Last Saturday, I had the opportunity to see the broadway musical, "The Book of Mormon". I wasn't planning to write a review, but since I had several Facebook comments wondering why a Mormon, like myself, who professes to have a strong testimony and tries to be a good member of the church, would spend any amount of money to see something that makes fun of our religion and things that we hold sacred. Well, I was a little surprised by the response and so felt that I had a bit of responsibility to give an honest and, above all, objective review.
My first instinct was to defend my decision to see it, so I wanted to find all the good in the play that I could, thus justifying my viewing what I knew would be an 'R' rated play. My next instinct was to defend my church and religion against the ridicule that no longer seems to come to any other race or religion on earth. I'm wondering now why this would not be my first instinct, but maybe that's because I'm weaker and more selfish than I think. But, I also don't believe my church needs defending. It is strong enough and stable enough on its own. So the best way to balance these two is to be as objective as I possibly can be - as I try to be in all of my writings and opinions.
To begin with, let me say that this production was neither all bad nor all good when it comes to its representation of the church or in its offensive material, as most Mormons would probably think. I have to say ”most Mormons” because there are some who did not find this play offensive and I don't get offended easily, so I need to try to look at it from the perspective of what I THINK most Mormons would.
Let's first start with basic offensive material. There was definitely plenty of that. If you are put off by vulgarity, this is not your play. I, unfortunately, have been desensitized over the years to a lot of crude humor, so I do not get sickened by it like others might, though I do cringe. Hopefully, one day I will be in a different place in my life or have the stronger will to avoid such inappropriateness. So sensitive Mormons or others, alike - do not bring children and do not see this play. It is technically not appropriate for any age. But, would you expect anything else from the makers of South Park?
Now, on to how it treats the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints... it is a mixed bag and takes on several aspects of the church, both positively and negatively. On the positive side, the play treats missionaries with a lot of respect and keeps the integrity of the Mormon characters mostly intact, even showing them wearing "garments", though anyone who's ever actually seen garments could tell they weren't real. All of the missionaries are basically good people and good Mormons, trying their hardest to do their best. My favorite example of this is Elder Cunningham, the nerdy doofus who wants so much to fit in and do the right thing but just can't get it right. He is so earnest that he tells his companion that he's a habitual liar (or very imaginative) and later reveals that weakness when he has to teach the African villagers on his own. He wants so much to convert them that the lies he tells about Joseph Smith don't seem so bad. He is adorable in his innocent mistake. But even his companion, Elder Price, who is vexed with a superiority complex and expectations that God will answer his prayer and send him to Orlando, is only trying to do his very best at being a missionary. It's only when he seems to be failing, in his eyes, that he succumbs to his weaknesses, abandoning his mission and leaving Elder Cunningham on his own. In the song, "I Believe", Elder Price shows his true testimony. Even though the lyrics betray the biases of the writers, his love of the gospel is pure and true.
I must trust that my Lord is mightier
And always has my back.
Now I must be completely devout
I can't have even one shred of doubt...
I Believe; that the Lord, God, created the universe
I Believe; that He sent His only Son to die for my sins
And I Believe; that ancient Jews built boats and sailed to America
I am a Mormon
And a Mormon just believes
(I Believe Lyrics)
Although I haven't been on a mission myself, nor have I been really close to anyone who has gone on a mission so that I have heard about the details of missionary life, I think that the play gave a fairly honest portrayal of missionary life, despite some details being wholly inaccurate. For example, missionaries do not get their companions in the Missionary Training Center (MTC) or stay with them for the duration of the mission as the play implies. They also find out well in advance of going to the MTC where they will serve their mission. But, without those changes, we couldn't have the great scene when Elder Price and Elder Cunningham are paired up, much to the chagrin of Elder Price. Nor could we see their completely different reactions to their assignment in Africa. These scenes were charming. Also, mission presidents do not get furious with a group of missionaries, dissolve an area and then send them all home, as was portrayed in the second act.
