# A couple of Book of Mormon questions **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 31, 2013, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-couple-of-book-of-mormon-questions/648909 "2013-01-31T14:02:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-couple-of-book-of-mormon-questions/648909/21 "2013-02-02T15:01:22Z")
I’ve listened to the soundtrack a few bazillion times now. I’m ready to see it. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-couple-of-book-of-mormon-questions/648909/22 "2013-02-02T16:34:10Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > Actually I fine the soundtrack, haven’t seen the show, to be, in it’s own twisted way, praising faith. Even though it is all made the Ugandans do have a better life because of the prophet. Yes, that’s very much true of the show. As somebody mentioned upthread, I too found it to be similiar in some ways to “Dogma.” A lot of people tend to get hung up in the profanity and “sacrilege” and completely miss the point of both works. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2013, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-couple-of-book-of-mormon-questions/648909/23 "2013-02-05T15:16:55Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > Actually I fine the soundtrack, haven’t seen the show, to be, in it’s own twisted way, praising faith. Even though it is all made the Ugandans do have a better life because of the prophet. Boy, I think such an interpretation is quite a stretch. What _wouldn’t_ be better than the lives the Ugandans had at the beginning of the play? How much better is being a mindless doorbell ringing fool? And they had faith all along - they believed in a god enough to curse him. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2013, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-couple-of-book-of-mormon-questions/648909/24 "2013-02-05T15:25:15Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > Boy, I think such an interpretation is quite a stretch. What _wouldn’t_ be better than the lives the Ugandans had at the beginning of the play? How much better is being a mindless doorbell ringing fool? Well, yes, but: [spoiler]The whole doorbell-ringing thing at the end was just a fantasy/dream sequence. I forget which Elder sings it, but the line before they go into the “Hello!” part is “I can almost see it now…” Which is really too bad in a way, because having Elder Butt-Fucking Naked show up at your door would be quite a surprise! :)[/spoiler] ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2013, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-couple-of-book-of-mormon-questions/648909/25 "2013-02-05T18:28:37Z")
Funny - I missed that part about the spoiler. ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2014, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-couple-of-book-of-mormon-questions/648909/26 "2014-06-13T14:11:29Z")
> [@Infovore](#): > > Yeah, there were a few things that didn’t become clear to me from frequent listens to the album until I actually saw the show. Things like: > > The “maggots in his scrotum” guy was the town doctor. :eek: > > When Nabulungi kept talking about “texting” she was referring to typing out paper notes on an ancient portable typewriter and giving them to everyone. > > I didn’t really understand the whole thing with the other Elders and who/where they were–I didn’t realize that they too were in Uganda and already had a little mission set up there. (Seemed a little weird to me that an area with so few people had like 10 missionaries assigned to it). > > The album does a pretty good job of telling the story, but naturally some of it comes through in dialog that’s not included there. I’ll bet you got a kick out of the brown and red ribbons too…😃 Saw the show in East Lansing two days ago…liked it alot. I’ll second the props for the actor who played Elder Cunningham. I was trying to come up with a character that he reminded me of. All I could come up with was the chubby friend in the recent Stephen Merchant HBO comedy series. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2014, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-couple-of-book-of-mormon-questions/648909/27 "2014-06-13T19:46:46Z")
I saw it in its repeat tour of San Francisco last December. Theater still jammed. A few people near us left, but it mostly went over quite well. And the Mormon church pretty much bought all the ads in the Playbill here also. I like Spooky Mormon Hell myself. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2014, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-couple-of-book-of-mormon-questions/648909/28 "2014-06-14T07:21:15Z")
Some very nice Carl Orff-esque work in that one. ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2014, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-couple-of-book-of-mormon-questions/648909/29 "2014-06-14T10:35:40Z")
