The Top Ten Happenings in Mopologetics, 2024
Posted: Sun Dec 01, 2024 9:30 pm
Ho ho ho! Seasons Greetings, my dear Friends and Colleagues! The wintry holiday times have arrived once more, and a festive air has settled here on the campus of Cassius University. I hear that the Reverend Kishkumen is brewing up a special--very sinful and anti-WoW--coffee blend that has been mixed with holiday spices. The campus Christmas tree--erected earlier this year at the behest of Dean Robbers--is resplendent with ornaments and tinsel which, magically, does not blow away in the breeze. And did you know that the Dean has just announced a special campus movie series for the holiday season? Yes: full-length theatrical features will be *screened*! Right here on campus! Movies are a perfect way to celebrate the holidays!
In fact, it seems lately like moviemaking has replaced traditional Mopologetics in certain ways. While it's true that we have been treated to the occasional hit-piece or dust-up--with the expected and usual "controversies," as it were--the fact is that 2024 was an uncharacteristically "slow" year in the world of Mopologetics. So much focus and energy seemed given over to the Mopologists' sophomore movie-making effort--i.e., the propaganda film Six Days in August. More on that movie later, though it can be said here and now that the film was, uh, not good. That's not to say the LDS-related movies are *all* lousy. In fact, one of the greatest Mormon films of all time was released a mere 5 years ago. You may have heard of it: it came out in 2019 and was directed by Ari Aster (of Hereditary notoriety. The name of this movie is Midsommar.
The film stars the charming Florence Pugh as a young woman going through a terrible tragedy: she just lost her sister and parents in a horrible murder/suicide, and in an effort to hit the "reset" button in her life, she goes with her rather flippant boyfriend on a trip to Sweden--ostensibly part of his and his friend's grad school research project, so that they can observe the rituals taking place there which only happen once every 90 years. The folks at the Swedish commune seem friendly enough, if a bit conservative and "weird," but the countryside is lovely (the film features terrific cinematography). And yet from the outset, you get the sense that the the commune is hiding something.
Indeed, things take a turn towards grim inevitability as the American visitors are invited to watch a ceremony in which an older, married couple from the commune voluntarily take a leap off a high cliff and onto the rocks below. The woman lands face-first and dies instantly. The guy, though, survives the fall, though a fellow commune member helps him out by bashing his head in with a mallet. The visitors, quite understandably panicked, are told that everyone in the commune does this at the age of 72 (the "age of accountability," in a sense, perhaps?), and it is considered "an honor."
From there, things go from bad to worse: more people die, more ceremonies take place, and older males wind up having ritualistic sex with much younger females. There is dancing, hallucination, and religious structures are burned. No doubt you can see where this leads: the parallels with Mormonism are remarkable, since Church history is also chock-full of dancing, hallucination of things like angels and gold plates, the burning of temples, and ritualistic sex with younger females. Plus, the movie is populated by loads of creepy white people who are constantly smiling in a faint yet ominous way, and who are often dressed in white clothing. And can it be any coincidence that Florence Pugh's rotten boyfriend is named "Christian"? Well, just as EVs would say about Latter-day Saints, he's not a *real* Christian! LOL! No worries, though: he's ultimately stuffed into a bear suit and burned alive.
Without a doubt, Midsommar is the greatest Latter-day Saint movie to have been made in the past ten years, and perhaps ever. You can just imagine how much jealousy the film inspires in the typical Mopologist: not just of the filmmaking prowess that went into producing the movie, but in the lifestyle that it depicts. If the movie had been called Added Upon instead, would it have become an instant icon within Mopologetic circles? Perhaps. But we have to remember that it was rated "R," so there is a good chance that the ever-obedient Mopologists never saw it at all. But who knows?
In any case, enough chit chat! It's time for the main event. Friends and Colleagues, it is my great duty and honor as the B.H. Roberts Chair of Mopologetics Studies to present you with The Top Ten Happenings in Mopologetics in the Year of Our Lord, 2024....
10. Interpreter Adopts a New "Half-Sphincter" Logo
From its very inception, the Mormon Interpreter blog has suffered from inadequacies. At first, there were severe problems with copyediting and with recycling of old articles. The problem with recycling old material persisted, along with a series of embarrassments, ranging from the Dales' silly statistical paper, to Greg Smith's hit piece on John Dehlin, to the attacks on the Joseph Smith Papers Project, which earned John Gee and Daniel Peterson a scolding from the General Authorities. And lately, it would seem, Interpreter has begun to feel more and more pressure from its Mopologetic competitors--especially from Jack Welch's Scripture Central, which is absolutely pummeling Interpreter when it comes to funding. Given this, it makes sense that Mormon Interpreter would attempt a kind of "re-branding" this year.
