DOCSLIB.ORG

Teaching Like a Spiritual Rock Star

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Teaching Like a Spiritual Rock Star Teaching Like a Spiritual Rock Star Jeff Birk LLDS:​ So Jeff, how are you? Birk:​ I'm doing great, Kirk. Thanks for having me on. This is just an honor (00:00:30) and I am really excited to share some cool stuff with everybody. LLDS:​ Nice. Well maybe one thing and I want you to tell us a little about yourself, but just so nobody sits here and is distracted by what you're saying by thinking I've seen that guy somewhere. Where maybe somebody in the Mormon universe recognize you? Birk:​ So I've done a few Mormon Movies. You know, if anyone wants to think way back to when this whole thing started. When it really started to get (00:01:00) a lot of momentum was when the first "Singles Ward" movie came out. So I had a small role in the "Singles Ward" and the "Singles Ward 2" or the single second ward. I did some voiceover stuff for the "Saints and Soldiers" movies that, uh, that depict members of the church during a certain happenings during World War Two primarily. But I think that the big one that people might recognize me from is the "Home Teachers" where I co-started with Michael Berkland who's done a lot of stuff. So I was kind of the, you know, (00:01:30) the really, we got to get our home teaching done. And my co-star was the we gotta get home and watch the football game. But yeah, other than that, that's pretty much been where people might spot me and Costco and start following me around. LLDS:​ Have you had any weird interactions like that? Or is that why you shaved your head, so that nobody would recognize you? Birk:​ You know, it's that movie. We did it back in 2004. And so I've gotten a little lighter up top here since then. (00:02:00) I don't get a lot of recognition anymore. But every now and then I do. I will. For example, I remember I was walking into Costco once and there was a kid that was just kind of following me around, but I think the funniest on, Kurt, was I was flying and I had to connect through Minneapolis and so I'm going from somewhere like New York to Minneapolis, then home to Salt Lake City and on my connecting flight I'm leaving the plane, walking down the jet way or whatever they call it and I get to outside of the gate (00:02:30) and the flight agent says 'Home Teachers!" So that was kind of a goofy one, but it's fun. It's good. And uh, it's, it's been a great experience. LLDS:​ That's great. So tell us about what we need to know about you, about your background that may put you into context before we launch into your message today? Birk:​ Yeah. So just so everyone out there knows how you and I got in touch was I on a webcast with a friend of mine, Sean Repeater, (00:03:00)​ ​and, you heard my, interview that I did with him and found out a little bit more of what I do. And just so that everybody has a background of what I'm going to be talking about , when I was at BYU there was a comedy club in Provo, Utah, and all of my friends said, "You've got to go do this, you're just born to do this stuff". And I've been a goofy face maker and noisemaker my whole life. Right? And so I went to open mic night. Once, went onstage. I wrote down five minutes’ worth (00:03:30)​ ​of material and, Johnny Biscuit, the owner of the club at the time, he liked it and he invited me back and I kept going back and then five minutes turned into 10 and then 20. And then one thing led to another to where I've just had some incredible opportunities over the, over the past few years, quite a while ago, I opened for Jay Leno. I got to open for Martin Short, if any of you are familiar with him, he's done a lot of movies. A few big names. It's just been a lot of fun. And so, (00:04:00)​ ​from a comedy background, that's, that's where that comes from. But to continue the story, Kurt, what I've done primarily as my work is I'm a Corporate Presenter, so I go out and I speak with companies and organizations about a variety of topics. These could be companies such as Honda, Footlocker, a Virgin Trains, Liberty Mutual and New York Presbyterian. My real job I should say is with OC Tanner here in (00:04:30) Salt Lake City. And I go teach managers how to say thank you to their people. It's all about appreciation, recognition. But the one thing that we really, we're going to be talking about today has stemmed from my visit to a trade show one year. Excuse me in Dallas, Texas, it was a trade show about how to train. OK? So there's companies there that have their 10 by 10, 20 by 20 booths set up and we're going to teach you how to do this and train you how to do that. And the thing that (00:05:00)​ ​really amazed me, Kurt, was I was watching these trainers onstage and they were awful. Okay, now this is a trade show about training. All right? And so