ABOVE: The opening night of The Book of Mormon musical in the US

Our talk of chastity gets me thinking about the main thing that haunts the Mormon community and arguably tarnishes their reputation: polygamy. It’s not practised by the LDS church anymore (since 1904, any member practising or openly advocating polygamy is excommunicated) but I’m keen to speak to someone who’s had experience of the fundamentalist part of the Mormon faith in the US. Joanne Hanks, 52, was part of a polygamist Mormon family in Manti, Utah, and a member of a splinter group called The True And Living Church Of Jesus Christ Of Saints Of The Last Days (TLC). “My husband, Jeff, and I joined the TLC in 1997,” she tells me over the phone, explaining that after getting wrapped up in Mormon last-day prophecies (fundamentalists believed Christ would return to the earth and initiate an apocalypse at the close of the last millennium) they moved to the ‘chosen’ rural town of Manti, Utah where one man, Jim Harmston, had taken on the role of the ‘prophet’.

“With hindsight, I can see that everything he taught us – from government conspiracies to the fact that he was the reincarnation of the Holy Ghost – was ridiculous,” says Joanne. “But plural marriage was the hardest thing to get our heads around. We were told we’d have to prove ourselves to God (who was a polygamist himself) by living a polygamist lifestyle. It was difficult to adjust to Judith, Jeff’s first plural wife, joining the family. She was only 17. I felt threatened. But the idea of sharing Jeff and helping her have an amazing husband made me feel like I was doing something good. Jeff and Judith got married and went on honeymoon. Waiting for the news that they’d consummated their marriage was tough.”

Joanne’s husband Jeff went on to have three wives, which was actually on the low side for members of the TLC. “Some of the others, including Jim, had at least 12 wives,” explains Joanne. “Jeff would take it in turns to sleep with each of us every night; we thought that was the fairest way. But one man we knew had four wives and would choose every evening which wife he wanted to take to bed, to keep them on their toes – it was all about power and manipulation.” After seven years in the TLC, the couple’s belief started to wear thin; especially since Jesus had not shown up at the millennium. Disillusioned, scared and worrying for their daughters’ future, Joanne and Jeff packed up their car and drove away.

Belief system

There is a darker side to the Mormon religion, but from what I can tell this extends only to those with fundamental beliefs, arguably just as you’d get with other religions. For the most part I’m impressed by what I’ve seen of the Mormons. Those I’ve met have been kind-hearted, warm and open to my questions. Their humanitarian work (many missionaries do charity work and the church funds international aid) is admirable. And their strength of belief is a force to be reckoned with. But I also think that some of their views are ludicrous. The existentialism and the evangelistic fervour all seem odd to me (and don’t even get me started on the practise of ‘baptism by proxy’ by which they claim to have posthumously introduced everyone from Princess Diana to the 9/11 victims into the LDS to ensure their spirits go to heaven). However, I also have huge respect for how graciously they’re taking their public pummelling by Parker and Stone. Though the writers themselves don’t see it as a battering. “We love the goofiness of Mormon stories,” claims Parker. “Some of them are incredulous, and we loved almost all the Mormons we had ever met. So there was sort of this conundrum that we like to talk about — we think what they believe is really, really ridiculous and yet they seem like pretty happy people.”

And it seems most Mormons agree. “It’s vulgar juvenile humour, but it masks a very sophisticated take on the value of faith in the 21st century,” says Joanna Brooks, an American Mormon who’s seen the musical. “It questions why someone should believe and have faith. And the answer is that faith can motivate goodness. So there’s no shame in believing things others find preposterous.” The Mormons see being parodied not only as a test of faith, but also as a chance to spread their message. When The Book Of Mormon opens, I’ll be in the front row. Probably in the seat next to President Jordan.

The Book Of Mormon; from 25 February; Prince of Wales Theatre, Coventry Street, London W1; from £20; bookofmormonlondon.com

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