BIG LOVE to show LDS Endowment Ceremony
Many Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints are up in arms because the HBO series BIG LOVE plans to depict an Endowment Ceremony on an upcoming episode. Growing up Roman Catholic, I can attest that the religion was often the object of humor, perhaps ridicule, on television and in film. The Jewish faith was lambasted even more frequently. This reminds me of the episode of SEINFELD when Jerry was outraged because another comedian changed faiths so he could have the “right” to make fun of it. Everyone is so uptight about “their” chosen faith. The outrage of the Mormons only makes everyone want to poke at them more.
On the DESERET NEWS website, there was an article about the upcoming episode … one of the commenters said it far more succinctly and eloquently than I can …
Respect??? | 8:12 a.m. March 13, 2009
So it’s okay for the LDS to butt into the issue of gay marriage in CA, misrepresent the issues to maximize the scare factor, then claim that they were just acting out of love for gay people and nobody should take any offense because they were only exercising their constitutional rights.
And it’s also okay for LDS to continue baptizing Jewish Holocaust victims posthumously because it’s part of the church’s core doctrines, and once again, it’s only done out of love so nobody should take any offense.
Now, let HBO exercise its constitutional right to air the LDS temple endowment, and go to great length and expense to ensure it’s accurately portrayed, and showing as much respect as possible while still staying true to the story line, and now the LDS are all about respect for others and the right to be left alone to practice their most sacred beliefs in private.
Whether the producers of Big Love are acting as part of a personal vendetta or not, you can’t say you didn’t ask for just what you’re getting.
Tom Hanks puts this brouhaha into perspective (and waxes prophetic) at the 3rd season premiere of Big Love:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7JgK_mmEBk
“There’s gonna be lies, and secrets, and discoveries, and problems. Television!”
Ask for what we are getting?
As you were writing this article I tried to make you understand that you don’t know what you are talking about, but I was ignored as usual.
Not having watched much of Seinfeld, I guess I don’t get the similarities.
I am sure you will enlighten me.
What I would like to suggest is that people be considerate. What happened and continues to happen to the Catholics, Jews and basically every minority should teach us to be that – considerate. History is there to learn from, but it seems to be a lesson for everyone else. We have made the individual exempt especially if that individual happens to be looking at us in the mirror. Aren’t we special!
Unfortunately, the world is full of them. Insular little individuals who speed, or create Ponzi schemes or mock sacred religious symbols because being considerate applies to everyone else.
The bottom line is economics. HBO has now created another way for unscrupulous money motivated individuals to monopolize on the most current scapegoat of hate.
Congratulations.
I respecfully disagree. It is not acceptible to Baptize a Jewish Holocaust victim. No active arm of Judaism approves of evangelical behavior. It has never been acceptable for Jews. I think that most Jews would resent such an attempt to interfere with the privacy of our religion.
My Jewish relatives were Holocaust victims. I would be horrified if a member of another faith attempted to “save the soul” of my decesased relative. Please know with all certainty that his or her soul requires no “saving.”
Jews never attempt to “save” a person of another faith (alive or dead), or to convert them. Please, have a little respect and leave our dead Jewish ancestor’s alone. They too would be horrified to have someone of a different religion pray over them. You might mean well, but most of us non-Christians find it insulting.
I thought this article in Meridian summed up my thoughts on this difficult matter:
http://www.meridianmagazine.com/churchupdate/090310sacred.html