"Big Love" receiving no love from Church members

I am sure most readers already know about this; it is, after all, all over the internet by this point. 

LDS Temple secrets? 'Big Love' TV episode angers Mormons

TV show to air Sunday reportedly depicts faith's endowment ceremony

By Vince Horiuchi

The Salt Lake Tribune

Updated: 03/10/2009 01:33:48 PM MDT

BIG LOVE: Ginnifer Goodwin, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Bill Paxton, Chloe Sevigny.

"Big Love," HBO's television drama about a polygamous Utah family, will air an episode March 15 depicting a sacred and private LDS temple ceremony, prompting an official response from the church criticizing the network.

According to a TV Guide interview with series creators Mark V. Olsen and Will Scheffer published in this week's magazine, both said the episode will include the depiction of an endowment ceremony within a Mormon temple. Only LDS members with a temple recommend and in good standing may witness such ceremonies.

"We go into the endowment room and the celestial room, and we present what happens in those ceremonies," Olsen told TV Guide . "That's never been shown on television before."

In order to portray the ceremonies accurately, Olsen and Scheffer said they "researched it out the wazoo" and hired an "ex-Mormon consultant" for help in the scenes, including sets and costuming. HBO confirmed the episode's scenes Monday. "But it's not for shock value," Olsen said. "It's really a very important part of the story."

News of the episode hit the Internet last week, prompting talk of boycotts of the network and e-mail chains to church members to cancel their subscriptions to AOL, which along with Time Warner, owns the pay cable network.

Olsen and Scheffer were editing the season finale Monday and unavailable for comment. They are expected to release a statement about the controversy today.

In response to the upcoming episode, which has not been seen outside the network, the LDS Church issued a statement Monday criticizing depictions of the church generally in the news media and Hollywood, and specifically in "Big Love."

"Now comes another series of 'Big Love,' and despite earlier assurances from HBO, it once again blurs the distinctions between The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the show's fictional non-Mormon characters and their practices. Such things say much more about the insensitivities of writers, producers and TV executives than they say about Latter-day Saints."

The series stars Bill Paxton ("Titanic") as Bill Henrickson, the owner of a chain of hardware stores, who is married to three wives, played by Jeanne Tripplehorn, Chloe Sevigny and Ginnifer Goodwin.

For three seasons, the show has depicted the trials of running such a complicated household, including various depictions of mainstream Mormon characters and practices.

"Before the first season of the HBO series 'Big Love' aired more than two years ago, the show's creators and HBO executives assured the Church that the series wouldn't be about Mormons," the LDS statement read. "However, Internet references to 'Big Love' indicate that more and more Mormon themes are now being woven into the show and that the characters are often unsympathetic figures who come across as narrow and self-righteous."

The creators of this show say they are not doing this for shock value-that it is an intricate part of the plot; while it may be a crucial plot point, there are always ways around showing sacred ceremonies. These things do not need to be shown in order to effective. In fact, any film or book lover can testify that sometimes the elements that are not shown have the greatest impact.

So, what can we do about this? Sadly, the answer is nothing. While letters to the station, and even measures such as canceling all affiliated services, will help our voices to be heard, they will ultimately not stop this from happening. Whether it is intended for shock value or not, that is the effect these scenes will get. Viewers (and non-regular viewers alike) are curious about what happens in our temples; they want to know what goes on in our sacred buildings. This alone is likely to drive viewers to the show. Regardless of the numbers of complaints HBO gets, it is a TV station that is trying to be successful. More viewers is better for business. When it comes to the cut and dry, the "shock value" of these scenes equals more money for HBO and "Big Love". More money means they will not be pulling this episode for all the uproar the Church can muster. 

We need to stand up for what we believe in, but at the same time, we need to be respectful of others. What is happening here cuts us deep; it exposes the things we hold most sacred and shows them to the world-a world that mocks, a world that ridicules, a world that soils holy things. Of course this hurts. Of course one may get the urge to lash out at the station and show for the things that are happening. We can not do this. 

What we need to remember here is this: with few exceptions, the people who are doing this do not know better. Yes, they have been told of the sacred nature of the things they are taking lightly; they have been informed that we wish for them not to show such ordinances, but at the core, they do not know better. Until one has a testimony of God's work, until one really knows of the sacredness of these ordinances, we cannot judge them for what they are doing. We need to show them love and tolerance.

But remember: while we need to show tolerance for people, we do not need to tolerate their actions. We need to turn away from this show and make it clear to those who will inevitably ask after viewing that these ordinances are sacred and we will not share what goes on with those unprepared. 

* *Rae* *