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<\/a>An important part of the Interpreter Foundation\u2019s effort to support the early portion of this year\u2019s Come, Follow Me<\/em> curriculum is our calling renewed attention to the short-video features that we created in connection with the Witnesses film project. \u00a0Here is today\u2019s offering:<\/p>\n Episode 9: Is the Spaulding Argument Valid?<\/a><\/p>\n Witnesses of the Book of Mormon\u2014Insights: Through the years, much has been made of the argument that a man by the name of Solomon Spaulding (or Spalding) wrote a manuscript that was used by Joseph Smith as his source for the Book of Mormon. Is there any validity to these claims? This is Episode 9 of a series compiled from the many interviews conducted during the course of the Witnesses film project. . . . \u00a0These additional resources are hosted by Camrey Bagley Fox, who played Emma Smith in Witnesses<\/em>, as she introduces and visits with a variety of experts. These individuals answer questions or address accusations against the witnesses, also helping viewers understand the context of the times in which the witnesses lived. This week we feature Gerrit Dirkmaat, Associate Professor of Church History and Doctrine at Brigham Young University. For more information, go to <\/span>https:\/\/witnessesofthebookofmormon.org\/<\/a><\/span>. Learn about the documentary movie Undaunted\u2014Witnesses of the Book of Mormon<\/em> at <\/span>https:\/\/witnessesundaunted.com\/<\/a><\/span>.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Another important part of our effort is that, as I announced here yesterday, we have now made the docudrama Undaunted<\/em> available for streaming at no charge: \u00a0See the entry for it at The Witnesses Initiative<\/a>.<\/p>\n In other movie news, I continue to accumulate interesting specimen from media coverage of the current Netflix hit miniseries American Primeval<\/em>.<\/p>\n Here is a critical response, roughly nine minutes in length, from a believing Latter-day Saint: \u00a0A Thoughtful Faith: \u201cA Bigoted Fantasy: Why American Primeval IS NOT History.\u201d<\/a>\u00a0 (You have to admit that the woman who shows up at approximately 1:08 seems to be a very careful, meticulous, and discerning scholar of history.)<\/p>\n A quibble: \u00a0As the speaker himself indicates in a postscript, what he says about the relative roles of Indians and Latter-day Saints in the podcast is not quite accurate. \u00a0He was relying upon the late Leonard Arrington, a preeminent Latter-day Saint historian and (among other things) a biographer of Brigham Young. \u00a0But we know more about the tragedy at Mountain Meadows now than we did when Professor Arrington wrote his biography.<\/p>\n As I\u2019ve already observed here, the best treatments of the Mountain Meadows Massacre now in print are<\/p>\n But it\u2019s time to go from serious history to, well, whatever it is that Hollywood and its devotees are serving up: \u00a0The following two quotations come from a site called The Manual<\/em> (\u201cFrom Deadwood to Yellowstone: 8 movies and shows like American Primeval to binge next:\u00a0These movies and shows will quench your thirst for more of the Wild West\u201d<\/a>). \u00a0The first of them is about American Primeval<\/em> itself. \u00a0The second refers to the earlier Hulu hit miniseries Under the Banner of Heaven<\/em>:<\/p>\n \u201cAmerican Primeval<\/em> is the latest big Netflix series<\/a> and it gives great insights into the ways the Mormon religion gained footing in Utah during the Mormon War throughout 1857 and 1858.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Conventional historians have imagined that \u201cthe Mormon religion\u201d had \u201cgained footing in Utah\u201d commencing with the arrival of the first pioneer company in the Valley of the Great Salt Lake during the summer of 1847 and with the subsequent founding, to the north and to the south, of cities and towns such as Salt Lake City (1847), Bountiful (1847), Ogden (1848), West Jordan (1848), Kaysville (1849), Provo (1849), Manti (1849), Tooele (1849), Parowan (1851), Brigham City (1851), Nephi (1851), Fillmore (1851), Cedar City (1851), Beaver (1856), Wellsville (1856), and Washington (1856). \u00a0The Manual apparently thinks that \u201cthe Mormon religion gained footing in Utah\u201d via military conquests in \u201cthe Mormon War throughout 1857 and 1858.\u201d \u00a0A subtle difference, perhaps, but undoubtedly very helpful for outsiders trying to understand the faith of their Latter-day Saint neighbors.<\/p>\n \u201cUnder the Banner of Heaven<\/em> is set in Utah just like American Primeval. It examines<\/em> the influence of the Mormon religion on a pair of murderers who take out a mother and her daughter in the name of the Church. While not a traditional Western, this miniseries is a thorough interpretation of what the people who go to the LDS Church<\/a> are capable of when they use religion for evil instead of good.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Hmmmm. \u00a0Did the Lafferty brothers \u201cgo to the LDS Church\u201d? \u00a0Were Ron and Dan Lafferty members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints<\/a> in good standing? \u00a0Are my Latter-day Saint neighbors likely to murder me any time soon? \u00a0Inquiring minds want to know!<\/p>\n This presentation might help concerned citizens find answers to questions that trouble them about the potentially lethal presence of Latter-day Saints in their communities: \u00a0\u201cWas the Early Mormon Church<\/a> Really a Violent Faith? | American Primeval\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n Finally, in closing, I offer a couple of links that might shed light on the direction that leaders of the Church are providing for Brigham Young University. \u00a0Some critics have sought to portray the University as entering a dark and oppressive age of theocratic thought control. \u00a0I, on the other hand, am happy and enthusiastic about the very intentional way in which Church and University leadership are acting. \u00a0Of course, much depends upon the manner in which principles are implemented. \u00a0I hope that application will be intelligent, charitable, and kind, but also that mercy will not rob justice. \u00a0I strongly support the principles:<\/p>\n<\/a>\n
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(A photo by Mark A. Philbrick of BYU; Wikimedia Commons public domain image)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n