1 00:00:03,279 --> 00:00:07,080 Speaker 1: Yoda. I'm Chelsea Daniels and this is a summer special 2 00:00:07,320 --> 00:00:11,600 Speaker 1: of The Front Page, The Enzid Herald's daily news podcast. 3 00:00:15,920 --> 00:00:18,960 Speaker 1: While The Front Page is on summer break, we're taking 4 00:00:18,960 --> 00:00:21,960 Speaker 1: a look back at some of the biggest news stories 5 00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:26,440 Speaker 1: and top rated episodes from the podcast in twenty twenty four. 6 00:00:27,080 --> 00:00:35,040 Speaker 1: New episodes will return on January thirteenth. In twenty twenty two, 7 00:00:35,520 --> 00:00:39,960 Speaker 1: Business Desk journalist Murray Jones investigated the finances of the 8 00:00:40,000 --> 00:00:43,559 Speaker 1: New Zealand branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of 9 00:00:43,680 --> 00:00:48,280 Speaker 1: Latter day Saints, better known as the Mormons. That investigation 10 00:00:48,479 --> 00:00:52,519 Speaker 1: sparked a lot of feedback on social media, including a 11 00:00:52,600 --> 00:00:55,760 Speaker 1: number of posts that suggested there was more to the 12 00:00:55,840 --> 00:01:00,320 Speaker 1: church than first thought. That all led to Heaven's Helpline, 13 00:01:00,400 --> 00:01:04,280 Speaker 1: an ends at Herald podcast that investigated the church and 14 00:01:04,360 --> 00:01:07,319 Speaker 1: how it has built a system that protects its wealth 15 00:01:07,360 --> 00:01:12,480 Speaker 1: and reputation and shields sexual predators from the law. You 16 00:01:12,520 --> 00:01:15,880 Speaker 1: can listen to half of the first episode of Heaven's 17 00:01:15,880 --> 00:01:20,080 Speaker 1: Helpline now and find the full series on iHeartRadio or 18 00:01:20,280 --> 00:01:21,920 Speaker 1: wherever you get your podcasts. 19 00:01:25,880 --> 00:01:29,120 Speaker 2: In the church that Gayleen grew up in, they'd sometimes 20 00:01:29,120 --> 00:01:33,960 Speaker 2: do these things called firesides no actual fires involved. Rather 21 00:01:34,000 --> 00:01:36,400 Speaker 2: it be an evening meeting where a church leader would 22 00:01:36,400 --> 00:01:39,680 Speaker 2: speak on some topic or other and members, perhaps a 23 00:01:39,840 --> 00:01:43,240 Speaker 2: youth group, perhaps adults, would be encouraged to discuss it 24 00:01:43,520 --> 00:01:48,840 Speaker 2: and ask questions. Once, when Gayleen was in her early. 25 00:01:48,640 --> 00:01:51,520 Speaker 3: Teens, somewhere between twelve and fourteen, she. 26 00:01:51,560 --> 00:01:55,440 Speaker 2: Went to one of these firesides. This time there was 27 00:01:55,480 --> 00:01:56,520 Speaker 2: more than one speaker. 28 00:01:56,720 --> 00:01:59,480 Speaker 3: We went from room to room getting different lessons. 29 00:01:59,360 --> 00:02:01,920 Speaker 2: And in one room there was a lesson that is 30 00:02:02,080 --> 00:02:06,560 Speaker 2: really stuck in Galien's memory. The bishop's wife, who was 31 00:02:06,680 --> 00:02:09,800 Speaker 2: leading the discussion, had put a cake on a table 32 00:02:09,960 --> 00:02:13,920 Speaker 2: at the front of the room. It was quite the cake. 33 00:02:14,040 --> 00:02:20,120 Speaker 3: This really really beautiful looking, very white cake, and it 34 00:02:20,160 --> 00:02:22,360 Speaker 3: was almost sparkling with sugar crystals. 35 00:02:23,000 --> 00:02:25,240 Speaker 2: The youth group knew that the theme of the lesson 36 00:02:25,320 --> 00:02:28,920 Speaker 2: was chastity, but the cake, they weren't sure what that 37 00:02:28,960 --> 00:02:29,400 Speaker 2: was about. 