Mormons On Parade!

This cartoon was made under the auspices of the Mormon Church in the early 1970's to explain some of the more obscure aspects of Mormon Belief to children. Since then, it has become an object of cult entertainment. The ideas expressed in the film are still held by the Mormons, but they now have said that this is not what they meant. In other words, in the true tradition of Conservative religious freaks, when confronted with their own idiocy, they just deny they ever said it.

The Mormon Religion is a totally America phenomena. It was started in Upstate New York by a charismatic preacher, Joseph Smith, who started his own church in the 1830's. He claimed an angel came to him and gave him golden tablets with the scripture of Mormonism inscribed on them in a language only he could read. These sacred tablets contain The Book Of Mormon.

Smith's church became controversial when the husbands and fathers of his mainly female congregation became outraged because of the sexual nature of Smiths ministry.
He was literally run out of town. He did have a group of followers and they were polygamists. They settled on Great Fox Island off the coast of Michigans' Leewanaw Peninsula in Lake Michigan. They existed their for a few years in a rocky relationship with the predominately Irish Catholic Fishing settlement on the island. When the Mormon men began to recruit from the wives and daughters of the Fishermen, the Islanders retaliated in a bloody massacre of the Mormons. The Mormons again began to wander across the midwest and started off shoot religions before finally migrating to Utah and founding Salt Lake City under Brigham Young.

The Mormon community in Utah was a religious police state under Young. The Mormon doctrine continually evolved during this period, but it wasn't until the early part of the 20th century that Polygamy was actually challenged when Utah became a State.
Many Mormons went to Mexico, including the Romney family, to escape the anti polygamy laws. That fact was revealed when during the Republican Primaries, it was revealed that Mitt Romney's family were technically illegal aliens who had renounced Ameican Citizenship. Of course, Mitts father, George, became governor of Michigan during the 60's, but the Republicans hadn't made illegal immigtration a water shed issue at the time.

The metal plates that Smith discovered are never shown. The last experts who were allowed to examine them deduced that they were pieces of a pewter tea pot that had been taken apart and scratched with symbols.
The church was taken to task because of their doctrine that purported that blacks were not human. They since amended the Book of Mormon and now allegedly allow black members.

There is a lot of speculation about secret rights and the Mormon Sacred Underwear is a real thing. When they come of age, they are given a special garment which they can never take off. The underwear supposedly has protective powers.

Now we have seen the Mormons extend their polittical clout beyond the borders of the State of Utah in fighting for California's Proposition 8, making "Gay Marriage" unconstitutional. They spent upwards of 20 million dollars to influence the Californian voters, mostly in a last minute ad campaign designed to affect black and hispanics. When there is protest against the Mormons, specifically for this political activity, they try to claim religious persecution.

Mormons have now become a cultural joke as a result of their overbearing intervention into politics. They went from an obscure, "misunderstood" religion that most people had heard of but didn't know much about, to one of the most depised groups in America that is now the butt of everyone's jokes! How's that religious imperialism going for you guys? Here's a recent, October 17th, news itemFrom the Independent:

They've tried noisy protests, consumer boycotts, and the odd act of minor terrorism. Now supporters of gay marriage have unveiled a new weapon in their war against the Mormon Church: satire.

The creators of the cartoon South Park, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, are planning to stage a Broadway musical based on the lives and (many) loves of typical members of the Church of the Latter Day Saints.

It will be co-written by the composer Robert Lopez, who wrote Avenue Q, the award-winning musical which sends-up another all-American institution, Sesame Street.

Cheyenne Jackson, an openly-gay Broadway star who appeared in the film United 93, said this week that he has agreed to play the lead role, a Mormon missionary, in the show, which is currently being work-shopped and is slated to open in 2009.