"Trottel Gottes" - nennt die Süddeutsche Zeitung die Mormonen"

“Gottes Trottel”

Brillant in der zustimmenden Bewertung und seiner Würdigung des Musicals “The Book of Mormon”, aber partiell rüpelhaft in der Wortwahl, verhöhnt der Autor Jörg Häntzschel in der Süddeutschen Zeitung, Leute die er nicht kennt und eine Religion die wegweisende Toleranz praktiziert. Er tut das mit der reißerischen Überschrift seines Artikels und den Worten “die Mormonen (seien Anhänger einer) Märchenreligion”

Einige der “Trottel Gottes” werden nun in meinem Stück auftreten, lebensechte, zum anfassen überprüfbare, Autoritäten in der Welt der Wissenschaft, der Politik, der Gesellschaft, bekennende Mormonen, die kühl mit der Schulter zucken, wenn sie ähnlich arrogantes Zeug hören.

Und eben deshalb verschaffe ich mir, so gut mir das möglich ist ein Gegenwort.

Wer ist Herr Häntzschel, dass er sich Abfälligkeiten herausnimmt, als wäre er ein Straßenlümmel?

Ich werde ein paar Zeugen contra Überheblichkeit herbeibitten, so wie gewisse Künstler der Unterhaltungsszene, die von ihnen erzeugten, halbseidenen auf die große Bühne gerufen haben.

Meine haben Pfiff, die des Broadway-Stückes, dürfen das - gemäß Regieanweisung - nicht zeigen. Meine haben eine spektakuläre Botschaft, die Schillers Oder “An die Freude” geradezu dramatisch zurück ins kurze Gedächtnis bringt: “Brüder, überm Sternenzelt muss ein lieber Vater wohnen! … Seid umschlungen Millionen, diesen Kuß der ganzen Welt.”

Wir sind, Schwarze oder Weiße, echte Brüder eines Vaters seit je – denn unser Bewusstsein hatte keinen Beginn, wie es nie enden wird. Hier sind wir, aus eigenem Antrieb ins Fleisch Gefallene um durch Erfahrungen zu lernen!

“Mormonismus” ist nichts weiter als die wiederhergestellte Urkirche mit dem Auftrag Harmonie unter den Menschen aller Völker herzustellen.

Das dies in 2 000 Jahren angeblichen Christentums nicht gelang, nicht einmal annähernd, ist allzu bekannt. Es lag nicht am Programm, sondern an dessen Verfälschung durch Machtidioten auf allen Seiten.

Niemand, selbst Gott, hat nicht das Recht unseren Willen zu brechen, denn das hat er geschworen.

Alle Menschen haben eine ewige Perspektive zur grenzenlosen Entfaltung ihres Potentials.

Die Helden des Broadways machen bloß Spektakel. Das ist der Unterschied.

Autor Häntzschel schreibt:

“...Wer hätte gedacht, dass ausgerechnet eine Show, in der wieder und wieder der Refrain "Fuck You, God!" intoniert wird, für die Wiederbelebung des biederen Musicalgenres gefeiert wird. Dass in der sonst so hart kalkulierenden Welt des New Yorker Kommerztheaters noch Platz ist für Ironie. Dass es überhaupt noch einen Draht gibt von der Popkultur zum Broadway. Alles, was am Musical in der Regel so furchtbar ist, macht hier auf einmal größten Spaß...”

Häntzschel verschweigt nicht, dass der Gast letztlich, nachdem er sich köstlich amüsiert hatte,…

                     “... über die Mormonen so wenig gelernt hat wie über Afrika...

was leicht in patzige Haudraufsatire hätte abgleiten können, schwebt bis zuletzt auf seinem Schaumteppich dramaturgischen Könnertums.”

Nachdem sie in der letzten Saison den Propheten Mohammed veralberten, drohte die New Yorker Islamisten-Gruppe "Revolution Muslim" sogar mit Vergeltung.

Doch keine Religion bietet ein so dankbares Sujet wie die Kirche der Heiligen der Letzten Tage.”