38 00:02:30,320 --> 00:02:32,680 Speaker 3: But then she said, who would like a piece? 39 00:02:33,320 --> 00:02:36,560 Speaker 2: Well, of course everyone wanted a piece, But. 40 00:02:36,960 --> 00:02:40,000 Speaker 3: Then she got this handful of dirt like dirt from 41 00:02:40,040 --> 00:02:42,480 Speaker 3: the ground and threw it all over the cake, and 42 00:02:42,520 --> 00:02:46,320 Speaker 3: she said, hoo wants a piece of cake? And no 43 00:02:46,400 --> 00:02:48,240 Speaker 3: one then wanted a piece of cake. 44 00:02:48,720 --> 00:02:52,280 Speaker 2: So the cake. You got this already is a metaphor. 45 00:02:53,120 --> 00:02:57,880 Speaker 3: She likened that to being pure and chaste and keeping 46 00:02:57,880 --> 00:03:03,120 Speaker 3: ourselves clean versus a someody touched us inappropriately or kissed 47 00:03:03,240 --> 00:03:05,919 Speaker 3: us or anything. Haw, then we won't clean and nobody 48 00:03:05,960 --> 00:03:06,960 Speaker 3: would ever want us. 49 00:03:08,040 --> 00:03:11,760 Speaker 2: That was forty years ago, but the memory has always 50 00:03:11,800 --> 00:03:15,600 Speaker 2: stayed with Gayleen. I mean, seeing an adult throw dirt 51 00:03:15,600 --> 00:03:19,320 Speaker 2: over a cake is pretty memorable under any circumstances. But 52 00:03:19,440 --> 00:03:22,000 Speaker 2: the bigger point the bishop's wife was making was that 53 00:03:22,040 --> 00:03:25,520 Speaker 2: if you were impure, if you were unchased, if you 54 00:03:26,080 --> 00:03:29,400 Speaker 2: with a dirt spattered cake, you would be imperiling your 55 00:03:29,480 --> 00:03:33,560 Speaker 2: chances of getting into heaven. But missing out on heaven. 56 00:03:34,400 --> 00:03:37,920 Speaker 2: That was taking the long view. The more immediate incentive 57 00:03:37,960 --> 00:03:39,640 Speaker 2: to keep in line was that. 58 00:03:39,680 --> 00:03:41,920 Speaker 3: If you did make a mistake, you would end up 59 00:03:41,920 --> 00:03:43,160 Speaker 3: in the bishop's office. 60 00:03:43,320 --> 00:03:46,280 Speaker 2: And there were so many mistakes you could make in 61 00:03:46,320 --> 00:03:50,000 Speaker 2: this church, so many rules that could be broken, like 62 00:03:50,200 --> 00:03:51,280 Speaker 2: to your coffee, you. 63 00:03:51,240 --> 00:03:53,840 Speaker 4: Don't if a swear, you can't be involved in six 64 00:03:53,880 --> 00:03:55,120 Speaker 4: year relations before marriage. 65 00:03:55,200 --> 00:03:56,720 Speaker 3: Don't watch TV on Sunday. 66 00:03:57,160 --> 00:04:01,040 Speaker 2: This podcast is all about the Church Jesus Christ of 67 00:04:01,120 --> 00:04:05,760 Speaker 2: Latter day Saints, the Mormons. You'll hear about the things 68 00:04:05,760 --> 00:04:06,320 Speaker 2: they believe. 69 00:04:08,440 --> 00:04:11,560 Speaker 3: The living can also be united with the deed. 70 00:04:12,160 --> 00:04:16,360 Speaker 2: You'll learn about the importance of service and obedience. 71 00:04:16,680 --> 00:04:19,920 Speaker 3: Oh, it was just a full on soldier for the church. 72 00:04:20,240 --> 00:04:23,520 Speaker 2: And the unbreakable commitments that people in the church make. 73 00:04:23,880 --> 00:04:26,560 Speaker 3: There is nothing that warrant breaking up our. 74 00:04:26,400 --> 00:04:29,839 Speaker 2: Family commitments that lead members to put the church first. 