| Filming begins on the new documentary, "A Mormon President" and may uncover sub-currents of anti-Mormon feeling in the U.S.
"A Mormon President" Uncovers Anti-Mormon Feelings Production has begun on a new documentary film, A Mormon President, which explores the historical roots of current presidential candidate Mitt Romney's biggest challenge to being elected President: his Mormon faith. The film is being helmed by producer/director Adam Christing, a member of the Mormon History Association.
"Very few people realize that Romney is not the first Mormon to runfor the White House," noted Christing who studied theology at Biola University in Los Angeles. "The first Mormon to run for the Presidency was actually the first Mormon, the prophet, Joseph Smith. Those who want to understand Romney's challenge today, must first understand Joseph Smith."
Christing's crew recently retraced the steps of the Mormon journey from Missouri, (where in 1838 the State Governor issued "an exterminate the Mormons" order) to Nauvoo, Illinois where the Mormon prophet announced his campaign for the White House and was soon murdered by an angry mob.
"Joseph Smith is one of the most captivating religious figures in U.S. history," noted Christing. " He was loved by nearly half the state of Illinois and hated by the other half. There is evidence that a political conspiracy was hatched to assassinate him shortly after he announced his run for President."
A Mormon President will be released in the fall of 2007 and will shed light on the deep undercurrent of anti-Mormon feeling in some parts of the country. Christing recently filmed at Haun's Mill in Missouri where 17 Mormons were brutally massacred in 1838. His crew entered a bar in a small town near the site of the massacre, and was stunned to discover that, for some of the townsfolk the 170-year-old tensions still remain. "That massacre never happened, the Mormons are a bunch of thieves, and we'll never vote for a Mormon president," Christing was told by one local.
A Mormon President has received unprecedented access to key sites in the early Mormon story including the jail cell in Carthage, Illinois, where Smith was murdered. Christing's film team was also invited to film a memorial service at the gravesite of Joseph Smith on the anniversary of his death on June 27th where faithful Latter Day Saints gather each year to honor Smith and hear a memorial message.
Romney is expected to make a public speech about his faith, reminiscent of John F. Kennedy's famous address about his Catholicism and his politics. Christing believes that America is experiencing a "focus moment" about Mormonism with the recent release of PBS's The Mormons and the soon-to-be-released feature film, September Dawn, about the Mountain Meadows Massacre of 1857.
Public opinion polls have shown that up to 35% of Americans say they would not vote for a Mormon for president. Through expert historians and dramatic reenactments, A Mormon President examines the historical roots behind this attitude.
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2007 by AlternativeApproaches.com
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