Upset with HBO

Pillows · 03-13-2006, 11:58 AM

Okay, so this isn't by-pass related at all, but I just wanted to let you all know I am pretty upset with HBO for their new series Big Love. I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ, or as more popularly known the "Mormons", and I feel like this new drama series is not fully clear and is misleading it's audience. Although the practice of polygamy was once practiced by my church, it is no longer practiced by any of its members. IF any member of my religion is found to be practicing polygamy, they are immediately excommunicated from the church's records. I watched the pilot episode last night and they were not clear in the fact that while there are some people that still practice polygamy in Utah, they are a different religious branch and are not affiliated with the Mormons. There is a lot of prejudice out there regarding our religion due to this misconception, and it makes me sad that HBO would be so irresponsible and thoughtless to not make it clear in their show that this is the case. For those of you that saw the episode, the young girl that said she had just married the "prophet" is in referrence to this separate religious group, and is not referring to the current Mormon Propet and President of the Church, Gordon B. Hinkley. He is only married to one woman. Again, I know that this has nothing to do with the normal topics, I was just really upset by this last night, and wanted to let all of you know that if you saw it, it is a misrepresentation of my faith, and the majority of the population of Utah. I hope that when people watch it, they will take it as the piece of fiction it truly is. Thanks for reading this and letting me vent.
Janae

DocSanae · 03-18-2006, 05:25 AM

Whatever our faith is, there always will be misconceptions by others, heck, even those of the faith sometimes misconstrue, we're all human.
What is best for us to do, is to live as the teachings of the respective faith tells us, and let our own deeds speak of the truth.

Pillows · 03-18-2006, 09:31 AM

I totally agree with you Doc. I guess that there are just two misconceptions that are very prominent regarding my faith and I guess that I can understand the reason for people misunderstanding the whole polygamy issue, but the one that blows my mind the most is when people think that we aren't Christians. I think that maybe the way people could get confused here is the fact that we highly admire and respect the founder of our church, Joseph Smith, but what it all boils down to is the fact that we don't worship our prophets, we worship Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father. We believe that when one of our prophets tell us to do something that it is coming from God, not the prophet. I have found that as people get to know me, that they do loose some of those misperceptions, but it makes for some interesting first discussions having to explain the whole polygamy issue. I just wish that people as a whole would focus on the good a person does more. Unfortunately this isn't human nature and we are drawn to want to hear more about the weird and bizarre aspect of things. Oh well. Thanks for letting me vent about it and responding. I have noticed that there have been a lot of views for this thread, but it is nice to have some feedback.
Janae

Pillows · 03-22-2006, 10:12 AM

Okay, so I am no longer upset with HBO. I watched the second episode out of hoping that they would improve the situation, and they did. They had a conversation between the "Molly" mormon girl and the polygamist's daughter in which they kinda clarified that mainstream Mormons do not practice polygamy or support those that do. This show does seem to emphasise the practice of polygamy for more carnal reasons than what my religion once practiced it for. When the Mormon church started the practice of plural marriage, it was not illegal and it was during a time when Mormons were being killed and persecuted with no repurcussions from the government. Not all male members practiced it, and it was done mainly for the protection of those women that were in need of being taken care of. The first wives were actually the ones that would encourage their husbands to take care of a fellow woman in need in many of these cases. As soon as it became illegal, the church stopped the practice and it was no longer neccessary for the survival of it's members. Just thought that I would clarify it a little.
Janae

03-13-2006, 11:58 AM	#1 (permalink)
Pillows Seasoned Veteran Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey, USA Posts: 2,495 Please Enter Height:	Upset with HBO Okay, so this isn't by-pass related at all, but I just wanted to let you all know I am pretty upset with HBO for their new series Big Love. I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ, or as more popularly known the "Mormons", and I feel like this new drama series is not fully clear and is misleading it's audience. Although the practice of polygamy was once practiced by my church, it is no longer practiced by any of its members. IF any member of my religion is found to be practicing polygamy, they are immediately excommunicated from the church's records. I watched the pilot episode last night and they were not clear in the fact that while there are some people that still practice polygamy in Utah, they are a different religious branch and are not affiliated with the Mormons. There is a lot of prejudice out there regarding our religion due to this misconception, and it makes me sad that HBO would be so irresponsible and thoughtless to not make it clear in their show that this is the case. For those of you that saw the episode, the young girl that said she had just married the "prophet" is in referrence to this separate religious group, and is not referring to the current Mormon Propet and President of the Church, Gordon B. Hinkley. He is only married to one woman. Again, I know that this has nothing to do with the normal topics, I was just really upset by this last night, and wanted to let all of you know that if you saw it, it is a misrepresentation of my faith, and the majority of the population of Utah. I hope that when people watch it, they will take it as the piece of fiction it truly is. Thanks for reading this and letting me vent. Janae __________________ "Being happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect...it means that you have learned to see past the imperfections. " Surgery date April 4th 2006

03-18-2006, 05:25 AM	#2 (permalink)
DocSanae Super Moderator Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Tokyo, Japan Posts: 8,692 Blog Entries: 2 5' 5" Height:	Whatever our faith is, there always will be misconceptions by others, heck, even those of the faith sometimes misconstrue, we're all human. What is best for us to do, is to live as the teachings of the respective faith tells us, and let our own deeds speak of the truth. __________________ "In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun." Just a li'l bit 'bout myself Last edited by DocSanae : 03-18-2006 at 05:33 AM.

03-18-2006, 09:31 AM	#3 (permalink)
Pillows Seasoned Veteran Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey, USA Posts: 2,495 Please Enter Height:	I totally agree with you Doc. I guess that there are just two misconceptions that are very prominent regarding my faith and I guess that I can understand the reason for people misunderstanding the whole polygamy issue, but the one that blows my mind the most is when people think that we aren't Christians. I think that maybe the way people could get confused here is the fact that we highly admire and respect the founder of our church, Joseph Smith, but what it all boils down to is the fact that we don't worship our prophets, we worship Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father. We believe that when one of our prophets tell us to do something that it is coming from God, not the prophet. I have found that as people get to know me, that they do loose some of those misperceptions, but it makes for some interesting first discussions having to explain the whole polygamy issue. I just wish that people as a whole would focus on the good a person does more. Unfortunately this isn't human nature and we are drawn to want to hear more about the weird and bizarre aspect of things. Oh well. Thanks for letting me vent about it and responding. I have noticed that there have been a lot of views for this thread, but it is nice to have some feedback. Janae __________________ "Being happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect...it means that you have learned to see past the imperfections. " Surgery date April 4th 2006

03-22-2006, 10:12 AM	#4 (permalink)
Pillows Seasoned Veteran Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey, USA Posts: 2,495 Please Enter Height:	Okay, so I am no longer upset with HBO. I watched the second episode out of hoping that they would improve the situation, and they did. They had a conversation between the "Molly" mormon girl and the polygamist's daughter in which they kinda clarified that mainstream Mormons do not practice polygamy or support those that do. This show does seem to emphasise the practice of polygamy for more carnal reasons than what my religion once practiced it for. When the Mormon church started the practice of plural marriage, it was not illegal and it was during a time when Mormons were being killed and persecuted with no repurcussions from the government. Not all male members practiced it, and it was done mainly for the protection of those women that were in need of being taken care of. The first wives were actually the ones that would encourage their husbands to take care of a fellow woman in need in many of these cases. As soon as it became illegal, the church stopped the practice and it was no longer neccessary for the survival of it's members. Just thought that I would clarify it a little. Janae __________________ "Being happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect...it means that you have learned to see past the imperfections. " Surgery date April 4th 2006

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