But the reviews were mixed. As longtime copyediting volunteer Tom observed, "I must confess that I don't know what the curious symbol next to the organization's name is intended to represent. An open book (shades of the time-honored practice of bibliomancy)? Rays of light? A heavenly gate? Dowsing rods in motion? My imagination is running wild." I myself wondered if it was meant to be a slinky in motion, but upon further consideration, the imagery seems clear: it's half of a sphincter. The graphic design people at Interpreter deserve real credit for this: it's impossible to think of a better symbol for what they do than half of a sphincter, or half an anus.
9. Coffee with Kish Debuts
2024 marked the emergence of an important new YouTube program: "Coffee with Kish," hosted by the inimitable Hon. Rev. Kishkumen. Featuring a lively and trippy introductory soundtrack and a bare-bones production style, the show nonetheless manages to deliver entertaining ruminations on Mormon-related topics in a relatively compact package. Recent highlights include the episode dealing with the Rev's sometimes harrowing missionary experiences, and his trenchant observations on the vagaries of LDS apologetics.
8. The Death of George Mitton
"Classic-FARMS" which dominated Mopologetics all throughout the 1990s and the first decade of the 2000s, was sent into a kind of slow death-spiral following the ejection of the Mopologists from the Maxwell Institute in 2012. And while the most visible faces of the movement were the more combative people--DCP, Hamblin, Midgley, etc.--there were others who operated in a relatively "behind the scenes" manner, but who were nonetheless crucial to the functioning of the movement. One of these was George Mitton, who passed away this summer. Mitton served as some kind of "lieutenant" or "Associate Editor," or something to that effect, and also--rather notably--served as co-author of the infamous smear article, "Mormon in the Fiery Furnace: Or, Loftes Tryk Goes to Cambridge." His passing in 2024 served as yet another reminder that the ranks of "classic-FARMS" Mopologists continues to dwindle.
7. The Trials and Tribulations of Robert Boylan
2024 was seemingly a difficult year for Robert Boylan, who was the highly-deserving recipient of the 2023 Sampson Avard Golden Scepter award, after his role in the "Richard Nygren" Scandal. For many years, Boylan had seemed like a fairly mild-mannered blogger who was focused primarily on esoteric biblical scholarship, but in recent years, aspects of his social media presence came to light, revealing a penchant for more traditionally Mopologetic attacks and juvenile antics, including connections with the deeply problematic "DezNat" movement.
Meanwhile, the problems began to pile up. In April, it was reported that Boylan's blog had been removed: perhaps due to complaints about his behavior. Then, in June, Boylan made a post in which he appeared to be trying to make a profit by selling drafts of books that the late Mopologist John Tvedtnes had been working on some years ago. And in August, a heated exchange between Boylan and a critic (?) served as yet another example of Boylan's penchant for aggressiveness. Rumors swirled that he had been cut loose from his job with the B.H. Roberts foundation and postings seemed to indicate that he was packing up his things and planning to move back in with his parents. Once upon a time, it seemed that Boylan was a 'rising star' in the world of Mopologetics, but the recent setbacks would seem to represent yet another blow to "classic-FARMS"-style Mopologetics.
6. FAIR Teams Up with the Valiant Conference and Demotes DCP from Keynote Speaking Role
In the midst of the rising challenges from Jack Welch's Scripture Central, both Interpreter and the other main Mopologetic outpost--FAIR Mormon--were left scrambling to maintain their share of the apologetics market. Whereas Interpreter turned to low-budget filmmaking, FAIR Mormon did a seeming about-face by teaming up with the seemingly 'Chapel Mormon' organization known as the Valiant Conference. The Valiant Conference marked a shift away from the "progressive" strain within certain corners of Mopologetics that advocated for more 'feminist-minded' approaches, and instead pushed for traditional women's roles within LDS culture. Or, as they put it on their website, "This conference exists so that we can collectively strengthen our beliefs and become confident disciples of Jesus Christ. When covenant keeping women gather, there is a powerful spirit that cannot be contained." Thus, the FAIR Mormon Conference made something of a "compromise," with *some* of the presentations continuing the tradition of defending Internet Mormon ideas, *but* with the added goal of pushing conservative patriarchal attitudes, and pressing women to quit complaining about their "2nd Class" status within the Church.
