| TV show upsets Aussie Mormons | |
| The Daily Telegraph - Surry Hills, New South Wales | |
THE Australian branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has distanced itself from the television series Big Love and the practice of polygamy. Big Love, which screens on SBS, is about a modern-day polygamist who lives in suburban Salt Lake City in the United States with his three wives and seven children. The church has released an open letter stating that the family in the series should not be referred to as Mormons. "Unfortunately placing the series in Salt Lake City, the international headquarters of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is enough to blur the line between the modern Church and the program's subject matter and reinforce old, outdated stereotypes," church spokesman Steve R Coy said. "This distinction is often lost on members of the public and even on some senior journalists." The statement said the church officially discontinued polygamy in the late 1800s, and any church member adopting the practice today is excommunicated. "The church has long been concerned about the practice of polygamy in some communities and, in particular, about persistent reports of emotional and physical child and wife abuse emanating from them," Mr Coy said. "It would be regrettable if the program, by making polygamy the subject of entertainment, minimises the seriousness of that problem." | |
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news.com.au Originally published July 6, 2007 | |
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