I usually wouldn’t say anything like what I’m about to say because I don’t want to offend anyone. But… I will bite the bullet here, in hopes that others may become “enlightened”. For most of my life I knew only that Mormons were “different” from other Christian sects, but I really didn’t know anything about their history, beliefs/doctrines or their church and texts. But all of that changed one fateful night, quite unexpectedly, when I watched an episode of a popular TV show on Comedy Central (I’m being serious…you’ll see).
Before I continue any further with this, I have to make a bit of a disclaimer… Not everyone finds the same things acceptable/unacceptable, and I respect that. Every culture, family and individual is tolerant and intolerant of certain things, and what may be ok for one person may not be for another. But I ask you to give this a chance… Doubtless, most of you have heard of the animated comedy TV series called “South Park”. But wait, give me a chance… don’t send me to Smithfield to burn at the stake just yet!

This TV show contains a lot of foul language and content that many Christians find downright unacceptable for their children and even themselves to watch… and I respect that. However, I am a fan of South Park… Why, you ask? Because believe it or not, it can be one of the most enlightening and, surprisingly, “moral” shows on television; through its satire and over-the-top comedy it highlights many of the problems in American (and world) society, culture, politics, entertainment, religion and tradition, and whilst being rather offensive and vulgar (to some) in its language and content it delivers – in its own weird way – a dose of morality, truth and enlightenment. Besides, we can’t “hide” from bad words and content or shelter ourselves from the world; though we can keep ourselves from being
corrupted by it. In a sense, I see South Park as being part of the “Modern Enlightenment” – in parallel to the Enlightenment and Renaissance of the medieval era. It pushes the boundaries of acceptability and challenges the way we think and behave, much like the authors, satirists and philosophers of the Middle Ages did with the topics of their day (monarchism, religion, morality, etc). If you’ve never watched many episodes of the show you may think what I’m saying is absurd, but if you ever give it a chance you will see what I mean – I guarantee it. I have a great respect for Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the series creators. They are not like the “liberals” and so-called “progressive” media moguls in the media; much like me, they are true voices of libertarian dissent in the sea of “conservative” and “liberal” influence.
That being said, I challenge you to put aside your hangups with foul language and such and watch
one particular episode of South Park which pertains to Mormonism: Season 7, Episode 12, entitled “All About Mormons?”. When I first watched this episode I thought that the show was just running off on a wild tangent to poke fun of Mormonism… however, on a whim, I started doing some research. And I discovered that they were actually telling the
truth! All of their jokes and satire of Mormonism are in fact rooted in the actual history and real beliefs of the religion… not some ludicrous stuff they just made up to be funny! I was so shocked that I dug deeper and deeper, and learned more about Mormonism than I ever thought I would. And what I found was rather disquieting, to say the least. I challenge you to watch this episode, however difficult it might be for you, and see for yourself. Then look up the things you see and hear in the episode, and you will see for yourself that it is in fact true.
How to watch:
I won’t post a direct link to the show on religious forums. However, you can watch it in one of two ways. If you have Netflix, simply look up “South Park” and find Season 7, Episode 12. If you do not have Netflix, simply do a Google search for “South Park All About Mormons”. The very first result should be what you’re looking for (the official South Park Studios website which hosts the episode for free). And there is also a third way… you could search the episode on Youtube and watch it in parts, though its much easier and faster to just use Netflix or
southparkstudios.com.
Watch, learn, research, discuss…
P.S. – After I watched this episode and did some research on Mormonism I searched some Mormon forums to see what reaction Mormons had to this episode. Unsurprisingly, a very large number of Mormon viewers soon left the Mormon church!