surrounding the idea of ‘that which is sacred’, regardless of whose religion it is. Did you speak out against the profaning of the sacred shrine done by LDS missionaries in Colorado? Or did you say, “you’ve seen one profaned sacred shrine, you’ve seen them all. What’s the big fuss?” Typical for the Trib.
Wow that was a very self congratulatory article. I've never read your stuff before. I will be sure to avoid it now. This is why much the Trib is such a waste of paper. It's just reactionary to the perceived prominent culture in Utah.
Although I was offended by the most sacred part of the endowment being portrayed, I was more offended when Paxton appeared on the CBS Early show with a clip and that CBS posted it on their web site. That isn't journalism, or a critical part of a story line, that is just sleezy sensationalism. Shame on CBS News for airing it. Shame on Paxton for showing his true colors.
I think it's funny that you and others who are not LDS can tell those of us who are to "get over it" basically. They didn't alter anything, right? So what's the big deal? Well, maybe we should start portraying the most sacred and intimate parts of everyone's lives. My guess is you won't find too many volunteers for that.
I'm curious to know how people who aren't LDS and/or who haven't been motivated by faith to participate in a temple ceremony can have a credible opinion on the accuracy of HBO's portrayal of one.
Further, the concern was never about the foundations of the church being rocked by HBO portraying temple ceremonies, the concern was about extremely personal beliefs being abused or misrepresented for entertainment purposes. Please refer to my opening remark if the shoe fits.
There are a few good points already mentioned among these comments so far, in particular I recommend a closer look at Kelly's comments at 9:17.
I'm not complaining about HBO's right to portray whatever they want to portray, but I'm alarmed that it's so shocking to Horiuchi or anyone else that people don't want HBO to represent their deeply held personal beliefs.
Just as HBO has the right to depict whatever they want, so do others have the right to raise the voice of dissent about it. To make a fuss over that is akin to Tom Hanks claiming that the voting of one's conscience is un-American simply because he doesn't agree with the outcome of the vote; an accusation for which he later apologized.
On that note: I would surmise that Horiuchi is defending HBO because, like HBO, he benefits from the attention. Nothing like a good controversy in the business of getting looked at. Well played VH.
As far as a non-LDS viewpoint, let me stipulate some things. I grew up and live in Las Vegas, and knew many Mormons growing up. A very close friend converted over a decade ago, and nothing about our friendship changed. I have a strange relationship with the church. As a gay man, I can understand the feelings of persecution that LDS-ers sometimes face, but look upon the Church's political activism with dispair.
To those who say Big Love is portraying Mormonism in a bad light: it's obvious you haven't watched the show much. The show has taken great pains to show Barb's struggle and her feelings of being torn between the Church and the Principle, and has shown, on many, many occasions how those two ideas are not one and the same.
Yes, there have been unscrupulous LDS characters, just as there are in life. But there is no agenda to paint Mormons in a bad light. Most of the truly vile characters dwell on the compound, and would not be considered "Mormon."
But the excommunication threat, Barb's resulting crisis and the brief moments of respite during her endowments were truly beautiful, and showed Barb's love and devotion towards the teachings of the Church, and her struggle with being forced to leave it.
In fact, Barb's struggle and excommunication illustrates how the modern Church does not tolerate polygamy.
The ceremony may be private, and I can understand how some might be offended that it was used in service of a show that has questioned the Mormon faith, but to this non-believer, it couldn't have been more poignant.
Mark 1:39
Vince doesn't seem to have any problem talking about intimate parts of his life. His banishment to the couch seems like one of them. Not hard to see why that could happen.
Theo: I appreciate your comment. What most non-LDS people don't realize is the depth of LDS'ers belief that God is actually guiding his Church today, and that when He says certain things are so sacred they must not be discussed outside of holy places (Temples), He expects us to follow his counsel in that regard to the letter. It does not make any difference if the presentation is made with sensitivity, respect, and portrays fictional characters going through a difficult spiritual and emotional moment, it is still sacred to the Latter-day Saints to the point of offending the God they worship, and thus themselves, if this sacred Temple ceremony is portrayed in a profane and unsanctified environment, which TV and the HBO show represent.
You seem pretty certain that the show does not confuse people about mainstream Mormonism and polygamist sects. Pretty presumptuous, I'd say.....
I gotta laugh about the episode though. Just how it worked that someone lent out their bar-coded temple recommend so someone could get a fake endowment under false pretenses, even when the rightful recommend holder was already supposedly endowed and so wouldn't be doing her own endowment twice is stretching it a bit. And you claim it's not confusing to those not in the know...?
Oh well....
You just don't get it.
It has nothing to do with how it was presented or represented. But rather, that it was done at all.