Hier taucht unweigerlich die Frage auf, warum die Mormonen ein dankbares Sujet bieten:

Weil sie, die sich die Mitglieder der Kirche Jesu Christi nennen, aus dem Buch Mormon gelernt haben?, dass sie zwar

“geschlagen werden, aber nicht zurückschlagen (sollen).” ?

4. Buch Nephi, 34

Die nicht gerade schmeichelhaften Titel spottsüchtiger Helden, die weiter auf Wehrunwillige einschlagen, sind nicht unbekannt.

Einige verwechseln Wehrunwilligkeit mit Wehrunfähigkeit. 
 

Ich schlage vor eine große, öffentliche Gesprächsrunde anzusetzen, in der die eigentlichen Argumente, also die Fakten, gegeneinander antreten und prophezeie risikolos, dass die Jucksmacher den Kürzeren ziehen werden.

Denn die eigentlichen Fragen lauten:

Was geschah, wenn Menschen Mormonismus ernst nahmen?

Und andererseits: Was ist eure Absicht? Wohin seid ihr Spaßvögel gelangt mit eurer Blasphemie? Was habt ihr bislang bewirkt? Welcher Art sind eure Erfolge?

Was geschieht, wenn wir den Beispielen derer folgen, denen nichts mehr heilig ist?

Der atheistische Media Blog der auf diesen, Häntzschels, Artikel in der Süddeutschen Zeitung hinwies, wurde nur knapp kommentiert: 

Anonymus “Admiral” fragte:

Ob dieses Musical in Deutschland aufgeführt werden dürfte, wenn es um die Jungfrau Maria ginge?...”

Und der nächste Kommentator “peanut” regt ebenfalls zur Nachdenklichkeit an:

Interessant wäre auch zu sehen, wie ein Musical dieser Art über Baptisten in der USA ankommt. Die Resonanz dort wäre sicherlich anders.” 

 

Artikelverfasser Jörg Häntzschel hat nicht das Geringste zu befürchten, ebenso die Produzenten und die Kassenwarte, das macht sie so frech.

Missionare mit Krawatte, Namensschild und Sollerfüllungslächeln, ausgesetzt in Afrika. … Wie (Joseph Smith) einen Stapel goldener Schrifttafeln ausgrub, der das Fundament der neuen Religion wurde. Wie Smith in Ohio das Neue Jerusalem errichten wollte, aber dann weiterzog bis nach Utah, das alles finden selbst die an religiöse Exzentrik gewöhnten Amerikaner bizarr.

… Viel mussten Stone und Parker also gar nicht tun, um dieses Material in großartigen Klamauk zu verwandeln.

"The Book of Mormon" ist blasphemischer als die vermeintlich subversiven Off-Broadway-Anstrengungen eines Neil LaBute, …

Elder Price (Andrew Rennells) und Elder Cunningham (Josh Gad) sind eines der von der Kirche zwangsverheirateten Paare: Price ist der All-American-Musterknabe, Cunningham ein kryptoschwules Riesenbaby. Wie alle Mormonen sollen sie nun zwei Jahre lang an fremden Türen klingeln und sich dabei selbst gegenseitig kontrollieren. Doch als sie in Uganda aus dem Flieger stolpern, und nicht, wie erhofft, in Orlando, fällt beiden gleichermaßen die Kinnlade runter.

Die Zurschaustellung ihrer beflissenen Trotteligkeit in der Tradition der Filmklamotte "Dumm und Dümmer" ist damit aber auch schon beendet. Unter Druck, wenigstens ein paar Afrikaner zu taufen, fabuliert Cunningham eine neue, haarsträubende Version der Kirchenmythologie zusammen, die zwar die Kirchenchefs entsetzt, für seine von Aids und Gewalt terrorisierte Dorfgemeinde aber tatsächlich etwas wie Hoffnung bedeutet. Dass die zerlumpten Afrikaner wohl nie Sonnenschein und Vitamininjektionen in "Salt-a-Lake-a Ciiity" genießen werden, ist zwar bedauerlich, dafür haben sie nun in Cunningham ihren unwahrscheinlichen Lokalheiligen.”

