For Gods sake, have a laugh!

Its been a couple of years now since 'The Book of Mormon' debuted on the US stage, and when it did it created quite a fuss. And now having reached the UK the expectations are quite high. There has quite a bit of publicity surrounding this show, which anyone walking the streets of this city would be hard pressed to miss.

To give a brief outline The Book of Mormon is a religious satire musical. In summary, and to quote my personal bible wikipedia, The Book of Mormon tells the story of two young Mormon missionaries sent to a remote village in northern Uganda, where a brutal warlord is threatening the local population. Naïve and optimistic, the two missionaries try to share the Book of Mormon, one of their scriptures—which only one of them has read—but have trouble connecting with the locals, who are more worried about war, famine, poverty, and AIDS than about religion.

On reading a few reviews, I thought it sounded like an interesting concept, something that might be an entertaining night out, but not something that I would necessarily feel that I 'must see'. However something that I saw this morning has changed my mind. Now I am more inclined to go and see this show.

Walking throughout the tube, the passageways were lined with posters displaying combinations of idyllic family groups and couples, with the headline across the top of each poster proclaiming 'I am a mormon'. Then as I exited the station right in front of me was a bus with another image and slogan splashed across its side shouting 'I am a mormon'.

Where did this come from? Is this just a backlash to the show? Is this yet another display of the self-righteous religious indignation that the churches are so apt at offloading onto us. Each of these examples portrayed the sense that all that they are trying to say is 'don't judge us, we are normal people … really ... honest'.

Really?! Why would you assume that we even care. Speaking as a person that has stood on both sides of the religious divide I would say 'he doth protesteth too much'. If you feel you need to tell me that you are normal (whatever that may be) then you clearly feel that you aren't. Get over yourself, and regard the show for what it is, a religious satire, and please attain that unchristian gift, the ability to laugh at yourselves. The rest of us do.