Mar 15 2009
Religious Ceremonies
Yet again, the LDS Church is up in arms over the HBO original series Big Love. Is it because the lines between acceptable Mormon living and the fundamentalist lifestyle of polygamy are being blurred week after week? Oddly enough…no. The Church is upset over the depiction of the Endowment Ceremony.
Considering this is a show that uses their faith to turn a profit under the guise of entertainment, one might be inclined to understand why they are so upset. Then again…one could be wrong.
During the production of this episode, the people at Big Love and HBO took extra care to ensure the intricacies of the Endowment Ceremony were depicted as factually as possible. In fact, they even had those on hand who had themselves been a part of the ceremony to guarantee accuracy. It is the simple fact their religious ceremony was depicted that has LDS leaders upset.
Why? Because they are concerned outsiders won’t understand and will think their faith is odd as a result. So what if membership in the LDS church has actually increased since Big Love first debuted a few years ago. Must just be some sort of coincidence, right?
I’ve got news for them…People outside the LDS Church already think they’re odd - with or without having seen the Endowment Ceremony on Big Love. Let’s just speak plainly. People tend to think those things they don’t understand are odd. Rather than hide them, why not be proud of the religious ceremonies that are such an integral part of the church, any church?
Or is it really better press for outsiders to think the Church has something to hide?
What do you think? Did anyone watch this episode and actually understand what was going on? I sure didn’t.
Jen
“The difference? I make sarcasm look good.”
I couldn’t have said it better myself. The LDS does understand that it is just Hollywood and frankly those “unsanctioned” mega isolated ranches chalk full of shenanigans are MUCH more damaging than what HBO congers up.
I’ve got to agree. What happened over in the Texas compound a few months back was far more damaging to the LDS Church than Big Love. At least, that’s my assumption as an outsider watching both unfold.
Are we talking FLDS or LDS? The mainstream LDS church hasn’t sanctioned polygamy in decades, but no doubt the endowment ceremony still is in regular use. I know they tend to be very secretive when it comes to the traditions held in the temple. Perhaps it’s more comparable to secret ceremonies of the Masons and Christian Scientists.
Perhaps no one carries the monopoly on weird.