Was this a wise move? That remains to be seen, but as the ever-wise poster Tom opined back in April, "I hope the FAIR-Valiant Conference partnership works out better than FAIR's disastrous partnership with This is The Show." It certainly would indicate a shift away from sophomoric jackassery and towards the grim seriousness that can often epitomize "Zion Corridor" LDS culture.
Meanwhile, Daniel Peterson, who for over a decade had been the keynote speaker at the conference, was demoted to a lesser role, arguably signaling yet again that Mormon Interpreter is in decline, and is regarded with less respect by its sister organizations.
5. Interpreter Publishes Ron C. Rhodes's 'An Analysis of the Financial Incentives in Attacking the Restoration'
The sun rises each morning. Everyday, the tides come in and out. Cars traverse the highways; planes zigzag across the skies. People sit down and stand up; they watch TV; they talk to each other. And they poop. With similar regularity, the Mormon Interpreter blog continue to pound out content, with new (or "new-ish"?) material appearing every Friday. As has always been the case, Interpreter's output is of very mixed quality, but one can usually find at least one article worth highlighting. Last year, it was Allen Wyatt's stunningly confessional tirade against the Tanners that caught our attention. This year, the highlight (as it were) was surely Ron C. Rhodes's "An Analysis of the Financial Incentives in Attacking the Restoration," a piece whose breathless title was a perfect match for the apparently boneheaded lack of self-awareness on the part of the people publishing this piece.
As you might imagine, the article's chief targets were "Mormon Stories" and "Mormon Discussions, Inc." And as you *also* might imagine, there was no mention whatsoever of the Interpreter President's extensive (and largely comped) travel schedule, including on trips/cruising sponsored by the Interpreter Foundation itself (I believe the term is, "conflict of interest," no?), nor was there any mention of Scripture Central's astounding, multi-million dollar operating budget. Nor was there any reference to previous Interpreter blog postings that argued that Rodney Meldrum was a "snake oil salesman" who was promoting the Restoration for the sake of profit.
You have to wonder: is it possible that Dehlin and the folks at MD, Inc. are merely stowing away their money as a kind of "rainy day fund"? There's nothing wrong with that, is there?
4.The Mopologists (Allegedly) "Steal" a Donor List from BYU
In the final months leading up to the release of Interpreter's sophomore theatrical movie-making effort, one could sense an increasing tone of desperation emanating from the "Sic et Non" blog, where calls for donations grew steadily more plaintive. Meanwhile, a scholars of Mopologetics managed to procure a copy of the fundraising document that the apologists had been sending out to donors. On its face, fundraising is no big deal: it's a reality that any not-for-profit company has to deal with. But the author of this document--i.e., Interpreter President Daniel C. Peterson--painted a dark, foreboding, and dystopian vision of the future for prospective donors:
Perhaps even more concerning, though, were rumors that Peterson and his team had illicitly obtained a list of donors from BYU and were using the list to send email spam about donating to Interpreter. There was word that some of the donors were incensed over this and were making formal complaints through various channels. Will this have a long-term impact on Interpreter's financial situations? Time will tell.
3. "Frenchy" is Used as Mopologetic Propaganda
Poor Frenchy. Mr. Frenchy Merrill had the (mis?)fortune one day to bump into the "Godfather of Mopologetics" at a cemetery one day, and what do you know? They got to talking. Frenchy, it turns out, was a widower who bitterly missed his departed wife. Little did he know, however, that he would become the protagonist of an ongoing story about the Power of Mormonism on "Sic et Non," where the Proprietor recycled his story on more than one occasion, where he noted his feelings of joy after learning that Frenchy had at last died:
2. Six Days in August is an Abject Disaster
A lot of hype swirled around the production of the Mopologists' sophomore filmmaking effort this year--the Brigham Young-themed film, Six Days in August. But as with the first movie, Witnesses, the movie was plagued with problems and criticism from the start. The production faced a tall mountain to climb in terms of meeting its budgetary goals. Meanwhile, as still images and clips from the movie were posted, critics pointed out numerous historical errors and anachronisms. One anonymous source claimed to have read the script and to have worked on the crew of the film, and they denounced the production as "absolute garbage." Criticisms focused on the fundamental narrowness and tediousness of the story's subject matter, and it was pointed out that the movie would likely face stiff competition from other Mormon-themed films during its stint in theaters. Meanwhile, as the premiere date approached, the Mopologists scrambled to meet their fundraising goals, as discussed in item #4 of this list.