75 00:04:29,880 --> 00:04:33,120 Speaker 2: If the church gets embarrassed, I get embarrassed. No matter 76 00:04:33,240 --> 00:04:33,679 Speaker 2: the cost. 77 00:04:33,880 --> 00:04:35,200 Speaker 3: They did what I was supposed to do. 78 00:04:35,400 --> 00:04:38,440 Speaker 4: I told my bishop a church wouldn't deliberately put a 79 00:04:38,520 --> 00:04:41,679 Speaker 4: child in harm's way. They kept insisting that I needed 80 00:04:41,720 --> 00:04:43,080 Speaker 4: to forgive him, not just. 81 00:04:43,120 --> 00:04:45,279 Speaker 1: Tell the helpline and they can make it all go away. 82 00:04:46,800 --> 00:04:51,159 Speaker 2: Is this the LDS church abuse helpline speaking to this 83 00:04:51,600 --> 00:04:55,400 Speaker 2: is Heaven's Helpline? A six part New Zealand Herald investigation 84 00:04:55,839 --> 00:05:02,000 Speaker 2: into the Mormon Church in New Zealand, episode The Business 85 00:05:02,320 --> 00:05:10,200 Speaker 2: of Saving Souls. Where are we We're heading on to 86 00:05:11,000 --> 00:05:15,240 Speaker 2: State Highway one, so we're in South Auckland or heading 87 00:05:15,600 --> 00:05:18,040 Speaker 2: into it, I should say, and why are we here? 88 00:05:18,120 --> 00:05:21,239 Speaker 2: Because I'm going to show you the Mormon Temple, Adam, 89 00:05:21,800 --> 00:05:25,280 Speaker 2: the Auckland Mormon Temple. This recordings from a couple of 90 00:05:25,360 --> 00:05:27,520 Speaker 2: months ago, I was with Adam Dudding, one of the 91 00:05:27,520 --> 00:05:30,440 Speaker 2: producers for this podcast. I wanted him to see what 92 00:05:30,480 --> 00:05:33,040 Speaker 2: I'd been seeing every time I drove south of Auckland, 93 00:05:33,320 --> 00:05:39,360 Speaker 2: and every time I drove back and boom there it is. 94 00:05:39,720 --> 00:05:43,560 Speaker 1: Okay, that is really absolutely stalkingly huge. 95 00:05:43,640 --> 00:05:46,279 Speaker 2: Yeah, it's been. It's been going up for a couple 96 00:05:46,279 --> 00:05:48,840 Speaker 2: of years now. Every time I drive to Hamilton and 97 00:05:48,880 --> 00:05:51,440 Speaker 2: come back to Auckland, I see it getting bigger and 98 00:05:51,440 --> 00:05:54,760 Speaker 2: bigger and bigger, and it's nearly done. I'm Murray Jones, 99 00:05:55,040 --> 00:05:57,800 Speaker 2: I'm an investigative journalist, and yeah, it's fair to say 100 00:05:57,800 --> 00:06:00,720 Speaker 2: over the past couple of years, the Church of Jesus 101 00:06:00,839 --> 00:06:03,440 Speaker 2: Christ of Latter day Saints, better known as the Mormons 102 00:06:03,520 --> 00:06:06,280 Speaker 2: or the LDS Church, has become a bit of an 103 00:06:06,320 --> 00:06:10,400 Speaker 2: obsession for me. The church, its money, its vast new 104 00:06:10,440 --> 00:06:14,159 Speaker 2: Auckland temple, but I think it's so notable right. It's 105 00:06:14,480 --> 00:06:17,000 Speaker 2: put right up on the hill, it's looking over the 106 00:06:17,040 --> 00:06:19,480 Speaker 2: whole of Manico. It's really quite a big statement from 107 00:06:19,480 --> 00:06:21,720 Speaker 2: the church. You know, when I first started writing two 108 00:06:21,760 --> 00:06:23,719 Speaker 2: years ago, I didn't even know the Auckland Temple was 109 00:06:23,760 --> 00:06:26,480 Speaker 2: coming up. And then to the fact that this huge 110 00:06:26,480 --> 00:06:28,280 Speaker 2: temples being built in the city I've been living in, 111 00:06:28,360 --> 00:06:30,960 Speaker 2: just as I've been introduced to the Mormons. This obsession 112 00:06:31,000 --> 00:06:33,600 Speaker 2: began not long after