I just had the great opportunity to see Meet the Mormons with several LDS bloggers, hosted by the Public Affairs department of the LDS Church. Some of the actors were there, so we got to hear a little more of their stories.
Now, let’s talk about being real.

This movie is great!

 

Do you see real Mormons with real lives?      Yes

 

Do you see imperfect lives dealing with life the best way they can?       Yes

 

Do you see Mormons being normal, silly, and happy?  Yes

 

Do you see good lives being lived without being “in-your-face” Mormon? Yes

 

In the movie, we are introduced to six average people, and their families, who live all over the world. We view some of the things they deal with, some of their joys, what they do in Church (the scene in the Primary room is one of the best in the whole movie!), and how they met the Church in the first place. All the stories are interesting, different, culturally diverse, and even surprising—All in a warm and wonderful way. I was going to share each person here, but I don’t want to spoil it for you. But enjoy this trailer. It’s a movie for everyone and about everyone.

Mormons are often accused of being “too” happy, or just plain weird. While this film dispels a lot of that, the stigma will take a lot of work to get rid of completely. But frankly, it’s refreshing to see people happy. In fact, if anything, this movie offers hope. While living life, with its many ups-and-downs, it’s still worth living a good life and it’s still possible to live a good life. That message is loud and clear and I think many people will respond and hopefully relate to that. Hope is so important to us.

 

Are women viewed in this movie and do they have a “real” voice? I thought so. Other bloggers wished there were more women spotlighted. My personal feeling was while focusing on one of the six, it would have been okay to share some of that spotlight more with the spouse. For example, one story is about the coach of the Navy Academy football team, in Annapolis, Maryland. We saw a Polynesian family still living their culture on the Eastern Seaboard of the United States. We heard from his wife and how she is a bigger football fan than her husband is. I liked that about her and wanted to get to know her a little more. We also saw a bishop’s wife coping with her children on a Sunday morning. Boy, do I relate to that! The bishop’s wife often gets overlooked when it comes to all those sacrifices.

 

Jenna, who opens the movie with some candid interviews from random people on the street, is a single LDS woman who lives in New York City. It would have been great to get to know her a little more as well. I think it’s interesting that she used to work on “The Daily Show”, with Jon Stewart. Someone in the room just happened to share that with us. That just reminds me that David Letterman used to like hiring BYU interns. Mormons have been around for a long time and you know what? We’re everywhere! Isn’t that wonderful! And we’re not weird. And we don’t look funny. And we’re not always preaching and trying to baptize everyone in sight.

 

I really hope you’ll go out of your way to see this movie. It wasn’t intended to go out to the public movie theaters, even after it was completed. It was originally going to be shown in the Legacy Theater in Salt Lake City and in various Visitors Centers. But then they captured this idea of taking it to the world and I’m so glad they decided to do this.

 

It makes me proud to be a Mormon. It makes me love these six people, and their families. It makes me happy to see the heritage and culture that exists within the Church, but welcomes and accepts all other heritages and cultures throughout the world. As one person said, “God is the author of diversity.” Indeed, He is, and He loves each one of us, because we are His children. Another person in the movie said, “We are different but we focus on what makes us one.” This is another truth that must be spoken.

 

This movie is being seen in 240 theaters throughout the nation. Contact a theater near you, so we can give more people the opportunity to see this great view of the Mormon lifestyle. And won’t everyone be surprised that this lifestyle is so much like his or her own.