As the film opened in theaters, the Executive Producer urged his readers to get out in force and see the film, since "opening weekend numbers are very important." But as the reviews (and box office figures) came out, it was clear that the movie was an unmitigated disaster. Poorly attended, with a box office that did not manage to earn back even 1/4 of its estimated budget, the movie's failure has left the Interpreter Foundation's filmmaking ambitions in a precarious position. While the Executive Producer continues to insist that (avowedly anti-Community of Christ) film is actually "really good," he has also been forced to admit that its poor performance in theaters will likely spell the end of movies made by Interpreter.
But there may be an upshot here, which brings us to the Number 1 Happening in Mopologetics in 2024:
1. Scripture Central Makes Amends with the Heartlanders
Over the past several years, Jack Welch's Scripture Central has quietly become an apologetic juggernaut, featuring a website with slick production values, an attractive cast of hosts and presenters, a 21st century presentation model that leans into the advantages that are offered by modern internet and streaming technology. And, of course, a humongous operating budget that dwarfs the financial situation of FAIR and Interpreter. Despite the claims of Interpreter's most avid "boosters," it would seem that Scripture Central has moved into the Number One Position, and is now dominating that Mopologetics Market, even going to so far as to fundamentally *remake* key scenes from Interpreter's Witnesses film.
But the Number One event from 2024 came on April 20th, when a representative from Scripture Central accepted a very public invitation to speak....alongside Rodney Meldrum of FIRM. The purpose of the meeting was described on Scripture Central this way:
One clue may lie in the way that Welch and company have begun to cleverly co-opt Interpreter material. As noted, Scripture Central has already completely re-filmed key scenes from Interpreter's Witnesses, and they have recast Intepreter's President in a mere supporting role. It turns out that Welch knows his competitors all too well: invite a guy out on a free trip, with free room and board, and give him a small speaking role, and he'll never guess in a million years that he's being used.
2024 may officially mark the year that Scripture Central lays claims to the title of Top Mopologetic Organization--they have the money and the power, as Tony Montana would say. But how will they use it? It's hard to imagine that they *won't* continue to try and corner the market in terms of the audience for Mopologetic material. But 2025 may prove to be very interesting indeed if conflict breaks out between Interpreter and Scripture Central. I'm reminded of a line from Dr. Peterson's infamous letter to Gerald Bradford: "I didn't even realize that I was playing chess before I had been checkmated." Will history repeat itself? I guess we will have to wait and see!
* * * * * *
Well, Friends and Colleagues, that will do it. 2024 was, I thought, a rather uneventful year: it may be that the production of Six Days in August was too much of a "black hole," and that it sucked the life/interest out of Mopologetics this year. But with the movie collapsing in on itself, one has to hope for more interesting things in the coming year.
So, please join Dean Robbers and the rest of the faculty at Cassius University as we admire the resplendent and fragrant Christmas tree--balsam pine, imported clear over from eastern Canada!--and we sing carols and sip hot toddies. It's a glorious, beautiful time of year, and the best way to spend it is to spend it with friends and loved ones. Happy holidays!
In fact, it seems lately like moviemaking has replaced traditional Mopologetics in certain ways. While it's true that we have been treated to the occasional hit-piece or dust-up--with the expected and usual "controversies," as it were--the fact is that 2024 was an uncharacteristically "slow" year in the world of Mopologetics. So much focus and energy seemed given over to the Mopologists' sophomore movie-making effort--i.e., the propaganda film Six Days in August. More on that movie later, though it can be said here and now that the film was, uh, not good. That's not to say the LDS-related movies are *all* lousy. In fact, one of the greatest Mormon films of all time was released a mere 5 years ago. You may have heard of it: it came out in 2019 and was directed by Ari Aster (of Hereditary notoriety. The name of this movie is Midsommar.
The film stars the charming Florence Pugh as a young woman going through a terrible tragedy: she just lost her sister and parents in a horrible murder/suicide, and in an effort to hit the "reset" button in her life, she goes with her rather flippant boyfriend on a trip to Sweden--ostensibly part of his and his friend's grad school research project, so that they can observe the rituals taking place there which only happen once every 90 years. The folks at the Swedish commune seem friendly enough, if a bit conservative and "weird," but the countryside is lovely (the film features terrific cinematography). And yet from the outset, you get the sense that the the commune is hiding something.
Indeed, things take a turn towards grim inevitability as the American visitors are invited to watch a ceremony in which an older, married couple from the commune voluntarily take a leap off a high cliff and onto the rocks below. The woman lands face-first and dies instantly. The guy, though, survives the fall, though a fellow commune member helps him out by bashing his head in with a mallet. The visitors, quite understandably panicked, are told that everyone in the commune does this at the age of 72 (the "age of accountability," in a sense, perhaps?), and it is considered "an honor."
