I cannot explain why I find religion so fascinating, I have always been an atheist / agnostic type of person and so to watch people who do have a faith and a calling to a higher power is really interesting to me. And to see how the 21st century changes those faiths and beliefs, especially with a religion that relies so heavily on people reaching out to others, was really fun to watch.

The Mormons Are Coming is a documentary that looks at Mormons on missions in the north of England. Young adults from all over the world converge into one place to spread the word of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints to try and get people to convert to their religion, and basically add more people to the group. It reminds me of multi-level marketing schemes, also known as pyramid schemes, where people will hire others below them on their team to be able to shill products to potential customers and recruits, but of course it is the building of a team that gives them the big bucks.

Mormon missions seem to be very similar in this way in that they have to connect to people, usually through the cliche of going to people’s houses door-to-door to be able to have them join their team, however we see in this documentary that social media is rife in the Mormon community as a way to connect with others that they would not have been able to do before cold calling. Using different social media platforms to promote their mission and just connecting with people that they normally wouldn’t be able to because of the distance between them, makes the mission a lot easier.

It’s really fascinating to see how these kids are able to indoctrinate people into their way of life and how even in the documentary we see one man join the Mormons and take part in a baptising that basically cements his space in the community.

But you do have to wonder, yes you want to get the message of God out to people, but what really is the point here? There are so many rules that the Mormons have to follow that I think make no sense including not being allowed to swim, and as we saw in the past a lot of people died because they too didn’t know how to do that basic act that could have literally saved their lives, so why isn’t that allowed? Also the fact that they’re not allowed caffeine or to swear and have to give 10% of their earnings to the church just seems to me like another money-making scheme for this person that’s somehow got enough people to follow them to believe in what they are saying.

If you’re interested in how the Mormon community has changed from what we knew them to be to what they are now with the rise of social media and online communication then this is a fantastic documentary because it shows you just that. I, in some ways, feel jealousy in faithful people because they have something to believe in to keep them going, and to see that community sounds absolutely wonderful. But of course in these sorts of shows they’re going to only show you the good things because if they showed you the bad, no one would ever want to be a part of it.

What do you think of Mormonism?

Until next time.

Published by shonaharding

Media graduate with a passion for reviewing film and TV. View all posts by shonaharding