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There is a new movie that is a documentary of 3 youth that run away from Colorado City. The movie is Sons of Perdition.
http://sonsofperditionthemovie.comhttp://sonsofperditionthemovie.com” class=”bbcode_url”> While it is still in the film festival circuit, NPR did an episode today to promote the movie. You can hear a 16 minute clip on npr’s website
http://www.npr.org/tablet/#story/?storyId=128084530http://www.npr.org/tablet/#story/?storyId=128084530” class=”bbcode_url”> I find it interesting to hear accounts from “outsiders” on how the FLDS and the polygamist communities are breaking laws and are cultish fanatics. Part of me agrees and I don’t identify myself as Main stream Mormon with fundamentalists and there strict lifestyle, strict obedience to leaders, and polygamy. However part of me also sees in some ways these fundamentalists are living in a way that seems so similar to the early restored church that I think that others that know I’m Mormon think of my religion this way too. Or at least it makes me understand more of what the early church members experienced (including seeing their prophet jailed).
The NPR clip sounds like the film is not favorable at all in showing the FLDS life style. But then again, how could anyone from outside the community understand that culture and way of life and portray it accurately? It seems that all sources the film makers have for info are those who are running away from the community, not those that are actively living in The community happy with building strong families. I expect this movie to be quite anti-FLDS.
If anyone sees the movie or hears more about it, please share.
Oh man, Heber, you have touched on so many critical things in this one post. The beauty of your post though, IMHO, is that you recognize and apply this to your own situation and can at least see the parallels. In my experience, that seems to be the thing that most people can’t do. It’s an adaptation of the beam and mote analogy that Jesus taught only taken to a group setting. This is why, personally, I think it’s imperative that we evaluate how others perceive us. Otherwise how do we know whether or not we’re completely off our rocker? But juxtapose this with the injunction in the church to not fall victim to the standards of the world, and to enjoy being a peculiar people. How peculiar must a group be before they pull their head out of the sand? I think it’s critical to do some comparative analysis as we go through life, especially since many of our morals are so closely tied to culture. It’s most definitely a balancing act!
Wow! Hot buttons. This is the very topic (and you guys are hitting all the key points) that severed me in 2002 from the Priesthood Proxy Morality paradigm of my youth. When I looked with my Adult Twentieth Century American Voter eyes at Colorado City, it looked abhorrent. And of course my ancestrally polygamous LDS heart couldn’t completely disown the situation. What a pickle (cognitive dissonance?) that put me in. Boy howdy! Heber13 wrote:However part of me also sees in some ways these fundamentalists are living in a way that seems so similar to the early restored church that I think that others that know I’m Mormon think of my religion this way too. Or at least it makes me understand more of what the early church members experienced (including seeing their prophet jailed).
They don’t call themselves the
FundamentalistLatter-Day Saints without reason. It ain’t my cup of tea … uh I mean Postum, but I have a hard time now totally disowning these people as “crazies” like I used to. They are a part of the Mormon religious movement. We may not agree with them, but they are still family, in a sense. I can’t pretend that I don’t know what they are doing and why, or pretend they wandered off and are doing something foreign to our history, like it was some NEW radical thing. They really really believe they are holding on to something very important, something the Lord told them never to give up (their perception). That is the essence of religion, and they have a powerful mythology. Brian Johnston wrote:It ain’t my cup of tea … uh I mean Postum
I wish there was a Fundamentalist Postum movement…they stopped making that stuff…I’m so bummed. I wish we could go back to the good old days of having Postum with toast for when I get sick.
Postum tastes nasty. Blech. The film sounds interesting, though.
