DCP Compares Modern "Dislike" of Mormons to Jews Under Nazism

[Moksha]

Even the apologetic love of being a victim needs to avoid the direct comparison to Jews in Nazi Germany. Mormons will accrue much criticism if they mention this outside the confines of BYU or the Sic-et-Non board.

Wish Dr. Peterson would use the comparison of Mormons to Scientologists instead, or at least the Jehovah Witnesses if he must drag in Nazi Germany.

[Gadianton]

I can guarantee you that many of the QAnon crazies are not at all fond of Latter-day Saints.

I can guarantee you that this just isn't true. They see LDS as strong potential allies. The basic conspiracy landscape that feeds QAnon was tilled by Cleon Skousen and the prophet, Ezra Taft Benson. Trumpism gets quickly intertwined.

I'm acquainted with two hard-core QAnons, the one applauded my upbringing as Mormon, and another had extensive praise for Mormons and some really interesting family connections to early Utah. Basically, QAnon types know Mormons are prone to wild and unhinged ideas, and they respect that.

[Dr Exiled]

Dr. Peterson needs to back away from the Mormon and jew comparison. It's lazy and not similar at all. Mormons simply need to stop bothering the world with their missionary nonsense and they will be forgotten and left alone. Whatever ill will there is comes from people not wanting to be harassed, not wanting to deal with silly religious bs.

[Doctor Scratch]

It looks like I was right: "Any publicity is good publicity." And I get it. Witnesses didn't make the sort of splash he'd hoped that it would, plus he had to suffer the indignity of getting beat out by The Christmas Box, plus there was all that embarrassment connected to the typos in the "Midley" festschrift. So, yeah: I can see why these things piled on top of each other might lead to him wanting to make this problematic comparison between Jews and Mormons: he feels "persecuted" because his movie isn't going the way he wanted it to. It doesn't excuse his behavior, but it may perhaps help to explain it.

[IHAQ]

It looks like I was right: "Any publicity is good publicity." And I get it. Witnesses didn't make the sort of splash he'd hoped that it would, plus he had to suffer the indignity of getting beat out by The Christmas Box, plus there was all that embarrassment connected to the typos in the "Midley" festschrift. So, yeah: I can see why these things piled on top of each other might lead to him wanting to make this problematic comparison between Jews and Mormons: he feels "persecuted" because his movie isn't going the way he wanted it to. It doesn't excuse his behavior, but it may perhaps help to explain it.

Doctor Scratch, have you given consideration to the idea that a bigger move is being made here?

I’ve mentioned the website here before, obviously, but I think that I probably haven’t put enough emphasis on it. We launched it not very long ago, and it’s still growing. Moreover, it will continue to grow: Although it’s manifestly occasioned by and intended to accompany and to supplement our Witnesses theatrical film, we are designing it to have a useful life long after the time that Witnesses leaves the theaters. We hope that it will become the principal repository (and the go-to location online) for good, solid information related to the witnesses of the Book of Mormon — and not only to the Three and the Eight but to the several additional, informal, unofficial witnesses, as well.

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/danpeters ... bsite.html

The "go to location" for "good, solid information related to the witnesses of the Book of Mormon"? Really? I would have thought the Church's own website or that of the official Church scholarly entities (the Joseph Smith Papers, Church History, Maxwell Institute etc) should be the "go to" locations for trustworthy information about such a key part of Church history. Is DCP actually trying to undercut the Church's scholarly endeavours?

[IHAQ]

I think DCP hits on an important distinction (although it's clear he doesn't realise it) when he says:

But the situations are precisely comparable in the precise way that I compared them: Take a look at Gary Lawrence's important 2008 book How Americans View Mormonism. One of the things that you will clearly see from his data (he's not only a Latter-day Saint but a Stanford-Ph.D.-holding social scientist and pollster) is that people who personally know Latter-day Saints have very different attitudes, very much more positive attitudes, toward members of the Church than do those who, so far as they are aware, have no direct connection with individual Latter-day Saints.

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/danpeters ... 5290143592

The distinction being that being critical of the institutional Church, being critical of the way the institutional Church is led and operated, being critical of or challenging specific LDS beliefs and teachings is not one and the same as persecuting individual Mormons. Conflating Anti-semitism with anti-Mormonism in this day and age is simply a comparison without foundation. What specific persecution and discrimination are individual Mormons currently suffering? Nothing. What persecution is the institutional Church under? Nothing. Compare how society treats Mormons, with how the Church has treated black people and gay people. Mormonism still puts out scripture and teaches that having a dark skin was the sign attached to a curse from God. Good grief.

