“8: The Mormon Proposition” to Open Nationally on June 18 Cheryl Nunn: “I wish that more members would see the film and then become a voice inside the Church to make sure something like this does not happen again”
June 2010
One of the biggest hits from this year’s Sundance Film Festival, “8: The Mormon Proposition” will open nationally June 18. The film looks at the Mormon Church’s involvement in promoting and helping pass California’s Proposition 8 and the church’s secretive, decades-long campaign against gay rights. Cheryl Nunn, of the Foundation for Reconciliation, recently attended a special screening in Santa Cruz, California, and wrote the following report:
It was nearly a full theater last night at the screening of 8: The Mormon Proposition. What a great response from the crowd--all kinds of clapping and roars during the movie! People were amazed and shocked. The most common comment was, “How did the Mormon Church get away with this?”
I’m going to buy the DVD and share it with all those we know who missed it; many others who attended the screening mentioned they are going to buy it, too. We had an enjoyable dinner with Linda Stay, her family, George Cole, and others. They did a great job during the Q&A session after the movie.
Carol Lynn and Emily Pearson came across loud and clear and were two of the most persuasive voices of the documentary. Thank you to those who stood up and spoke out for those families who have been greatly harmed by the Church’s action against them in California. Thanks for exposing the illegal and unethical tactics the Church used to achieve its political agenda and fundraising campaign.
I wish everyone in the U.S., especially Church members, could see this important film. Not that long ago I would have thought, like many active members of the Church, that this could not be true--that the film was made by anti-Mormons intending to harm the Church--and I would have refused to see it. It’s my wish that more members today would be open-minded enough to see the film and then become a voice inside the Church to make sure something like this does not happen again.
We had invited members of our book club to come to the screening. One book club member said this: “I thought the documentary was beautifully done. The very human story of this family dealing so courageously with the conflict between the doctrine of their church and the love of their child was the perfect counterpoint to all the political facts and figures. As a non-Mormon, I appreciated the explanation of the church's take on the afterlife--yes, I basically knew this, but the way it was presented really brought home for me why same-sex marriage is such a heartrending issue for LDS families.”
