From one extreme to another…
Doing a simple search of “Mormon” or “Mormonism” brings up a variety of websites. Some are sponsored by the church itself, others by members, some by groups who are very much against the teachings and practices of the church, and some who are trying to prove that the church is false. As you can imagine, the content on these sites is very different from one another. One says the Book of Mormon is true; the other says it is false. One says that Mormons are not Christian; the other says that they are. Mormon’s are polygamists; they’re not. Mormonism is a religion; it is a cult. Mormonism destroys families, it strengthens families. The list goes on and on from one extreme to another.
For a curious person or the seeker of truth, seeing such websites right next to each other could create some sort of cognitive dissonance. They see so many contradictory ideas and can’t be sure which are right and which are wrong. The way Mormons are portrayed in TV shows like South Park, or Big Love can also create a sort of dissonance for people who are somewhat familiar with the church. Even news reports about things like Prop 8 or the Mitt Romney campaign portray the religion in ways that are often inconsistent with the way members of the church understand them. This cognitive dissonance can be felt not only by people who are seeking to learn more about the church, but also by the church members themselves.
Is this good or bad? Would it be better to just have information from the church itself out there for people to read? Or do the conflicting views of those who do not agree with the church and its teachings help people to search harder for truth?
Also, knowing that there is so much negative and false information about our religion, does this change the way you seek and accept information about other religions?
Isn't it funny how most people form opinions based only on what they have seen in the media? I can't blame them however, for some people, this is the only exposure they have to certain events, people, cultures, etc. For example, if it wasn't for the media, I wouldn't know what life in China is like. I've never been there, and so I base my knowledge on information gathered from the media. I think this is saying so much.
ReplyDeleteIf the media has this kind of impact, then it is up to us to use it the best we can to send out the correct messages to the world.
True, there are many conflicting ideas out there... but I think that is to some advantage. If there was only good, people either would not accept it (believing it to be a lie, etc.), or wouldn't be forced to think deeper on the subject and decide on what they truly believe.
This realization does change the way i take in information on other religions, but only to the extent that I want to glean information from a myriad of sources. I have always read with 'a grain of salt', but now I think I will at least see what the rest of the picture has to offer for each, and hope that others will have the same courtesy for us before forming an opinion.
I think that for media to be fair and able to be trusted to some degree, that there has to be the good with the bad. Hasn't it been proven that when there is a mix of information, the truth will always be sought out? In the case of our church, I think it works especially to our advantage to have the bad out there with the good. This causes more people to be curious. They ask people that they know are members what the truth is, they search online and often stumble upon the chrurch's official sites where they can chat with a missionary or ask for a Book of Mormon or other materials. These people might even be more receptive to two young mormon missionaries who just might come knock on their door, all because they are curious about if all of the strange things they have heard are true. These things get people talking about the church even if in a negative way and hopefully, they will be corrected at some point. Any exposure is good exposure, right?
ReplyDeleteKnowing how Mormonism is portrayed has absolutely influenced the way I perceive other religions, whether their reputation be good or bad. It has taught me to look at the life of the believer and the doctrine separately sometimes and at times synonymously. I'm actually grateful at times that I have myself been so misunderstood because it has increased my own understanding of human nature, the nature of communication, and the importance of seeking reality rather than opinion. In that way, when I take ownership of my media consumption by evaluating it with real life experience, I'm enriched no matter what the media may be saying.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I don't think knowing how negatively our religion is portrayed has affected how I look at other religions. Not until this class have I challenged the stereotypes and framing of other religions. For instance, I always thought Scientology was the weirdest and most non-religious religion out there. While I still might think it's a bit strange, at least after being prompted to think about the religion in a different way I've started to give Scientologists the benefit of the doubt.
ReplyDeleteThere will always be negative info about our church and about most other religions as well. I don't think many people challenge stereotypes, so I think it's up to members of the Church and the Church itself to shed some light on who we really are. I think all we can do is put good information out there and hope that once people know a "good Mormon," they will be prompted to think about the LDS church in a different way. Until then I think we will have to accept that there is negative stuff out there, and that some people will believe it. I don't think it's good or bad, just that it's reality.
in answer to your question- I appreciate the way the media covers religion. However, I am aware that I have to be smart about sifting through bias and the "extremes" you have illustrated. But gathering as much information as possible and decifering the truth from it, I think, is a good practice. For example, there was a ton of truth in the South Park episode of mormonism. I was very impressed by its' accuracy. Yes, you have to sift out the "dum-dum-dum" song that was played during the Joseph Smith flashbacks, but someone could learn a lot about our religion that way. I'm not saying South Park is a persuasive missionary tool. I'm just saying it provided accurate information about our church. So I turn to the media and get as much accurate info as I can about other churches, and consider myself improved by an increase in knowledge.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to have to agree wholeheartedly with Mr. Rothfels. You have to be smart when searching religious topics while on the internets. Some people accept the first thing they find about a religion and take that as fact. One must be mindful of the extreme backlash that every religion has against it. And as Jake stated, sometimes even in the worst sources, there can be some good found. A person could watch that episode of South Park and could legitimately become interested in the mormon religion.
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