It was the fact that we as a church, for whatever reason, choose not to discuss it outside the temple.
And then "Big Love" took it upon themselves, for whatever reason, to say "then we'll do it for you."
Legally did they have the right? Absolutely, that's guaranteed by our constitution.
Was it arrogant, selfish, and insensitive?
I personally believe it was.
Who are you, Mr. Horiuchi, to judge me for feeling that way?
And if some members of the LDS church feel violated because something so sacred and intimate to them was exposed to the world against their wishes ...
Who are you, Mr. Horiuchi, to judge them for feeling that way?
It is hard, as your review sadly shows, to understand what people hold sacred when you hold nothing sacred. That is the same problem the series writers have. While the representation strikes you, a non-believer, as respectful and truthful, to the believer it is nothing of the sort.
Even in context of the story, to the faithful Barb's "respite" was a sin. She had lied to get in, caused her mother and sister to sin, and sinned deeply herself by taking oaths she had no intention of keeping.
Barb's excommunication also rang false. She had already decided to leave the church's teachings long ago. What they showed is that members are only attached to the church due to habit or sentimentality—not dedication and belief.
You can give us your review of the show, and I can respect that. But you can never understand what a betrayal that scene was to a faithful LDS member—so please stop telling us how to feel.
That truly was an embarassing "article". It's as if you are reveling in the fact that it offended others. Two points:
1) You claim that the showing of the Ceremony was absolutely, positively necessary for the show. Hogwash. It could have been altered, the Temple clothes could have been changed, etc. and the same message would have gotten across...You love it. I know that it's "hip" to despise "all things Mormon" while living in Utah as one who isn't Mormon, but from a (very) liberal Mormon just returning to Utah after a four year hiatus, one thing is clear:
UTAH MAKE ME HATE MORMONS AND NON-MORMONS A HUNDRED TIMES MORE. YOU'RE BOTH RIDICULOUS. You both revel in your fits of superiority.
2) You claim that the show treats Mormons fairly and accurately. Even though I enjoyed the show (up until this week), I was always bothered by the unfair treatment of Mormons. So in your mind, Vince, who was the fair treatment given to? The closeted lesbian? the corrupt Seventies Member? the hateful sister? the drug popping neighbor? the gay and OCD couple? the bigoted neighborhood? So who was treated fairly?
This article was clown shoes. I can see you smugly sitting at your Mac, drinking a chai latte and thinking..."oh these Mormons...so simple...so...beneath me..."
you don't get it, vince, and neither do the producers of the show.
while i do not think that the producers meant any harm to the lds church, they simply don't get the real issue.
what was shown is not a secret, it is sacred to those of the lds faith. the sacredness of the ceremony is the issue here.
should we put cameras in your bedroom to observe your sex life with your wife? if not, why? because what happens in your bedroom is not only your own business, but it is sacred to you and your wife. this is no different than what has occurred on the big love.
in addition, there is no reason why it had to be shown. a good writer can get their point across without showing such material, just as the writers in slumdog millionaire, for example, didn't have to put a hard core sex scene in the movie to let the audience know that the stars were in love.
i guess that my point is this: just because you can do something, doesn't mean that you should do it. have some ethics.
I saw the episode in question last night. It was by far the best Big Love ever. Jeanne Tripplehorn is a fantastic actor. Cudos to the HBO Big Love writers. btw; right on review. Thank you Vince. Thank you HBO.
"The purpose of the scene was to further heighten Barb's struggle between her family and her church."
I watch Big Love when I can. I have liked the show in the past and I intend to watch the episode in question. I think it does a good job of thought provoking and entertaining. But I think it is telling that that the author of the blog states in the review the above quote and then tries to seem as if active Mormons are just angry at having their rituals on tv. Last I knew the temple rituals were to bring us closer to one another and to God...not go be thought provocative and entertain or as the author says "to heighten Barbs struggle with her church and her family." I think that is the real issue. To not be able to see that shows the blindness and one sided thought process of the author in my opinion.
This article has a glaring misunderstanding of the source of LDS outrage over depiction of their sacred rites for entertainment purposes. It does not matter if the actors were moving or torn and the dialog was great, that does not determine if the material is acceptable or not. It would be like trying to explain to a Mulsim that a painting of Mohammed should not offend them because the artist did such a moving job that people would better understand Muslims. The real issue is taking the sacred and making it profane, and only those who hold the beliefs know what is disrespectful.
I was shocked to see parts of the endowment ceremony on television. I do think the show's creators have the right to show this. I also think Mormons have a perfect right to be angry about it. However, do not try to suggest it was "mocking" or satirical or critical or...anything else negative. As a Mormon I think this show does an incredible job of portraying the true conflicts of people for whom religion is very important, and the scene was very respectful.
