Ex-Mórmon: Um Novo Mundo

This show is absolutely amazing, gives homophobes and judgmental people an insight on what gay people go through just to please others rather than being themselves. These individuals faced adversity with so much strength and set examples for those that are scared to be themselves. Love, love, love this show! :)

Perhaps I should have looked more closely at the episode descriptions before watching.

I was expecting an introspective journey of individuals who lost their belief in the Mormon religion.

What I got instead was a quasi-reality TV show of a couple who came out as being Gay - focusing on their lives in California where they were going to get married.

Coming out as Gay is a theme that has been brought up in many documentaries. However, in this series the emphasis was on their discovery of being Gay, rather than leaving the Mormon faith.

The Mormon religion is very hierarchical, patriarchal, and insular - shutting itself off from the outside world. It is puritanical, denying sexual activity and insists on sex only after marriage and solely for procreation purposes. I can assume they prohibit any form of birth control.

I wanted to learn the motivation for abandoning that world of Mormonism. There was very little on this.

One of the women told of how her parents were not allowed to attend her wedding inside the Mormon church because they were not of the faith.

The centerpiece of this documentary was of the two women who were to be married. This became repetitive and trite. When it veered away from them onto other ex-Mormons it was far more provocative, like the encounter with the "Mormon therapist" who did conversion therapy attempting to make Gay people straight. He later abandoned the Mormon faith.

Overall, this was disappointing and superficial, with much of one episode being devoted to the wedding of two women, showing them trying on clothes, making invitations...

What did any of this have to do with leaving Mormonism?

For context: I was raised in the LDS church in England, served as a missionary & married in the temple.

This is a fascinating insight into an area that shows the lack of inclusivity within the church I've called home. I've seen the struggles my brother in law had to face when he came out. I found this series to be a fair & balanced representation of the issues raised.

I was also adopted through LDS family services, as my birth mother was 14 when she got pregnant, & was shocked to see the advice is continued to be given. As is "stay celibate". Until you've walked in their shoes you cannot know what it's like.

This documentary seems to be of the opinion that if you cheat in your marriage, IF it is with a same sex person, you're a hero of some kind. Lots of marriages grow stale and need to be worked on and given attention. Running off and having an affair makes you typical, not a hero. I suppose blaming your church eases the conscious, but it doesn't change the fact you lied, cheated, and broke vows, no matter how nice the music they play in the background while telling your "brave" story.

Very good documentary, shows how difficult the live is for LGBTQ+ people in the church! It gives insight into a couple different stories and experiences from people. The church always talks about family and love thy neighbour but only if it's fitting for their closed minded and very conservative beliefs. Glad to see how these families came around and also to see have Patchwork families grow and get through troubles. Especially how the parents of the two protagonists changed. Glad to see people getting informed and keep learning, asking questions and find a new position! Definitely a must watch to learn about the church's teachings on queerness!