[Rameumptom]

I enjoyed the Documentary immensely. Sure it was from a Liberal PBS point of view. (I heard it was originally 6 hours but they cut out a lot, probably the "Faith" stories Whitney mentions. They focused on the most sensational parts possible. For a story about faith it really didn't give a lot of Theology or Doctrine. BUT... when Liberal PBS has to finally talk about Religion I think it is a good thing. IOW, this is how liberal PBS (and liberal Whitney) views Mormons. it is not the "mainstream" conservative mormon view of ourselves or the "mainstream" conservative non-Mormon view of us, but I am glad the Godless are finally having to talk about God.

My take on it was that Whitney is a Mormon "intellectual" herself so that bias definitely came out in the film. So-called Mormon "Intellectualism" was big in the 1980's before the Church put a stamp out on it (officailly declaring Sunstone, Dialogue apostate, etc.) . The label is basically a code word for Mormon liberal. There are a ton of conservative mormon scientists and engineers etc. etc. Mormons who try to label themselves as "intellectual" are just trying to fit in with the Liberal, Starbucks, Commie Professor mentality IMO.

Nibley was a member of the old Democrat party (aka Zell Miller's version). At one time there were Democrats with values. Over the years though that has changed.

I especially enjoyed the words of Richard Mouw (Evangelical). I recognized him without the label. An article from him about Mormons was posted not long ago here on FR. Richard Mouw, Evangelical take on Mormons

[Utah Girl]

Well said. I'm glad they made the documentary, it did help me see how others view us. I don't think Whitney is LDS. She is a Frontline producer on PBS and has done several documentaries on different religions. She is an excellent producer. The documentary was definitely slanted towards the intellectual view, but it was her documentary. I did read all of the interview on pbs.org and the "Why I am a Mormon" and "Why I am no longer a Mormon" sections. And every once in awhile, the documentary did hit the nail on the head for me. :)

I just went to the Q&A on The Mormons with Helen Whitney on the Washington Post website. It explains why she selected what she did. One comment I found quite enlightening:

I was struck by the emphasis on certainty in your religion. I come from a tradition which encourages doubt and questioning. My own faith is inflected with doubt which I feel is intimately connected to my faith. However, I sense from many conversations with Mormon believers that doubt can be seen as undermining of the faith, even dangerous to it. When I went to my first testimonial meeting, and heard men, women and children describe their faith using the words "I know" I was truly surprised. They didn't use words like: I hope, I believe, I intuit, but the ubiquitous phrase I know. For some Mormons, this can be inspirational, and yet for others it can be intimidating and discourage them from voicing their own questions. Nonetheless, as I spent time in the Mormon culture I came to learn that their certainty is a complex many layered encounter with the divine. The Mormons (Q&A with Helen Whitney)