From there, things go from bad to worse: more people die, more ceremonies take place, and older males wind up having ritualistic sex with much younger females. There is dancing, hallucination, and religious structures are burned. No doubt you can see where this leads: the parallels with Mormonism are remarkable, since Church history is also chock-full of dancing, hallucination of things like angels and gold plates, the burning of temples, and ritualistic sex with younger females. Plus, the movie is populated by loads of creepy white people who are constantly smiling in a faint yet ominous way, and who are often dressed in white clothing. And can it be any coincidence that Florence Pugh's rotten boyfriend is named "Christian"? Well, just as EVs would say about Latter-day Saints, he's not a *real* Christian! LOL! No worries, though: he's ultimately stuffed into a bear suit and burned alive.
Without a doubt, Midsommar is the greatest Latter-day Saint movie to have been made in the past ten years, and perhaps ever. You can just imagine how much jealousy the film inspires in the typical Mopologist: not just of the filmmaking prowess that went into producing the movie, but in the lifestyle that it depicts. If the movie had been called Added Upon instead, would it have become an instant icon within Mopologetic circles? Perhaps. But we have to remember that it was rated "R," so there is a good chance that the ever-obedient Mopologists never saw it at all. But who knows?
In any case, enough chit chat! It's time for the main event. Friends and Colleagues, it is my great duty and honor as the B.H. Roberts Chair of Mopologetics Studies to present you with The Top Ten Happenings in Mopologetics in the Year of Our Lord, 2024....
10. Interpreter Adopts a New "Half-Sphincter" Logo
From its very inception, the Mormon Interpreter blog has suffered from inadequacies. At first, there were severe problems with copyediting and with recycling of old articles. The problem with recycling old material persisted, along with a series of embarrassments, ranging from the Dales' silly statistical paper, to Greg Smith's hit piece on John Dehlin, to the attacks on the Joseph Smith Papers Project, which earned John Gee and Daniel Peterson a scolding from the General Authorities. And lately, it would seem, Interpreter has begun to feel more and more pressure from its Mopologetic competitors--especially from Jack Welch's Scripture Central, which is absolutely pummeling Interpreter when it comes to funding. Given this, it makes sense that Mormon Interpreter would attempt a kind of "re-branding" this year.
But the reviews were mixed. As longtime copyediting volunteer Tom observed, "I must confess that I don't know what the curious symbol next to the organization's name is intended to represent. An open book (shades of the time-honored practice of bibliomancy)? Rays of light? A heavenly gate? Dowsing rods in motion? My imagination is running wild." I myself wondered if it was meant to be a slinky in motion, but upon further consideration, the imagery seems clear: it's half of a sphincter. The graphic design people at Interpreter deserve real credit for this: it's impossible to think of a better symbol for what they do than half of a sphincter, or half an anus.
9. Coffee with Kish Debuts
2024 marked the emergence of an important new YouTube program: "Coffee with Kish," hosted by the inimitable Hon. Rev. Kishkumen. Featuring a lively and trippy introductory soundtrack and a bare-bones production style, the show nonetheless manages to deliver entertaining ruminations on Mormon-related topics in a relatively compact package. Recent highlights include the episode dealing with the Rev's sometimes harrowing missionary experiences, and his trenchant observations on the vagaries of LDS apologetics.
8. The Death of George Mitton
"Classic-FARMS" which dominated Mopologetics all throughout the 1990s and the first decade of the 2000s, was sent into a kind of slow death-spiral following the ejection of the Mopologists from the Maxwell Institute in 2012. And while the most visible faces of the movement were the more combative people--DCP, Hamblin, Midgley, etc.--there were others who operated in a relatively "behind the scenes" manner, but who were nonetheless crucial to the functioning of the movement. One of these was George Mitton, who passed away this summer. Mitton served as some kind of "lieutenant" or "Associate Editor," or something to that effect, and also--rather notably--served as co-author of the infamous smear article, "Mormon in the Fiery Furnace: Or, Loftes Tryk Goes to Cambridge." His passing in 2024 served as yet another reminder that the ranks of "classic-FARMS" Mopologists continues to dwindle.