I arrived in New Zealand from 113 00:06:33,640 --> 00:06:36,400 Speaker 2: the UK. You might have spotted from my accent that 114 00:06:36,480 --> 00:06:39,080 Speaker 2: I'm not from around these parts. Originally I got a 115 00:06:39,080 --> 00:06:42,400 Speaker 2: contract to help Enzeme's business desk with a project looking 116 00:06:42,440 --> 00:06:45,800 Speaker 2: into charities and their money. Which ones are rich, where 117 00:06:45,839 --> 00:06:47,960 Speaker 2: does the money come from, how do they spend it, 118 00:06:48,279 --> 00:06:52,320 Speaker 2: that kind of thing, And really quickly it became obvious 119 00:06:52,360 --> 00:06:55,559 Speaker 2: that the LDS Church was worth a close look, because 120 00:06:55,600 --> 00:06:59,400 Speaker 2: it turns out they are mind bogglingly rich, and there 121 00:06:59,400 --> 00:07:02,440 Speaker 2: are all kinds of fascinating side issues around their wealth, 122 00:07:03,400 --> 00:07:06,760 Speaker 2: like the way they tithe ten percent of all their members' incomes, 123 00:07:07,200 --> 00:07:09,480 Speaker 2: many of whom aren't all that rich to begin with, 124 00:07:10,080 --> 00:07:12,400 Speaker 2: or the fact that they spend just a tiny fraction 125 00:07:12,480 --> 00:07:14,480 Speaker 2: of that tithe money on the kind of things you 126 00:07:14,560 --> 00:07:18,000 Speaker 2: might expect from a charity, you know, soup kitchens or 127 00:07:18,040 --> 00:07:21,320 Speaker 2: helping the homeless or running hospitals, Or the way that 128 00:07:21,360 --> 00:07:25,200 Speaker 2: the Mormons have this huge focus on constructing these extravagant 129 00:07:25,240 --> 00:07:28,600 Speaker 2: and expensive temples all over the world, just like the 130 00:07:28,600 --> 00:07:33,400 Speaker 2: one in the south of Tarmackie Mikodo. Anyone who's driven 131 00:07:33,560 --> 00:07:35,760 Speaker 2: or flown into Auckland in the past couple of years 132 00:07:35,920 --> 00:07:36,720 Speaker 2: will have noticed it. 133 00:07:36,920 --> 00:07:37,160 Speaker 5: Yeah. 134 00:07:37,200 --> 00:07:38,840 Speaker 2: I mean it's quite beautiful though, isn't it. I mean 135 00:07:38,960 --> 00:07:41,320 Speaker 2: I'm just looking back at it now, you know. The 136 00:07:41,360 --> 00:07:45,400 Speaker 2: spy sort of goes up like a tin layer wedding cake. Yeah, 137 00:07:45,560 --> 00:07:49,320 Speaker 2: sixty meters. Although I was focused on the New Zealand 138 00:07:49,400 --> 00:07:53,520 Speaker 2: LDS Church, I couldn't ignore the global wealth of the Mormons. 139 00:07:54,080 --> 00:07:58,000 Speaker 2: They've got investments worth two hundred and sixty billion dollars US. 140 00:07:58,600 --> 00:08:02,520 Speaker 2: That's more than the annual gd of New Zealand. Anyway, 141 00:08:02,960 --> 00:08:06,000 Speaker 2: when my articles came out, well, they got a pretty 142 00:08:06,000 --> 00:08:10,200 Speaker 2: big reaction. Online. Journalists like to pretend that we don't 143 00:08:10,240 --> 00:08:13,320 Speaker 2: read the comments on our stories, but of course we do, 144 00:08:13,960 --> 00:08:18,200 Speaker 2: and these ones were fascinating. There were non religious readers 145 00:08:18,400 --> 00:08:22,360 Speaker 2: outraged that churches have tax free status at all. There 146 00:08:22,440 --> 00:08:25,000 Speaker 2: were current members of the church coming to its defense, 147 00:08:25,360 --> 00:08:27,720 Speaker 2: saying that my articles were a hit job by a 148 00:08:27,760 --> 00:08:31,840 Speaker 2: so called journalist. But there were also conversations kicking off 149 00:08:31,840 --> 00:08:34,000 Speaker 2: in the comments that made me realize there was more 150 00:08:34,040 --> 00:08:37,560 Speaker 2: to say about Mormon money. There were some heartbreaking accounts 151 00:08:37,559 --> 00:08:40,640 Speaker 2: of the way tithing had been really punishing for members. 