[Teachldsseminary] [14]Re: PBS

[Leanne Anderson]

I think this would be a great news item to share with our students regarding
the PBS Doc - especially the very last paragraph.

This is the First Presidency's statement in full about the documentaries.

Deseret Morning News, Thursday, May 03, 2007
*LDS Church's statement about 'The Mormons'*
PBS has produced two thought-provoking programs about The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints. Aspects of the faith covered in the programs
were broad and diverse, and the broadcasts are resulting in an equally
diverse range of opinions and responses from viewers.

As she has done in similar documentaries, producer Helen Whitney probes at
both the center and the edges of Church history, belief, and personal
experience. Members, former members, scholars and Church leaders all
presented their perspectives. Those interviewed in the program — even though
they hold different points of view — were articulate and measured in their
comments, giving serious thought and consideration to the topic.

But even four hours and numerous interviews can't cover everything. No
doubt, some Church members will feel essentials were left out (the
restoration of priesthood authority and a fuller description of women's
experience in the faith) and non-essentials left in (polygamist Warren
Jeffs, for example). In a similar way, the historic practice of plural
marriage and the tragedy of Mountain Meadows are far from the whole story of
Church history or the experience and faith of members today. (The entire
interviews of Church leaders are available on the PBS Web site at *
www.pbs.org/mormons/interviews/.* <http://www.pbs.org/mormons/interviews/>)

But addressing these and other topics in a forthright way seems to have
allowed viewers less familiar with the Church to see a new and broader
dimension of the Church, shorn, perhaps, of one-sided stereotypes and
caricatures.

At a time when significant media and public attention is being turned to The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and when news media is so often
accused of superficiality in its coverage of religion, this serious
treatment of a serious subject is a welcome change.