7. The Trials and Tribulations of Robert Boylan
2024 was seemingly a difficult year for Robert Boylan, who was the highly-deserving recipient of the 2023 Sampson Avard Golden Scepter award, after his role in the "Richard Nygren" Scandal. For many years, Boylan had seemed like a fairly mild-mannered blogger who was focused primarily on esoteric biblical scholarship, but in recent years, aspects of his social media presence came to light, revealing a penchant for more traditionally Mopologetic attacks and juvenile antics, including connections with the deeply problematic "DezNat" movement.
Meanwhile, the problems began to pile up. In April, it was reported that Boylan's blog had been removed: perhaps due to complaints about his behavior. Then, in June, Boylan made a post in which he appeared to be trying to make a profit by selling drafts of books that the late Mopologist John Tvedtnes had been working on some years ago. And in August, a heated exchange between Boylan and a critic (?) served as yet another example of Boylan's penchant for aggressiveness. Rumors swirled that he had been cut loose from his job with the B.H. Roberts foundation and postings seemed to indicate that he was packing up his things and planning to move back in with his parents. Once upon a time, it seemed that Boylan was a 'rising star' in the world of Mopologetics, but the recent setbacks would seem to represent yet another blow to "classic-FARMS"-style Mopologetics.
6. FAIR Teams Up with the Valiant Conference and Demotes DCP from Keynote Speaking Role
In the midst of the rising challenges from Jack Welch's Scripture Central, both Interpreter and the other main Mopologetic outpost--FAIR Mormon--were left scrambling to maintain their share of the apologetics market. Whereas Interpreter turned to low-budget filmmaking, FAIR Mormon did a seeming about-face by teaming up with the seemingly 'Chapel Mormon' organization known as the Valiant Conference. The Valiant Conference marked a shift away from the "progressive" strain within certain corners of Mopologetics that advocated for more 'feminist-minded' approaches, and instead pushed for traditional women's roles within LDS culture. Or, as they put it on their website, "This conference exists so that we can collectively strengthen our beliefs and become confident disciples of Jesus Christ. When covenant keeping women gather, there is a powerful spirit that cannot be contained." Thus, the FAIR Mormon Conference made something of a "compromise," with *some* of the presentations continuing the tradition of defending Internet Mormon ideas, *but* with the added goal of pushing conservative patriarchal attitudes, and pressing women to quit complaining about their "2nd Class" status within the Church.
Was this a wise move? That remains to be seen, but as the ever-wise poster Tom opined back in April, "I hope the FAIR-Valiant Conference partnership works out better than FAIR's disastrous partnership with This is The Show." It certainly would indicate a shift away from sophomoric jackassery and towards the grim seriousness that can often epitomize "Zion Corridor" LDS culture.
Meanwhile, Daniel Peterson, who for over a decade had been the keynote speaker at the conference, was demoted to a lesser role, arguably signaling yet again that Mormon Interpreter is in decline, and is regarded with less respect by its sister organizations.
5. Interpreter Publishes Ron C. Rhodes's 'An Analysis of the Financial Incentives in Attacking the Restoration'
The sun rises each morning. Everyday, the tides come in and out. Cars traverse the highways; planes zigzag across the skies. People sit down and stand up; they watch TV; they talk to each other. And they poop. With similar regularity, the Mormon Interpreter blog continue to pound out content, with new (or "new-ish"?) material appearing every Friday. As has always been the case, Interpreter's output is of very mixed quality, but one can usually find at least one article worth highlighting. Last year, it was Allen Wyatt's stunningly confessional tirade against the Tanners that caught our attention. This year, the highlight (as it were) was surely Ron C. Rhodes's "An Analysis of the Financial Incentives in Attacking the Restoration," a piece whose breathless title was a perfect match for the apparently boneheaded lack of self-awareness on the part of the people publishing this piece.
As you might imagine, the article's chief targets were "Mormon Stories" and "Mormon Discussions, Inc." And as you *also* might imagine, there was no mention whatsoever of the Interpreter President's extensive (and largely comped) travel schedule, including on trips/cruising sponsored by the Interpreter Foundation itself (I believe the term is, "conflict of interest," no?), nor was there any mention of Scripture Central's astounding, multi-million dollar operating budget. Nor was there any reference to previous Interpreter blog postings that argued that Rodney Meldrum was a "snake oil salesman" who was promoting the Restoration for the sake of profit.
You have to wonder: is it possible that Dehlin and the folks at MD, Inc. are merely stowing away their money as a kind of "rainy day fund"? There's nothing wrong with that, is there?
