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I wanted to open up a thread to discuss impressions of NBC’s news show Rock Center. Here’s some preview videos: http://rockcenter.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/08/23/13435345-mormon-in-america-latter-day-saints-on-2012-election-and-significance-of-romney-campaign?lite It’s on at 10 ET, 9 CT tonight.
Thanks MH. I was hoping someone would start one. And I was hoping to already see some comments. I was concerned about the whole no caffeine thing because that is not the doctrine and so many do drink Coke, Diet Coke, Dr. Pepper, on and on. So the public at large is going to have questions about that. But I know we were told years ago by leadership it was not to be preached from the pulpit as doctrine. I hate that Abby Huntsman felt she had to leave the church over the situation. People date and marry nonmembers all the time and don’t feel they have to leave the church.
The picture of the garments….ugh! Where did they get those?
I foresee a run on the bishops now as many nonmembers will probably start turning to the church for welfare help. Maybe the leadership wanted that message to go out?
My first thought about the garments picture is “it’s easier to obtain forgiveness than permission.” I bet the producers didn’t mention that one to anybody in the church, and I bet they got a phone call from SLC about it. Anxious to see what the rest will bring…
Interesting to see that they spent so much time on the Welfare Program, especially considering so many complain about the Mall. Showing the garments was pretty offensive. I was pretty shocked by that.
I thought it was interesting to see them say that 1/4 of Mormons make less than $30,000/year, but Mormons are so good at business (Mitt, Marriotts, Neeleman). So which is it?
It was interesting to hear Abby Hunstman’s story. I wasn’t aware of that.
Regarding the 1/4 of Mormons who earn less than 30,000 a year….in conflict with how good Mormons are with business. There will always be variation about the mean, and in this case they may be amplifying the people who are successful in business, perhaps given Romney’s lead. To really understand if we are better at business than other people, you would need to compare the percent of millionaires who are mormons to the percent of millionaires who are catholic, pentacostsal, Jehovah’s Witness etcetera. AND look at the percent of Mormons who earn less than $30,000 a year. (By the way, on a household basis, you would expect income would be lower because of the emphasis on the mother staying at home). Now, you might argue there is some justification for this conclusion that Mormons are better at business — Mormons in leadership positions work in a volunteer climate that is laced with a corporate feel and similarities, and often interface with people who have been successful managers or successful in their careers — so you could argue they get a bit of a leg up on the business acumen compared to youth and yougn adults in other religions. When I was a FT missionary, I was like a zone sales manager, so they come away with sharpened sales ability as a result of their missions, as well a being trained by successful people in their Wards and Stakes.
But we would need to see if the NBC’s conclusion is really true by looking at some comparable statistics between religions to see if they are actually correct.
Showing the garments was offensive and insensitive. Yes, you can find pictures on the internet if you go looking, just like you can find porn if you go looking, but that doesn’t mean that either should be shown on network television. However, aside from that, I thought it was an accurate, fair, but mostly positive view of life in the church. Yes, there was polygamy, yes there was racism, and yes the church is not modern in the treatment of women, or gay/lesbian people. Those things are all true… so it was fair to be critical. But overall, I liked that it focused on good and normal people who felt empowered by the gospel, because I believe that is a significant reason that I stay in the church.
As for the no-caffeine statement, right… it’s isn’t doctrinal, but it is a personal choice that that particular woman had made in order for her to abide by the spirit of the law as she sees it… something that we on these forums do with regularity, so I can’t complain that that is her view of it, or that she would express her extra-doctrinal views. If anything, it would be a great question to have asked by a friend, because it points out that there is in fact room for individual interpretation within the church.
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