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 doesn’t know any such Latter-day Saints, as he reveals the “secret” he learned from the series: “Mormons can be good people too.” That may be true, but the characters in the show still aren’t Mormons. The article in The Age merely perpetuates tired stereotypes and promulgates misinformation.

The fault does not lie entirely with Mattessi or The Age. HBO has intentionally tried to portray the characters on Big Love as members of the Mormon Church because it makes the show more controversial and draws a bigger audience. The show recently stopped carrying the disclaimer that appeared before the episodes, despite requests from the LDS Church. The makers of the series have intentionally engaged in misinformation in order to sell their program. The article in The Age is a prime example of careless journalism and how fiction gets passed off as fact.

The editors of The Age may be contacted at feedback@theage.com.au.

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 offense that the reference to Mormons on the cover may have caused.

Very gracious of the editors to acknowledge a minor implication like this. Exemplary work!

Via: Regret The Error

“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.

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 enforcement might bring.”

Not only is this untrue but no source was given to back up this rather bold assertion. Are we supposed to just take the reporter’s word for it?

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints supports enforcement of the laws of the land. The “Articles of Faith” that were written by the church’s founder state: “We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.”

In addition, calling polygamists “fundamentalist” Mormons is like calling Lutherans “fundamentalist Catholics.” It’s been more than 100 years since the Mormon Church practiced polygamy. The people who practice polygamy today are part of a distinct group that left the church in the 1890s. They are completely separate from the current Mormon Church.

They can call themselves fundamentalists if they choose, but they are certainly not fundamentalist Mormons.

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 "don't ask, don't tell" policy] was that the politically powerful Mormon Church, while officially opposing polygamy, did not want the bad press strict enforcement might bring.

Far from understanding the myriad of other reasons (as Pres. Wilford Woodruff comments in the Official Declaration) involved in the Church’s decision to renounce polygamy, the author thinks that the Church did so, and that it currently ignores those who continue to practice it, out of hoping to avoid “bad press”. This idea is unsupported and weak.

The fact remains that all those who practice polygamy are not members of the LDS Church. While their religious organizations may bear similar names and profess similar origins, these so-called “factions” are in no way related to the LDS Church.

Such an example is shown in the article here:

Nat was raised in a monogamous household but converted to Mormonism and decided to become a fundamentalist and a polygamist.

The ambiguity in this statement leads the reader to associate Mormonism with the “fundamentalist” groups, and those that practice polygamy. This is misleading, as Mormonism is not to be associated with such groups.

Any news article discussing the issue of polygamy should make clear that such groups have nothing whatsoever to do with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Since the LDS Church is sometimes known as the “Mormon” Church, and since many news reports cite the Warren Jeffs incident as concerning “Mormon fundamentalists”, the Church has responded by issuing an article to clarify the proper use of the word “Mormon”.

On page two of the online article, the author also calls the Church “The Church of Latter-day Saints”, while the correct name of the Church is “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints”.

The article’s author, John Pomfret, can be reached via email, or you may contact the Washington Post directly.