LDS movies

LDS movies refers to non-commercial motion pictures commissioned by or officially produced by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This differs from LDS cinema where members of the church produce films without official church involvement.

Movies of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Early films

The earliest movie produced by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is "Man's Search for Happiness". This short film was produced for the 1964 New York World's Fair and is a very brief overview of The Plan of Salvation.

CES films

In the 1970s, the church commissioned Brigham Young University to produce short films for use in the Church Educational System. These films, shown mostly in the seminaries and institutes of religion, taught religious principles, church history, and general kindness. Released on VHS (and, increasingly on DVD), they have become popular home entertainment.

"Johnny Lingo"

One of the favorite of these films is "Johnny Lingo". This film was based on a story by Patricia McGerr. At about half hour in length, it does not mention the church, but illuminates many of its teachings, such as kindness toward others and self-worth, and takes digs at measuring oneself against material things. The greatest lesson, however, is the true value of love.

In the story, Johnny Lingo is a shrewd Polynesian trader. He has come to one island to bargain for a wife. Mahana, the young woman he desires, is considered by her neighbors and even her father to be of little value, sullen, ugly and undesirable. As the bargaining is about to begin, women of the island brag to each other of how many cows their husbands had given for each of them, and comment that Mahana's father will be lucky to see one cow as Lingo's offer. The counselor advises Mahana's father to ask for three cows so that finally, Moke (Mahana's father) will at least get one cow.

The bargaining begins and as the counselor suggested Moke asked Johnny Lingo three cows. Islanders laugh derisively, then wait for Lingo to make his counter-offer, certain that he will make a devastating bargain.

Lingo, considering, says that three cows are many . . ."But not enough for my Mahana!" He then offers the unheard-of price of eight cows for her hand in marriage. The next day, the villagers gather at the house of Mahana's father to see the completion of the deal. Some of the islanders say that Lingo reconsidered his deal and would not show up. But Lingo brings the cows. He and Mahana then leave the island on a trading trip.

When they come back, the island storekeeper, Harris (played by Francis Urry), discovers, to his astonishment, that Mahana is a beautiful, happy woman. Even Mahana's father began accusing Johnny Lingo of cheating him by giving only eight cows for a girl truly worth ten cows. Johnny, her proud husband, had proved to her that her true worth had nothing to do with what others saw, but only what she truly was.

He had made the best bargain of all -- a few cows for a life with the woman that he loved.

"The Legend of Johnny Lingo" was later made in to a full length motion picture by LDS producers. Because of its pedigree, this motion picture is often classified as LDS cinema. It was not as well-received as expected, because of the rewriting of the pivotal bargaining scene to make Johnny a weak, almost desperate character.

In the summer of 2001, the Salt Lake Acting Company staged a live parody performance of "Johnny Lingo" as that year's episode of their annual theatrical spoof series "Saturday's Voyeur". The act was titled "Mahana You Ugly".

Recent films

The latest group of LDS movies are produced by the church to be shown in the Legacy Theater in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah, and at some other visitor centers. These films are approximately one hour each and are produced on 70 mm film. The three that have been produced so far are:
*"Legacy" follows the life and struggles of a small group of converts to the church, beginning with their conversion in the eastern United States through their journey and settlement in Utah.
*"The Testaments of One Fold and One Shepherd" portrays events that occurred in the Book of Mormon from shortly before Jesus' birth until shortly after His visit to the peoples of the Americas.
*"" portrays the life of Joseph Smith, Jr.. The debut of this film was during December 2005, the 200th anniversary of the birth of Joseph Smith, Jr.

External links

*Deseret News article about the filming of [http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,595100878,00.html "Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration"] .