Zu “Gottes Trotteln” zählen nun lt. Jörg Häntzschels Werteskala, Männer wie Reed Smoot (1862-1941) Senator der USA von 1903-1933, Apostel der Kirche Jesu Christi der Heiligen der Letzten Tage, zugleich enger Vertrauter des US- Präsidenten Harding. Dieser berief ihn im 1. Weltkrieg in die Auslandsverschuldungs-Kommission, und er diente als Vorsitzender des Finanzausschusses des Senats. Weder Jörg Häntzschel noch Co ahnen, was Smoot - der seine Mission für die Kirche Jesu Christi der Heiligen der Letzten Tage in England erfüllte, - für Deutschland tun wollte.

Ich weiß davon seit dem Kriegsende.

Hätten die Allierten, 1922 und später, auf Smoots Vorschläge positiv reagiert, wäre sehr wahrscheinlich Herr Hitler nicht zur Allmacht gelangt, nicht mehr und nicht weniger!

Smoot, als enorm einflussreicher Experte für nationale Verschuldungsprobleme, wollte das Deutschland sich von den, freilich selbstverursachten Wunden des Krieges erholt

Senator und Apostel der Kirche Jesu Christi Reed Smoot

Smoot sah die Probleme die nach nach dem 1. Weltkrieg aufkamen und deren Folgen glasklar.

Smoot wies konkret nach, dass die siegreichen Allierten, 1920, (Konferenz von Boulogne) die Last von 269 Milliarden Goldmark auf die Schultern der 60 Millionen Deutschen gebürdet hatten (Umgerechnet etwa 1 400 Milliarden Euro), als Reparationsleistungen.

Sofort brach die deutsche Wirtschaft zusammen. Es wurde produziert, aber die Arbeiter produzierten keine echten Gegenwerte und mussten dennoch bezahlt werden. Geld war immer weniger, bis nichts mehr wert.

1910 kostete ein Schachtel Streichhölzer 1 Pfennig, 1923 fünfundfünzig Milliarden Mark. 1723 Notendruckereien kamen mit ihrer Arbeit nicht nach.

Bis 1932 wuchs die Zahl der Arbeitslosen in Deutschland auf 5 Millionen einkommenslose Familien.

Das Elend hätte das (internationale) Judentum verursacht, behauptete Hitler nicht folgenlos.

Auf der Gegenseite standen die Kommunisten und boten eine Alternative, die kaum weniger gefährlicher war.

Das Selbstbewusstsein konnte sich nicht erholen,

Smoot warnte immer wieder davor, die deutsche Bevölkerung in die Arme derer zu treiben, die einen Vergeltungskrieg (oder die Sowjetisierung) anstrebten:

Deutschland gleiche dem Kaufmann von Venedig, Antonio, der seine Schulden an den Geldverleiher Shylock nicht zurückzahlen kann und dieser wetze schon sein Messer um das eine Pfund Fleisch aus dem Leib des Kaufmanns zu schneiden...

Hier ein anderer “Trottel”, der berühmte Candybomber

Gail Halvorsen in Berlin 1983 

Bild Wikipedia: Gail bereitet die kleinen Fallschirme vor an denen die Schokopäckchen hängen

                              1972 ausgezeichnet mit dem Großen Bundesverdienstkreuz

Man darf icht vergessen, dass die air force zuvor andere Bomben abwarf. Seinem Beispiel folgten viele Piloten. Diese Kleinigkeit hatte großen Einfluss auf den Stimmungsumschwung. Gemeinsam mit seiner Ehefrau Alta erfüllte Gail Halvorsen zwei Missionen für die Kirche Jesu Christi der Heiligen der Letzten Tage. In den 60ern in London, 1995 in Sankt Petersburg Russland.

Ron Dittemore, der frühere Manager des Shuttle Programms der Nasa

Er bekennt sich zu einer Kirche , die lt Jörg Häntzschel eine Märchenreligion ist, mit den Worten:

“I am a convert to the church, having received a wonderful witness of truth about the gospel of Jesus Christ after graduating from college ...

