Torches at High Noon: A Fog Machine, Power Lines, An Angry Extra and Brigham Young’s Electric Boogaloo

[drumdude]

It continues to astonish me that when Mormons compare themselves to any other group, on virtually every possible subject, they inevitably conclude they are the absolute best ever.

Well said. I’ve found they typically roll out this statement whenever they have failed at said subject.

It’s almost Orwellian.

[I Have Questions]

It continues to astonish me that when Mormons compare themselves to any other group, on virtually every possible subject, they inevitably conclude they are the absolute best ever.

Well said. I’ve found they typically roll out this statement whenever they have failed at said subject.

It’s almost Orwellian.

It’s very Trumpian.

[Tom]

A few excerpts from episode four of Bowdlerizing Brigham:

Fox: I’m curious, when it comes to difficult issues in church history, what is the church history department’s stance on that?

Grow: Really, the stance of church leaders is that we should discuss challenging topics openly, and within the household of faith. For us that means that if there is a challenging topic in church history or church doctrine or whatever, we should discuss it in our families, and in seminary classes, and in Sunday school classes. That this shouldn’t be something a returned missionary is browsing social media in their mid-twenties and they learn something that shocks them or rocks their world. And the church has really made a tremendous effort. It’s really hard to find another religious organization that puts as much effort into making its history accessible.

=====

My questions for Grow: why do we see returned missionaries in their mid-twenties learning shocking information about the church on social media? Shouldn’t they have learned that piece of information in their families, in seminary classes, or in Sunday school classes?

[Philo Sofee]

Thank you for posting those excerpts, Tom, that was very interesting.

Grow: "... It’s really hard to find another religious organization that puts as much effort into making its history accessible..."

It continues to astonish me that when Mormons compare themselves to any other group, on virtually every possible subject, they inevitably conclude they are the absolute best ever.

Meanwhile, in the real world, Mormons fail regularly at the most basic tasks, such as protecting children from abuse, following the law with respect to financial holdings, treating fellow community members with respect when zoning issues are confronted, telling the truth ("we are not a wealthy people..."), distinguishing between fact and fiction regarding historical artifacts, etc.

You forgot to mention voting for a moral and honest President of the United States......

[I Have Questions]

I’ve had a slightly different thought, that isn’t yet fully formed but hear me out. What if the Afore is simply being taken for a ride by Redbrick Filmworks? After the first movie flop (Witnesses) Peterson declared himself bereft of any good ideas for a second movie. It was Redbrick Filmworks that twisted his arm into a movie about Brigham Young. Now having identified their mark, got him to fund one movie, they were desperate to keep getting access to all those Interpreter funds that Peterson had access to. After the second movie bombed they convinced him that an 18 month YouTube project involving themselves, was a good idea. They would even manage it for him. To sweeten the deal, and to keep Peterson swallowing the bait, they schmoozed him with travel and expenses and a part in the series. Peterson is only guilty of being a bit of a mug and of falling for Redbrick’s flattery.

It’s just a theory so I would welcome a critique of it to show me why it’s unconvincing.

[Everybody Wang Chung]

[I Have Questions]

Redbrick Filmworks is not a corporate entity. It is not a registered company. It appears to be just an umbrella name for a small group of individuals. So who does Interpreter actually pay? What receipts do they get? How do the individuals within Redbrick Filmworks account for their income and expenditure? They may operate as individual sole traders. Interpreter is a registered charity, but Redbrick Films are not, they are not volunteering for Interpreter, and so the income the individuals receive is presumably liable for tax.

Is any of this being audited?

[Gadianton]

It’s just a theory so I would welcome a critique of it to show me why it’s unconvincing.

It's hard to disagree. Most of the jobs I've worked have had required ethics training that seems like a waste of time because it's so obvious, yet it's a persistent problem, apparently. In the corporate world, any potential vendor, no matter how small, has more than enough money to pay off just about any executive, no matter how well compensated. I'd say the main thing that's enlightening about said training is how little vendors are allowed to compensate clients. They do try really hard to get around the rules, of course. Fifty or a hundred dollar dinner here and there is permitted, but that's even with contracts in the hundreds of thousands and millions.

In a previous job I saw a trend of useless executives coming through who were billed as big tech idea men, and all they were doing was substituting a given technology that had no fundamental issues with the one they used at their last place, and they had a pre-existing relationship with the vendor. Something tells me more than 50 or a hundred bucks got exchanged in those cases.

[Doctor Scratch]

There are lots of unanswered questions concerning Redbrick and the way that Bowdlerizing Brigham is financed. But I think we can confidently say that *some*thing is fishy about it all simply due to the Afore's disingenuousness, and his passive=aggressive attempts to downplay the degree to which he's been compensated--i.e., all the cracks about "Gatorade" and "microwaved pizza," etc. Sure: he will grudgingly admit that he's gotten freebies, but he's going to pound you over the head with the fact that the "freebies" are mainly junk-food and crappy motel rooms.

Re: your question, IHQ--no, I don't think the Afore is being "taken for a ride" by Redbrick. I see it as a mutually beneficial relationship. But something that has apparently gone overlooked is the fact that, per BB's YouTube feed, the project is being supported not just by Interpreter, but *ALSO* by Scripture Central, FAIR, Meridian Magazine, and LDS 360. What does this mean, exactly? Scripture Central is the real powerhouse amongst all of these--they've got the deepest pockets. So were they pumping money into this project (and thus paying the Afore's travel expenses)?

Ultimately, it seems perfectly accurate to reiterate what I already said: the Afore's statements on this matter are 100% disingenuous. He's getting "comped" by Redbrick, but he knows a lot more about where Redbrick's financing came from than he's willing to admit. Recall that a decent-size chunk of Scripture Central's funding came from the Church itself (per Midgley). So, if Scripture Central pitched in to the "Redbrick Pool," then it may very well be true to say that the Afore's microwaved pizza and Gatorade were paid for by "the widow's mite."

I still think, though, that a significant portion of the Bowdlerizing Brigham project's funding has come from Interpreter. The Afore can clarify for us if that's not true.

[drumdude]

I still think, though, that a significant portion of the Bowdlerizing Brigham project's funding has come from Interpreter. The Afore can clarify for us if that's not true.

He’ll just make another disingenuous hyperbolic post that asking for this information is akin to asking for his family’s complete financial situation.