I'm Very Sad...

Okay, I have never watched the show "Big Love", it is a HBO show about a polygamist family in Utah, but I guess that in an upcoming episode of the show they will be depicting a LDS temple ceremony, one that members of the LDS Church hold extremely sacred.  I guess that the guy who wrote the movie "Milk" is also a writer on the show "Big Love".  He was raised in the LDS Church, and is openly and actively gay.  He was a huge opponent of the Prop 8 measure in California, the one whose passage  is blamed entirely on the LDS Church.  (Persecution and hatred of the LDS Church, my church, is officially the last acceptable prejudice, but that is an entirely different subject, sort of).  I believe that this is probably payback on his part.  Anyway, I am so sad and literally sick to my stomach about this.  It seems as though there is no longer any line that will not be crossed.  This is HBO's response:

"In approaching the dramatization of the endowment ceremony, we knew we had a responsibility to be completely accurate and to show the ceremony in the proper context and with respect."  

Ummmm, okay.  Did they bother to ask anyone in the Church about this?  Wouldn't that be the most responsible and respectful thing to do, if that was their true objective?  Could they possibly in a million years show the ceremony in it's proper context?  Do they even have a clue what that proper context is?  Do they understand anything about spirituality, or the fact that there is a spiritual aspect to the ceremony that they could never possibly convey?  No, they don't.

I felt better when I read the Church's response.  It kind of makes me think I shouldn't even be discussing this, or giving it any attention at all, but this is my blog and I wanted to vent.  Anyway, this is my dad's comment on the whole thing.  He's a pretty smart guy...

We hold the temple ceremonies to be sacred because our God said so. Therefore, we deem them to be private, reserved only for those spiritually prepared to receive them, and to be shielded from the ridicule of the world, again, because God said so. We cannot expect outsiders to buy our claim to God’s involvement, but we can expect them to honor one of Society’s most revered norms, i.e. to have common respect for others' religious beliefs. Accordingly, we should be able to expect HBO to hold our ceremonies to be sacred and reserved, simply because we (the Church) said so. HBO implies acceptance of that norm and that concept when they say they
wanted to "depict [our] ceremony with the dignity and respect it is due."

Their claim is disingenuous. If dignity and respect for our ceremony was truly their objective,
then maybe they should have started by asking our opinion of their plan to depict OUR ceremony in any way at all. Wouldn’t respect include seeking out and honoring the wishes of those who own the religious belief? Also, knowing our belief that the ceremony’s dignity is based on its exclusivity, the moment they decide to reveal it to the world, they insult its dignity. They didn’t seek the Church’s opinion because they really didn’t want it. They knew they would not get our blessing on the matter. It would appear that the dignity and respect they claim to have taken “great pains” to achieve, were no real consideration at all. Either that, or they believe that respecting others’ private religious ceremonies requires only that you be “completely accurate” when you disclose them to the world, when you cast their pearls before swine.

How paradoxical, that they, with no authority, assume it on their mere presumption of “complete accuracy” in showing the ceremony in “the proper context and with respect." Since they produced this depiction without consultation from the real authority, i.e. the Church, who are they to claim complete accuracy or proper context? That would be like a job applicant claiming a right to the job simply on the basis of his mother’s high opinion of his qualifications.

It is difficult to believe that HBO cannot see the glaring discrepancies in their claims. Their
“ex-Mormon consultant” for instance, has certainly disqualified himself as a trustworthy authority by reneging on the covenant he made with God to never reveal these things. Who knows if his disgruntled opinion and recollection of the ceremony is accurate? Even if his recollection of tangible details was precise, he cannot claim qualification to address the spiritual aspect. Oh, you mean there’s a spiritual aspect? Also, HBO’s claim of “proper context,” is absurd. The real ceremony is authorized by God to be performed only in His holy temple, and only by proper priesthood authority for a specific eternal purpose. Depiction therefore, of that ceremony by non-members in a film studio, with the purpose of improving television ratings, is not proper context.

Amen, Dad.  

Just say no to Big Love, HBO, and Time Warner.

This video is also part of the LDS Church's response to the show.  It also made me feel better :)