The Secret World of Mormonism

I lived, for several years, in a city with a high population of Mormons. They were always walking around with smiles on their faces, which alone signalled something wasn't right there. My roommate, a devout Christian, found their missionary aggression annoying and told them they were closer to Hinduism than Christianity. The Secret World of Mormonism is in many respects a 40-minute attempt to address that question: Is Mormonism Christianity? Going into the documentary, I already knew the answer was no. I'm not religious, but I know the idea of polytheism is fundamentally opposed to the Abrahamic religions.

Still, this documentary can shed light on what Mormons really believe. Just go to YouTube and look up Mormon cartoon. That's a startling sequence, a pull-your-hair type tale reminiscent of reading about Xenu on Wikipedia. Gods, many, living on planets, having endless celestial sex, racist ideology and, hilariously, soldiers in Roman fashion warring against natives armed with bows and arrows. The comments in response to the video from Mormons is "this is inaccurate," though they won't say how, and "There is a great deal of evidence the Book of Mormon is genuine and of Hebrew origin." Ask yourself: does Jesus as the original Leif Ericson/Christopher Columbus, crossing the Mediterranean and then the Atlantic, on his rickety Palestinian boat, pass the smell test? Does the archaeological record prove this?

As a non-religious person, the off-putting parts of this documentary are the evangelical messages. The cult-like nature of Mormonism is emphasized, though you can say this stuff about any religion ("They drink the blood of their god, and say they eat the flesh of their god.") Despite claims archaeology affirms Christianity, you still can't place where the Garden of Eden was or where Noah's Ark ended up. The real cut against Mormonism, much like Scientology, is that without millennia of tradition and teachings, masses of people fell for what should have been obviously dismissed as cheap, second-rate fantasy/science fiction stories. Human gullibility knows no bounds, and people are suffering while a select few consolidate their power and line their pockets.

This film must have been a rare and curious item before being put out on Amazon to rent. The Secret World Of Mormonism is a critique of the Church of Jesus Christ Of Latter Day Saints from an evangelical Christian point of view. The view of this film is that this religion is not another offshoot of Christianity but some kind of cult. A very wealthy cult indeed.

We know just how wealthy they are. Same sex marriage was overturned due in large part to money funneled into California from the LDS church. But at that point, a decade after this film came out in 2003 evangelicals didn't have a problem making any common cause with these apostates. Why with rare exceptions they backed the Republican candidate for president in 2012. They've also embraced the 2016 candidate and it's the Mormons who are balking at being Trump supporters.

The whole bit with polygamy was what kept Utah out of the union until 1997. They officially bought the doctrinal change, but wink and nod at those who are still polygamous unless they're indiscreet.

The LDS church has a bloody history. Pacifism is not one of their doctrines they've fought back against enemies. At one time Brigham Young was essentially an Ayatollah over an area larger than present Utah in the west. Acceptance of civil authority was something attained gradually.

This documentary considering recent history is something evangelicals would like to bury. It's a great one conspiracy buffs.