A New Trailer Drops for the "Witnesses" Movie

[_Doctor Scratch]

Unfortunately, there is still no "official" trailer for the "Witnesses" movie, but never fear, because there will apparently be some new footage released at the upcoming FAIRMormon Conference:

The title of my forthcoming presentation for the 2020 FairMormon conference has now been posted. It is “The Book of Mormon Witnesses: Variety and Complexity.” My remarks will likely include a medley of four short clips — totaling, altogether, roughly five or perhaps six minutes — from the forthcoming Interpreter Foundation Witnesses theatrical film. They are also very likely to be accompanied by still photographs taken on the set of the film.

I can hardly wait!

[_Gadianton]

And it won't get off the ground thanks to one insurmountable problem, "dependency".

I was sitting in a courtroom last year as a candidate juror, and the judge and lawyers were asking questions; I guess they were looking for bias. I can't remember which side brought it up, but it was noted that 12 officers would testify against the defendant; they had no other witnesses. The defendant had no other witnesses. I rolled my eyes, as that basically reduces to a single witness on either side.

[_Doctor Scratch]

I can't help but wonder about the producers' "roll out" strategy. Why haven't they released a trailer yet? Sure: I get that there is a pandemic going on, but last I heard, they were still planning on a theatrical release in October, and there is nothing stopping them from hitting the social media circuit. Why not a trailer on YouTube? Or the "Interpreter" website? Are they still reeling from our criticisms of their amateur-hour initial "trailer" (remember, that wasn't the *real* trailer!), and so they are afraid of being criticized over a second one? Or are they actually trying to limit their audience?

What I'm saying is that there doesn't seem to be any actual "plan." What, Peterson is just going to screen a few clips? (Well--LOL!--at least that will save him from having to actually *write* a talk, and even to just wing it off-the-cuff, as he has done in the past.)

In any case, this is where things stand: DCP periodically mentions the "Witnesses" movie on "SeN," but the main "nugget" that the audience has been given was that embarrassing "trailer" that had the "Street Fighter" punching noise synched up with Joseph Smith using the gold plates as a weapon. (Plus what appears to be a wireless mic clipped to the back of an actor's pants.) That's it: that is the principal impression that people have of this forthcoming "movie." They had better get cracking with that "official" trailer.

[_Doctor Scratch]

Some new announcements have been made. First, the film's debut has been pushed back into 2021. Quite a bummer. But this tidbit is especially interesting:

It’s possible, of course, that our guests in the audience were just being polite. I tried to watch for that. But I think they genuinely liked it, on the whole. I certainly hope so.

I like the honesty of it — I always insisted that matters like the introduction of early plural marriage and the failure of the Kirtland Bank had to be mentioned, if not comprehensively addressed — and it does that. Truth be told, there was no push-back against me on that point. They could not really be avoided, because they played a significant role in the departure of Oliver Cowdery, Martin Harris, and David Whitmer from the Church. We know full well that, if we try to sugar coat or whitewash things, our credibility will be irreparably damaged. Besides, I’ve always been for full disclosure. I’m confident that the Church’s truth claims will withstand scrutiny, and I think that attempting to hide difficult or challenging issues is a recipe for disaster in the long term.

Whoa....is he serious? I mean, the reason Mopologetics exists (at least in part) is to push back against full "honesty." And if this movie is truly "honest," then are they showing Deer Jesus? And will the movie depict Joseph Smith explaining that the events of the Book of Mormon take place in the U.S., and not in Latin America? Will it show him consulting The Late War in order to drum up ideas for the Book of Mormon?

This line: "I’ve always been for full disclosure" is so completely laughable that I don't even know where to begin. How long did we have to wait for the 2nd Watson Letter? And where is the 'disclosure' about the funding for the "Witnesses" movie? Where is the admission that he made more than $20,000 as Chair of FARMS, and an apology to us for lying about it?

[_Lemmie]

So if the film itself was ready to be privately screened, surely there is an updated trailer?

[_Doctor Scratch]

So if the film itself was ready to be privately screened, surely there is an updated trailer?

For health reasons, they should not have screened it in the manner they did. But yes, you're right: I see no reason why there still isn't an "official" trailer. Imagine being so scared of criticism from a few folks on an obscure message board that you are afraid to release a trailer for a movie that you've sunk a significant chunk of your life into.

[_Dr Moore]

The church has never been about full disclosure. Only when forced, kicking and screaming.

Ballard says "we've been as transparent as we know how to be" -- ok, when can we expect public access to those church vaults?

[_Dr Exiled]

The church has never been about full disclosure. Only when forced, kicking and screaming.

Ballard says "we've been as transparent as we know how to be" -- ok, when can we expect public access to those church vaults?

I feel your frustration, Dr. Moore. Of course they've come kicking and screaming. It's obvious to anyone except gaslighting apologist types. The JSP is a great step forward but unfettered access to the vaults won't be forthcoming any time soon. There are probably too many troubling things like some rantings and ravings by senile leaders or predictions that didn't come true over the years or references to items that have long since been destroyed. My guess is that we would discover that Brigham Young had more to do with Mountain Meadows than previously admitted. Hoffman fooled them and there are probably documents regarding attempts to cover the thing up. There are probably damning documents regarding the overall plan to cover things up after Leonard Arrington tried to open up the archives. Maybe some leaders pushed a BH Roberts type of view of the Book of Mormon behind the scenes? Who knows? We won't, unfortunately.