Just saw this on one of my former ward member's FB page regarding the play "Book of Mormon" that just appeared in our hometown:

"As thousands of people in [hometown] this week go see the play 'The Book of Mormon,' I have been thinking back to when I served in XXX from 1992 to 1994. Yes, on the picture below that really is me. I really was that ridiculously good looking.

The show may be entertaining, but it is pure fiction."

Really? The SHOW is pure fiction?

But as a faithful TBM, he is an expert on 'pure fiction'. TSCC taught him well.

And based on pure fiction.

Ha! Good one, don! :) -edz

And this former doorbell ringer saw the the show...when?

Yeah, the mishies get their assignments at the MTC, the Three & Eight Witnesses aren't mentiuoned, and the MP oddly wears a khaki suit to the 'JS F*** Frog' presentation, but everything else is pretty much on the money....

I want to see that play pretty bad the clips I have seen are pretty funny and actually made me do more research they knew more than I did that's how naive I was back then. I had no idea Mormons actually believed they would be ruling their own planets now I get why the leaders had a certain attitude that I absolutely hated like they were the king of the church building and they thought I was crazy for defecting God damn I can't get anybody in the sky to heal my wounds and they think they can rule a billion people nope not happenin God does not have a good resume in my experience just sayin should not be a coveted position it's actually a scary thought that a decently large group have these strong and crazy beliefs and right in front of my face the whole time almost like a fairy tale final fantasy game combined with a dragonball z film it's so unreal that you have to admit to a counselor that you were deceived for most of your life. And if you have been around a lot of Mormons in life imagine them all becoming gods now are you scared I want to resign from this universe there has to be a resistance against that madness.

Some bits of the play are in fact pure fiction, and not an accurate depiction of Mormon practice. For example, missionary companionships are not established in the MTC and and persist with the same companion through the entire mission.

The scene where the mission presidency show up has them peppering their speech with "praise the Lord". Mormons, and especially Mormon leaders simply don't talk like that.

But do Mormons think they will get their own planet, and Jesus is coming to Missouri? (Song "I believe"). You betcha. So it's not pure fiction. The authors took some liberties, and it's a musical comedy, so some of it is way over the top. But they totally nail the essence of much of Mormon culture. A lot of outsiders don't really 'get' Mormonism. The authors get it better than a lot of TBMs do! They kind of remind me of Tina Fey doing Sarah Palin. The caricature was better than the original.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/02/2017 05:38AM by Brother Of Jerry.

. . . it would be far more accurate: "The Book of Mormon is Pure Fiction.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/02/2017 05:33AM by steve benson.

Ironic, ain't it?

If Parker and Stone took Liberties when they were writing the musical, they know it. They are intimately familiar with Mormonism, having commented about it many times on South Park, and having made the movie 'Orgazmo', about a returned missionary who becomes a pornstar who uses a device that induces orgasms in people.

The scuttlebug that I've heard is that Parker and Stone or one of the two of them are excommunicated, lapsed, resigned, or inactive Mormons. Or they come from Mormon families, or in some way had prolonged exposure to the Mormon faith. The level of detail that the present in the play and and some of the scenes in the movie Orgazmo would lead me to believe that they are pretty familiar with the Mormon religion, so any delineation from correct portrayals of Mormon culture or even religion was probably deliberate and intended for comedic or dramatic effect in the context of the play. Someone correct me if I'm wrong. I'm not saying that you need to be a former Mormon in order to comment about Mormonism in the level of detail that Parker and Stone have, but I've just heard that they are former Mormons, in some respect.

From their body of works, I certainly get the impression that they have a bone to pick with Mormonism, based on jabs taken at the religion and outright mockery, like the south park episode that describes the history of Joseph Smith getting the plates, etc. I am sure it is well justified, their issues, as are everyone's, as far as I'm concerned, with Mormonism.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/02/2017 09:08AM by midwestanon.

It's Faction not Fiction.The funniest parts are the most true or plausible. I've seen things,

Neither one of the "Book of Mormon" play authors are or were Mormon. They grew up around a lot of Mormons (Colorado I think), asked lots of questions and figured out at an early age that it was all bunk.

There are lots of interviews on Youtube that go through the thought processes about Southpark and the play. Check them out for yourselves.

Yes.

It does not have fact as such, but like many fictional pieces there can be a lot of truth to find in the BOM musical. I never thought it was a fact based documentary, but that was never the point--it's a musical for Kolob's sake!

The play is 1/3 how Mormons themselves know their culture is, 1/3 how others see them, and 1/3 parody. All of it has large doses of truth delivered with humor.