Interpreter needs a quarter million to finish Brother Brigham’s film

[Gadianton]

I'm all for getting the material out there. When has it ever gone well for the apologists to inform the Saints about something they previously weren't aware of as an issue?

[Philo Sofee]

This story is vitally important today. The members of the Quorum of the Twelve have led the Church, and senior apostles have presided over it, ever since those dramatic days in early August 1844. Attacks on the legitimacy of the Twelve’s assumption of leadership over the Church in 1844 are, whether deliberately or not, attacks on today’s apostolic authority.

Great statement! I think all of this is true. It is also an acknowledgment that the Q12’s leadership role was a new development. That’s a healthy acknowledgment. I, for one, see nothing amiss in recognizing that the Q12 could and did assume control. At the same time, I think it is important to recognize that BY did not initially intend to be Joseph Smith’s successor, and, furthermore, that in some respects he never was and never could be. What bothers me is the oversimplification of the succession and the idea that the Q12’s assumption of leadership was a seamless and straightforward continuation of the structure Joseph Smith restored.

Yes Dan Vogel has also addressed this topic and I have touched on it in a few of my shows with him.

[drumdude]

I imagine in another couple years, Interpreter will have enough paywalled content to run its own subscription streaming service. $30 a month seems like a fair price to shore up your eternal salvation in the Celestial kingdom.

[Tom]

Don’t sleep on the video clip: https://vimeo.com/880637147/76c80d1778?share=copy

I did not spot James Strang in the clip, but I trust he’ll be in the film. (The Six Days in August website identifies him as one of six “central figures of this true story.”)

The first movie poster:

Joseph and Brigham never looked so good. I’m looking forward to October.

[Kishkumen]

I'm all for getting the material out there. When has it ever gone well for the apologists to inform the Saints about something they previously weren't aware of as an issue?

You make a great point. It comes from inadequate exposure to history for many decades. Something closer to what actually happened turns out to be very disturbing for many members.

[IWMP]

Dear Interpreter Foundation Supporters,

The same quality film-making team that produced Witnesses, Interpreter’s highly successful and award-winning movie about the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, is producing Six Days in August, a compelling movie about the succession crisis after Joseph Smith’s martyrdom. We seek your support to enable us to complete this movie and release it in theaters in October.

Here’s why this project is so important and why we need your support:

Six Days in August will portray the dramatic but relatively little known story of that crucial succession decision in 1844. It will show how Brigham Young and the quorum that he led came to be recognized by a large majority of Latter-day Saints as the Lord’s chosen leadership for the Church after the death of Joseph Smith.

This story is vitally important today. The members of the Quorum of the Twelve have led the Church, and senior apostles have presided over it, ever since those dramatic days in early August 1844. Attacks on the legitimacy of the Twelve’s assumption of leadership over the Church in 1844 are, whether deliberately or not, attacks on today’s apostolic authority.

We began filming in September 2023 at sites in Canada, upstate New York, and at the LDS Motion Picture Studios in Provo. We have recently finished filming our final scenes. Gifts from generous donors have paid for filming, but there are still considerable expenses to prepare Six Day in August as a finished project ready for theatrical release.
Please consider making a tax-deductible gift to help us raise the $256,000 we need to fund post-production efforts, associated with cutting raw footage, assembling that footage, standardizing and enhancing the color of the footage, adding music, dubbing, and sound effects.
We seek your support now to help us cross the finish line to bring this entertaining, informative, and inspiring story to hundreds of thousands of people.

Here is an entertaining video clip that features scenes from the movie and interviews with its actors.

vimeo.com/880637147/76c80d1778?share=copy

For further background, please review the movie’s website at sixdaysinaugust.com on which you can also make an online donation.

You can also make checks out payable to:
Six Days in August Productions
P.O. Box 970542
Orem, UT 84097

Thank you for supporting The Interpreter Foundation over the years and for your dedication to defending the Faith.

Very Seriously Yours,

Daniel C. Peterson
President, The Interpreter Foundation
P.S. If you have questions, please contact Ed Snow at esnow23@gmail.com or 801-592-1750.

Link doesn't work.

"Very seriously yours"? Never heard that before. Can we put random things there? I usually write kind regards.

[IWMP]

Which is fine, what are their measures of success? I can’t think of any measure that they could use that the film would rate as “highly successful” against.

Daniel’s goal is to create the genre of Mormon cinema that is artistically noteworthy outside of the church. Religions have produced great art that is respected and appreciated universally, regardless of one’s beliefs.

I think he considers the film a success by that standard. Others may disagree.

A movie about Brigham young is too niche for universal viewing. Non-Mormons won't even know who Brigham Young is.

[IWMP]

I haven't read such an earnest appeal for money since the days of fundraising for the FARMS Ziggurat or Royal Skousen's Book of Mormon critical text project. Or perhaps since the days of Oral Roberts. (Roberts knew how to raise millions.) I suppose that quality film-making teams don't work for cheap, but $256,000 seems a little steep.

I will pass on this fundraising letter to the Relief Society sister in Parowan, although she may demand full transparency from the Executive Producer about the movie's budget. Thus far we haven't seen anything close to it.

I would give a substantial gift, but I recently donated a handsome sum to another worthy church history project. See here (now that's how I envision Joseph Smith).

An addendum: I didn't notice the curious "very seriously yours" close of the letter until now. The last time I read such a close was in the Proprietor's 2012 email to Jerry Bradford. Odd.

Posted from Mountain Creek Fork (Moun’un Crick Fark), Utah

I may have slipped in a "very seriously yours" for fun!

AHH.

[IWMP]

Why isn't the church helping to fund this? Does the church quality check these movies?

[Everybody Wang Chung]

Don’t sleep on the video clip: https://vimeo.com/880637147/76c80d1778?share=copy

It looks like the Proprietor pulled the video from Vimeo. Frankly, I can't blame him. It was awful and would hurt fundraising efforts if people actually can see how crappy the film is going to be.

I was going to comment that at the 6:00 minute mark, there is the most dishonest portrayal of Joseph Smith I have ever seen. In the scene, Joseph is lamenting the fact that God chose him to be the prophet. Emma looks at Joseph and asks, "Joseph, did you ever choose me?" Joseph looks at Emma and says, "I always chose you."

Keep in mind that at this time, Joseph was married to at least 34 women and having sex with many of them, in secret and without Emma's knowledge. Wow, what a beautiful, touching love story. Incredible, DCP. Have you no shame?

I was also going to point out that just before the tender and emotional scene between Joseph and Emma, there is a building that has two very visible air conditioning units. There are many other obvious anachronisms. Hilarious!

I can't wait until October to leave a fake 5 Star review for DCP.