you got the one guy up there, he's got his shirt, kind of half un-tucked and he's looking around and he says, "are my slides working?" and it does this, you know, and OK, so, and it’s death by PowerPoint. There's these PowerPoints that are up there that have 500 words on them and they're all in (00:05:30) eight-point font and I'm just, Oh my goodness, you've gotta be kidding. And so it was, it was that experience that inspired me to actually write this book and I'll show it up for everybody and we'll show a screenshot of this as well, "Train Like a Rockstar Speaking Tips from a Stand Up Comedian". And so I've been able to go out and train a few companies on this. They'll have me come in and train their trainers on not just how to be funnier, but how to do a lot of things better in their training. And so I took the, the comedy (00:06:00)​ ​experience in the hundreds of thousands of stages that I've been on, and I said, how can I take that and move it into the corporate world to make sure that people don't get remembered as that was the worst training?. And that was the worst, most awful thing I've ever been through in my life, to make sure that they started to train like a rockstar. But the cool thing about what we're going to be talking about today is that I've gone through the material and I'm, uh, I'm going to apply it to make sure that at the end of this session that today you're going to be a better (00:06:30)​ ​sacrament meeting speaker. You're going to be a better Gospel doctrine instructor or Relief Society or Sunday school. And if you're a primary teacher, if you listen to the stuff that we have for you today and apply it, you're going to be the kind of primary teacher where when you are assigned another calling and you leave, your kids are going to beg you to come back. And here's why I say that for about a year and a half, I was, (00:07:00)​ ​me and my wife, we were instructors for the 10 to 11 year olds. And, uh, I had a really interesting experience just a couple of weeks ago at our state conference. We recently went through here in Draper, Utah. A ward split, I think in Draper, was split about every 20 minutes. It's just crazy. So we just went through a reorganization and we're going into Stake Conference and in the lobby, one of my former 11 year old, a kid named (00:07:30) Joseph, the hardest, most difficult. Okay, you primary teachers out there, you know exactly what I'm talking about. He was the one that every Sunday I thought, 'how are we going to handle them today?' You know, he comes running up to me and he says, "Brother Birk, you've got to come back! You're the best teacher. We've got new man, we need you back". And for me it was just one of those pause in time moments where (00:08:00) I just said, "Wow, it's all worth it." And the thing that made it worth it are some of the things that I'm going to be sharing with all of you today that I did in that particular class to make sure that these kids weren't wild and crazy and out of control, although they were a little bit sometimes, but how do I engage that group? Or how do I engage a Stake Conference group or my ward when I'm up giving that sacrament meeting talk, or it's my first time teaching Gospel doctrine.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Vol. 05 No. 2 Religious Educator
    Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel Volume 5 Number 2 Article 12 7-1-2004 Vol. 05 No. 2 Religious Educator Religious Educator Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/re BYU ScholarsArchive Citation Educator, Religious. "Vol. 05 No. 2 Religious Educator." Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel 5, no. 2 (2004). https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/re/vol5/iss2/12 This Full Issue is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel by an authorized editor of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. THE RELIGIOUS EDUCATOR • PERSPECTIVES ON THE RESTORED GOSPEL The Joseph Smith Translation INSIDE THIS ISSUE: “The Best Two Years of Our Lives” Teaching the Fall and the Atonement The One Pure Defense President Boyd K. Packer VOL 5 NO 2 • 2004 “A Miracle from Day One”: Publication of the Joseph Smith Translation Manuscripts Rebecca L. McConkie A Light in the Wilderness: Robert J. Matthews and His Work on the Joseph Smith Translation Ray L. Huntington and Brian M. Hauglid A Community of Christ Perspective on the JST Research of Robert J. Matthews: An Interview with Ronald E. Romig Brian M. Hauglid and Ray L. Huntington Precious Truths Restored: RELIGIOUS STUDIES CENTER • BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY Joseph Smith Translation Changes Not Included in Our Bible W. Jeffrey Marsh and Thomas E. Sherry “The Best Two Years of Our Lives”: A CES Mission Remembered Ed and Bunkie Griffith Endowed with Power Steven C.