I don’t think a lot of people in general would have issue with the polygamy idea nowadays. I just don’t see how it is “fundamental” to religion at all. Looking at the paradigm of Hindu, Muslim, and ancient Israel and the practice of polygamy, I can see no perception or concept of how the practice of polygamy is “fundamental.” If the term fundamental is used as I perceive it, then the Book of Mormon, the concept of a living prophet, and the first vision would be the fundamentals or basic doctrines that make Mormonism unique amongst the plethora of Christianity. Even looking at sanctioned polygamy in early LDS history, I don’t really see it as paramount; it was a practice. It worked with some people and didn’t work with others. There were abuses, and then there were successes with it on how many children were raised properly and how many wives did love their husbands and how some husbands cared for and took care of their wives. What I have issue with and what really irks me are the rapes where girls under 18 are wedded; The monopolization of polygamy by the leaders that exile the young men that would have no chance under their hierarchy of polygamy, so they have no recourse but to leave. These issues are horrifying and make the Mormon Polygamist sects (I refuse to use the term fundamentalist), look more evil than they are (and rightfully so). Nevertheless, I think America needs to have a time to look at the thousands of dollars that are wasted on child custody issues, divorces, and remarriages that allow serial monogamy to go on without number. At least the polygamists supposedly take care of multiple households, whereas many serial monogamists will dump one family to start another, usually without any negative consequences on the victor who usually had more money in the divorce court to start with. Many spouses get out of their financial obligations to children and spouses until the ORS catches up with them. Maybe if the polygamists cleaned up their act, then their practices of marriage would serve as a valid example to the screwed up dysfunctional families and serial monogamists that make up America.
When we speak of fundamentalism in Mormonism, we’re referring to a strict adherence to a fixed set of theological ideas and dogmas, the foundational teachings in particular. I can see how that can be confusing though. We aren’t talking about what the foundation of Mormon belief. We often call that the “fundamentals” of the Gospel. Fundamentalism in Mormonism usually refers to a strict and unchanging belief in the early (foundational) teachings, most notably the practice of plural marriage as a condition for exaltation. But it also refers to things like Adam-God theory, racial teachings (blacks and lamanites), practicing the law of consecration, blood atonement, etc. These are all teaching that have changed over time in the mainstream LDS denomination. Fundamentalists refuse to accept those changes and cling to the old, original teachings, thus marking their difference.
Did anyone see this past Friday’s Prime time live episode called “What would you do…?” This is a great show about showing what people do in difficult situations they might happen to see. One was about a guy slipping a date rape powder in her drink for all to see why she was gone. Another had to do with a Muslim woman coming into a bakery and the owner telling her she was a terroist and would not sell to her. It was staged with actors but real situations. It was shocking how half the people actually gave thumbs up to the owner. One large segment was of a pretend FLDS family in Colorado eating at a Resturant. There was an old father and his two wives and a young 15 year old girl. They were all talking about her wedding tommorow to this old guy. She was crying and saying she was not ready to get married. Everyone in the resturant was looking at them and listening in. Most did nothing and one man and his wife just asked to be moved to a table far away because they did not want to hear it. Finally, a couple of women intervened. One had been the head of a Utah domestic violence shelter and she really took charge. I have read from the diaries of some of the teen girls JS married and how awful this was for them. I personally cannot believe this was from God and this tv show which airs at 9 pm eastern time on Fridays is worth watching because it really helps you think about yourself and how you would step in if you saw abuse. The shows primier is next friday and will show a gay teen bullying case to see if anyone will help. I was friends with a woman who had ran away from one of these types of commuions and was constantly on the run because they were threatening to do blood atonement on her and her kids for running away. This certainly cannot be part of the great plan of happiness God has for his children, particularly women. I have seen other tv shows about the fdlds groups and how young men are forced to leave the group because the old guys want the young girls. This is one of the very difficult things for me in the church and I truly wonder if one of the reasons against gay marriage is because it could also legalize pologamy and the church would loose even more members.
@Brian, I see your point it seems that some of those ideas such as Adam-god theory, blood atonement, blacks/lamanites were big ideas/opinions/perceptions elaborated upon or developed by Brigham Young that many of his associates in the hierarchy of the Church opposed. I guess I have a lot to learn about my own church’s history. I would even gather (although I have no real background knowledge) then that polygamy as an ideal must have even evolved into something much different under Brigham Young than when Joseph Smith was the prophet. This makes a lot of sense to me. Truly men are given much agency to govern themselves and others that are within their sphere of influence. Men may be prophets, but they are also dualistic in nature as “just men.” I have no qualms about this issue. I’m sure it even happens today to some degree. I have heard many differing opinions about many different things and I just take some with a grain of salt, and others I may agree with slightly, while I will sometimes hold to my own views ’til doomsday.
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