A look At the Fundamental Premise of The Book of Mormon Musical
Posted: November 19, 2017
A non-LDS friend of mine has been listening to the Book of Mormon musical on Pandora. That sparked some curiosity this week and I decided to write a reboot of a post I published . . . . a long time ago. #preIPHONE
The Book of Mormon Musical is about a Mormon missionary called to serve in Uganda. Of course he doesn't know Uganda is in Africa because he is a religious character in American media. In America people of faith are portrayed as one of two stereotypes: (1) uneducated & naive, or (2) bat-shit crazy. In Africa he is forced to confront the harsh realities of life. This experience reveals his religious dogma as insufficient at best.
The premise is that a faith based life is too simple and naive to offer real help for the complex realities of life.
Curiosity piqued. Just what does the church do in Africa? I looked up some numbers. Just the facts; no song and dance.
Number of Beneficiaries of Humanitarian Aid (2003 – 2010)
| Immunizations (with other organizations) || 42,465,500 | | --------------------------------------------- |--| ----------- | | Clean Water || 3,953,601 | | Vision Care || 3,953,601 | | Neonatal Resuscitation Training || 53,130 | | Wheelchairs || 37,853 | | Food Production/Nutrition || 1,000 | | Other health initiatives total || 100 | | Total beneficiaries || 46,644,893 |
Africa Church Statistics
| Converts (1/1/10 – 9/30/10) || 16,198 | | --------------------------------------------- |--| ----------- | | Stakes and Districts || 104 | | Wards and Branches || 961 | | Missions || 18 | | Temples || 3 | | Total Church Membership || 318,947 |
I don't know if you have ever seen someone receive a wheelchair for the first time. I've seen a woman drag herself across the dirt floor to climb into her first wheel chair.
It was transformative. She literally became a person in front of me. And it shames me to admit I couldn't see her until that point.
(Unfortunatly the original video has been replaced)
Looking at the facts, it looks like the church is doing a lot. And judging by the growth from 2010 to now, it looks like the message resonates.
I'm not hating on the musical. I haven't seen it. I'm listening to the soundtrack on Spotify. So far it's been really funny . . . and offensive. But still really funny. You know what they say? The book is always better.