Richard Alan Dutcher is an American independent filmmaker who produces, writes, directs, edits, and frequently stars in his films. After making God's Army, a successful 2000 movie about LDS missionaries, Dutcher became well known among members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Film critic Jeff Vice, of the Deseret News, dubbed Dutcher "The Godfather of Mormon Cinema," a title that is very important personally for Dutcher. In 2007, Dutcher left the LDS Church.
God's Army is a 2000 American independent film written, directed by and features Richard Dutcher.
Latter Days is a 2003 American romantic comedy-drama film about a gay relationship between a closeted Mormon missionary and his openly gay neighbor. The film was written and directed by C. Jay Cox and stars Steve Sandvoss as the missionary, Aaron, and Wes Ramsey as the neighbor, Christian. Joseph Gordon-Levitt appears as Elder Ryder, and Rebekah Johnson as Julie Taylor. Mary Kay Place, Khary Payton, Erik Palladino, Amber Benson, and Jacqueline Bisset have supporting roles.
Orson Hyde was a leader in the early Latter Day Saint movement and a member of the first Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. He was the President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 to 1875 and was a missionary of the LDS Church in the United States, Europe, and the Ottoman Empire.
Mormon cinema usually refers to films with themes relevant to members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The term has also been used to refer to films that do not necessarily reflect Mormon themes but have been made by Mormon filmmakers. Films within the realm of Mormon cinema may be distinguished from institutional films produced by the LDS Church, such as Legacy and Testaments, which are made for instructional or proselyting purposes and are non-commercial. Mormon cinema is produced mainly for the purposes of entertainment and potential financial success.
Parley Parker Pratt Sr. was an early leader of the Latter Day Saint movement whose writings became a significant early nineteenth-century exposition of the Latter Day Saint faith. Named in 1835 as one of the first members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Pratt was part of the Quorum's successful mission to Great Britain from 1839 to 1841. Pratt has been called "the Apostle Paul of Mormonism" for his promotion of distinctive Mormon doctrines.
Missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints —widely known as Mormon missionaries—are volunteer representatives of the church who engage variously in proselytizing, church service, humanitarian aid, and community service. Missionaries of the LDS Church may be male or female and may serve on a full- or part-time basis, depending on the assignment. Missionaries are organized geographically into missions, which could be any one of the 411 missions organized worldwide. This is one of the practices that the LDS Church is well-known for.
Abraham Owen Smoot was an American pioneer, businessman, religious leader, and politician. He spent his early life in the Southern United States and was one of seven children. After being baptized a member of the Church of Christ, predecessor to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Smoot served as a missionary in Kentucky, Tennessee, South Carolina, and England. He received no formal education, but learned to read as a child and later attended the School of the Prophets in Kirtland, Ohio. Like other early members of the LDS Church, Smoot practiced plural marriage, eventually marrying six women and having 24 children. After migrating west to Utah Territory, he was elected as the second mayor of Salt Lake City and maintained this position from 1857 to 1866. He was then assigned by Brigham Young to move to Provo, where he served as stake president and mayor from 1868 to 1881. He assisted financially in the construction of the Provo Tabernacle—today the Provo City Center Temple—as well as that of the Utah Southern Railroad. Smoot was the first president of the board of trustees of Brigham Young Academy (BYA)—which later developed into Brigham Young University (BYU). He was an early financial supporter of the institution and was nicknamed the "foster father" of the academy. His goal was to make education available to young Latter-day Saints. Today, the Smoot Administration Building at BYU is named after him.
Jonathan Golden Kimball was a leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, serving as a member of the First Council of the Seventy from 1892 until his death in 1938. He is considered one of the most colorful and beloved of the church's general authorities. In the years since his death, "Uncle Golden" has become a near legendary character among church members, possibly comparable to what Will Rogers or Mark Twain are to the general American public.
Joseph Fielding was an early leader of the Latter Day Saint movement. He served as the second president of the British Mission (1838–1840), coordinating the activities of missionaries in sections of the United Kingdom and parts of Europe. He was the brother of Mary Fielding, the second wife of Hyrum Smith, and an uncle of Joseph F. Smith, the sixth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Joseph Standing was a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who was killed by a mob near the town of Varnell, Whitfield County, Georgia, in 1879.
States of Grace is a 2005 drama film directed by Richard Dutcher and starring Lucas Fleischer, Jeffrey Scott Kelly, and J. J. Boone. It tells the story of two Mormon missionaries in Santa Monica, California. While it features none of the original main characters from God's Army, it is set in the same location and has some of the original secondary characters.
Saturday's Warrior is a religious-themed musical written by Douglass Stewart and Lex de Azevedo about a family who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The musical tells the story of a group of children that are born into a Latter-day Saint family after making various promises in the premortal life. Two of the children, Jimmy and Julie, encounter personal struggles that help them rediscover and fulfill their foreordained missions in life. Although no explicit time frame is given in the dialogue, certain contextual clues suggest that the story takes place in the then-current and then-recent period of the late 1960s or early '70s, similar to other religious musicals such as Godspell and Jesus Christ Superstar.
Ulisses Soares is a Brazilian religious leader and former businessman who serves as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He has been a general authority since 2005 and served as a member of the church's Presidency of the Seventy from January 2013 until his calling to the Quorum of the Twelve in March 2018. He is the LDS Church's first apostle from South America. As a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, Soares is accepted by the LDS Church as a prophet, seer, and revelator. Currently, he is the fourteenth most senior apostle in the church.
The Book of Mormon is a musical comedy with music, lyrics, and book by Trey Parker, Robert Lopez, and Matt Stone. The story follows two missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as they attempt to preach the faith to the inhabitants of a remote Ugandan village. The earnest young men are challenged by the lack of interest from the locals, who are distracted by more pressing issues such as HIV/AIDS, famine, female genital mutilation, child molestation, and oppression by the local warlord.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had its first presence in French Polynesia in 1843 when the first missionaries arrived in the country. It was also the location of the first foreign-language mission of the church which was created that same year. It existed until 1852 when it was closed due to restrictions by the French government, and the missionaries left the territory. In 1892, the mission resumed with the return of the missionaries after general religious tolerance was established.
The Saratov Approach is a 2013 American dramatic thriller film written and directed by Garrett Batty. It depicts the 1998 kidnapping of two missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Saratov, Russia. It began a limited release on October 9, 2013, solely in Utah. Subsequently, the film was released throughout the Mormon Corridor. On January 10, 2014, the film began an expanded limited release throughout the United States.
Inspired Guns is a 2014 comedy film. It was written, directed, and produced by Adam White, who also plays a role in the film. It is distributed by Pitch White Entertainment. Most of the cast and crew are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and one of the stated goals of the movie is to "create good clean content" for family audiences.
Meet the Mormons is a 2014 American documentary film directed by Blair Treu and produced by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The film documents the lives of six devout Mormons living in the United States, Costa Rica, and Nepal. The LDS Church donated all net proceeds from the theatrical release of the film to the American Red Cross.
The 1998 kidnapping of Mormon missionaries in Saratov, Russia involved the abduction of two missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Andrew Lee Propst and Travis Robert Tuttle, on March 18, 1998. One of the kidnappers had a friend invite the missionaries to his apartment in Saratov, Russia. Upon entry, they were hit in the head, driven to a separate location, and photographed as part of the kidnappers' demand for $300,000. A ransom note was left at the house of a local member of the LDS Church. The missionaries were released on March 22 after four days in captivity, without the ransom being paid. It was the first major incident involving foreign missionaries to occur in the "Russian heartland."