I was baptized when I was 23 years old after reading the Book of Mormon and being taught by wonderful Mormon missionaries. It was a defining moment in my life, a gateway to a new beginning following the example and teachings of Jesus Christ. After 35 years I still remember the excitement of being baptized and the peaceful feelings that accompanied that experience. I have been richly blessed since that day, developing many talents and experiencing personal growth through service to our friends and neighbors. It has been and continues to be a great journey. “

Lieutenant Colonel Larry Chesly

Sein Statement lautet wörtlich:

“I am a Mormon and I believe deeply in my religion. It was one of the strengths I clung to during those dark days. I believe in a God who is like a Father, One who cares about His children. I had a patriarchal blessing when I was young (about 14) and it said that if I were ever called into war that no matter what would come or what would go, I would be returned to my loved ones. So I never doubted for a moment. I knew that I would come home someday.”

Bild Wikipedia: Henry Eyring (1901-1981) stellte die molekulare Reaktionstheorie auf

Er war lebenslänglich bekennendes Mitglied der Kirche Jesu Christi der Heiligen der Letzten Tage, diente als Gemeinde- und Distriktpräsident, erhielt 1980 den Wolfpreis für Chemie und 1966 die National Medal of Science für die Entwicklung der Transition state theory. Er fragte:

"Is there any conflict between science and religion? There is no conflict in the mind of God, but often there is conflict in the minds of men.”

Sein Sohn Henry B. Eyring

Bild Wikipedia

jetzt Mitglied dere Ersten Präsidentschaft der Kirche Jesu Christi der Heiligen der Letzten Tage, war "associate Professor of business at the Stanford Graduate School of Business von 1962 bis 71. 

Weitere "Trottel Gottes" sind:

Dr. John S. Lewis (1941-) Astrophysiker, 150 wissenschaftliche Publikationen, 1976 mit der James Macelwane Medaille ausgezeichnet, schloss sich 1980 der Kirche Jesu Christi der HLT an

Er bekennt sich zu einer Kirche, die lt Jörg Häntzschel eine Märchen-religion ist, mit den Worten:

"...The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, with its long tradition of free inquiry and of individuals prayerfully testing every point of doctrine for themselves, is fully compatible with the scientific method. The priesthood is held by every worthy male, and any may be called to positions of authority and responsibility in the Church. There is no paid clergy. The Church is led by Jesus Christ, as its name clearly attests. There is not and has never been a “Mormon Church,” a phrase originally invented by enemies of the Church to avoid acknowledging what it really is. We have the priesthoods held anciently by Aaron, by Abraham, and by Jesus Christ himself, restored in our time. We have temples, restored by divine direction, in which the ancient ordinances of salvation, including baptism for the dead, are carried out. We believe in the reality of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, one in purpose and three in number. They are no more one person than Paul and Apollos (I Cor. 3:6-8) were the same person.

I testify that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior and Redeemer of mankind, which I can say only by the witness of the Spirit. I further testify that the Book of Mormon is another witness of Jesus Christ. I believe in the words of Christ, when he said “be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). This is our challenge and commandment. I know of no other church that believes that these words of Christ are literally true." Mormon Scholars Testify, Blog Arch, Internet

Von ca 24 000 hochgradigen und entschieden bekennden "Trotteln Gottes" noch einige wenige:

Jed A. Adams agricultural Economics, California state Government

Like many others who wanted verification from Heavenly Father, I began to put this to the test. I studied the Book of Mormon, fasted, and knelt down and prayed many times with a sincere heart to know if it was true. I also prayed to know if Joseph Smith truly saw God, the Father, and Jesus Christ. I also prayed to know if the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was the true church on the earth. These efforts continued after I began attending the University of California at Berkeley. In due time, Heavenly Father did answer my prayers by the gift of the Holy Ghost. Since that time, I have had other personal experiences that could easily be called miracles. These will not be discussed, as they are most sacred to me. I have also witnessed positive changes in the lives of others who have sincerely put this to the test. These experiences have further strengthened my testimony about the truthfulness of the Church.

