Popular Post smac97 Posted February 18, 2021 Popular Post Share Posted February 18, 2021 (edited) Over the last few months I have become a fan of the Saints Unscripted channel on YouTube. For those of you not familiar with it, it's a channel apparently created by younger Latter-day Saints, and over the last while has been creating content that addresses various "what it's like to be a Mormon"-type topics, and more recently has been addressing controversial or difficult issues arising from the doctrines / history / practices of the Church and its members. And it is geared toward both members and non-members alike. Apparently it launched in August 2016 as "3 Mormons," but in November 2018 changed into "Saints Unscripted." Last night my family watched this episode: A few thoughts: 1. I like the length of these "Faith & Beliefs" videos (note the icon in the lower left corner of the video). They are 5-7 minutes long, enough to make some solid points, but short enough to "leave them wanting more." 2. I quite like the substantive content of the videos. They seem well-researched, and also provide further resources in the "Description" field below each video. 3. I generally like the tone and quality of the videos. The production values are relative simple, but quite well done. And they are considerably more "lighthearted" than traditional content created by the Church, FAIR, etc. The pop culture and meme references are funny, but they appear to be taking real effort to not mock or profane sacred things. For example, in the above video, when the narrator is talking about a theory that Joseph Smith created the Gold Plates himself, the a brief shot appears that superimposes Joseph Smith's face onto Tony Stark's body as he pounds away at a piece of metal (from Iron Man). See here: My wife and I, being the middle-aged geezers that we are, were initially a bit . . . put off by this. But the kids who were watching it with us, aged 23, 14 and 12, thought it was funny, but in a good way. More to the point, the video kept their attention and triggered a thoughtful conversation afterwards. 4. I appreciate their willingness to take on controversial topics and address them in a candid, thoughtful way. There are a number of videos on topics that appeal to younger demographics (dating, Word of Wisdom, tattoos, swearing, Mormon culture, etc.). But then there are also these: Did Joseph Smith dictate the Book of Mormon using a secret, pre-written manuscript? Joseph Smith married a 14-year-old??? What is the Latter-day Saint temple prayer circle? Why do Bible passages show up in the Book of Mormon? Why isn't there evidence of ancient warfare surrounding the Hill Cumorah in New York? Were the Book of Mormon witnesses lying, tricked, or telling the truth? Did Joseph Smith hypnotize the witnesses of the golden plates? What did the "unofficial" witnesses of the Book of Mormon plates experience? Did the 8 Witnesses actually see and handle the golden plates? Who are the Danites in Latter-day Saint history? Who can you trust when you're trying to understand Mormonism? Joseph Smith, seer stones, and ancient Jewish mysticism Latter-day Saints believe they can become GODS?! Joseph Smith's WRONG interpretations of the Book of Abraham facsimiles?! Does Egyptian papyri prove Joseph Smith made up the Book of Abraham?! What is the Latter-day Saint “White Horse Prophecy”? What is the Mountain Meadows Massacre? Was Brigham Young involved in the Mountain Meadows Massacre? Did Martin Harris actually see the golden plates? Did Oliver Cowdery actually see the golden plates? Did David Whitmer actually see the golden plates? The Salamander Letter and the Mark Hofmann forgeries Are there anachronisms in the Book of Mormon? Was James Strang the rightful successor of Joseph Smith? Does DNA evidence prove the Book of Mormon is false? Why can’t we prove The Book of Mormon is true? What is the Mormon Washing and Anointing Temple Ritual? Are Joseph Smith’s First Vision accounts contradictory? What do Mormons ACTUALLY do in their “secret” temple rituals? Did Joseph Smith STEAL from The Late War to write The Book of Mormon? Is The Book of Mormon plagiarized from View of the Hebrews? Spalding-Rigdon theory proves the Book of Mormon is FALSE?! Do the Kinderhook Plates prove Joseph Smith was a false prophet? Did Brigham Young believe Adam was God? What’s up with Joseph Smith and his “seer stones?” Do Mormons Believe in Multiple Gods? Magic Mormon Underwear Is God Married? Do we have a Heavenly Mother? Mormons Explain Kolob Man, that is a lot of content. And they are actually enjoyable to watch. And they are informative. And pretty accurate. And even-handed. Apologetics to be sure, but the presentation style makes the topics more accessible. Until fairly recently, online apologetic video content has been mostly from FAIR, mostly as long-form FAIR Conference videos. These can be sort of a tough nut to crack, as the production values are minimal, the format is sort of academic (someone standing at a lectern, talking), etc. The content is often substantive, but the presentation lacks the zip and pacing and such that can often be necessary to attract some segments of viewers. So . . . thoughts? Is the Saints Unscripted approach to apologetics good? Effective? Is it a step forward in terms of connecting with today's youth and introducing them to these topics? I think so. Also, what are your thoughts about the Book of Mormon Central channel? Specifically, the "Know Why" series of videos? These clips are even shorter, at about a minute or less each. And the Evidence Central channel? Not a lot of content, but what they have is good. Thanks, -Smac Edited February 18, 2021 by smac97 6 Link to comment
Robert F. Smith Posted February 18, 2021 Share Posted February 18, 2021 Very informative. Thanks, Spencer. Link to comment
juliann Posted February 20, 2021 Share Posted February 20, 2021 These are really good, I can only imagine what they could do with a big budget. I think the Know Why have also been excellent in explaining the trickier things that scholars deal in. However, my daughter has more recently asked me about a couple of things that were not affirming for women or had more of a fundamentalist leaning viewpoint on something. I don't remember specifics, only that I found it surprising when I saw it. Link to comment
LoudmouthMormon Posted February 20, 2021 Share Posted February 20, 2021 I'm a fan because they quote me in one of their early 2016 videos on Halloween. Link to comment
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