    [Show full text]
  • THESIS a REASON to BELIEVE: a RHETORICAL ANALYSIS of MORMON MISSIONARY FILMS Submitted by Sky L. Anderson Department of Communic
    THESIS A REASON TO BELIEVE: A RHETORICAL ANALYSIS OF MORMON MISSIONARY FILMS Submitted by Sky L. Anderson Department of Communication Studies In partial fulfillment of the requirements For the Degree of Master of Arts Colorado State University Fort Collins, Colorado Spring 2012 Master’s Committee Advisor: Carl Burgchardt Eric Aoki Kathleen Kiefer ABSTRACT A REASON TO BELIEVE: A RHETORICAL ANALYSIS OF MORMON MISSIONARY FILMS In this analysis, I examine Mormon cinema and how it functions on a rhetorical level. I specifically focus on missionary films, or movies that are framed by LDS missionary narratives. Through an analysis of two LDS missionary films, namely Richard Dutcher’s God’s Army (2000) and Mitch Davis’ The Other Side of Heaven (2001), I uncover two rhetorical approaches to fostering spirituality. In my first analysis, I argue that God’s Army presents two pathways to spirituality: one which produces positive consequences for the characters, and the other which produces negative consequences. I call these pathways, respectively, ascending and descending spirituality, and I explore the rhetorical implications of this framing. In my second analysis, I contend that The Other Side of Heaven creates a rhetorical space wherein the audience may transform. Specifically, the film constructs a “Zion,” or a heaven on earth, with three necessary components, which coincide perfectly with established LDS teachings: God, people, and place. These three elements invite the audience to accept that they are imperfect, yet they can improve if they so desire. Ultimately, by comparing my findings from both films, I argue that the films’ rhetorical strategies are well constructed to potentially reinforce beliefs for Mormon audiences, and they also may invite non-Mormons to think more positively about LDS teachings.
    [Show full text]
  • Writer-Director Richard Dutcher, Unquestionably the Dominant Personality in the Past Decade of Mormon Cinema, on Location with A
    Writer-director Richard Dutcher, unquestionably the dominant personality in the past decade of Mormon cinema, on location with actors Jo-Sei Ikeda and Ignacio Serricchio for his film States of Grace (2005). Dutcher—who has worked as writer, actor, producer, director, and now editor—is credited with launching a new wave of Mormon film with his breakthrough production God’s Army in 2000, which not only set the stage for multiple theatrical releases of Mormon-themed pictures, but also sought to increase their realism and dramatic depth beyond the limited depic- tions of Mormons in Hollywood films or, conversely, institutional productions in the style of Judge Whitaker. © Main Street Movie Co. A History of Mormon Cinema: Fifth Wave V 127 The Fifth Wave: Cultural and Commercial Viability (2000–Present) The Fifth Wave of Mormon cinema is the current period, in which a culturally robust and commercially vibrant new art form is beginning to emerge. Its most obvious manifestation is in the stream of Mormon- themed theatrical feature films, produced independently of the Church, made by and for Latter-day Saints. Richard Dutcher’s much-celebrated God’s Army, released in March 2000, made him widely recognized as the father of this new movement in Mormon film, but his groundbreaking work actually marks a return to the past. The LDS filmmakers of the First Wave also sought to create 35mm films to be distributed through commer- cial theaters to a paying public. Mormon film has in many ways come full circle, with Latter-day Saints of the Fifth Wave attempting large theatrical productions at a time when anti-Mormon films are once again more vis- ible in the mainstream.