> [@Uncle\_Jocko](#): > > Some of the stuff that would seem juvenile and puerile on South Park (the General’s name, for example) Nah, they get a pass because [he’s based upon a real guy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Butt_Naked) and the character’s name is only a slight variation on the real guy’s name. Some stuff you can not make up. Actually, all the concerns faced by the Africans are played very real. The outlandish humor is needed as a kettle drum of sugar to help the medicine go down. Made up troubles for the Ugandan village would not come close to the some of the real life horrors faced in villages that resemble the one in the story. ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2014, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-couple-of-book-of-mormon-questions/648909/30 "2014-06-14T11:10:29Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > . A few people near us left, but it mostly went over quite well. > And the Mormon church pretty much bought all the ads in the Playbill here also. I noticed the ads when I saw it in Atlanta last January. That’s an audience I thought would be well horrified by it. The couple next to me left very early on (did they not read the description?) and I noticed a couple of others, but generally it was an audience that appreciated the humor in it. ---
**Author:** ![Erdosain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/erdosain/32/7284_2.png) [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2014, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-couple-of-book-of-mormon-questions/648909/31 "2014-06-14T12:02:59Z")
I saw this on its tour and the audience was jam packed with octogenarians. Not the crowd I thought would appreciate Hasa Diga Eebowai. There was also a family with a kid around 12 or so. No one left, that I could see. There were a bunch of great jokes that I didn’t get from just listening to the soundtrack. I loved the giant cups of coffee in Spooky Mormon Hell. > [@What\_the](#): > > Saw the show in East Lansing two days ago…liked it alot. I’ll second the props for the actor who played Elder Cunningham. I was trying to come up with a character that he reminded me of. All I could come up with was the chubby friend in the recent Stephen Merchant HBO comedy series. You’re thinking of Olaf the Snowman. ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2014, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-couple-of-book-of-mormon-questions/648909/32 "2014-06-14T12:13:34Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > I like Spooky Mormon Hell myself. I didn’t see it as a particularly Mormon hell though. I could be forgetting something as I focused on the four people in it that were identified… one being Johnny Cochrane (mentioning this in part due to the numerous OJ threads that are active at the moment). ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2014, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-couple-of-book-of-mormon-questions/648909/33 "2014-06-14T12:44:17Z")
> [@What\_the](#): > > I didn’t see it as a particularly Mormon hell though. I could be forgetting something as I focused on the four people in it that were identified… one being Johnny Cochrane People in this Thread keep truncating the title of the song/sequence. It’s not “Spooky Mormon Hell”, it’s “Spooky Mormon Hell Dream”. The confusion comes in separating the modifiers. The dream is a Hell Dream, a dream about hell. It is suggested through the narrative that having spooky dreams about Hell is a common experience among young Mormons. When one mentions having had a Hell Dream the others immediately chime in being able to relate. It is suggested that all Mormons experience Hell Dreams, often during times of stress, crisis, or guilt- with the emphasis seeming to be on guilt. Hell Dream is the established concept. Because the Hell Dream is a specifically Mormon experience, it is a Mormon Hell Dream- _not_ a dream of Mormon Hell. MODIFIER: Mormon NOUN: Hell Dream. Oh, and it’s spooky. So, it’s a Spooky Mormon Hell Dream. A Hell Dream that is both Mormon and Spooky, not a Hell Dream of Spooky Mormons. Whenever Trey Parker and Matt Stone present an image of Hell, they use the opportunity to populate Hell with the people they believe should be in Hell (and sometimes, people who other people would be outraged at the suggestion that they are in Hell). Johnny Cochrane is there having nothing to do with Mormons. He’s just there because he’s someone Parker and Stone believe should be in Hell. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2014, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-couple-of-book-of-mormon-questions/648909/34 "2014-06-14T12:50:58Z")
I’ve finally seen the musical and think that people here are missing an important point about"Hasa Diga Eebowai" Some of the musical is a vicious parody of **The Lion King** , and this song references “Hakuna Matata.” In both, the Africans have a catchphrase to get them through bad times. In “Hasa Diga Eebowai,” you’re made to believe that this is a bit of wise native philosophy, but halfway through the song, when you discover what it means, the shock is very funny. Re the ending. It’s not a dream sequence. That sort of introduction is often used to show actual events months later. ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2014, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-couple-of-book-of-mormon-questions/648909/35 "2014-06-14T13:58:20Z")