For many years it has been my testimony that I know the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is Christ’s true church on the earth. I know that Joseph Smith did see God, the Father, and Jesus Christ, and conversed with them. I know Joseph Smith was chosen by Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ to be the prophet to restore His Church to the earth with the same organization and doctrine as the church Christ established when He was on the earth. I know the prophet Joseph Smith was given the holy priesthood as part of this restoration, and it continues in the Church today. I know the prophet Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon from the golden plates by the gift and power of God, and that it is a second witness of Heavenly Father’s plan for us to return to Him, and that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world.

This same process is available to anyone who sincerely desires to know the truthfulness of these things. I encourage you to put it to the test."

Astronom Dr. Ellis Miner

"As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, he has served in leadership roles and taught high school students at early morning seminary. Miner has also penned books on Uranus and Neptune. He served as the science manager for the Saturn-bound Cassini mission for nearly a decade and is currently a member of the Earth and Planetary Sciences Division Staff and co-director of the NASA Solar System Exploration Education and Public Outreach Forum."

Richard A. Searfoss space Shuttle Commander 1998, Mormone.

Dr. Garry and Kathy Hadfield, Dr. M. Gary Hadfield received academic degrees from Weber College (Ogden, AA ‘55), BYU (Provo, BA—French and Pre med ‘60) and the University of Utah School of Medicine (SLC, MD ‘64). He pursued an internship and residency in general pathology at Cornell University—New York Hospital (Manhattan ’64—‘66), then Neuropathology at Montefiore Hospital/Einstein School of Medicine (The Bronx ‘66—‘68) and finally post-doctoral training in neurochemistry at NYU—Bellevue Hospital (Manhattan’68—’70). He is an emeritus professor of pathology (neuropathology) at Virginia Commonwealth University Health Sciences School of Medicine/ Medical College of Virginia, Richmond, VA, where he taught and practiced from 1970—2003. His major research interests included the effect of neuroactive drugs of abuse on catecholamine neurotransmitter systems in the rodent brain and electron microscopy of human brain diseases, resulting in over sixty peer-reviewed publications and numerous abstracts. He has been active in leadership and teaching positions in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints throughout his adult life and formerly served as an LDS representative to the Virginia Council of Churches. He currently owns and operates Winterham Plantation, a historic bed and breakfast inn located in Amelia, VA. His wife, Kathleen Halverson Hadfield, is an anthropologist (BA, U. of Utah), art historian, and art broker. The Hadfields have four children and 20 grandchildren. They have restored three historic properties and placed them on the National Register: Winterham, Dykeland (their private residence, also in Amelia, VA), and a pioneer home in Provo, Utah (The Johnson-Hansen House), used by their children when they attended BYU. Gary’s avocations are piano playing/recording and dabbling in foreign languages.

 Garry said: 

"I wish to leave you with my firm testimony that God lives and that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints represents his authorized church, fully restored as it existed perfectly in New Testament times, with the same Priesthood power to administer the church and heal the sick. To me, “The New World Testament,” the Book of Mormon, provides unquestionable evidence of that restoration. But it is the Holy Ghost bearing witness of the tome’s truth, when I read it, that seals my testimony."

Bild Wikipedia, Robert Oaks, Generalautorität der Kirche Jesu Christi der Heiligen der Letzten Tage, zuletzt Vier-Sterne-General

In einer Konferenzansprache (April 2005)  sagte er: 

"Jetzt ist es wahrhaftig an der Zeit zu zeigen, dass wir zum Herrn stehen...

Heute gibt es in der Kirche etwa drei Millionen Priestertumsträger, zu gleichen Teilen Träger des Aaronischen und des Melchisedekischen Priestertums.

Leider fehlen viel zu viele dieser Männer, junge und weniger junge; sie fehlen unentschuldigt.

Einst saß jeder von ihnen demütig da, als ihm Männer mit Vollmacht die Hände auflegten und ihm das Priestertum übertrugen. Damals sind sie mit dem Herrn den Bund eingegangen, ihm zu gehorchen und zu dienen.

