Meet the Mormons Parent Guide

In the first few minutes of Meet the Mormons, a lively young woman wanders New York’s Times Square asking the general public what they think of the Mormons. The on-the-street interviews return confused glances and remarks, and are intercut with short clips from South Park and a variety of other TV shows and movies that make brief mention of this religion. It’s funny, but may leave you wondering why you paid to watch what feels like an advertisement. (The good news is all the net profits from this film are donated to the Red Cross.)

Thankfully, after our tour guide transitions us to a half-dozen segments featuring a variety of people belonging to The Church of Jesus Christ of latter-Day Saints (aka Mormons), things begin to get more interesting.

Presented first is Jermaine Sullivan, who volunteers to serve as the bishop of a group of believers in Atlanta Georgia. An African-American with three young boys, Jermaine dispels a few notions of what Mormons are, while he exudes cool with the young people of his congregation. From there we meet Ken Niumatalolo, the football coach for the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis. He believes in his faith enough to forgo working on Sundays. Next Carolina Muñoz Marin provides an antidote to those who think Mormon women are all about domestic service. She’s a Mixed Martial Arts fighter from Costa Rica who has ranked 2nd in the world with her skills.

In the final examples we are introduced to Bishnu Adhikari, an engineer from Nepal committed to building water systems, roads and schools for the underprivileged in his country. Then there’s Col. Gail Halvorsen, who, during the Berlin Airlift, began dropping candies from his plane for the desperate children of the besieged city. To close we discover Dawn Armstrong. She shares her touching story of becoming an unwed mother at 16 years of age. Her desperate situation changed course after she was introduced to missionaries and members of the Mormon Church. Two decades later, she and her husband are preparing to send their son to join the tens of thousands of Mormon missionaries who preach the tenants of the faith around the globe.

Other than the brief mention of addictions, the discussion of teen pregnancy, and a mother describing her sadness after the death of a baby, this documentary poses no content issues for young viewers. Instead it provides examples of service and commitment to family life that should inspire audiences of any or no religious affiliation. In the end, the personality samples included in Meet the Mormons range from the exemplary to the everyday. Together they offer an interesting view of this denomination’s adherents.

About author

Rod Gustafson

Rod Gustafson has worked in various media industries since 1977. He founded Parent Previews in 1993, and today continues to write and broadcast the reviews in newspapers, on radio and (of course) on the Internet. His efforts also include writing and researching media in all its forms and observing how it effects society and culture. He and his wife Donna have four children.