NOM

Anybody watching this one on Hulu? I can tell you it's downright creepy, at least for DW and I.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Handmaid%27s_Tale

It struck me that this may be what life is like for many women in fundamentalist polygamous groups. I think if the JS church had thrived and taken root with the majority of American, We'd be living the united order with polygamy. This movie/book provides a vivid portrayal of what life could be like for many of us today.

RubinHighlander wrote: ↑Sat Jun 10, 2017 11:19 pm It struck me that this may be what life is like for many women in fundamentalist polygamous groups. I think if the JS church had thrived and taken root with the majority of American, We'd be living the united order with polygamy. This movie/book provides a vivid portrayal of what life could be like for many of us today.

I have not watched the show, but I read the book a while back. I can totally imagine how life would be similar if JS had been able to take over the country. All women and most men would be suffering. I have been listening to the "Year of Polygamy" podcast. The conditions in most of the polygamous groups are very similar to what was depicted in the book.

Honestly, if the church took over the country today, it would be a similar level of control, though I doubt polygamy would be tolerated. The church would tell us who our political leaders would be. Fortunes would be made and lost depending on ecclesiastical approval. Speaking evil of the Lord's anointed would be punished harshly. I could imagine laws that dealt with women working outside the home, or even having book clubs. I don't think that many of the impulses that caused problems in pioneer Utah have changed. We would need divine intervention the next time a reformation took hold.

blazerb wrote: ↑Sun Jun 11, 2017 4:55 am

RubinHighlander wrote: ↑Sat Jun 10, 2017 11:19 pm It struck me that this may be what life is like for many women in fundamentalist polygamous groups. I think if the JS church had thrived and taken root with the majority of American, We'd be living the united order with polygamy. This movie/book provides a vivid portrayal of what life could be like for many of us today.

I have not watched the show, but I read the book a while back. I can totally imagine how life would be similar if JS had been able to take over the country. All women and most men would be suffering. I have been listening to the "Year of Polygamy" podcast. The conditions in most of the polygamous groups are very similar to what was depicted in the book.

Honestly, if the church took over the country today, it would be a similar level of control, though I doubt polygamy would be tolerated. The church would tell us who our political leaders would be. Fortunes would be made and lost depending on ecclesiastical approval. Speaking evil of the Lord's anointed would be punished harshly. I could imagine laws that dealt with women working outside the home, or even having book clubs. I don't think that many of the impulses that caused problems in pioneer Utah have changed. We would need divine intervention the next time a reformation took hold.

This isn't all that different than in my community already.

I think a modern mormon theocracy would look a lot like BYUI, with its dress code, curfew, and tattle tale culture. In addition, coffee and tea would be added to the War on Drugs verboten list (tobacco and alcohol obviously on that list).

Even as a believer, the thought of the church running the government sounded disturbing, but I attributed that to the belief that the separation of church and state was of divine origin.

Loving this show, especially as it's written by a famous Canadian author - did anyone else catch Maragret Atwood's cameo in the first episode? I saw her live when she was giving a great lecture on debt, and I'd recognize that curly grey hair anywhere, so I knew right away, even though her face was very fuzzy. (Hint: It involved some slapping.)

In any event, there's some great parallels to Mormon patriarchal culture there. Glad others can see it!

NOMinally Mormon wrote: ↑Sun Jun 11, 2017 9:10 am I think a modern mormon theocracy would look a lot like BYUI, with its dress code, curfew, and tattle tale culture. In addition, coffee and tea would be added to the War on Drugs verboten list (tobacco and alcohol obviously on that list).

Even as a believer, the thought of the church running the government sounded disturbing, but I attributed that to the belief that the separation of church and state was of divine origin.

I agree, this is very much like BYUI's repressed culture. Had Brigham been able to keep the world out of the intermountain west & Utah, we would probably be living a similar existence.

I've thought about getting HULU just for this. But I think I will have to wait until it comes out on DVD.

NOMinally Mormon wrote: ↑Sun Jun 11, 2017 9:10 am I think a modern mormon theocracy would look a lot like BYUI, with its dress code, curfew, and tattle tale culture. In addition, coffee and tea would be added to the War on Drugs verboten list (tobacco and alcohol obviously on that list).

Oh Gods no!!! I went to BYUI under the tyrannical reign of David A. Bednar. It was everything NOMinally Mormon described and more. It was a culture of shame and self-loathing. We were constantly told that the only thing a woman could do with her life that was worth anything was become a mother-a SAHM married in the temple mother that is. Anything less and your life was basically a failure and you were worthless. The modesty talks and firesides were so incessant that I wished they would just give us uniforms. It was such a toxic environment. And it would be hell if it spread.

MoPag wrote: ↑Mon Jun 12, 2017 4:02 pm I've thought about getting HULU just for this. But I think I will have to wait until it comes out on DVD.

You can do the 30 day Hulu trial and watch the first dozen or so episodes of season one, then decide if its worth it from there. Although I like the choice to pick and choose what to watch on Amazon Prime, it's annoying to be nickle and dimed for a subscription to all the different apps. I need to see if we are actually spending more on entertainment with all the rentals and the few subscriptions we have.

A couple weeks ago I also listened to the audio book "Under the Banner of Heaven". That was some very heavy information to process. I had known about many of the groups discussed there, but not the extent of it all. The first hand testimonials of the women were difficult to hear, the abuses of such young girls that continues today. Also the abuses of tax payer money those groups take advantage of. It really shows how the mainstream LDS church screwed up by not killing section 132, as it give fundamentalists a valid claim to the true and everlasting covenant and makes the mainstream church look bad.

So, if we look at an alternate timeline reality of events in early American reformation history; if the JS Mormon had won enough support, gets elected president, Mormon cronies get into the senate and congress, suffrage never happens because of indoctrination or enforcement so the suppression of women continues on and the feminist movement never happens. Science and progress are hindered in the US...this all could have led to a German take over some other country. This is starting to look like a very interesting script to another movie or series.