Stumbling around hulu, I found a movie called Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration. Not having a lot to do, and willing to educate myself in my opponents' viewpoints and history, I settled in to watch. It was clear 15 minutes into the film that this was going to be a propaganda piece, and it surprised me not one whit when I checked that it was produced and distributed by the LDS Church. So I watched the rest of the movie with this in mind. This was a puff piece; no character flaws in Smith were shown, some of the scandals that came later were never mentioned, even Smith's polygamy was worth nary a mention. Smith glided through most of the movie as though he was on Xanax (one notable exception was his righteous indignation at a group of Missourian thugs [redundancy?] holding Smith and his fellows captive), and enemies of the LDS Church are painted as almost cartoonishly evil.
Since Smith is presented as a paragon and a martyr, the only thing the film offers up for criticism is doctrine. This the movie offers up with aplomb, blithely unaware (or maybe uncaring) that Mormon distinctives run counter to established parts of Christ's gospel the LDS ostensibly seeks to restore. One such doctrine is the idea of "forever marriage." In one humorous scene (I'll admin I laughed), Smith shared the idea that marriage was meant to last forever. This runs counter to Christ's words in Matthew 22:30. Another idea, presented multiple times throughout, is that opportunity for salvation will be presented somehow post-death to the deceased, which conflicts with Hebrews 9:27.
I can't find a whole heck of a lot to recommend this film. The parts of Smith's life I'd like to see portrayed with unflinching honesty are glossed over or omitted altogether, while the boldest parts of the story--the doctrines that make Mormons "Mormons"--are already well-known and far too obviously wrong in the light of the true Christ's teachings. It's hard to imagine who the target audience for the film is. Maybe the film appeals to the Mormon true believer, or maybe to the potential proselyte who isn't grounded very deeply in Scripture, but a well-rooted Christian can feel safe in watching this and will see it for what it is. ** (out of 5)
Since Smith is presented as a paragon and a martyr, the only thing the film offers up for criticism is doctrine. This the movie offers up with aplomb, blithely unaware (or maybe uncaring) that Mormon distinctives run counter to established parts of Christ's gospel the LDS ostensibly seeks to restore. One such doctrine is the idea of "forever marriage." In one humorous scene (I'll admin I laughed), Smith shared the idea that marriage was meant to last forever. This runs counter to Christ's words in Matthew 22:30. Another idea, presented multiple times throughout, is that opportunity for salvation will be presented somehow post-death to the deceased, which conflicts with Hebrews 9:27.
I can't find a whole heck of a lot to recommend this film. The parts of Smith's life I'd like to see portrayed with unflinching honesty are glossed over or omitted altogether, while the boldest parts of the story--the doctrines that make Mormons "Mormons"--are already well-known and far too obviously wrong in the light of the true Christ's teachings. It's hard to imagine who the target audience for the film is. Maybe the film appeals to the Mormon true believer, or maybe to the potential proselyte who isn't grounded very deeply in Scripture, but a well-rooted Christian can feel safe in watching this and will see it for what it is. ** (out of 5)
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