First, if anyone didn't get to see all of it or parts of it, you can watch it online at pbs.org.

Now that it is complete, I think that on the whole they gave too much voice to people who have been excommunicated or who are antagonistic in some way. Specifically, the section on the temple wasn't any good at all. They made it seem sinister and they had 4-5 apostates there saying things like "They make you make the sign of disembowling yourself and slashing your throat and you have to swear to never..." I guess it just is the price one pays for secrecy, in that people assume the worst.

The Church really did a lot to cooperate with this. They had the Church Historian heavily involved and quoted, which in itself was nice because there wasn't some double-talking PR schmuck up there not answering the questions. I am interested in how the responses of Church members will be, and if the Church will just decide that cooperation on things like this isn't worth the trouble.

Tonight's episode was one where I found myself agreeing with about 15% of the criticisms of the Church, and it has to be bad to get me to that point.

It was enjoyable to see Boyd K. Packer's sort of strange squirmy and bizarre half-apology and half-rationalization of the "gays, feminists, and intellectuals are the dangers to our Church" speech he gave around the time he orchestrated the September Six. No worse was formerly brilliant lawyer and Utah Supreme Court Justice Dallin H. Oaks' "It is wrong to criticize the leaders even when they are wrong and the criticism is valid because they are wrong and you are being wrong... and this makes no sense because it is nonsense" thing.

I think it is beneficial and good for LDS members to see things like this, but I also want the general public to go to Temple Square and watch the Joseph Smith film.

I had never heard John Taylor's statement that "blacks came through the Flood to represent the Devil on the Earth", but every LDS member should probably ponder that one. Can anyone possibly conclude anything other than 'they have been very very wrong on very important issues before'? We also should take a second and look at the missionary service compulsion & coercion & guilt and brainwashing of 5 year olds and the unending insistance that the fate of the universe rests on their going.... or at least how it certainly looks a little that way when you step back and look at it.

As noted, Utah is the per capita consumption king of the world in...? jello and ice cream? Sure, but porn and antidepressants too.... Interesting.

On the other hand, the producers of this gave total free reide to a lot of hogwash about how there is no DNA evidence of Israelite blood in the Americas, no evidence of Hebrew language, no archeological evidence, no sites, etc. They should have let someone from F.A.R.M.S. or Hugh Nibley's ghost or someone get their 2 cents in on that.

And the ultimate feel was right in line with that of the whole 'Mormon America' and 'Mormon, Inc' thing of a decade ago- that these are zealous and deluded people, naively and blindly following very powerful and secretive men. They are gaining money, political power, and converts, and we all better watch out. Because it fell into that rubbish, it ultimately failed to be as great as so many of its moments were.