The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives

[PazamaManX]

Out of morbid curiosity, I gave into the impulse to watch the new reality TV show on Hulu. I only watched the first episode.... No that's a lie, I quit watching with about ten minutes left and I'm amazed I made it that far.

It's pretty much what you'd expect. Gossip, drama and the usual stilted reality show conversations and interviews were all there. The creators of the show used a variety of religious imagery for B-roll footage, not caring if it was LDS or not. Garments were mentioned in one conversation. In another conversation, someone asked if the other person had talked to their bishop. But aside from that, the show doesn't do much to focus on the "Mormon" part of the title.

As far the show's "story" goes, if you can call it that, much of the episode centers around Taylor, or gossiping about Taylor, the woman who aired the goings-on of the MomTok group that was on TikTok. Another woman and her husband who were involved in that are also present in the show. And the rest of the cast are there to gossip about them. And that's as much detail as I have the ability to describe. I was not invested enough to remember much more than that. I've heard more interesting discussions by watching my chickens cluck at each other. But then, the show wasn't made for me.

If you enjoy trashy, gossip laden reality TV, you'll enjoy this. If not, I'm sure I don't have to say you'll have more fun with something else.

[Roy]

I did see that the church issued a statement - not explicitly about this show but the statement released within days of the "Secret Lives" previews dropping.

https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-fa ... rts-faith/

Essentially it says that entertainment media misrepresents our faith.

I wondered what was meant by this sentence: "Other [productions] irresponsibly mischaracterize the safety and conduct of our volunteer missionaries."

Does anyone know what that sentence seems to be referring to? I can't seem to remember any recent entertainment that that mischaracterized missionary safety.

[DarkJedi]

I did see that the church issued a statement - not explicitly about this show but the statement released within days of the "Secret Lives" previews dropping.

https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-fa ... rts-faith/

Essentially it says that entertainment media misrepresents our faith.

I wondered what was meant by this sentence: "Other [productions] irresponsibly mischaracterize the safety and conduct of our volunteer missionaries."

Does anyone know what that sentence seems to be referring to? I can't seem to remember any recent entertainment that that mischaracterized missionary safety.

I'm not positive, but I think it may be referring to the upcoming movie "Heretic" which was screened at the Toronto Film Festival recently and comes to theaters in November. It's about a crazy guy who terrorizes two sister missionaries. https://www.sltrib.com/artsliving/2024/ ... about-lds/

As to Mormon Wives, there does seem to be a market for this type of salacious TV, but that type of TV doesn't interest me or my wife.

[PazamaManX]

From that press release...

“While this is not new, a number of recent productions depict lifestyles and practices blatantly inconsistent with the teachings of the Church. Others irresponsibly mischaracterize the safety and conduct of our volunteer missionaries. We understand the fascination some in the media have with the Church, but regret that portrayals often rely on sensationalism and inaccuracies that do not fairly and fully reflect the lives of our Church members or the sacred beliefs that they hold dear.

As much as I hate for it to sound like I'm defending the show, I do have to give the devil its due. The show starts off pointing out the more restrictive things that come along with growing up LDS (modesty, no piercings, no dating before 16 for example) and the typical beliefs of the faith, and makes clear that the people on the show (or at least the MomTok ones) have broken from that. Taylor, the main subject of the show, is shown to be something of a black sheep.

You also wouldn't have to go far in Utah to find people who would fit right in on the show. As unflattering as it is to the Church and their fellow Utahans, those people do exist. So while it is accurate to say 'Secret Lives' isn't an accurate reflection of the average LDS member, I'd say it does portray a subsection of Utah Mormon society pretty accurately.

[Roy]

You also wouldn't have to go far in Utah to find people who would fit right in on the show. As unflattering as it is to the Church and their fellow Utahans, those people do exist. So while it is accurate to say 'Secret Lives' isn't an accurate reflection of the average LDS member, I'd say it does portray a subsection of Utah Mormon society pretty accurately.

So it's basically "Real Housewives of Utah County."

I'm not positive, but I think it may be referring to the upcoming movie "Heretic" which was screened at the Toronto Film Festival recently and comes to theaters in November. It's about a crazy guy who terrorizes two sister missionaries. https://www.sltrib.com/artsliving/2024/ ... about-lds/

I think you are right. I haven't seen this movie, but I am wondering how it mischaracterizes missionary safety. The companions are together and they initially refuse to enter the home of Hugh Grant until he tells them that his wife is home. I do think that our church leadership is probably not loving having the precarious situations that missionaries sometimes find themselves in mined for entertainment. That might inspire somebody, somewhere to harm missionaries or maybe it might cause a reduction in the amount of young people that serve.