So inbetween sessions, they are now showing a PR blip about how people are joining the cult around the world. Isn't it glorious and inspiring?

The beginning starts off with Russia, painting it as a great new place for converts. This is quite misleading, as there aren't really lots of Russian members, to my knowledge.

I think there are a lot of sad desperate people in Russia (because even though there is financial freedom, to a certain extent, the people are still heavily controlled by the government of an ex-Stasi man, and very minimal human rights, esp. in the area of political freedoms, and the high cost of living is very difficult. On top of those two problems, people outside the big cities are living in a terribly poor environment where infrastructure and other problems are rampant) On top of this, there is rampant bribery and corruption everywhere to a much greater extent than in the West.

Part of the PR footage says how great it is for the converts to have found Mormonism, with one of the converts claiming the Russian government is taking kindly to Mormonism--yet the same video clip admits there is no Temple in Russia. they have to go to Ukraine. Right there, it tells me that the situation btwn government and the Mormon church is still not very positive.

Isn't two CULTures are similar?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxeyXDwfwcY

Yes...there has been a wave of fake advertisements that show "cool" or "extraordinary people" and their lives/interests (like there is time for anything other than service work in the morg (skateboarding? No. Surfing..I don't think so) and they end these ads with the statement: and I am a mormon. Yuk.

One of the worst of these was a story the mother of 4 special needs children. The story was touching (special olympics) etc....right up until the end statement. It kinda ruined the whole feeling for me.