    [Show full text]
  • Latter-Day Screens
    Latter- day Screens This page intentionally left blank Latter- day Screens GENDER, SEXUALITY, AND MEDIATED MORMONISM Brenda R. Weber duke university press durham and london 2019 © 2019 DUKE UNIVERSITY PRESS. All rights reserved Printed in the United States of Amer i ca on acid- free paper ∞ Designed by Courtney Leigh Baker Typeset in Minion Pro and Helvetica Neue by Westchester Publishing Services Library of Congress Control Number: 2019943713 isbn 9781478004264 (hardcover : alk. paper) isbn 9781478004868 (pbk. : alk. paper) isbn 9781478005292 (ebook) Cover art: Big Love (hbo, 2006–11). Publication of this open monograph was the result of Indiana University’s participation in TOME (Toward an Open Monograph Ecosystem), a col- laboration of the Association of American Universities, the Association of University Presses, and the Association of Research Libraries. TOME aims to expand the reach of long-form humanities and social science scholarship including digital scholarship. Additionally, the program looks to ensure the sustainability of university press monograph publishing by supporting the highest quality scholarship and promoting a new ecology of scholarly publishing in which authors’ institutions bear the publication costs. Funding from Indiana University made it possible to open this publication to the world. This work was partially funded by the Office of the Vice Provost of Research and the IU Libraries. For Michael and Stacey, my North Stars This page intentionally left blank CONTENTS Acknowl edgments ix Past as Prologue. Latter- day Screens and History 1 Introduction. “Well, We Are a Curiosity, Ain’t We?”: Mediated Mormonism ​13 1. Mormonism as Meme and Analytic: Spiritual Neoliberalism, Image Management, and Transmediated Salvation ​49 2.
    [Show full text]
  • Artistry and Aesthetics in Contemporary Mormon and Iranian Film
    BYU Studies Quarterly Volume 48 Issue 2 Article 5 4-2009 Artistry and Aesthetics in Contemporary Mormon and Iranian Film Travis T. Anderson Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq Recommended Citation Anderson, Travis T. (2009) "Artistry and Aesthetics in Contemporary Mormon and Iranian Film," BYU Studies Quarterly: Vol. 48 : Iss. 2 , Article 5. Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq/vol48/iss2/5 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in BYU Studies Quarterly by an authorized editor of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. Anderson: Artistry and Aesthetics in Contemporary Mormon and Iranian Film Artistry and Aesthetics in Contemporary Mormon and Iranian Film Travis T. Anderson aving discovered that The Movies are infiltrating his provincial H world, a modern Don Quixote decides to muster arms against that assault. Much to the man’s dismay, however, his friends and family neither share his reactionary fears of the silver screen nor appreciate his moral remonstrations against it. In fact, over time they begin exploiting his zealous antics for comic effect, luring him into situations where his passionate opposition to The Movies can be secretly transformed into the subject for one. Although he is initially offended by this duplicity, once the hapless crusader finally sees the film in which he has unwittingly played a starring role, all is forgiven and he becomes an enthusiastic advo- cate of everything cinematic. As contemporary as this scenario might read today, it is actually the plot of a 1932 silent comedy called Haji Aqa, the Movie Actor—the second feature film ever made in Iran.
