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LDS Church unloads on ‘American Primeval,’ calls inaccuracies and stereotypes ‘dangerously misleading’

Brigham Young, the Utah-based faith complains, is “egregiously mischaracterized as a villainous, violent fanatic.”

While acknowledging that “American Primeval” is a work of historical fiction, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints derided in a Friday news release the “dangerously misleading” treatment of true events and people in the Netflix miniseries.

The breakout hit — which never claims to be anything akin to a docudrama — begins with the Mountain Meadows Massacre, an 1857 slaughter in southern Utah of a wagon train by Mormon militiamen, and prominently features the faith’s second prophet-president, Brigham Young.

As for the attack, the church laments that the show, which the release does not name outright, “inaccurately portrays” the atrocity as “reflective of a whole faith group.”

“The church has long acknowledged and condemned this horrific tragedy,” the release states. “It has also taken significant steps to uncover and share the full truth of what happened and promote healing.”

(Netflix) Joe Tippett plays James Wolsey in an episode of "American Primeval" that depicts the Mountain Meadows Massacre.

The release takes particular issue with the depiction of Young, “a revered prophet and courageous pioneer” whom the show, “by any historical standard, egregiously mischaracterized as a villainous, violent fanatic.”

Historian John Turner, author of the acclaimed 2012 biography, “Brigham Young: Pioneer Prophet,” agrees.

“You get this hypocritical sanctimony coupled with ruthlessness,” he said in a recent interview with The Salt Lake Tribune regarding the show’s treatment of Young. “The trope of religious hypocrisy is really attractive to viewers. In reality, he was just a much more complex figure.”

Neither are early Latter-day Saints the only ones mishandled by the filmmakers, the church release argues. “Other individuals and groups are also depicted in ways that reinforce stereotypes that are both inaccurate and harmful.”

(Matt Kennedy | Netflix) Derek Hinkey, portraying Red Feather, gets a touchup from makeup department head Howard Berger on the set of "American Primeval."

Such “graphic and sensationalized storytelling not only obscures reality and hinders genuine understanding,” the church warns, “but can foster animosity, hate and even violence.”

In the days since the show’s Jan. 9 launch, social media users have taken to accusing all early members of the faith as being “serial killers” and bemoaning that the federal government failed to exterminate them.

(Screen capture) Social media users advocate for violence against members of the LDS Church.

(Screen capture) Social media users characterize Latter-day Saints as inbred.

Friday’s news release ends by quoting church President Russell M. Nelson, saying, “‘Peacemaking is a choice. … I urge you to choose to be a peacemaker, now and always.’”

(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) President Russell M. Nelson calls for more peacemakers in speech at General Conference on Palm Sunday, April 2, 2023.

What historians are saying about ‘American Primeval’:

Are you watching “American Primeval”? Let us explain a key moment: the Mountain Meadows Massacre.

Separating fact from fiction in “American Primeval.

How does the Netflix Brigham Young hold up to the real LDS prophet?