The enemies of the church have always sought to "expose" the temple ceremony as cultish and strange. Regardless of how it was portrayed, it is extremely disrespectful to church members because it parades what we consider to be too sacred for public viewing. The church has incredible resources available for those not of our faith to learn about our beliefs, and it does not need the assistance of godless and amoral Hollywood.
This post has been removed by the author.
Mormons can always dish it out, but never take it. This was a fictitious TV show or was it? What are you afraid of? Loss of utter control? Whose control are you afraid of losing?
Real faith and belief shows no fear, no secrets, no secretive society behavior either.... love one another.... do you really believe that? Are you really Christians?
It's not my place to judge, we'll all be judged. In the meantime, that was GREAT ENTERTAINMENT! Thank you HBO! and Village Vidiot.
America is wonderful!
Maybe the writers did their best to depict the sanctity of the temple, but it was, at best, only a mechanical depiction of actions involved in the ceremony. To the church, the key point is that the temple can only truly be understood within a broader context of the Church’s teachings, a context created through proper preparation. It’s like listening to a lecture in German without knowing German—it’s meaningless. The temple is reserved for those who have prepared enough to understand its intended meaning. Yes, the show exposed some of the mechanics involved in the ceremony, and yes, the scenes were basically accurate, but the depiction is ultimately superficial, out of the context, and devoid of the ceremony’s true meaning.
The writers of the show believe that an understanding of the mechanics of the temple grants adequate comprehension of its greater meaning, and that all is well as long as they portray the ceremony accurately and respectfully; however, their assumption is that these conditions are sufficient to preserve the sacredness of the temple, but to the Church, it’s not.
It’s all about proper context. The reason the temple seems restricted is precisely for this reason, because it’s impossible to grasp its deepest meaning without preparation, and until they realize the difference, the two sides will continue to debate without ever talking about the same thing.
Vince, the point has been hit in a few of these comments. The reason for negative reactions is outrage at the depiction of something sacred to the Mormon church. Your "review" is less of a review and more of your opinion as to how a group of people should be reacting to Big Love. You're entitled to your opinion as much as anyone else; so why don't you grant that right to everyone? People are upset about the depiction from Sunday's episode. Let them be upset. You don't sympathize or even attempt to understand, and you won't or can't because you don't hold the same things sacred. You seem surprised that anyone could be upset, why? Don't superimpose your opinions on others. You'll never understand like I'll never understand Islam's reaction to depictions of Muhammad.
It appears that Mr. Horiuchi is simply trying to generate publicity by pushing people's buttons. I, along with many others on this blog, have gotten sucked into it. It's sad (and somewhat pathetic) that he's willing to let everyone think that he's so intolerant and uncaring of others' beliefs, feelings, and opinions ... all for the sake of self-promotion. One can only hope that it's all an act.
Vince-
Great review. I'm a practicing Mormon, and I couldn't agree with your assessment more. They probably didn't need to show quite so much specific detail (it made me cringe a bit) but it was done tastefully and in no way mocking. In fact, the episode showed how uplifting the temple was for Barb. No matter what your beliefs, Big Love is an amazing show depicting a family struggling to stay together through various trials and trying to live their faith sincerely.
I was astounded to finally see what my parents, most of my siblings and many people I have known over my 60 plus years actually participate in. The clothes, rituals and overall ceremony bring to mind one basic word...bizarre. It absolutely blows my mind that everyday normal people can participate in this kind of behavior. I just don't get it. And please, don't tell me that the small representation seen on this show doesn't do justice to the overall experience, or that if you go through the entire temple ceremony you would "understand". This is a side of the Mormon church that I had never seen or really known about until seeing this episode on TV.
Interesting how I DON'T hear comments about Judaistic ceremonies. JUST the ones YOU have a problem with! WHatever!
This post has been removed by the author.
Congratulations to Vince Horiuchi for his comments regarding the television program, “Big Love.” Well done.
The hysteria generated by this show within much of the Mormon “church” is an overreaction reflective of a pervasive underlying lack of faith in its own dogma - and rightly so. Joseph Smith was a con man. The Mormon “Church” is a con job. Although the television show has not addressed this issue directly, it nevertheless follows that anything even hinting at exposure of such ideas to a wider audience would terrify the Mormon hierarchy.
That said, I hasten to add that I agree with an earlier post, from Laura, when she says, “No matter what your beliefs, ‘Big Love’ is an amazing show depicting a family struggling to stay together through various trials and trying to live their faith sincerely.” Well said, Laura. Brilliant writing and superb acting bring a believability seldom seen on television to this, a universal struggle.
I recently came accross your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don't know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.
Ruth
http://muffinsnow.com
Post a Comment
<< Home