In one of my recent posts on a CNN interview with former members of Mitt Romney’s congregation, a reader asked me if we as Mormons enjoy all the media coverage.
I’ve seen people both excited about it, indifferent about it, and others who don’t want the Mormon church to be too exposed (as written about in the Washington Post article earlier this year).
I thought it would be interesting to gauge how readers feel by having a poll to see where people from around the country (and world) feel about Mormons being in the media so much. Take a few moments and record your thoughts on the poll below:
Grace for Grace 
13 comments
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August 25, 2012 at 6:55 pm
Garth
Scrutiny is only as good as the information provided. It brings out the best and worst of people seeking and giving information. Bigots arise to “clarify” with conspiracy theories, and some honestly (Brian Williams @ NBC RockCenter) provide decent coverage. That’s why I voted “indifferent”, which doesn’t mean I don’t care or don’t think it matters–but rather that I think it cuts both ways. It’s at least getting people to want to know, but doesn’t assure whether the result will be gold or pyrite. If the maxim of “all publicity is good”, then it will likely help in the long run. I’m just not sure that maxim is true.
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August 26, 2012 at 4:34 pm
graceforgrace
Hi Garth,
You bring up some very good points to consider.
You also brought up the Brian Williams piece that came up the other night. I think it was overall positive. They could have done a much better job of highlighting what actually goes on in the church rather than some of the random hot topics like the gay guys and feminism, but overall they did a decent job of not being overly negative. I really liked the report they had on there of bishops and the welfare program.
Anyways, back to your point. There is both good and bad out there. I’m curious to see what non-Mormons think of all the coverage and if what is out there has helped them learn more about Mormons.
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August 26, 2012 at 6:46 pm
Cal
It’s great to see you on here, Garth!
Since I’m not a Mormon, I shouldn’t say much on this particular thread, but I’ll squeeze this in: I think the secular media coverage of Mormonism is more fair than the Christian media coverage.
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August 26, 2012 at 10:47 pm
graceforgrace
Hi Cal,
Very interesting comment. Have you seen a boost in media coverage on Mormons in Christian circles? If so, which ones are the most popular? Also, why do you suggest Christian media coverage isn’t as fair (I feel I know personally, but for other readers, could you elaborate?)
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August 27, 2012 at 6:32 am
Cal
Hi AMA,
To your first question, yes. Charisma News regularly sends stories to my email.
I like it because it gives me a chance to write little-known positive truths about Mormons in the blogs at the end of each story.
It’s amazing how ignorant Christians are of the LDS. I tell them you guys believe Jesus is the Son of God who died on a cross for our sins. They don’t seem to know how to react to that. Many of their minds are so glazed with the “God was once a man like us” stuff, that my words seem to go in one ear and out the other.
On the other hand, many of them sense an attitude of unfair or reckless judgmentalism on those who unknowingly slander the LDS and they give my comments a thumbs up and their comments a thumbs down. I believe truth will prevail in the end if we keep putting it out there and stay in a right spirit.
(Which name would you prefer I use for you, AMA?)
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August 29, 2012 at 1:03 pm
graceforgrace
Hi Cal,
You’re a better evangelist than we as Mormons are to clarify truths of Mormonism.
I’m not sure how things ballooned out of control in the Evangelical world. It must be taught in schools at private schools and pastor schools or something because virtually all EV’s are familiar with the random weird quotes from prophets back in the day that Mormons themselves aren’t familiar with half the time!
The thing is that it will take non-Mormons like yourself to spread the word b/c people don’t believe anything we as Mormons say since we’re already devils going to hell anyways! : )
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August 29, 2012 at 3:01 pm
Cal
We’ll be each other’s armor-bearers, Mr. GraceforGrace!
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August 26, 2012 at 7:42 pm
mormonheretic
Cal, I’m interested in your opinion, because I think most Mormons would generally disagree. Why do you think Christian media coverage is worse than Mormon? After all, Pastor Robert Jeffress recently referred to Mormonism as a cult. I’ve never heard such a thing said about any mainstream Christian denomination.
AMA, I generally liked that NBC show. There was one short scene that I did find extremely distasteful. With that exception, I thought they were pretty fair in providing pros and cons of Mormons.
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August 27, 2012 at 6:39 am
Cal
Nice to see your reappearance, mormonheretic.
I think you misunderstood me. My observation is that the non-Mormon Christian media is more unfair than the media coverage of the non-Christian world.
It’s an irony. When we Christians (non-Mormon and Mormon) obtain a faith in Jesus, we also pick up the false traditions in the church that God is trying to clean out.
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August 27, 2012 at 8:56 am
Cal
Communication is part of the challenge here. I find the challenge stimulating as well as an endeavor in line with God’s will for me.
Tell me if I’m wrong, but in the mind of a Mormon, there may not be any such thing as a non-Mormon Christian. (Don’t worry, I won’t be offended if you admit that to me.) Likewise, in Mormon thinking there may not be a clear demarcation between a non-Mormon Christian and a non-Mormon non-Christian; in the evangelical mind there is a clear demarcation, so clear that one will go to hell and the other to heaven!
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August 27, 2012 at 10:21 am
Doug Dwyer
Cal-I usually agree with you but not here. I think the mainstream media lumps LDS and Evangelicals all together-in the wacko category! I thought the Rock piece was pretty fair (amazing since it was NBC) however I felt they featured Huntsmen’s daughter way too much. Her love for her church must have been pretty shallow if all it took was a Bishop’s reaction to her dating a non-Mormon to leave the church.
The piece on the Bishop’s store house and the attitude of the volunteers who worked there was really impressive-our church supports a food pantry but nothing like what you LDS have.
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August 29, 2012 at 1:05 pm
graceforgrace
Hi Doug,
I agree with you. If they wanted people to really get a good idea of the LDS church they would have shown more information on the lives of “normal” everyday Mormons rather than fringe people who had left the church. Sure it is good to have an objective view of all sides of the coin, but I felt it was too focused on Huntsman and gay Mormons. Those people are not the norm of the church.
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August 27, 2012 at 1:51 pm
Cal
Hi Doug Dwyer,
I think you had read too much into my comment. I agree that the mainstream media lumps LDS and evangelicals together. The devil knows who the enemy is!
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