![\"Undaunted\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2022\/02\/Blu-Ray-Cover-Art-Rework-scaled.jpg\")
<\/a>I\u2019m very pleased to announce here that the Interpreter Foundation has chosen to make its 2022 docudrama, Undaunted: Witnesses of the Book of Mormon<\/em>, available online at no charge. \u00a0Undaunted<\/em> was created to accompany the Foundation\u2019s 2021 dramatic theatrical film, Witnesses<\/em>. \u00a0We hope that you will take advantage of this offering and that you will call it to the attention of others who may also be interested. \u00a0Please help us to spread the word. \u00a0We want it to be seen! \u00a0That\u2019s why we made it!<\/p>\n Our timing for this release is not coincidental: During the month of February, the Come, Follow Me<\/em> curriculum of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints<\/a> will turn to the translation of the Book of Mormon and to the Three and Eight Witnesses to the gold plates. \u00a0We believe that both students and teachers of Come, Follow Me<\/em> will find value in this film, which features dramatic recreations of the experiences of the Book of Mormon witnesses as well as expert commentary from scholars.<\/p>\n You can access Undaunted<\/em> via this new Interpreter Foundation website: The Witnesses Initiative<\/a>. \u00a0I\u2019m grateful to the donors, as well as to the volunteer and professional workers, who have made this all (and much else) possible.<\/p>\n It\u2019s probably time for another illustration of human folly. \u00a0This one is drawn from my reading in a new book, by the Catholic New Testament scholar Brant Pitre, that is entitled Jesus and Divine Christology<\/em> (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2024):<\/p>\n As with the other epiphanic acts of Jesus, the transfiguration has a remarkable history of rationalistic exegesis that makes it necessary to begin by emphasizing what the gospel accounts do not<\/em> say. \u00a0For example, they do not say that Peter, James, and John fell asleep and (somehow collectively) \u201cdreamed that Moses and Elijah were present and that Jesus conversed with them\u201d until the \u201cillusion\u201d was dispelled by \u201cthe first confused moments after their awakening.\u201d \u00a0Nor do they say that the three disciples awoke and saw Jesus talking with \u201ctwo strangers\u201d who were \u201cilluminated by the beams of the rising sun,\u201d so that \u201ctheir drowsiness, and the clouds which in an autumnal sunrise float to and fro over those mountains,\u201d left them with \u201cthe vague undefined impression of having been in contact with apparitions from a higher sphere.\u201d \u00a0Finally, the Gospels certainly do not say anything about Jesus\u2019s face being \u201clit up\u201d when, \u201cin a flash of insight,\u201d he suddenly realized his death was going to be salvific. \u00a0(88, omitting footnote references)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Okay. \u00a0So you don\u2019t want to accept the gospel accounts of Christ\u2019s glorious transfiguration. \u00a0I get it. \u00a0And I can understand simply rejecting them as invented fictions. \u00a0But such attempts as those mentioned above, to preserve the story while explaining it away, strike me as quite simply ridiculous.<\/p>\n Earlier in the week, I shared some entertaining attempts, gathered by Professor Pitre, to rationalize the New Testament stories of Jesus walking on the water. \u00a0(See \u201cStrolling On The Ice Floes Of The Galilee?\u201d<\/a>) \u00a0They reminded me of a tale recounted by Fawn M. Brodie, No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith<\/i> [New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1945], 84:<\/p>\n It seems that, at one point in his life of deceptive yarn-spinning and self-glorification, Joseph Smith decided to demonstrate his prophetic status and power by walking on water. He planned the event very carefully: \u00a0Somehow almost completely unseen and unsuspected by any passersby, he built a wooden platform out into a local lake. \u00a0He constructed the platform just under the surface of the water, so that nobody could know that it was there. \u00a0Alas, though, for the crafty pseudo-prophet, one person had<\/em> seen him building the platform and had immediately grasped Joseph\u2019s fiendish plan. \u00a0Accordingly, after Joseph had finished his work and had gone home for the night, ready (as he imagined) for the phony miracle that he intended to perform the next day, the meddling cynic stealthily went out and removed several of the wooden planks that made up the secret platform. \u00a0The following day, Joseph emerged triumphantly before an eager and credulous crowd. \u00a0At first, the miracle seemed to be really happening, right before their eyes. \u00a0But then, suddenly, he fell through the hole in his wooden platform down into the lake. \u00a0Everybody but the embarrassed Joseph Smith was edified and highly amused.<\/p>\n The story about Joseph pretending to walk on water is acknowledged even by critics and enemies of the Restoration as bogus. It never happened. \u00a0Nothing like<\/em> it ever happened. \u00a0Still, Fawn Brodie included it in her reductionist biography of the Prophet.\u00a0 \u201cBaseless though this story may be,\u201d she wrote, \u201cit is none the less symbolic.\u201d<\/sup>\u00a0 But, inquiring minds want to know, of what<\/em>, exactly, is it \u201c<\/em>symbolic\u201c?<\/em> \u00a0It\u2019s just false. \u00a0It\u2019s not true. \u00a0So why include it? \u00a0Presumably because it fit the image of Joseph Smith that Mrs. Brodie was attempting to create in the minds of her readers, and indeed perhaps in her own mind. \u00a0There is no other adequate reason. \u00a0(For further background on the non-incident, see Stanley J. Thayne, \u201cWalking on Water: Nineteenth Century Prophets and a Legend of Religious Imposture,\u201d Journal of Mormon History<\/i> 36:2 [Spring 2010]: 160.)