    [Show full text]
  • With Flds Shakeup, Polygamists Flee, Fight Evictions Church Says No Guns in Chapels Mormon Studies Controversy Erupts Update
    SUNSTONE UPDATE WITH FLDS SHAKEUP, POLYGAMISTS FLEE, FIGHT EVICTIONS STRIPPED OF THEIR priesthood and families, some twenty members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints face the prospects of either leaving town or fighting eviction orders. FLDS president and prophet Warren Jeffs has ordered the men to vacate properties that legally be- long to the church. The FLDS community includes some 6,000 members, most of whom live in the SALT LAKE TRIBUNE border towns of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Arizona. Jeffs, who took the FLDS reins in 2002, gave some of the wives of the disciplined men a “noble release,” PAT BAGLEY, COURTESY which means they can now marry a dif- ferent husband. gious leaders publicly stated they would not comply with the Former Colorado City Mayor Dan law, claiming that separation of church and state exempts Warren Jeffs Barlow and two of his brothers have left them from having to register or post notices in order to deny town and now live near St. George, Utah. worshipers from carrying concealed weapons on their Milton Holm and Ross Chatwin are fighting their eviction or- premises. ders, claiming they should be allowed to remain in the homes The LDS Church has agreed to comply with state law and they built or the church should pay them for improvements will register as having banned guns from its properties. The they made to the properties. move met with both praise for the Church’s commitment to “Warren gave my family to my younger brother, Ed. I think keep guns out of houses of worship and disappointment over that’s disgusting,” Holm told the Deseret News.
    [Show full text]
  • MEXICAN MORMON MASCULINITIES: Navigating Religious and Gender Normativities and Identities in Mexico City
    MEXICAN MORMON MASCULINITIES: navigating religious and gender normativities and identities in Mexico City. A thesis submitted to The University of Manchester for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Humanities 2018 ISAAC A SILES-BÁRCENAS SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES CONTENTS LIST OF IMAGES, TABLES AND FIGURES 4 ABSTRACT 5 DECLARATION 6 COPYRIGHT STATEMENT 6 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 7 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 8 ‘WHY MEN, WHY MORMONS?’ 8 OBJECTIVE AND SCOPE OF THE RESEARCH 13 THE STRUCTURE OF THE THESIS 14 CHAPTER 2: RELIGIOUS MASCULINITIES BEYOND TRADITION-LATE MODERN DICHOTOMIES 20 INTRODUCTION 20 THE SECULARIZATION THESIS: DEVELOPMENT AND CRITIQUE 23 THE ‘NEW’ RELIGIOSITY 28 BELIEVING, EMOTION AND AFFECT 30 TRADITIONAL AND NEW HEGEMONIC MASCULINITIES? 33 (HEGEMONIC) MASCULINITY FROM A GENDER PERSPECTIVE 38 DOUBLE THINKING AND SOCIAL EMBODIMENT IN THE CONFIGURATION OF RELIGIOUS MASCULINITIES 44 CONCLUSION 51 CHAPTER 3: A METHODOLOGY FIT FOR MEXICAN MORMON MASCULINITIES 53 INTRODUCTION 53 LOOKING AT MORMON MASCULINITIES FROM A QUALITATIVE PERSPECTIVE 54 THE METHODS 56 READING: ‘SEARCHING’ MORMON SCRIPTURE AND DOCUMENTS 57 OBSERVING: AN ETHNOGRAPHIC APPROACH 61 Afirmación México 68 INTERVIEWING: DIALOGUES ON MORMON MASCULINITIES 72 ANALYSING THE DATA 80 2 CHAPTER 4: MORMON MASCULINITIES ON DISPLAY 84 INTRODUCTION 84 MASCULINITIES ON DISPLAY AT THE MORMON CAPILLA 86 DISPLAYING MASCULINITIES THROUGH AUTHORITY AND SPIRITUALITY 90 ‘AND, BEHOLD, AND LO, THIS IS AN ENSAMPLE UNTO ALL…’ GENERAL AUTHORITY MASCULINITY 96 MORMON MASCULINITIES
    [Show full text]
  • Mormons Remember 11 September Tragedy
    74-79_news.qxd 10/9/02 10:33 AM Page 74 SUNSTONE UPDATE MORMONS REMEMBER PRESIDENT HINCKLEY VISITS UKRAINE, 11 SEPTEMBER TRAGEDY RUSSIA, AND ICELAND ON THE FIRST anniversary of the 11 September terrorist at- AS PRESIDENT GORDON B. tacks, LDS members and leaders participated in religious ser- Hinckley stepped off the vices and events of remembrance. plane in Kiev and in Moscow, In a Tabernacle filled to capacity, President James E. Faust he became the first LDS called the attacks “an evil conspiracy” that “caused a loss of our prophet to visit Ukraine and national innocence.” “Ours is the most favored nation ever es- Russia. Other stops in his six- tablished on this planet,” said day tour, completed 11 President Faust. “The motto September, included Ger- stamped on our coins ‘In God many, where he rededicated We Trust’ must also be