Sarah, since this is your first time to Utah, we’ll be happy to roll out the red carpet for you. For special visitors, maybe even popcorn. While you’re on campus, you may also want to see the Roman bronze plates now on display near the entrance to the Harold B. Lee Library.

Kaimi, thanks for getting the word out. By the way, the root meaning of the word advertisement is simply ad-vert, to turn toward. I’m glad that you turn attention to lots of interesting things.

This film issue has been a bit of a stretch for us, since there hasn’t been much written about Mormons and film before. Gideon is to be credited with masterminding this issue and driving it though its editorial stages. I hope this issue will get people thinking about the many strengths as well as weaknesses of film as a medium, especially when dealing with religious content.

Above all, working on this film issue has got me wondering where Mormon film is now headed. What will the next five or ten years bring? Does anyone out there have a good crystal ball?

One of the things I think is interesting to note about this old black and white silent movie is that President Benson served his first mission in England at the same time this movie was made. President Hinckley also served his mission in England shortly after the time this movie was made when it was still being shown. We who have served know what an impact our missions have on us for the rest of our lives. To realize President Hinckley’s perspective spans all the time between now and an era when that film was taken serious by the public is remarkable. Who knows, it might have helped spark President Hinckley’s life long interest in the media as a tool to spread the gospel. In another century the soon to be released film SEPTEMBER DAWN may also be collected and appreciated in a parallel way.

And… dude. a 1922 film with Mormons as suave “mesmerizers”? That’s possibly even cooler propaganda than the only (as far as I know) silent Soviet science fiction film, Aelita, Queen of Mars. Though neither, I suspect, can hold a candle to I Am Cuba, which is propaganda, goofy, tri-lingual, and self-indulgent experimental 1960s “look at us, we’re all on LSD, even the camera guys!” all at the very same time.

No, its much less crowded than during school. The only problem with Education Week is that a lot of the people you stop for directions won’t be able to help.

If one of our cobloggers is interested enough to post about it, knock yourself out. Otherwise, too bad. This isn’t a clearinghouse for every thing Mormon related, but for stuff we come across that we think is interesting enough to pass on. Ardis P. is probably the person you’d want to contact about the MHA. Several of the cobloggers here might be interested in a review copy of the Hardy book.

Dave’s right.

The post is all (except for the italicized intro) cut from an e-mail I got from Gideon Burton. It’s an ad, alright. But it’s one that is, I think, relevant for T&S readers. I’ve posted before encouraging readers to subscribe to Mormon Studies periodicals, including Dialogue, Sunstone, and BYU Studies. I’ve reviewed books, and Julie reviews a lot of books, and many times the book reviews end up being, in essence, “go buy Greg Prince’s new bio.”

Bloggernacle blogs do this a lot, covering books by Signature and BYU Press and Illinois and other presses, articles, symposia, and so on. I’ve blogged about Sunstone symposium, Miller-Eccles group, and others.

I haven’t posted about MHA events because that’s a bit outside my area of expertise. I’m not really a Mormon historian. (I defer to many great Mormon historians, including co-blogger Ardis, on that front.) But I’d be happy to blog about MHA, and I’d welcome a description that I could post.

And I’m not a polygamy expert, but it’s entirely possible that one of our group will want to review Hardy (Julie, perhaps? Nate? Ardis?). If someone from here decides to review it, who should they contact for a review copy? For that matter, the OU publicist should also contact FMH-Lisa to see if she or a colleague (perhaps Janet or ECS) want a review copy. FMH talks about polygamy _all the time_, and they’ve done extended blog roundtables about both _Women and Authority_ and _Pedestals and Podiums_, which focused the attention of her readers on those two books.

Bill – This is why he wrote the post, to inform people like me. And it’s not an ad unless he gets paid for it. And $25 a year is much better than $39.95.