But, from what I do know, missionaries struggle with disappointment and discouragement and sometimes want to give up and go home or ask for a transfer. They are sometimes matched with a companion that they don't get along with or don't understand. They also often have to hide their disappointments and put on a brave, happy face, so that they can get the work done of sharing their message. To this point, there was another song that was interesting. And, if it had made this point more accurately, I would have liked it better. But, instead of illustrating missionaries putting aside their frustrations temporarily, the song "Turn it Off" assumed that all Mormons bury negative feelings and sinful desires all the time. Here are a few of its lyrics:
When I was in fifth grade, I had a friend Steve Blade,
He and I were close as two friend could be
One thing led to another, and soon I would discover,
I was having really strange feelings for Steve
I thought about us, on a deserted Island
We'd swim naked in the sea, and then he'd try and...
WOAH! Turn it off, like a light switch,
there its gone! (Good for you!)
My hetero side just won!
I'm all better now,
Boys should be with girls that's heavenly fathers plan
So if you ever feel you rather be with a man,
Turn it off.
(Turn it off Lyrics)
For the record, for those of you who are not Mormon - this is NOT a Mormon trick. In my experience, we are not taught to bury our feelings, though there are times when this happens and that is a shame. To the play's great credit, though there is a small part after this song where Elder Price tells the gay missionary that it's ok to be gay as long as he doesn't act on it. I applaud the writers for adding this as it is still something the church is grappling with in the public eye and getting better at, I might add. It would have been an easy target after the church's stance against gay marriage legislation, but the writers took the high road, here.
I also loved the scene with Elder Cunningham having to gird his loins so that he could continue on his mission without his companion. The closing scene of the first act includes the song "Man Up", a genuine portrayal of a missionary having to find his courage in the face of hardship. What missionary hasn't had to "Man Up". Here are some of its lyrics:
What did Jesus do when they sentenced him to die?
Did he try to run away? Did he just break down and cry?
No, Jesus dug down deep, knowing what he had to do
When faced with his own death, Jesus knew that he had to
Man up, he had to man up
So he crawled up on that cross, and he stuck it out
And he manned up, Christ, he manned up
And taught us all what real manning up is about
Man Up Lyrics
Overall, the Mormon missionaries are all honest, eager to share the gospel and believe that prayers are answered and that they are doing God's work. These are all admirable things that I think the writers get right. But, it is obvious that there are things they don't fully understand and thus they make light of them or mock them outright.
One of the things Mormons tend to believe fully is that prayers are answered. They may not be answered in the way we want, but they are answered in the way that is best for us. The writers don't really get this concept, so when Elder Price was sent to a remote village in Uganda, instead of Orlando, for which he has prayed since he went there as a child and knew it was just like heaven, we are left to wonder if God really does answer prayers. For those of any faith that understand this concept, this isn't a major faux pas, but it does contribute to the overall feeling of disregard to our beliefs. It is a bit of a zing to religion, in general, not just Mormonism.
Then there's the spooky hell dream. Apparently, according to the writers, whenever Mormons do something wrong, their guilt gives them spooky hell dreams. So of course when Elder Price takes off shortly after arriving in Uganda, his dream of waking up in Orlando becomes a spooky hell dream, complete with a huge red, winged Satan, demons committing vulgar acts with people like Hitler and Jeffrey Dahmer, dancing Starbucks cups and really fun music. I loved the portrayal of Satan, especially when he pulled out the electric guitar and started jamming. But, it has to be said that Mormons, as a rule, do not have spooky hell dreams. We don't even view hell in this way. For us, hell is a separation from God, Christ and our family and a stopping of our eternal progress. However, I understand that the writers needed a really big crazy number for the second act, and who doesn't like watching red-sequined demons dancing around doing things I won't mention here? Ok, most Mormons don't... details.
