While Mitt Romney may be the first viable candidate for president to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he is not the first Mormon to make a run at the White House.  Joseph Smith, the religion's first modern-day prophet threw his hat in the ring so that the members would have a righteous choice among the candidates. Nevertheless, with a Mormon campaigning to be the next President and many people getting bent out of shape about his religion, PBS felt it necessary to release a documentary on the church...you know, to clear the air.   
    After seeing PBS's 4 hour special "The Mormons," I'm not surprised by two things.  First, that The New York Times had a positive view of the film, and second, that PBS used taxpayer dollars to attempt a debunking of the Mormon faith.  In an attempt to be "balanced," much of the film's commentary is provided by a slew of anti-Mormon writers and historians.  While I understand wanting to present two sides of every story, I don't understand why PBS needed to do it with absolutely every historical event in a way that sounds like "well this is the way the Mormons tell it" and "this is the way the historians tell it."
    Instead of providing an insightful and educating view of a growing faith, PBS has rehashed every ugly moment in Mormon history, every sore spot, and everything everyone already knows about the faith.  Sold as a revealing look at the Mormon story and culture, the film closely resembles every other anti-Mormon documentary I’ve every seen.  The special reveals nothing but a strong bias against an otherwise friendly faith.