I think that your analogy and hostility are inappropriate for the following three reasons:

(1) A fatal lack of precision.

You make no distinction between moral equivalency and functional equivalency.

Unless the producers of the program are endowed members of the Church (or excommunicated / formerly endowed members), then they are not guilty of committing the moral equivalent of producing pornography. If they don’t have a divine testimony that the rituals they are portraying are sacred, then they are not pornographers in the moral sense. I will grant you they are pornographers in the technical sense, in that they have profaned the sacred by making it common, but this is a far different accusation than the one you have made against them.

When the Roman soldiers pierced our Savior’s hands and crucified him, he did not accuse them of pre-meditated maliciousness, first degree murder, or deep evil. Instead, he recognized that “they knew not what they did”, and forgave them instantly. Functionally, they were murderers and torturers. Morally, they were in much less extreme category. With regard to temple ordinances, a similar, minimal kind of accountability likely applies to most if not all of the people at HBO who were involved.

It may be the case that by “moral equivalent” you intended to convey something closer to “functional equivalent” or “technical equivalent”. Even if that is the case, (and it does seem clear you are not accusing them of being wilful traitors to the cause of Christ) your tone, imprecise language, and hostility overshadow any semblence of moderation, fairness, or forgiveness.

We need to make peace with our perceived enemies to a greater extent, try to see the world from their perspective, give them the benefit of the doubt, and even advocate their position–whatever fragments of it might be honorable or innocent. Failing in this, we will continue to be rightly accused of being arrogant, self-righteous, and easily offended. Such weaknesses contributed to why the early Saints had such a horrible time, were so viciously hated by their neighbors, and were repeatedly cursed and chastened by God. As a people, we are still a long way from repenting of those prideful attitudes.

Take a step back and consider how much profanity you commit each day in the eyes of other religions: you vocalize the Tetragrammaton, you eat pork (I assume) and other non-Kosher combinations, you don’t object to pictures or attempted likenesses of Mohammed, you allow your wife to walk openly and alone in public, you allow her to interact with other men while she isn’t wearing a head covering, etc., etc. The fact that these things are not true profanities does not make them any less offensive to those who consider them to be such. Indeed some of the behaviors listed above were once upon a time punishable offenses in the sight of God. (Side discussion:)

In order to operate on a level playing field, we must treat all profanities, (both perceived and real), as being of equal non-importance in a general or public sense, when people are within their rights of freedom of expression. This does not require us to abandon our commitment with regard to how we personally or privately treat information that we know is sacred, but it should mitigate our hostility towards those who don’t have a testimony of the truth. Any course that is less tolerant than this establishes a “we-are-virtuous-and-you-are-evil” dichotomy, and that attitude will often lead to counterproductive outcomes.

We need dispassion and coolness in these situations, not anger and defensiveness. Because we have more knowledge than many others, we will be held to a higher standard with regard to how we respond to their mistakes and transgressions. In my view, us being offended and hostile towards them in these matters is a greater sin than the profanity which they are producing.

(2) The real world impact of profanity.

The portrayal of sacred ordinances in a profane or common setting is not necessarily a net negative for the Church. The following quote –or something like it– has been attributed to Brigham Young: “Whenever you kick the Church, you kick it upstairs”.

Regardless of whether Brigham Young said it or not, I and many others are living proof that there is some accuracy to the sentiment. My siblings and I are members of the Church as a fairly direct result of anti-Mormon activity. My father was a member of a Protestant sect in which the minister was a virulent Mormon hater. This minister tried to recruit him for help in fighting the missionaries. The minister provided him with negative literature referencing many verses in the BoM along with an inexpensive missionary copy of it. After reading it, my father gained a testimony and was baptized within several months.

There is another example of this kind of conversion-resulting-from-an-attack-on-the-Church on the commonconsent blog related to the Greer / Aurora branch: “No Press is Bad Press”. See here

Also consider the following passage from our Lord:

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me….neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” (John 10)

I’m not suggesting that we should ignore anti-Mormon literature or take it lightly. What I am saying is that in a limited sense it is a form of free advertising: it makes progress towards the “every ear shall hear and every heart shall be penetrated” outcome that the Lord has stated must occur. Clearly, some anti-Mormon literature is more potent and dishonest than other kinds and deserves a stronger response (per the commandment in Section 123 of the D/C), but I don’t see this HBO program as being particularly anti-Mormon or dishonest, if at all.

