Inexcusable error in The Age
The Age, a newspaper based in Victoria, Australia, failed to do its homework in a recent article about the HBO series Big Love. The article’s author, Peter Mattessi, describes the polygamist family depicted in the series as devout Mormons, despite the disclaimers that appeared before many episodes that the Mormon Church banned polygamy in 1890. The article’s description is false, as the characters in the show are specifically not members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The article’s title, “Latter-day saints go marching in,” is equally erroneous.Mattessi clearly...
Read MoreFixing an Error
Kudos to U.S. News and World Report for acknowledging that the cover of a recent issue may have implied a connection between the LDS Church and polygamist/fundamentalist groups. Apparently the story itself was clear about the distinction, but the cover may have been unintentionally misleading: While the article makes a distinction between that polygamous sect and mainstream Mormonism’s rejection of polygamy, the reference to Mormons on the cover does not make this distinction. It was not our intention to imply that mainstream Mormonism is a secret society, sect, or cult, and we regret any...
Read MoreWhat Is Mormonism?
It’s going to be a long two years. Here’s a story from the Washington Post that is very typical of what is being printed about the LDS Church in light of Mitt Romney’s presidential run. It’s the same old stuff – polygamy, blacks and the priesthood, Joseph Smith and on and on. Bookmark on Delicious Digg this post Recommend on Facebook share via Reddit Share with Stumblers Tweet about it Subscribe to the comments on this post...
Read MoreOut of the shadows, the Big Love women who want the right to share a husband
The UK Times blows it big time with this story, which intermingles incorrect terminology all related to a protest put on in SLC last summer by a group of polygamists. Here’s a sample: “Mormon teenagers demonstrate in Sal(t) Lake City for their right to choose plural marriage” and… “Mormon wives are coming forward for the first time to defend their plural marriages and help to root out the abuse of young girls” I guess the Times didn’t get the memo. Bookmark on Delicious Digg this post Recommend on Facebook share via Reddit Share with Stumblers Tweet about it Subscribe to the...
Read MoreNo Place for Polygamy in Mormon Church
Ashlie Rasmussen of Falls Church, Virginia, wrote an excellent letter to the editor for the Washington Post, titled “No Place for Polygamy in Mormon Church”. The letter is in response to the Post’s article titled “Polygamists Fight to Be Seen as Part of Mainstream Society”, which LDS News Watch previously reported about. The text of the letter is as follows: The Nov. 21 front-page article “Polygamists Fight to Be Seen as Part of Mainstream Society” asserted that “the politically powerful Mormon Church, while officially opposing polygamy, did not want the bad press strict...
Read MorePolygamists Fight to Be Seen As Part of Mainstream Society
The Washington Post published an article last week titled “Polygamists Fight to Be Seen As Part of Mainstream Society”. Like many articles dealing with polygamy, this one seemingly obfuscates the distinction between religious organizations that practice polygamy and the LDS Church, which does not. The Church does not practice polygamy, and members of the Church found to be in this situation are excommunicated. In the article the author takes an authoritative stance, claiming to know the reasons why the Church renounced polygamy in 1890. As a related example: One reason [for the so-called...
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