stamped the Freiberg Temple; the President Hinckley greets in our hearts and minds.” Netherlands, where he dedi- Church members in Russia In the evening, representatives cated the Hague Temple; and of various wards, stakes, and in- Iceland, where he met with the head of state and local Church dependent Mormon organiza- members. tions, including Mormons for In Kiev, President Hinckley counseled some 3,200 mem- Equality and Social Justice bers and investigators gathered at the Palace Ukraine (MESJ) and a representative of Concert Hall. In Moscow, he addressed more than 2,000 the Utah North Area Presidency, Saints in the Cosmos Hotel, exclaiming, “I never dreamed I participated in a Walk and could come to Moscow, Russia, and see a congregation of Concert for Freedom, Diversity this kind!” and Remembrance, an event or- With the breakup of the Soviet Union, missionary work was President James E.
    [Show full text]
  • Latter-Day Screens Gender, Sexuality & Mediated Mormonism
    LATTER-DAY SCREENS GENDER, SEXUALITY & MEDIATED MORMONISM BRENDA R. WEBER Latter- day Screens Latter- day Screens GENDER, SEXUALITY, AND MEDIATED MORMONISM Brenda R. Weber duke university press durham and london 2019 © 2019 DUKE UNIVERSITY PRESS. All rights reserved Printed in the United States of Amer i ca on acid- free paper ∞ Designed by Courtney Leigh Baker Typeset in Minion Pro and Helvetica Neue by Westchester Publishing Services Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available from the Library of Congress. Library of Congress Control Number: 2019943713 isbn 9781478004264 (hardcover : alk. paper) isbn 9781478004868 (pbk. : alk. paper) isbn 9781478005292 (ebook) Cover art: Big Love (hbo, 2006–11). Publication of this open monograph was the result of Indiana University’s participation in TOME (Toward an Open Monograph Ecosystem), a col- laboration of the Association of American Universities, the Association of University Presses, and the Association of Research Libraries. TOME aims to expand the reach of long-form humanities and social science scholarship including digital scholarship. Additionally, the program looks to ensure the sustainability of university press monograph publishing by supporting the highest quality scholarship and promoting a new ecology of scholarly publishing in which authors’ institutions bear the publication costs. Funding from Indiana University made it possible to open this publication to the world. This work was partially funded by the Office of the Vice Provost of Research and the IU Libraries. For Michael and Stacey, my North Stars CONTENTS Acknowl edgments ix Past as Prologue. Latter- day Screens and History ​1 Introduction. “Well, We Are a Curiosity, Ain’t We?”: Mediated Mormonism ​13 1.
    [Show full text]
  • Competing Business Models in Mormon Cinema
    BYU Studies Quarterly Volume 46 Issue 2 Article 10 4-1-2007 Finding an Audience, Paying the Bills: Competing Business Models in Mormon Cinema Eric Samuelsen Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq Recommended Citation Samuelsen, Eric (2007) "Finding an Audience, Paying the Bills: Competing Business Models in Mormon Cinema," BYU Studies Quarterly: Vol. 46 : Iss. 2 , Article 10. Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq/vol46/iss2/10 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in BYU Studies Quarterly by an authorized editor of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. Samuelsen: Finding an Audience, Paying the Bills: Competing Business Models Finding an Audience, Paying the Bills Competing Business Models in Mormon Cinema Eric Samuelsen ver since Richard Dutcher directed and released God’s Army in 2000, E articles in the news media as well as papers in various outlets within Mormon Studies have discussed the beginnings of a “Mormon film” movement. What has been lost in all this discussion, however, is a simple enough reality: that what Richard Dutcher and others have accomplished in beginning this new movement does not represent anything close to the totality of Mormon filmmaking, but rather, success following one specific business model. To refer to the commercial films that followedGod’s Army as “the Mormon film movement” presumes a direct link between the busi- ness model used by an artist and the aesthetic choices made by that art- ist, or perhaps even that the particular model used by Dutcher and those who have followed his lead ought to be preferred over other possibilities on aesthetic grounds.