In the end, whether or not HBO was “intentionally” trying to kick the Church may be arguable, but what is not arguable is that they exposed millions of people to some important and essentially accurate fragments of the truth. Those fragments or seeds may one day germinate into action, investigation, and conversion: possibly sooner than later. Could the material also lead to alienation, hatred, bigotry, mocking, and sacrilege? Of course it could, but most of the individuals who react that way already have hardened hearts and darkened minds gained by a lifetime of bad choices. The program cannot be blamed as the source or motivation of their distemper.

(3) Transparency & common availability.

HBO didn’t illegally wiretap or smash down a temple wall to steal the details of the ceremony. The signs, keywords, and tokens which are revealed in the temple have been public or common knowledge for many years now, and are part of the “all things shall be spoken upon the housetops in the last days” situation.

Given the reality of modern print and broadcast technology, plus the perpetual existence of traitors and ignorants, it is obvious that God never anticipated that the temple ceremony would be kept out of the view of the world. The signs, key words, and tokens are owned by and available to the whole human race, and it has been that way for a long time, long before HBO ordered their recent lineup. Again, this does not absolve us of our commitments with regard to how we personally treat the information we have, but it should lessen our hostility towards those who don’t know what they are dealing with.

From Mark chapter 3:

“All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation.”

This verse cuts to the heart of the matter, and it speaks to the issues of (A) knowledge, and (B) malicious intent or mens rea. Since HBO producers obviously lack the first, they are incapable of the second.

Where you see HBO’s disclaimer as being mealy mouthed or disingenuous and taunting, I see it as sincere and above board. It is the same kind of disclaimer that any professional organization would provide when dealing with an issue that they see as fair game but which they know others consider to be taboo.

Seek to advocate the position of your perceived enemy, and you will find a world that is far removed and far more open and accurate than your current position. The Golden Rule demands this of you.

Your “Never have. Never will” attitude is regrettable and unacceptable. I invite you to reconsider your position and subscribe to HBO for a trial period of one month. Plan your viewing in advance and watch just one or two programs during that 30 days that might hold some interest for you. As a start, I recommend their documentary selections. They have some amazing and powerful work in this area, and have won many film awards.

One documentary which recently premiered on HBO, titled “Which Way Home?” shed some light on the hundreds of Mexican orphans who risk their lives every day jumping illegally onto cargo trains that might cross into Texas. Many of them have their arms and legs amputated when they attempt to board the trains and get run over. Others starve, get raped, kidnapped, or are otherwise exploited by transients or criminals. Some drown in rivers and others die in desert areas. It was an eye-opening and tragic film, and it broadened my understanding and increased my compassion. (cr “perplexities of the nations” D&C 88:79)

Another recent documentary was about children who are born into brothels, and the struggle and hardship they face trying to make a life for themselves and escape the slavery they are in. I was shocked and horrified by the reality they face, but also inspired by the courage of the film makers and by the children they interviewed. The film makers and producers are people who passionately hate the flesh trade and want to see it eradicated. They want more people to be aware of it and fight against it. These people fit the very definitin of “praiseworthy and of good report”.

One final mention is “Assault in the Ring.” This HBO premiere was one of the best documentaries I have ever seen. It was the redemption story of fallen boxer Luis Resto, and his journey to seek forgiveness for what he did to Billy Collins in 1983. Even if you choose not to subscribe to HBO, rent this movie on DVD and watch it with your family. It is an extraordinarily potent narrative about peer pressure, lying, accountability, pride vs. humility, and repentance. Synopsis here

HBO also has some great kids programming and family movies at certain times. All you have to do is look.

I know, I know — we shouldn’t feed trolls. But it can be interesting at times.

One of the great paradoxes of life, that is.

I know, I know — we shouldn’t feed trolls. But it can be interesting at times.

I wish thats’s how it worked, but it seems to me that going back to what I took out of Blake’s original point (you remember, way back at the top), we Latter-day saints feel as though someone has taken something that means everything to us. They took it and shared with those who can’t fully understand it in context, since understanding it in context requires that the person involved is involved for more than just intellectual knowledge. We feel as though entertainment and money reached a new low. In fact, I’ll go farther than Blake in asserting it was total, forced prostitution.

I’m glad to lighten the mood, but – hasten to add that I completely agree with Geoff and the others, in that, for anyone to require “full” or utter knowledge in order to make rational decisions must be supermen with super-cognitive/emotional abilities. I for one can’t fathom how they’ve been able to make any decision at all unless they do.

To me, you’re suffocating yourself with your unrealistic qualifications (logically speaking) that you’re setting up for Mormons.

“to a reasonable degree” seems to be a subjective opinion rather than some universal qualification or quality.

By your logic no rational person should ever take a full-time job. That is an absurd position to take, therefore, I find your logic rather absurd.

If this were truly a consequence of my argument, I would fully endorse. Well . . . to a reasonable degree, that is.