Brüder, dies ist sein Werk. Das Evangelium Jesu Christi in seiner Fülle wurde in diesen Letzten Tagen durch den Propheten Joseph Smith wiederhergestellt. Christus steht an der Spitze dieser Kirche und führt sie durch seinen lebenden Propheten, Gordon B. Hinckley, vorwärts. Christus wird auf die Erde zurückkehren, um zu herrschen und zu regieren, und jeder von uns wird eines Tages vor ihm stehen, um gemäß seinen Gedanken, Taten und den Wünschen seines Herzens gerichtet zu werden. Er ist unser Erretter und unser Erlöser. Davon gebe ich Zeugnis in seinem heiligen Namen. Amen.

Abschließend  möge die Autorin Daniella Tumminio zu Wort kommen, ein Nichtmitglied, mit ihrem Artikel:
"Don` t   Judge a Book of Mormon By Its Cover: How Mormons Are  Discovering the Musical as a Conversion Tool"
Veröffentlicht in Huff Post Religion, vom 13. May 2013

I met two Mormon missionaries, Elders Skyler Fenn and Jacob Chapman, on a chilly spring evening when my husband and I attended the musical "The Book of Mormon." They were handing out copies of the LDS Scriptures -- aka the original Book of Mormon -- near the theatre entrance, and I couldn't resist talking with them. I was curious about why they chose this place to market their religion, given that the folks who purchased tickets were walking into a show written by "South Park" creators that involves a liberal dose of cursing and reference to sexual body parts. At one point, a copy of the Book of Mormon gets thrust up the main character's bum, and overall, the missionaries depicted in the musical come off as well-intentioned but naïve.
None of that stopped Elders Fenn and Chapman, though, even though they admitted to me over lunch several days later that they were initially hesitant to proselytize outside of the theatre.
"We were actually really reticent about it. We were really scared." That was Elder Chapman's first response when a member of his local church, called a ward, suggested the idea. "When I heard about some of the songs that were in it, it did make me a little uncomfortable ... It says foul language, and it seems like it has some stuff that makes pretty blatant fun of what we believe, and so that hurts a little bit."
That the Church of Jesus Christ doesn't formally embrace the musical only further heightened their concern. While the Church does not boycott entertainment events, it encourages members to exercise dignity and decorum. (Perhaps it goes without saying that a musical filled with lewd language and mockery of Mormons violates that dignity and decorum in a number of ways.)
And yet, the missionaries came to the theatre anyway, ready to accept any discrimination or harsh words that came their way. What came their way, however, wasn't what they expected.
A New Way of Proselytizing
Elders Fenn and Chapman told me that they're used to standing outside, handing out copies of the Book of Mormon to strangers. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints calls the practice street contacting, and it's one of the traditional ways for missionaries to reach potential converts. Street contacting is challenging, and the Elders experienced that firsthand during the months they've served as missionaries: People ignore them or cross the street. In a couple of hours, they might hand out only a few copies of their Scriptures.
So that's what they expected to happen at the musical.
Instead, they handed out 40 copies -- an entire box -- of the Book of Mormon in under an hour. One girl ran up to them to get her picture taken once she realized that the missionaries were real Mormons and not actors. Later, a member of the cast named Kevin Mambo tweeted a photo of the three of them taken by a security guard. The missionaries forwarded it to their families.
"The response was great," said Elder Chapman, who noted that even those from outside the religion embraced what he and his partner were trying to do. He recounted that one Jewish woman even went to far as to suggest improvements, like sponsoring a forum after the show or a question and answer section in a nearby bar.
I wondered if one reason why the audience warmed to Elders Fenn and Chapman was because of the context: Their presence might seem threatening on a rush hour street corner where briefcased men and suited women in sneakers race home to boil mac and cheese for over-exhausted children. In that setting, their holy book might appear to be one more set of dogmatic rules that oppresses people who only desire freedom and space.
Standing outside the musical, though, the setting was very different: Their dark suits and combed hair hearkened to beloved characters. Theatregoers like myself discussed Mormon beliefs during intermission casually, lightly, like sports fans chat about who won the latest Red Sox game.
Elder Chapman and Fenn's presence at the musical seemed to humanize concepts like "missionary" and "Mormon" for the audience, maybe even dispelling the reputation the religion has for being sober and straight-laced. As Elder Fenn told me, "That was kind of my intent, just to go there and be like, 'Hey, we can take a joke."'
