Big Love

[NoahideHiker]

Hi wonderful Baha'i!

My daughter has watched it several times and thought it was really amusing. Unfortunately, my husband and I are the only two individuals on the planet at this time who do not have cable. As Becky said, the family portrayed in the series is not even LDS. To me, this is a concern simply because a lot of people who watch the show will assume that this is a lifestyle legitimately practiced by members of our Church. Maybe you can answer a question for me about the show. How are the women in the show dressed? I ask this because there are some polygs who shop at the same supermarket I do, and they stick out like a sore thumb. The women all have really long hair which they generally wear in a single braid. They never wear makeup and you never, ever see them in pants; they're always in a mid-calf or longer skirt or gingham dress. The little girls may be wearing a shorter dress, but with pants under the dress so their legs don't show.

Thank you so much for the warm welcome! Just to clarify though, I am a B'nai Noach, not Baha'i (not that it offends me. LOL!).

So are the people who practice 'the priciple' Mormons but not LDS or are they considered outside of Mormonism all together because they practice something banned in the church?

The father/husband on the show was raised on a compound with the hard core poligemists that you described (wearing the prairie clothes, single braid, very old fashioned) but left at the age of 14 for the LDS church and married a wife. Then he took a seconds wife who came from his old compound and then he married a third wife from the church. About the only thing that bothers me is there are some sex scenes which detract from the show IMHO. As far as the behavior of the characters on the show they are very moral and there have only been maybe two curse words spoken in the whole season. The whole show kind of revolves around how each family member deals with living in their family in a world that rejects their actions.

Now, I do NOT want to offend anyone here but I personally do not see why poligemy is even illegal. STOP! WAIT! LOL! I am a big believer in personal freedoms and I feel that a person's marital situation is their business. It is not allowed in my faith but if someone else's allows it then that is between them, their church and G-d. But at the same time I can see how a LDS would not like the way someone they deem outside of their religion to be representing them.

 

[NoahideHiker]

That said, a member of our bishopric told me about an episode wherein a woman who joined their offshoot decided she needed to be rebaptized, despite the fact that the leadership accepted her previous (Mormon?) baptism. She insisted that she needed it because she had been studying and understood how her relationship with God had changed--she was entering a different covenant.

In that episode the woman (3rd wife) up until that time had not felt like a true part of the family and while a daughter was being baptized she had an epiphany that she really was a part of the family and she wanted baptised to represent her understanding that she was entering a bond with her husband and sister-wives.

 

[NoahideHiker]

After reading the rest of the replies I did want to clarify a few points. From watching the show I did understand that the family was outside the mainstream LDS. I believe the very first frame of the piolot is an explanation that the LDS banned the practice 100 years ago so I was aware that they were not actual LDS. I just figured they were an off shoot. Which is also evident by the fact they did not go to a Temple once.

They also portrayed the LDS characters as being firmly against the practice because the family had to be the most careful and secretive when around LDS members.

But the whole accuracies and inaccuracies was why I started the thread to begin with. As I always say, "If ya wanna know about Islam, go to a Muslim. If ya wanna know about Judaism, go to a Jew. If ya wanna know about Mormonism, go to a Mormon.

 

[DeepShadow]

As I said before, I haven't seen the show, so I don't know about the lengths they go to to distinguish between polygamists and LDS. Since the start of the show, however, I've had people approach me asking about "the principle," which apparently was an idea they got from the show. They were shocked to find out I wasn't the least bit interested in a second wife.

It's on that basis that I said the show builds an ambiguous connection with LDS.

 

[Bishka]

ohh no, i wasnt trying to debate----im sorry if it seemed that way--i was just letting you hearmy opinion as an actual fan and viewer of the show

sorry

"

It's okay, I wasn't meaning this towards you really. :cover:

 

[arthra]

You know I first heard about Big Love at an Inter-faith meeting from a Mormon lady who was distressed about it... and I think she showed me some material from the church about it.

So any way I stared watching the show and it really impressed me in some ways...

I was fascianted by the implications of a guy having these wives living in close proximity with their children ... The children had all these issues and the wives as well... I could see that such an arangement for me would be way way over my coping ability...so I sort of respected the guy and his attempts to cover all the bases.

Then you have all the social pressures and stigmatization that a polygamous family could face today... Wow!

I think they handled the religious aspects respectfully... there were even some scenes where prayers were said in a respectful way.. and I liked that.

I came away from watching it that it was not really a put of the Latter Day Saints Church.

- Art

 

[Katzpur]

I disagree completely. As a matter of fact I'd say the exact opposite. During one of the episodes two of the wives chided the third for her overly modest attire, out of concern it might actually draw attention to their secret lifestyle. They go out of their way to blend in with everyone else in their ordinariness so as to stay under the radar. The women are attractive but not glamorous at all.

That is really interesting. There are, of course, many different polygamous groups. My only experience has been with those who are anything on earth but fashionable. They seem to be very satisfied with their uniqueness.

