Meet the Mormons

This film seeks to inspire and enlighten viewers by summing up the goodness, challenges, and triumphs of six Mormons from diverse backgrounds and locales. 'Meet the Mormons'does a great job of storytelling, and breaks new ground in the genre of Mormon movies (i.e., One Good Man, Saints & Soldiers, The Other Side of Heaven, Charly, etc.), by providing the breadth, depth, and good pacing of an official documentary, coupled with a refreshing degree of authenticity and sincerity that is difficult to ignore or deny. 'Meet the Mormons'provides an opportunity to peer briefly into not only individual lives, but into the functions of the LDS Church and its unique global Gospel culture. Each member appears to live rich and service oriented lives and is presented in tandem with their loved ones, their religious community, as well as in key societal interactions - many of which are quite striking (e.g., a US soldier dropping candy out of airplanes for German kids, an educated Nepalese building schools and improving water supply for his people, etc.). As some critics have mentioned, film-goers may not fully appreciate the basic purpose of the film (even despite being keyed in by the films title) and get a little confused as to why there is no greater attempt at resolving doctrinal questions or controversies. If you are looking for a film length version of Mormon apologetics, this is probably not the film for you. On the other hand, if you are looking for an opportunity to be inspired by great lives, to reevaluate your own conceptions of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, while also being taken on an interesting trip around the world, this is a film for you to see (and see again).

Full disclosure: I'm a Mormon.

I saw Meet the Mormons over the weekend and I really enjoyed it. The idea of the movie is to showcase a few individuals who are faithful members, showing what their daily life is like and how their choices are affected by living the gospel. So in that sense it is rather like an extended set of "I'm a Mormon" vignettes. Having said that, there are some pretty remarkable stories told here.

For myself, the introduction felt a little awkward to me--it wasn't a really smooth transition into the vignettes. But that is alleviated by showing a number of humorous clips and comments about Mormons from various shows.

Rather than digging into the doctrines of the Church's faith, what I believe the show is really trying to put across is that the very basic tenets of faith, love, service, fellowship, and family are the driving day-to-day forces in a Mormon who is honestly living their religion as best they can. And the vignettes show that in spades.

Especially for a first theater release from the LDS Church, I am very impressed and would recommend this film to others. I hope they make and release more feature films.

Meet the Mormons is a documentary that examines the life of six devoted members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Meet the Mormons takes the viewers on a journey through the day to day life of these members from all around the world. The film paints a picture of their individual passions to their daily struggles while challenging the stereotypes that surround the Mormon faith.

This documentary follows 6 Members. First they stop in Atlanta Georgia to answer the question what it is like to be a Mormon Bishop, to balance a family and full time job and still have time for the volunteer responsibility of being a Mormon Bishop. They examine the life of a man named Jermaine Sullivan who is a Academic counselor, father of three and Bishop of the Atlanta Georgia branch of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He talks about how his faith, family, church members and friends fuel him to balance all that he has. Second they stop in Annapolis, Maryland and examine the life of the United States Navel Academy football head coach Ken Niumatalolo. Coach Niumatalolo talks about how his faith affects his life. One way being how he doesn't arrange meetings or practices on Sundays. Third they stop in Costa Rica and examine the life of Milton and Carolina Marin Muñoz and learn about how the men and women roles in a Mormon family are equal and what it is like to be a Mormon outside of the United States. Fourth they examine the life and amazing life story of a 92 year old pilot named Colonel Gail Halvorsen and how his faith helped him become The Original Candy bomber. Fifth they stop in Kathmandu, Nepal and examine the life of Bishnu Adhikari and how his faith and love of people helped him become a Humanitarian changing the life of thousands of people in Nepal. Sixth and final stop is in Salt Lake City where they examine the life of "The Missionary Mom" Dawn Armstrong and her life being converted to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

This documentary is made by Mormons about Mormons. So naturally it is made to leave a good thought of the religion in the viewers head. Given those expectations it's not nearly as preachy as you might expect. It is fascinating to see the way in which Mormons tell their own story. The question the film seeks to answer is why these intelligent, normal, believing people choose to be members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and not some other Christian denomination.

Meet the Mormons is is documentary but it feels like more of an adventure as it takes you through the life of six different Mormons. This documentary shows its audience what it is really like to be a Mormon. This is an incredible documentary that I believe could attract many audiences not just those of the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints but any others that are willing to learn about the Mormon religion. I give this documentary a 9/10 and really recommend it to anyone that wants to learn about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints or anyone willing to learn something new.

This is a documentary made by Mormons about Mormons. So naturally it is designed to leave the audience with a favorable taste in its mouth toward the religion. Given those expectations it's not nearly as preachy as you might expect. It is fascinating to see the way in which Mormons tell their own story. The stories of the 6 featured people in the documentary could probably be told about good people of any other Christian faith. The question the film seeks to answer is why these intelligent, normal, believing people choose to be members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and not some other Christian denomination.  The production value is high and there are some breathtaking settings, particularly the segments from Costa Rica and Nepal. The narrator's script was sadly weak and trite. It might have been better altogether without any narration at all. The greatest measure of this film though, is the state of mind you leave with. Did I want to be better because of the message I felt in this film? Absolutely. Overwhelmingly. I want the absolute selflessness of The Candy Bomber and The   Humanitarian. My life would be much richer with the hope and resilience of The Missionary Mom. And that is exactly what I was hoping to get from Meet the Mormons.

I brought my wife and kids to this movie hoping to give my kids a broader view of the world, and the people who live in it. This movie was excellent, highlighting the stories, and lives of six ordinary people from around the world, who have done amazing things just by being good. They didn't set out to be amazing, they just choose good. These people also happen to be members of The Church of Jesus Christ or Latter Day Saints (or Mormons).

I, and my children, came away realizing that the daily choices we make can have great effect. That acts of good can touch others and have a profound effect on their lives. I do not agree with some critics that this was a movie trying to convert me to Mormonism. I think that the church wanted people to realize that their members are normal people trying to be good. That accomplished that goal, in an inspiring movie that made me want to help others in the world.