Last night and Monday night, I watched a documentary that PBS did called "The Mormons". It was interesting. I think that the creators of the documentary tried to be as unbiased as they could and there were some great things on there, and there were some things that I didn't agree with. I probably wouldn't watch it again, but I am glad that I did watch it the first time. There were some things said about Joseph Smith that I didn't like hearing. It made me sit back and reflect on my own testimony of Joseph Smith. I am so glad that my family did the church history tour a couple of years ago because the feelings that I experienced there when I learned about Joseph's life and the life of the early saints has stayed with me. As I was listening to what these people were saying about Joseph, the thought kept on coming to me that all these people need to do is go to Navoo and just feel the spirit that is there. It is an incredible experience and it is one that I will never forget. There were lots of times, during the program, when I felt the spirit leave, and it made me realize that I had a choice to make. I could either choose to look further into some of the allegations that people were making against the church, or I could choose to be unwavering in my testimony and continue to feel the peace and the love that the Spirit brings into my home. I may not know everything to do with the gospel and its history, but I don't need to. For me there are 3 basic truths that keep my faith in my religion strong. They are:
1 - Jesus Christ is the Son of God and he suffered the atonement so that I could return to live with my Heavenly Father again.
2 - Joseph Smith was a prophet and did restore the gospel again to the earth
3 - The Book of Mormon is true.
I have had many powerful witnesses and experiences in my life that have caused me to learn these things. Because of these experiences I cannot deny what I know to be true. I think that I would be a much sadder person if I didn't have the beliefs and convictions that I do. I wouldn't have the knowledge that I will get to be with my sweet baby again one day. I wouldn't have the knowledge that my family will be together forever. I wouldn't have the knowledge that there is something after death. . . .we don't just cease to exist. I know who I am. I know where I came from, and I know where I want to be when I die. Can a religion that gives me all of those answers be so bad???? I don't think so!
invisible apple cake
3 days ago
2 comments:
It's been a while since I saw that documentary - I think it was first aired back in April. Your post here has sparked a few thoughts in me, but I may have to write my own blog post about it.
I'm curious, though, do you remember what parts of the documentary you had a problem with?
Well, like I said in my blog, I did think that PBS generally did a good job, however I didn't like how the general feeling that they seemed to portray in the documentary was that the church spends so much time trying to cover everything up. It kind of left a bad taste in my mouth.
I did like their part on the church's stance on Polygamy (sp??). I also think that they did an interesting job with Joseph Smith. I didn't necessarily agree with how they portrayed him, but I can see how they would do it in the way that they did.
I guess that the one part that I had the most problems with was the missionary part, believe it or not. They made it seem as though maybe serving a mission was too great of a sacrifice. I think that the story of the widowed father is the exception instead of the rule and that they probably shouldn't have used it.
The other thing that really bothered me was their segment on mormons and intellectualism. I didn't quite agree with it, but then again I don't have a strong desire to question the fundamentals of the gospel.
And, why did they always show mormon families that had more than 7 children?? It made it seem as though that was a requirement.
I did love the evangelic minister. I thought that his insights were very informative and that he actually did not speak with any hatred towards the church. The other person that I really liked on the documentary was the lady with the crazy hair and big teeth. She was very factual and also brought up some good points.
I do hope that you create a post on this. . . I would be interested to see what you think about it.
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