Mormons Are Fed Up with HBO's "Big Love"
 
The Cleveland Leader - Cleveland, Ohio
Big Love cast

HBO's hit cable television drama, Big Love, has put the issue of polygamy out in the open and into the homes of many Americans. But the Mormon church has had just about enough with the series, especially after a recent episode portrayed one of the church's most secret ceremonies.

The show's creators - Mark Olsen and Will Scheffer - said on Wednesday that they had handled the controversial scene with the utmost sensitivity. The scene in question depicts what is known as an "endowment ceremony."

The endowment ceremony is a two-hour long ritual during which the church's history is recreated. Participants must be able to answer questions, and the ceremony typically takes place before marriage or a missionary assignment.

In a joint statement, Olsen and Scheffer said:
"In approaching the dramatization of the endowment ceremony, we knew we had a responsibility to be completely accurate and to show the ceremony in the proper context and with respect.

This approach is . . . certainly reflected in [series star] Jeanne Tripplehorn's beautiful and moving performance as she faces losing the church she loved so much."
Mormon officials are upset, and in a statement they said that the show's producers promised that the series would not be about mainstream Mormons who belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The Church said in the statement:
"Such things say much more about the insensitivities of writers, producers and TV executives than they say about Latter-day Saints."
HBO officials have said that they support Olsen and Scheffer, and issued a statement:
"Obviously, it was not our intention to do anything disrespectful to the church, but to those who may be offended, we offer our sincere apology.

It should also be noted that throughout the series' three-year run, the writer/producers have made abundantly clear the distinction between the LDS church and those extreme fringe groups who practice polygamy."
Yesterday there were reports of Mormons getting petitions organized against HBO, as well as urging members to drop AOL (which is owned by the same company - Time Warner).
 
ClevelandLeader.com
Originally published March 11, 2009
 
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