Latter Day Saints: One of Many Love Stories

Image from the documentary via New York Times

Elder: A Mormon Love Story is a new 12:45 documentary shown and written about in the New York Times yesterday. Another documentary was shown last week here in Mesa, "North Town" - both address topics that need to get talked about. Documentaries as a genre provide a narrative platform showing the real-life experiences of people dealing with discrimination in one form or another created by politics or religion.

This introduction is from the New York Times: "Who doesn’t remember a first love? Particularly when it’s forbidden. That moment is captured in this Op-Doc video about Tom Clark, who chronicles his love affair as a young, gay Mormon missionary in 1974.

Though he had not yet even heard the word “gay,” Clark was told throughout his childhood that homosexuals were destined for hell. He was also told that when he came of age he should go on a proselytizing mission. Grappling with his growing attraction toward men, he went off to Italy for two years, where he was expected to devote himself to the Latter-day Saint faith, and converting others to it.

Instead, he fell in love with an Italian Communist man named Gianni and began an illicit love affair, recording much of their relationship on Super 8 film (some of which is used in this Op-Doc). The experience landed him at a crossroads, where he was eventually forced to decide between who he was and who he was expected to be.

You can read the whole article and see the documentary by hitting this link >   
Elder: A Mormon Love Story

Here's an excerpt from what the Mormon News Report for June 26 2015 says about this documentary " . . . "I don't know if I'll be reviewing this one (mostly because I think it will be too difficult to find), but Mormonism in the New York Times will always get a mention from me."
Emphasis in red is by your MesaZona blogger: too difficult to find? NOT an excuse in my book.
If she read the NYT "mention" of the documentary in the article it is uploaded and played automatically - it pops up for viewing . . . it's not difficult to find right in front of your eyes