<\/p>\n Immediately after I posted my first links here to critical comments about the current Netflix hit miniseries, American Primeval<\/em>, The Usual Suspects mocked and faulted me for my supposed hatred and fear of anything about my faith that isn\u2019t sanitized and hagiographic propaganda. \u00a0But the negative responses to American Primeval<\/em> have been mounting up, and I\u2019m not actually the author of any<\/em> of them:<\/p>\n Barbara Jones Brown, Religion News Service: \u00a0\u201cWhat \u2018American Primeval\u2019 gets wrong about Mormon \u2014 and American \u2014 history: \u00a0The show\u2019s depiction of hood-wearing, sinister Mormons<\/a> slaughtering emigrants, US Army troops and Shoshone people all within a few days is a sensationalized fabrication intended to \u2018entertain.'\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n Barbara Jones Brown is the co-author, with Richard E. Turley, of Vengeance Is Mine: The Mountain Meadows Massacre and Its Aftermath<\/span><\/em> (Oxford University Press, 2023). \u00a0\u201cWhat does the popular new Netflix series, \u201cAmerican Primeval,\u201d get wrong about the Utah War? Just about everything.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Matt Grow, Deseret News<\/em>: \u00a0\u201cWhat the tired tropes of \u2018American Primeval\u2019 get wrong about Brigham Young, early Latter-day Saints: The Netflix miniseries is a false depiction that draws on negative stereotypes, writes the managing director of church history for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n Matt Grow (Ph.D., University of Notre Dame) is a trained academic historian.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Darren Parry, Deseret News<\/em>:\u00a0\u201c\u2018American Primeval\u2019: How this Native American historian reconciles hard history with the storytelling of Hollywood:\u00a0Historical fiction should not be a tool to justify modern biases or to create villains or heroes; it should challenge us to see beyond the stereotypes, he writes.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n The Shoshones play a central role in the plot of American Primeval<\/em>. \u00a0Darren Parry is the former Chairman of the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Scripture Central: \u201cLatter-day Saints Representation Done Wrong | Filmmakers Speak Out On American Primeval: A review with Latter-day Saint Filmmakers Barrett and Jessica Burgin about how Latter-day Saints (Mormons) are portrayed in the new Netflix drama American Primeval. We also discuss misrepresentation of Latter-day Saints in media and what we can expect looking forward.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n Unfortunately, though, American Primeval<\/em> is having an impact. (In the article to which I link above, Barbara Jones Brown cites some viewer reactions that are genuinely concerning and unfortunate. \u00a0I wouldn\u2019t be surprised if responses of this kind were to lead to violence, whether inside the United States or beyond.) \u00a0To provide some rough idea of what viewers of American Primeval<\/em>, and readers about it, are \u201clearning,\u201d I cite passages from representative recent articles about the miniseries:<\/p>\n ScreenRant<\/em>: \u00a0\u201cNetflix\u2019s New Western Series Becomes Global Success\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cNow, Netflix\u2019s new Western series, which chronicles the violent origins of the American frontier<\/strong>, has arrived and is already making waves. . . .<\/p>\n \u201cNetflix\u2019s new Western series follows a mother and son who flee from their past and form a found family while also confronting the harsh reality of freedom and cruelty in the American frontier, including the violent conflict between the Mormon religion and culture during the Utah War in 1857<\/strong>.<\/p>\n \u201cNow, shortly after its release on January 9, Netflix<\/a>\u2018s new Western series has become a global success. American Primeval<\/em> ranks second on Netflix\u2019s Global Top 10 shows<\/strong> for this week behind Missing You<\/em> with 10.4 million views and 52.4 million hours viewed. It finished above Jerry Springer: Fights, Camera, Action<\/em>, Raw: 2025<\/em> on January 6, Departure <\/em>season 1, Virgin River <\/em>season 6, Gabriel Iglesias: Legend of Fluffy<\/em>, Black Doves<\/em> season 1, Departure<\/em> season 2, and The Night Agent<\/em> season.<\/p>\n \u201cAmerican Primeval<\/em> is in the Top 10 in 68 countries around the world. . . .<\/p>\n \u201cAmerican Primeval<\/em> has resonated with audiences worldwide, likely because of its unflinching portrayal of history and human nature<\/strong>. . . .<\/p>\n \u201c[Director Peter] Berg, with his eye for historical accuracy, has helped elevate the series beyond typical Western fare. This meticulous care put into crafting the series has provided American Primeval<\/strong><\/em> with an authenticity that appeals to a wide audience, even in a market saturated with more mainstream shows.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n And this is the, umm, historical accuracy that viewers of American Primeval<\/em> are being given:<\/p>\n Klein Felt, The Direct<\/em>: \u00a0\u201cHere\u2019s What Mormons Think of American Primeval on Netflix (They\u2019re Not Happy): Some viewers are not happy with how their community is portrayed in the new Netflix series.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThe series\u2019 version of the real-life religious leader [Brigham Young] is portrayed as largely evil, helping perpetrate the devastating Mountain Meadows Massacre.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Klein Felt, The Direct<\/em>: \u00a0\u201cAmerican Primeval: Was Brigham Young Evil? Netflix Portrayal Vs. Real-Life Details:\u00a0Netflix\u2019s hit new mini-series sets itself in the real-world story of the fight for Utah and America\u2019s West.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cIn the series, Young (played by Kim Coates) is portrayed as a mainly evil presence, serving as the primary antagonist of the show\u2019s ongoing conflict. . . . While Young is depicted in the series as the mastermind behind this bloody affair, that is not necessarily the case in real life.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The Telegraph<\/em> (United Kingdom): \u201cAmerican Primeval and the bloody truth about the Mormon massacre of 1857:\u00a0It\u2019s one of the most harrowing scenes in Netflix\u2019s grim Western. But is its depiction of the Mountain Meadows atrocities accurate?\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/a>
(Wikimedia Commons public domain image)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/a>