I think Mormonism has a need to feel persecuted as it circles the wagons and keeps members feeling there's safety within them.
Individuals like DCP love to draw criticism so they can feel persecuted and therefore special. Lightning is his oxygen.

[dastardly stem]

Dr. Peterson needs to back away from the Mormon and jew comparison. It's lazy and not similar at all. Mormons simply need to stop bothering the world with their missionary nonsense and they will be forgotten and left alone. Whatever ill will there is comes from people not wanting to be harassed, not wanting to deal with silly religious bs.

...and at least in my experience people often find Mormons annoyingly self-righteous and arrogant. Of course if you know 10 Mormons and you think 4 of them are nice enough and pose no issue, and think 3 of them are annoyingly self-righteous or arrogant with little opinion about the rest, you might just say you're not very fond of Mormons. They may invite you over for dinner only to pose a seemingly MLM type of ambush thinking their attempt is more heartfelt and meaningful. That or they might actually be setting up a real MLM ambush, hoping to get you involved in their essential oils schemes. It's weird Peterson is saying this and sticking to his guns. its as if he wants Mormons to be so beleaguered he can use it as a sign of the religion's truthness. But on the other hand he wants to tout Mormon accomplishments as a sign too. Ok so it's not weird, it's just more of the same flailing his arms trying to defend the religion. His mind's so one-tracked.

[Dr Exiled]

It looks like I was right: "Any publicity is good publicity." And I get it. Witnesses didn't make the sort of splash he'd hoped that it would, plus he had to suffer the indignity of getting beat out by The Christmas Box, plus there was all that embarrassment connected to the typos in the "Midley" festschrift. So, yeah: I can see why these things piled on top of each other might lead to him wanting to make this problematic comparison between Jews and Mormons: he feels "persecuted" because his movie isn't going the way he wanted it to. It doesn't excuse his behavior, but it may perhaps help to explain it.

I think this is on the button. His possible mistakes and defeats are turned into persecution against Mormonism in general. It ain't persecution, just probable apathy for a religious tract.

We'll see how the film plays to audiences soon enough. However, following the same playbook as the brethren used with "Meet the Mormons" doesn't bode well for how Dr. Peterson views his project at this point. Seems like the desperation may be growing. But what can you do? The project seemed to be doomed from the inception. There isn't and never was a hunger or desire to see missionary discussions put to film by the public at large, at least in my lifetime. The youth will only see this if forced to in a church setting and then teachers and leaders will have to collect their cell phones. Otherwise no one will pay attention.

As for adults, I don't see much of an audience for something like this either. It makes sense that the distributor wanted extra cash and that Dr. Peterson is making a desperate plea to get people to see the film. I think the faithful were over-churched prior to the covid crisis and are probably liking online church now as it requires less time. Interest might be waning with the faithful in church as evidenced by Bednar and his push to get people back in church buildings. I am sure some took the covid crisis as an opportunity to bow out gracefully. Anyway, this doesn't bode well for a theatrical testimony meeting disguised as a "theatrical film" as Dr. Peterson likes to call it.

[IHAQ]

If you have to fudge the opening weekend numbers by offering to screen it for free (rich donors, wealthy members or Interpreter pic king up the ticket price tab) then what does that say about interest in the film? If you can't sell tickets on opening weekend perhaps it's time to consider a straight-to-video release. If the aim is about viewing numbers rather than ticket sales, as DCP claims, then distribution should be via You Tube, Twitter, Video on the website etc. assuming Amazon and Netflix have already passed the opportunity to screen Witnesses.

[Dr Moore]

No good is served by folks relating their random gripes to the Jews in Nazi Germany during the holocaust. No good thing at all.

I do get what DP is trying to say in his comparison. In a benign version, it's like complaining that as with Mormons, most people are against sugar, except for their favorite candy bar. Or, people generally dislike exercise, but after completing a solid work out, most report positive experiences. Millions of ways to communicate what he's trying to say. Why incorporate the holocaust? Only one reason: cheap polemics.