Since I chose to focus on how this play treats the religion of Mormonism, I haven't really talked about its portrayal of Uganda and the villagers. Suffice it to say that they are not portrayed much better. They are caricatures of what we might think uneducated, simple people might be like in an area dominated by warlords with extremely crude names and infused with the AIDS epidemic and genital mutilation. It's an extremely sad situation that is again made light of. But, remember, these are the creators of South Park, they are not going to put a serious spin on anything. And none of the problems are solved, except of course that the evil warlord is converted to the church in the end. But, of course, simply the mention of these things does create some awareness or a reminder of these problems that do exist. Now if they would actually highlight some of the things the church actually does in Africa, that would be nice.
Probably the biggest off-putting theme in the play, and the one that is the least surprising, is the all-out mocking of the church's history and the accounts of Joseph Smith and how the church was restored. First, vignettes throughout the play portray scenes from our history: Moroni burying the history of his people, carved on golden plates, in ancient America, in a way that made it seem weird and as if it were somehow impossible; Joseph Smith seeing the Angel Moroni and digging up the plates "from his backyard", which isn't true or complete and thus ignoring the fact that God led his family to that area of the country specifically, so he'd be near where the plates were buried, and showing Smith having been shot asking why God never allowed him to show the plates to anyone, making it nearly impossible to believe without faith. His dying words are something along the lines of maybe that's how God wanted it, but he says it in a mocking tone. This last bit ignores the fact that there were indeed 11 other people who saw the plates and testified of their existence throughout their lives. I am sure that the writers intended these misrepresentations to add to the humor of the play and while none are too damaging, they certainly perpetuate the myths among society about our history. So I did not appreciate any of these vignettes.
These scenes make our historical stories seem ridiculous, which was their intention. They continued this theme in the main plot of the play, as well. When Elder Cunningham is left alone to fend for himself with the villagers, not having actually read the Book of Mormon before, he makes up stories from it and church history to tell the villagers. These stories answer some of the villagers' problems with AIDS, genital mutilation and evil warlords and help them have hope (and entertainment). But, of course, none of them are true and they are all outlandish and vulgar. In the end (spoiler alert), after the missionary president dissolves their area and releases them all from their mission, they continue teaching these same stories to others, without correction. The play ends as it begins with "missionaries" knocking on doors and greeting people, but now, instead of sharing the Book of Mormon, they share the Book of Arnold (Elder Cunningham), and all of its new stories, which brings happiness to everyone. So the *moral* of the story is that it doesn't matter how ridiculous the teachings are, as long as they make people happy.
On the surface, this seems innocuous enough but it perpetuates the idea that Mormon history and the true accounts within it are ridiculous. Now I get that this is how a lot of non-Mormon society sees us; good-natured dupes who believe in crazy things that couldn't possibly have happened, so I'm not too offended by the whole thing. But again, I'm not offended easily, so I'm not a good barometer. But, if you are sensitive to these kinds of themes, then this play is not for you. And, it speaks to religion in general as a bunch of stories that maybe people made up to make everyone feel better- opiate of the masses, right? Maybe Mormonism was just the safest religion to pick on because people in any other one would have been in an uproar over it - or worse, attacked an embassy.
As a side note, my question to everyone who thinks this about Mormons is why are our stories any more ridiculous than Noah's Arc, Christ rising from the tomb or even the Big Bang? None of these have any proof either and are just as unbelievable as angels and golden plates - maybe more-so. Yet people believe them, and if they don't believe them, they at least don't mock them. Maybe it's because it all started with a 14-year-old boy and that still doesn't sit well with people. Or perhaps the other stories are so ingrained in our culture that they aren't strange enough. Oh well, I can't explain everything.
But, I can sum this review up by saying, this play was very entertaining and tried to balance the offensive material with complimentary matter. Mormons, see it at your own risk but I totally respect anyone who would refuse. One reason I wanted to see it, besides extreme curiosity, was so that I could be educated enough to give an opinion that was based on experience rather than hearsay. Hopefully, my review has helped some of you justify your decision to see it or not see it. But, mostly, I hope those who are not members of the church are more curious about the church because of the Book of Mormon musical and maybe some of the things I've said. I believe that anything that gets people talking about the church is a good thing because eventually they will start asking real Mormons questions, so they can get the truth - not just what a couple of writers say in hopes of getting some laughs.