If Elders Chapman and Fenn approached the musical as a teachable moment that might allow potential newcomers to get to know them and their faith better, the institutional Church seems to be taking similar steps. Initially, the Church's only response to the musical was this: "The production may attempt to entertain audiences for an evening, but the Book of Mormon as a volume of scripture will change people's lives forever by bringing them closer to Christ."
Two years later, though, the Church may be seeing the musical as an opportunity, just as Elders Chapman and Fenn did. My Boston Playbill featured several advertisements by the Church, each with a photo of a practitioner that violated the religion's blonde-haired, blue-eyed stereotype -- a goateed Caucasian, an Asian woman, an African-American man. The denomination also took out billboard space on Times Square, and when the musical began playing in London's West End, they placed advertisements on the city's tube stations, train stations and buses. Elder Clifford Herbertson, an LDS Church leader, explained these choices, saying, "When people get to know a member of our faith, misperceptions and misunderstanding quickly disappear and are replaced by mutual respect and friendship; these adverts are in no way a tacit endorsement of the play but we want those who have questions to know where they can find real answers."
The emphasis on showing the diversity and humanity of followers of a faith with a reputation for having adherents who are well-behaved, well-groomed, white, and well-off seems to be something the LDS Church is striving for even outside of its relationship to the musical. Recently, it launched a new publicity campaign called "I'm a Mormon" composed of personal vignettes that can be watched on the Church's official website or on YouTube. Each video emphasizes diversity and inclusiveness -- there's one from an Irish gold-medal winning paraplegic and another from an African woman from Cameroon who now lives in Germany.
The gist: The Church wants to cultivate relationships with everyone, and all are welcome.
What the LDS Church seems to be doing in trying to reach newcomers in many ways reverses traditional conversion methods, where the emphasis is on teaching doctrine first. The idea is that if you know what a religion believes, you'll come to believe it yourself, and then become part of a community of believers. Instead, the LDS Church now seems to be embracing a different approach -- meet us, become part of our community of believers, and you'll come to believe in the faith yourself and become more familiar with the religion's dogma as a result. (For more on this shift, it's worth comparing missionaries' old handbook, called "The Uniform System for Teaching the Gospel," with the one they began using in 2004 called "Preach My Gospel." A similar shift emerges from dogma first to relationships presents itself there.)
As an Episcopal Church leader, what intrigues me about the choices the LDS Church is making is that this relational emphasis is a shift I see in my own and other Protestant denominations. Case in point: your average Protestant church stewardship campaign. If one had stepped into said average Protestant church in the 1980s during stewardship season, he or she might been point blank asked for money or handed a note that suggested a tithing percentage. Today, that same church probably runs its campaign by asking a few committed members to explain how the church enriches their lives on the assumption that parishioners will be more likely to give generously when the mission of the church is made personal and tangible for them. In other words, for a religion to be vital, it needs to show it's relevant to people. And the LDS Church seems well aware of that.
As were Elder Chapman and Elder Fenn. When I asked them to recollect on how the experience of proselytizing outside the musical affected them, Elder Chapman told me that, "It was really cool to me to see that it overcame the stigma; it made it possible for us to say, 'We're real missionaries. This is what we do. This is the real thing, and we're offering you something that may be memorabilia for you to put on your shelf, but it will change your life if you actually read it."'
And yet, when I thought about how the audience responded to these missionaries, I realized that their welcome and their enthusiasm was pretty ironic, given that the musical is intent on poking fun at Mormons, not on garnering potential converts.
So I wondered: Does it actually work? Can a musical that mocks a religion humanize and even bring people toward it?
Do people ever go to see this musical and have their life changed?
'The Book of Mormon' as a Musical Conversion Tool
Before my conversation with Elders Fenn and Chapman ended, they told me about a member of their church named Liza Morong, a musical theatre major in Boston who converted in 2011 after seeing the musical on Broadway. They gave me her phone number and two hours later, we met up and she told me her story.