> [@bienville](#): > > People in this Thread keep truncating the title of the song/sequence. > It’s not “Spooky Mormon Hell”, it’s “Spooky Mormon Hell Dream”. The confusion comes in separating the modifiers. > > The dream is a Hell Dream, a dream about hell. > It is suggested through the narrative that having spooky dreams about Hell is a common experience among young Mormons. When one mentions having had a Hell Dream the others immediately chime in being able to relate. It is suggested that all Mormons experience Hell Dreams, often during times of stress, crisis, or guilt- with the emphasis seeming to be on guilt. > > Hell Dream is the established concept. Because the Hell Dream is a specifically Mormon experience, it is a Mormon Hell Dream- _not_ a dream of Mormon Hell. MODIFIER: Mormon NOUN: Hell Dream. > Oh, and it’s spooky. So, it’s a Spooky Mormon Hell Dream. A Hell Dream that is both Mormon and Spooky, not a Hell Dream of Spooky Mormons. > Whenever Trey Parker and Matt Stone present an image of Hell, they use the opportunity to populate Hell with the people they believe should be in Hell (and sometimes, people who other people would be outraged at the suggestion that they are in Hell). Johnny Cochrane is there having nothing to do with Mormons. He’s just there because he’s someone Parker and Stone believe should be in Hell. Gotcha! To be clear though, I didn’t mean to suggest that the Johnny Cochrane reference had anything to do with Mormons. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2014, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-couple-of-book-of-mormon-questions/648909/36 "2014-06-14T15:25:11Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Re the ending. > It’s not a dream sequence. That sort of introduction is often used to show actual events months later. Yeah, I checked my coffee table book (which has the entire script in it, along with commentary) and in the commentary they refer to it as a “flash forward.” So you’re right, it’s not a dream sequence. ---
**Author:** ![Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/bc8723/32.png) [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unauthorized_Cinnamon)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2014, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-couple-of-book-of-mormon-questions/648909/37 "2014-06-14T20:43:29Z")
> [@bienville](#): > > Whenever Trey Parker and Matt Stone present an image of Hell, they use the opportunity to populate Hell with the people they believe should be in Hell (and sometimes, people who other people would be outraged at the suggestion that they are in Hell). Johnny Cochrane is there having nothing to do with Mormons. He’s just there because he’s someone Parker and Stone believe should be in Hell. But surely the dancing Starbucks cups owe their presence to Mormon philosophy! Seriously, for those who have only listened to the soundtrack, “Spooky Mormon Hell Dream” and “Joseph Smith American Moses” must be seen to be believed. Oh! And very early, when they’re being seen off at the airport, the costume on the lady singing “Nants ingonyama bagithi Baba” (or some version thereof) is great. If you know anything about the geographic distribution of big cats, it’s an instant tipoff that they’re still in Utah, and she’s part of their congregation. 😃 FWIW, in Durham NC, our tickets were $80, smack in the middle of the orchestra section. So if you can see it in a smaller city, it’s more affordable. Oh, and some of the actors were interviewed on local radio, and said it’s really audience-by-audience rather than according to city or region, whether people are offended. They said once they get halfway through that song, they can tell whether the audience is with them or not. AFAIK, no one left at our performance, but of course, the theater was full of heathen Yankees, despite its southern location. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2014, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-couple-of-book-of-mormon-questions/648909/38 "2014-06-14T21:09:44Z")
> [@What\_the](#): > > Gotcha! To be clear though, I didn’t mean to suggest that the Johnny Cochrane reference had anything to do with Mormons. I wouldn’t think only Mormons would be in Mormon Hell. Anyhow, in my defense, my wife Bogarts the soundtrack CD. ---
**Author:** ![AllShookDown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d9b06d/32.png) [@AllShookDown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AllShookDown)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2014, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-couple-of-book-of-mormon-questions/648909/39 "2014-06-17T14:06:09Z")
I saw it twice on Broadway with the original cast. Other than “Turn It Off” I didn’t think the rest of the missionaries were being portrayed as gay, just as ultra clean and polite Mormon kids. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2014, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-couple-of-book-of-mormon-questions/648909/40 "2014-06-17T14:33:25Z")
A quick [wiki](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Book_of_Mormon_(musical)) search shows the only non-American production has been the British show. I wonder why more foreign venues haven’t done it? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-couple-of-book-of-mormon-questions/648909.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-couple-of-book-of-mormon-questions/648909.md?page=3)