Waubonsee Community College

Get the fire! young mormon missionaries abroad, directed by Nancy E. du Plessis

eng

videorecording

For High School; College; Adult audiences

Get the fire! young mormon missionaries abroad

electronic resource

747796044

directed by Nancy E. du Plessis

56

Each year some 60,000 young Mormons are sent around the world to seek converts to their religion in an obligatory rite of passage. Get the Fire! follows three young Mormons from the time they get their "calls to serve" in Utah to serve in southern Germany, until their return 22 months later. The nature of the program is revealed in their indoctrination at the Missionary Training Center and in the field where they are permitted no first names and must remain in eyesight and hearing of a same-sex companion 24/7. They are exhorted to read the Missionary Handbook aloud to each other and frequently give testimony about their belief. They are not allowed to doubt. These earnest young men struggle with a foreign language and the unfamiliar customs of the host country. One former missionary explains that despite having divulged that he was gay before his mission, he was first sent to Chile and then called back home for "reparative therapy". Another former missionary compares the training experience to a "Marine boot camp moved to the Celestial Kingdom"-where one's ego is destroyed, but in an atmosphere of love: "You are made to feel special!" A mission has a powerful and complex effect on the participants-as a result, some appear to conform to the Mormon lifestyle, while others clearly opt out. Major funding for this program was provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Additional funding was provided by the New York State Council of the Arts and the Utah Humanities Council. Presented by ITVS, the Independent Television Service

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