Thank you for taking the time to write a thoughtful response to my comments.

I suppose the core concern for the writer of the series is to determine what kind of challenge the hero needs to confront – the Old Testament Jehovah challenge or the New Testament challenge put forth by Jesus.

It’s usually a lot more difficult to act with forgiveness and love towards someone that hurt me than to murder someone who, while helpless at the moment, was trying to hurt me. I realize that the scene is to make a reference between Jeremiah and the Book of Mormon. But surely there must be something in the Book of Mormon where someone acts with compassion and forgiveness towards someone who has harmed him or her.

For example, you bring up the situation of a gay member of a conservative church marrying a woman. If the guy goes forward without telling the woman, wouldn’t it be a greater challenge for the wife to forgive and act with compassion towards the guy rather than do something vengeful when she finds out.

I realize the series is a work in progress and I am definitely looking forward to the new season – if nothing else because it educates me on your church. At the same time I’m curious about what kinds of challenges await Jeremiah.

So. Glad to clear that up.

Yes, it might come off a little extremist to some people, and yes the Nephi/Laban allusion makes some people feel nauseous, but that’s not really the point. The scene isn’t there just to kill a guy, it’s not there to compare Jeremiah to another prophet of scripture, it’s a little more than that. Aren’t we, at times, asked to do things that are difficult for us, that seem to go against what all of our senses are telling us, but inside, we know it’s the right thing to do? Think of the trial of a gay member of any conservative religion. Their church tells them that to pursue those feelings, feelings that seem so right and natural, is wrong. And though it may be extremely difficult, they must forsake those feelings and either pursue marriage with a woman or remain celibate.
A person raised in one church who converts to another has to deal with similar situations. (though, admittedly, it’s no where near as severe as killing a man…)

Perhaps the scene didn’t work, but this show is an experimental venture. It’s a learning experience for all involved.
And in that regard, thank you for your honest, and from what I can tell, thought out feedback. And i’m glad that despite your concerns, you’re still a watcher of the show, and I’m looking forward to the next season right along with you.

One is minor – a few episodes in Porter tells how his great grandfather shot someone in the head for looking at Joseph Smith the wrong way. I live in Spanish Harlem and it is not unusual for a young man to shoot another in the head because he looks at him or one of his friends the wrong way. So while the comment, which was sort of gratuitous, might sound just great to Latter Day Saints, it sounds a little demented to everyone else – sort of like if the Jeremiah series was Catholic oriented and one of the main characters said that one of his ancestors shot some one in the head for looking at Pope St Pius X the wrong way.

More importantly the murder of the helpless man needs to be handled with a little more skill. I posted my concern after seeing the episode. There is no shortage of people out there that believe God is telling them to kill people as I am sure Scott Roeder will attest to. The usual response is to think the person is insane.

The way you can handle the problem is to make Jeremiah question the voice and then have the voice do a Job like intervention, answering out of the whirlwind and revealing eternity to Jeremiah. That would help but what would really show that Jeremiah was worthy would be to set aside Jehovah and bring in Jesus.

Jeremiah could be challenged to save the live of the person who murdered his parents. Manifestations of forgiveness and love by the son of an immortal Nephite might be of greater value to the Church than having God direct the hero to murder a helpless man.

However if this is going to be done the scene where Jeremiah tells Porter about the murder needs some work. Most guys wouldn’t immediately agree with their roommate who just confessed to a murder that God did indeed order the murder. Secular guys would think their roommate was insane and religious guys, like Porter, would think the roommate was under the influence of demons. The way out is for Porter to express doubt, Jeremiah reaches out and touches him and the divine vision passes to Porter who then has a reason to believe.

So, a couple of minor concerns and I’m definitely looking forward to the next season. I also think the series is generally good for the Latter Day Saints. Every once in awhile a full length feature displaying the Mormon way of thinking and entertaining of a professional level hit mainstream theaters. These movies have a generally positive effect on educating non-Mormons. This series has the same potential.

Loved the final shot, BTW…