4.The Mopologists (Allegedly) "Steal" a Donor List from BYU
In the final months leading up to the release of Interpreter's sophomore theatrical movie-making effort, one could sense an increasing tone of desperation emanating from the "Sic et Non" blog, where calls for donations grew steadily more plaintive. Meanwhile, a scholars of Mopologetics managed to procure a copy of the fundraising document that the apologists had been sending out to donors. On its face, fundraising is no big deal: it's a reality that any not-for-profit company has to deal with. But the author of this document--i.e., Interpreter President Daniel C. Peterson--painted a dark, foreboding, and dystopian vision of the future for prospective donors:
Quite interestingly, the Interpreter President manages to throw a wild haymaker at organizations that one would have thought were his allies: Scripture Central and FAIR are merely sycophantic organizations that are suckling at the teat of Interpreter? A "vital light" would go out? Would FAIR and Scripture Central collapse if it wasn't for all of the "new and faithful research" (such as the financial incentives article?) ceased to appear on the Interpreter Blog?At a time when staunch defenders of the faith are needed now more than ever, many leading organizations, publications, and scholars have abandoned the field of battle. Elder Neal A. Maxwell's admonition to allow "no more uncontested slam dunks" when countering critics of the Church has largely been forgotten.
[SNIP!]
The Interpreter Foundation is the major source of new research that is, in turn, being popularized by Scripture Central and FAIR to reach a broad audience of nonmembers and members via videos, written materials, and social and other media. Without The Interpreter Foundation, this source of new and faithful research would disappear, and a vital light would be extinguished.
Perhaps even more concerning, though, were rumors that Peterson and his team had illicitly obtained a list of donors from BYU and were using the list to send email spam about donating to Interpreter. There was word that some of the donors were incensed over this and were making formal complaints through various channels. Will this have a long-term impact on Interpreter's financial situations? Time will tell.
3. "Frenchy" is Used as Mopologetic Propaganda
Poor Frenchy. Mr. Frenchy Merrill had the (mis?)fortune one day to bump into the "Godfather of Mopologetics" at a cemetery one day, and what do you know? They got to talking. Frenchy, it turns out, was a widower who bitterly missed his departed wife. Little did he know, however, that he would become the protagonist of an ongoing story about the Power of Mormonism on "Sic et Non," where the Proprietor recycled his story on more than one occasion, where he noted his feelings of joy after learning that Frenchy had at last died:
On that one hand, feeling happy for someone dying seems a bit warped, no? But as observers realized, there was something else sinister at play here: namely, epic Mopologetic selfishness: if the Restoration is so "great" and "important," then why hadn't the Afore gone the extra mile to do Frenchy's temple work? As Everybody Wang Chung pointed out:We’ve returned, and I’ve come back alone, many times since then. Whenever I’m in southern California, if I can do it, I visit the cemetery. Every time for years, I looked to see whether Frenchy had finally gotten his wish.
Visiting in the spring of 2013, we immediately noticed that the grass next to my mother’s grave was fresh, and so, with some excitement, I hurriedly walked over to confirm what I suspected: Frenchy was gone. He had died on 30 August 2012.
I was deeply happy for him.
Meanwhile, devoted commentators at SeN scrambled to cover DCP's "mistake," while Peterson himself backpedaled in an effort to claim that Church rules prevented him from lifting a finger to help with Frenchy's eternal salvation. But despite the excuses and smokescreens, the fact remains: the Mopologists have been using Frenchy's story for propaganda purposed for more than a decade, and none of them did much of anything to help with Frenchy's temple work until the issue was pointed out to them by critics. The lesson here would seem to be that the Mopologists could not care less about you and your eternal salvation. But if your suffering and death can be used for fodder on one of their blogs? Well, then, God help you!So, DCP has the opportunity to actually do some real missionary work, but instead decides to write a blog post over a decade later, humble bragging about how awesome he is by showing empathy to Frenchy. Meanwhile, Frenchy and his two wives are in Spirit Prison waiting for someone (anyone) to do their temple work.
2. Six Days in August is an Abject Disaster
A lot of hype swirled around the production of the Mopologists' sophomore filmmaking effort this year--the Brigham Young-themed film, Six Days in August. But as with the first movie, Witnesses, the movie was plagued with problems and criticism from the start. The production faced a tall mountain to climb in terms of meeting its budgetary goals. Meanwhile, as still images and clips from the movie were posted, critics pointed out numerous historical errors and anachronisms. One anonymous source claimed to have read the script and to have worked on the crew of the film, and they denounced the production as "absolute garbage." Criticisms focused on the fundamental narrowness and tediousness of the story's subject matter, and it was pointed out that the movie would likely face stiff competition from other Mormon-themed films during its stint in theaters. Meanwhile, as the premiere date approached, the Mopologists scrambled to meet their fundraising goals, as discussed in item #4 of this list.