Also Big Love writers went out of their way to make it quite clear from the first segment through the last episode that the family is NOT Mormon, it is a major theme of the program. LDS should be grateful - HBO through this show has gone a long way toward enlightening the general public about the difference between Mormons and the bigamy cults.

Again, thanks for pointing this out. You may just have a point. I would actually like to see the show sometime.

 

[Katzpur]

Thank you so much for the warm welcome! Just to clarify though, I am a B'nai Noach, not Baha'i (not that it offends me. LOL!).

I'm embarrassed to death! And to think that I made the mistake on a thread that discusses how people get their wires crossed and mistake one religion for another one. Frubals for your good sense of humor, Noah!

Now would probably be the time for me to ask what a B'nai Noach is. It sounds Jewish, but I'm probably just sticking my other foot in my mouth now. :foot: Or, if I can judge from your avatar, maybe something related to Rastafarianism. Set me straight, please, before I embarrass myself any further. You must realize that it's not often that someone starts out a post by saying, "Hello, wonderful Mormons!" I was just in shock. Most often, that kind of sentiment comes from members of the Baha'i Faith. I saw "B'Nai" and didn't read any further.

After reading the rest of the replies I did want to clarify a few points. From watching the show I did understand that the family was outside the mainstream LDS. I believe the very first frame of the piolot is an explanation that the LDS banned the practice 100 years ago so I was aware that they were not actual LDS. I just figured they were an off shoot. Which is also evident by the fact they did not go to a Temple once.

They also portrayed the LDS characters as being firmly against the practice because the family had to be the most careful and secretive when around LDS members.

This is really good to know. I suspect we all may have over-reacted to some extent.

But the whole accuracies and inaccuracies was why I started the thread to begin with. As I always say, "If ya wanna know about Islam, go to a Muslim. If ya wanna know about Judaism, go to a Jew. If ya wanna know about Mormonism, go to a Mormon.

I've said that many times myself. I guess that would mean that if you want to know about the B'nai Noach faith, a Baha'i might not be your best source of information.

 

[NoahideHiker]

I'm embarrassed to death! And to think that I made the mistake on a thread that discusses how people get their wires crossed and mistake one religion for another one. Frubals for your good sense of humor, Noah!

Now would probably be the time for me to ask what a B'nai Noach is. It sounds Jewish, but I'm probably just sticking my other foot in my mouth now. :foot: Or, if I can judge from your avatar, maybe something related to Rastafarianism. Set me straight, please, before I embarrass myself any further. You must realize that it's not often that someone starts out a post by saying, "Hello, wonderful Mormons!" I was just in shock. Most often, that kind of sentiment comes from members of the Baha'i Faith. I saw "B'Nai" and didn't read any further.

This is really good to know. I suspect we all may have over-reacted to some extent.

I've said that many times myself. I guess that would mean that if you want to know about the B'nai Noach faith, a Baha'i might not be your best source of information.

Haha! We obviously have similar humor!

A B’nai Noach (Son of Noah) is a Gentile that follows the seven universal laws found in the covenant between Noah and G-d. So yes it’s Jewish-ish. Jewy? Jew-like? Jew-lite? Whatever! LOL! According to the Jewish faith all of mankind followed the same laws until the time that G-d made His covenant with Moses at which time the Jews split off and entered a separate covenant that the rest of the nations.

[FONT=&quot]It’s more of a big umbrella than a religion though as someone from another religion through the practice of their own faith may already adhere to the seven laws of Noah. Some movements of Islam is a prime example. Through their practice of Islam they already keep the seven laws so they can be considered an observant B’nai Noach. [/FONT]

 

[Katzpur]

Haha! We obviously have similar humor!

A B’nai Noach (Son of Noah) is a Gentile that follows the seven universal laws found in the covenant between Noah and G-d. So yes it’s Jewish-ish. Jewy? Jew-like? Jew-lite? Whatever! LOL! According to the Jewish faith all of mankind followed the same laws until the time that G-d made His covenant with Moses at which time the Jews split off and entered a separate covenant that the rest of the nations.

[FONT=&quot]It’s more of a big umbrella than a religion though as someone from another religion through the practice of their own faith may already adhere to the seven laws of Noah. Some movements of Islam is a prime example. Through their practice of Islam they already keep the seven laws so they can be considered an observant B’nai Noach. [/FONT]

Hey, thanks for the info! Is this an organized religion? I've never heard of it, which really kind of surprises me. How many adherents are there?

 

[NoahideHiker]

Hey, thanks for the info! Is this an organized religion? I've never heard of it, which really kind of surprises me. How many adherents are there?

[FONT=&quot]No it is not an organized religion but more of a moral code. It is actually older than Judaism itself but it is not very well known because it is the Jews who are charged with teaching the non-Jews the code. They have had their hands full throughout history, so to say, and today only the Orthodox and mainly the Chassidic Jews teach it. [/FONT]

 

[!Fluffy!]

Jewy? Jew-lite?

LOL that's funny