I couldn't think of a good title for this blog because I am not sure where it will go (although I am planning on it being short, we shall see). Did anyone see the documentary tonight? If you didn't I think you can watch it on PBS.org--2 hours long, though, so we'll see. It was interesting, this first part. I am excited to see the second part tommorow as they explore "what the church is today". I think the reaction to the documentary will be in the eye of the viewer. For example, I pulled these two comments off of the PBS.org Web site:

1. This program literally made me sick to my stomach. It was such a biased view of what the church is like. They didn't discuss half of the hardships that the early members endured and spent most of the time discussing things that didn't really pertain to what the church is about. I hope that tomorrow night gives a better view of who we are and what we believe. But so far, with the anti-mormon spin that has been placed on this documentary, I doubt that will be the case.
Cassilyn RhodesOshkosh, Wisconsin

2. This is far too partial to the Mormons, at best a very misguided group. I would actually call them not only Christian heretics (something that can be put up with), but socially dangerous as a group.I'm really terribly disapointed in PBS for allowing such a program, not only sympathetic, but unbalanced, to air.
Terre Haute, IN

Person 1--obviously a faithful member, and person 2 probably a former faithful member of the church, but who knows.

In order to comply with my early statement that this will be short (mostly to prove to Jenny since she passed behind me and said, 'Yeah right' as I wrote it) I will end with this, one of Joseph's statements from the Wentworth letter:

"The Standard of Truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame," (people may make biased documentaries littered with testimony of the apostates) "but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done."

Any publicity for the church will end up being good publicity I think. Nothing will stop the work, right? So although I might have a heated review tommorow, I am calm and optimistic about it.

Go Mormons!