Intrigued by the musical back in 2011, she found herself Googling the LDS Church. When she landed on the Church's website and clicked the link to chat online with a missionary, her initial thought was, "Yes! I can rip the missionaries to shreds." (In retrospect, she added, "I was such a little entitled brat then.")
Liza clicked on the chat function, but before she was able to bombard the missionaries on the other end with a political diatribe, she told me that something within her felt that she didn't want to hurt these strangers. So they began a conversation about faith together, and at the end, when the missionaries asked her if she wanted to learn more, she figured there'd be no harm. They continued their conversations on Facebook and Skype, and later, the missionaries sent her a Book of Mormon. Soon, she found herself dressing for church on Sunday mornings, even though the missionaries never pressured her to convert. They wanted to let her find the truth of the faith for herself.
And one day, she did. Riding her bike to class on a weekday morning, Liza said she felt overtaken by a feeling of calm as she watched the sun sparkle through the trees. "I knew it was coming from God," she said. "My heart feels full when I talk about it."
The missionaries she met online baptized her on Dec. 31, 2011.
Liza told me that the irony is not lost on her as she looks back. "I went on to mock them [the missionaries]," she said, "and now I realize, they've become like my family."
She also said that she's seen the musical after her conversion, and it still gives her goose bumps. "I start to feel the Spirit because this is where it all started," she said. "Who would have ever guessed?"
One of the things that occurred to me as Liza was talking was that maybe she wasn't exactly a traditional Mormon convert -- as a musical theatre major, the show might have been able to speak to her in a way that it wouldn't have if she was passionate about synchronized swimming or circus fleas instead.
So I asked Liza if she thought she would have become a Mormon if she'd never set foot inside that Broadway theatre. I thought it would take her awhile to answer, but she responded quickly, confidently, saying, "I believe that if the Lord wanted me to find the Gospel, I would have found it eventually. I'm really happy that it happened the way it did, because it goes to show you how well He knows me as a musical theatre major. He'd be like, 'I got her!'"
It occurred to me then that maybe the Mormon Church was doing something really smart in cultivating relationships with people who saw the musical. Yes, the musical might make fun of Mormons. Yes, the musical has a message that Mormons probably shouldn't embrace if they want to remain true to their tradition. But that doesn't preclude it from being a vehicle that God uses to speak into people's lives. After all, many people find faith after experiencing a trauma, after making bad choices or struggling with addictions to drugs or alcohol. None of these things are or should be embraced by any religion. But most religious leaders would still agree that those experiences can teach us something valuable, and that God can teach through them.
As I reflect on my conversations with Elder Fenn, Elder Chapman and Liza Morong, what I see as the thread that weaves their stories together is a desire to seek and find God in the world. They still believe that God speaks through the Bible, and they certainly believe that God speaks through the Book of Mormon. But what they seem to have discovered is that God doesn't only speak through those ancient revelations. Instead, revelation continues today, in the lives of musical theatre majors and curious "South Park" fans and young missionaries and gold-medal winning paraplegics and women rushing home in suits and sneakers to feed their children. It continues within the walls where religions are practiced and outside of them, and if God wants to find you, not even the act of pressing a holy book up a character's bum will prevent it from happening.
At the end of our interview, I asked Liza if there was a song or lyric from the musical that continues to impress her. She told me about a song called, "I Believe," that's sung by a headstrong missionary whose passion for converting Ugandans leads him to gleefully proselytize to a warlord, somewhat mindless of the gun pointed in his direction. The character says, "I believe the Lord will reveal it, and you'll know it's all true, you'll just feel it."
In the context of the musical, the song is funny, highlighting this missionary's idealism and his cluelessness. But for Liza, it has a deeper meaning. As she recounted those words, she looked straight toward me, her eyes sparkling and energized. "It's true. You do just feel it, and it's beautiful. So now whenever I hear that, I think, 'Ugh, they're right about that! Well done, 'South Park.' Well done!'"