Are All Mormons Censors?

Jonathan in Utah writes, regarding Hillary White’s essay “Cutting It Out“:

Interesting dissection on your views of edited films. I would suggest to maintain the integrity in you article it would be beneficial to distinguish the actions of individuals from actions of the official organization “the Church.” You use the phrase “the Church” many times in the article that suggests an institutionalized effort by the organization to prompt it’s members to edit content. I would suggest that their actions have in no way coerce it’s members to edit movies, but rather a stricter observance of avoidance. Prescription of avoidance is very different from a prescription to seek out entertainment deemed inappropriate with the intent to edit. This logic may be stretched a little too thin. Also, although BYU is owned by the Church, it is certainly a separate organization that deals with it’s own problems. There have been situations where “the Church” had to take legal action against BYU or one of it’s departments for violating such things as copyright law. All in all this phenomenon is a fascinating development from the actions of a group of Utahns reacting to local culture norms. It is of not in the over 12 million members world wide this phenomenon is not occurring “everywhere” like it has in Utah. Moreover, Cleanflix although a fascinating look at the edit phenomenon does not delve into any other groups choosing to participate in the practice besides “the mormons.”

Hillary White responds:

Nowhere in the article does it state that the Church condones the editing of films—only the members themselves. I’m more than aware of the separation of Church officials from the decisions members make on their own, believe me. It does state in the article that some members choose to use their own discretion and it also states that the activity is prevalent in Utah, not the world. It would be interesting to hear an official stance but we don’t have one.