As the film opened in theaters, the Executive Producer urged his readers to get out in force and see the film, since "opening weekend numbers are very important." But as the reviews (and box office figures) came out, it was clear that the movie was an unmitigated disaster. Poorly attended, with a box office that did not manage to earn back even 1/4 of its estimated budget, the movie's failure has left the Interpreter Foundation's filmmaking ambitions in a precarious position. While the Executive Producer continues to insist that (avowedly anti-Community of Christ) film is actually "really good," he has also been forced to admit that its poor performance in theaters will likely spell the end of movies made by Interpreter.
But there may be an upshot here, which brings us to the Number 1 Happening in Mopologetics in 2024:
1. Scripture Central Makes Amends with the Heartlanders
Over the past several years, Jack Welch's Scripture Central has quietly become an apologetic juggernaut, featuring a website with slick production values, an attractive cast of hosts and presenters, a 21st century presentation model that leans into the advantages that are offered by modern internet and streaming technology. And, of course, a humongous operating budget that dwarfs the financial situation of FAIR and Interpreter. Despite the claims of Interpreter's most avid "boosters," it would seem that Scripture Central has moved into the Number One Position, and is now dominating that Mopologetics Market, even going to so far as to fundamentally *remake* key scenes from Interpreter's Witnesses film.
But the Number One event from 2024 came on April 20th, when a representative from Scripture Central accepted a very public invitation to speak....alongside Rodney Meldrum of FIRM. The purpose of the meeting was described on Scripture Central this way:
Of course, the other two main Mopologetic organizations--FAIR and Interpreter--have been at war with Rodney Meldrum, FIRM, and the Heartlanders for close to two decades. In fact, last year's Top Ten #1 was the "Richard Nygren Incident," which was a direct result of this longstanding feud. Welch's organization, meanwhile, correctly realizes that there is strength in numbers, and thus did the unthinkable: they extended an olive branch and took steps to mend bridges. Whereas Daniel Peterson has been painting a grim picture of a "vital light" being extinguished if Interpreter goes away, Scripture Central suggests that kindness towards one's own fellow Latter-day Saints is the way forward. If Scripture Central was a "juggernaut" *without* the support and cooperation of FIRM, what might the future hold for this remarkably ambitious and future-oriented organization?Saturday evening, April 20, 2024, Richard Ferguson accepted the gracious invitation to speak alongside Rod Meldrum at the FIRM Foundation conference. Both agreed that the most important purpose of the Book of Mormon is to bring people to Jesus Christ, and the volume’s role as a witness to His divinity.
Both discussed how contention over geographic models is not only unproductive, but destructive in furthering the Restoration’s progress. They agreed that faithful people can have different interpretations of early church leader statements and of scientific evidence.
One clue may lie in the way that Welch and company have begun to cleverly co-opt Interpreter material. As noted, Scripture Central has already completely re-filmed key scenes from Interpreter's Witnesses, and they have recast Intepreter's President in a mere supporting role. It turns out that Welch knows his competitors all too well: invite a guy out on a free trip, with free room and board, and give him a small speaking role, and he'll never guess in a million years that he's being used.
2024 may officially mark the year that Scripture Central lays claims to the title of Top Mopologetic Organization--they have the money and the power, as Tony Montana would say. But how will they use it? It's hard to imagine that they *won't* continue to try and corner the market in terms of the audience for Mopologetic material. But 2025 may prove to be very interesting indeed if conflict breaks out between Interpreter and Scripture Central. I'm reminded of a line from Dr. Peterson's infamous letter to Gerald Bradford: "I didn't even realize that I was playing chess before I had been checkmated." Will history repeat itself? I guess we will have to wait and see!
* * * * * *
Well, Friends and Colleagues, that will do it. 2024 was, I thought, a rather uneventful year: it may be that the production of Six Days in August was too much of a "black hole," and that it sucked the life/interest out of Mopologetics this year. But with the movie collapsing in on itself, one has to hope for more interesting things in the coming year.
So, please join Dean Robbers and the rest of the faculty at Cassius University as we admire the resplendent and fragrant Christmas tree--balsam pine, imported clear over from eastern Canada!--and we sing carols and sip hot toddies. It's a glorious, beautiful time of year, and the best way to spend it is to spend it with friends and loved ones. Happy holidays!
