My interest in Mormon media matured as a film student at BYU, and while my career has taken me in other directions, I’m happy to see the success of some of my former classmates. Before I pack up the mic, I do have some parting thoughts:

Rated-R movies

There have been times in my life that I regularly watched Rated R movies. In fact, the Department of Media Arts at BYU has an essay on file, explaining why exceptions to the Church’s generally accepted stance are made even at BYU. On the flip side, I was once told in an interview with a counselor in the Stake Presidency at BYU that, though he could not refuse me a Temple Recommend for watching Rated R movies, that he “wouldn’t want me teaching his son as a Cub Scout leader”.

There is a lot of animosity around this issue. That is unfortunate. I have friends that are on both sides of the fence. I’ve heard many many convincing arguments, but I believe it is a matter of personal conviction, so I’ll share mine with you: No rated R movie is worth the price of disobedience. I know, I’ve seen ‘the best’ of them.

The Future of LDS Art

Presidents John Taylor and Spencer W, Kimball have both prophesied about the future of LDS art - and the potential for masterpieces writing and film. Their counsel is to avoid mediocrity and engage the
influence of the Spirit.

Who is bringing these prophecies to pass? We know it is possible. It has been said that one day the world will look to LDS artists as the best in their art form. So I have to wonder, is this where we’re headed? We know the talent is there, is it being put to good use?

LDS media falls into a couple of categories: media created for members of the Church and media created by members of the Church. In many books, films and albums created for the Mormon culture we find too many mediocre works of art. These works are praised for lacking the worldly filth, but are themselves too often a weak effort at imitation. They prosper because of what they lack. They to often reflect the insecure inward-bred culture of Mormon Utah.

Among the other group - those LDS who have chosen to perform on the broader stage - we have talents worth singling out. The most recent and obvious example is Stephanie Meyer. These artists who escape the comfortable Mormon audience and expose their talent to the world. Are their works overtly LDS? Mostly not, but those with an understanding of their source of inspiration will recognize the themes.

I do not want to disparage the work of thousands of LDS artists that publish through Deseret Book (or one of their former competitors they’ve bought). It is still possible to create good Mormon art. But if we are looking to reach the potential spoken of by Prophets, we will have to look the LDS artist who is not afraid to match talents with the world, and not those in the LDS arts that find a comfortable home in mediocre translation of real art.

So, to the readers, thanks for reading, and for the artists, we look forward to what you’ve got in store for us.

Brian