Now that Whitney is dealing with contemporary issues, the program has a very personal feel to it. We’re getting the intimate stories, not just historical commentary.

Act I: The Great Accommodation

The “official” renunciation of polygamy and the seating of Senator Reed Smoot begin the segment, and we move rapidly to the face of modern Mormonism, symbolized by the elegant David O. McKay in his white suit. We are reminded of Ezra Taft Benson as the Secretary of Agriculture under President Eisenhower and of the huge transformation of Mormonism in the public eye from the day when U.S. presidents condemned it at their inaugurations, to the day the MoTab sang the Battle Hymn of the Republic at Nixon’s inauguration. We hit the race issue—for a total of six minutes. (Yes, I timed it.) And the race issue covers Africa and the U.S., with some moving scenes in Ghana. The priesthood revelation of 1978 is contextualized within the pressure of social change, though President Hinckley (and Greg Prince) speak of that event in reverential terms—as a “day of Pentecost.”

We move on to the service of Mormon missionaries in the aftermath of Katrina, and then we are prepared for…

Act II: The Mission

Beautiful scenes of missionaries all over the world, and also one ex-Mormon’s description of his life-threatening two years in Argentina and his subsequent disillusionment with the Church. “Despite whatever good it does,” he says, “if it’s invented, it’s not worth dying for.” David Pace (in his only appearance) talks about the family pressure to serve a mission, but the images of missionaries are truly beautiful and even redemptive.

Act III: Dissenters and Exiles

Starting with Fawn Brodie and moving to Juanita Brooks and finally to the “September 6″, this is a troubling and heart-wrenching chapter. Margaret Toscano’s description of the disciplinary council in which she was excommunicated is hard to watch. She talks about the High Council members trying to shake her hand after excommunicating her, and says, “Niceness covered over the violence, and excommunication is an act of violence.” Even more painful is her report of her brother refusing to allow her and her sister (Janice Allred, who was also excommunicated) to dress the body of their deceased sister in her temple clothes.

Act IV: The Family

I was so glad that Whitney included the Tillerman-Dick family (the one I referred to in an earlier post). The producers captured the ideal Mormon family as that family learns that their twenty-two-year old daughter has a terminal illness. They have her make a recording of songs, preserving her voice. Beautiful cinematography as the father stands behind the studio window, slightly distorted, watching his daughter sing.

In this section, women’s rights and gay issues are addressed, with Trevor Southey giving a moving account of trying to build paradise and then realizing that he has built a stage for a play he’s no longer a part of. He talks about trying to live a heterosexual life, and of the agonizing loss of his family. Yet he still claims to love the Mormon Church, and apparently wishes it loved him, too. “Embracing the odd duck is the measure of true religion,” he says.

Act V: The Temple

Now we get Baptism for the Dead fully explained, some discussion of temple ritual (including mention of the now excised penalties), and a look at the vastness of Mormon genealogy. One of the most moving parts in this segment is an interview with a Jewish man who tells how shocked he was to learn that his people—particularly Holocaust victims—were being baptized post mortem (by proxy) into the LDS Church. Elder Marlin Jensen, always a calm and genuine voice, explains that the Church no longer allows proxy baptism of Holocaust victims, unless a Mormon convert is directly related to one and requests it.

Conclusion

The Mormons Part II is better than Part I. I felt that I was seeing Helen Whitney at her best tonight. Of course, I was looking for what the production would say about race issues. The answer is NOT MUCH. But it has opened the door for further conversation.

I would not hesitate to show the whole production to investigators. Helen Whitney has done us a great service in uncovering some the skeletons in our closets (we all knew they were there anyway) and then letting us talk about them openly. Despite whatever her original intents were, she has become part of the missionary force.