    [Show full text]
  • Latter-Day Screens
    Latter- day Screens This page intentionally left blank Latter- day Screens GENDER, SEXUALITY, AND MEDIATED MORMONISM Brenda R. Weber duke university press durham and london 2019 © 2019 DUKE UNIVERSITY PRESS. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution- NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/. Printed in the United States of Amer i ca on acid- free paper ∞ Designed by Courtney Leigh Baker Typeset in Minion Pro and Helvetica Neue by Westchester Publishing Services Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available from the Library of Congress. Library of Congress Control Number: 2019943713 isbn 9781478004264 (hardcover : alk. paper) isbn 9781478004868 (pbk. : alk. paper) isbn 9781478005292 (ebook) Cover art: Big Love (hbo, 2006–11). Publication of this open monograph was the result of Indiana University’s participation in TOME (Toward an Open Monograph Ecosystem), a col- laboration of the Association of American Universities, the Association of University Presses, and the Association of Research Libraries. TOME aims to expand the reach of long-form humanities and social science scholarship including digital scholarship. Additionally, the program looks to ensure the sustainability of university press monograph publishing by supporting the highest quality scholarship and promoting a new ecology of scholarly publishing in which authors’ institutions bear the publication costs. Funding from Indiana University made it possible to open this publication to the world. This work was partially funded by the Office of the Vice Provost of Research and the IU Libraries. For Michael and Stacey, my North Stars This page intentionally left blank CONTENTS Acknowl edgments ix Past as Prologue.
    [Show full text]
  • The Mormon Cult
    The Mormon Cult Jack B. Worthy See Sharp Press • Tucson, Arizona Copyright © 2008 by Jack B. Worthy. All rights reserved. For information contact See Sharp Press P.O. Box 1731 Tucson, AZ 85702-1731 Web site: www.seesharppress.com Worthy, Jack B. The Mormon cult : a former missionary reveals the secrets of Mormon mind control / Jack B. Worthy (pseud.) -- Tucson, Ariz. : See Sharp Press, 2008 ISBN 1-884365-44-2 ISBN 9781884365447 Includes bilbiographical references and index. Summary: This book describes the author’s work as a missionary in Hong Kong and his experience working in the cinema in Hong Kong after being excommunicated. The author presents an exposé of Mormonism’s inherent racism and sexism as revealed in official church documents, including the Book of Mormon and proclamations by the church’s “prophets.” 1. Mormon Church -- China -- Hong Kong. 2. Mormons -- Biography. 3. Mormon Church -- Controversial literature. 4. Motion pictures -- China -- Hong Kong. 1. Title. 289.3 Cover design by Kay Sather. Interior design by Chaz Bufe. Contents Introduction (by Richard Packham) . 1 Preface . 4 A Note on Terminology . 6 1. A Thumbnail History of Mormonism . 7 2. The Indoctrination Process . 12 3. Life Before My Mission . 47 4. My Mission in Hong Kong . 58 5. Excommunication and Life After Mormonism . 148 Glossary of Mormon Terms . .. 176 Recommended Reading & Viewing . 193 Index . 196 Cult, n. 1. A system of religious worship and ritual. 2. A religion or sect considered extremist or false. —The American Heritage Dictionary (Third Edition) “I suspect that there are few who know better the reality of Satan and his henchmen than does the full-time missionary, for the missionary is exposed to the fiery darts of the adversary, which come whistling overhead as he or she labors in the front lines in our war against sin.” —Elder Carlos E.
    [Show full text]