152 00:08:41,480 --> 00:08:45,400 Speaker 2: One woman talked about how she still felt emotionally scarred by. 153 00:08:45,440 --> 00:08:48,560 Speaker 3: The realization that I could have provided my suicidal team 154 00:08:48,600 --> 00:08:51,280 Speaker 3: the specialist therapy the bishop refused. 155 00:08:50,840 --> 00:08:54,040 Speaker 1: To help pay for if I hadn't been paying tithes 156 00:08:54,200 --> 00:08:55,040 Speaker 1: for decades. 157 00:08:55,760 --> 00:08:57,800 Speaker 2: One woman talked about how she was asked by a 158 00:08:57,880 --> 00:08:59,240 Speaker 2: senior church leader to. 159 00:08:59,200 --> 00:09:03,120 Speaker 1: Pay tithing my student line because I was receiving money. 160 00:09:03,400 --> 00:09:07,120 Speaker 2: Another woman, commenting from Salt Lake City, Utah, the home 161 00:09:07,200 --> 00:09:10,000 Speaker 2: of the Mormon faith, said she'd been led to believe 162 00:09:10,040 --> 00:09:12,880 Speaker 2: that if you pay tithing, the Lord will provide. 163 00:09:13,200 --> 00:09:16,840 Speaker 3: But funny, once we start paying tithing, we had enough 164 00:09:16,840 --> 00:09:17,360 Speaker 3: on our own. 165 00:09:18,040 --> 00:09:22,000 Speaker 2: What a scam. Reading all these, I wanted to do 166 00:09:22,080 --> 00:09:24,720 Speaker 2: some follow up stories on the human cost of tithing 167 00:09:25,200 --> 00:09:27,880 Speaker 2: and also hear from more women, since most of the 168 00:09:27,920 --> 00:09:31,880 Speaker 2: people in my original Mormon money articles were men, so 169 00:09:32,559 --> 00:09:34,480 Speaker 2: I sent messages to a dozen or serve of the 170 00:09:34,520 --> 00:09:37,760 Speaker 2: people who'd made comments. Would they be interested in telling 171 00:09:37,800 --> 00:09:40,000 Speaker 2: their stories in a bit more detail for a follow 172 00:09:40,080 --> 00:09:43,120 Speaker 2: up article. Half of those people got back to me. 173 00:09:44,080 --> 00:09:47,360 Speaker 2: Half of that half agreed to a phone call, and 174 00:09:47,520 --> 00:09:51,520 Speaker 2: one of those three people. Well, she didn't want to 175 00:09:51,520 --> 00:09:55,440 Speaker 2: talk to me about tithing. She wanted to talk about 176 00:09:55,480 --> 00:10:02,120 Speaker 2: something much much darker. That first call lasted for a 177 00:10:02,160 --> 00:10:03,360 Speaker 2: couple of hours, and. 178 00:10:03,280 --> 00:10:06,240 Speaker 4: So you think you're the only one that's such a 179 00:10:06,280 --> 00:10:09,520 Speaker 4: disparate circumstance. But that's the mentality editor time. 180 00:10:10,280 --> 00:10:14,280 Speaker 2: And to be honest, it shook me. So I have 181 00:10:14,320 --> 00:10:17,959 Speaker 2: a bit a bit lostful words. Yeah, it's not as 182 00:10:19,000 --> 00:10:22,600 Speaker 2: it is hard to understand this woman who I'll be 183 00:10:22,640 --> 00:10:25,520 Speaker 2: calling Caroline. So she had been in the church for 184 00:10:25,559 --> 00:10:30,880 Speaker 2: more than forty years before finally leaving. Her story was 185 00:10:30,920 --> 00:10:33,640 Speaker 2: one of betrayal. You just trust that the leaders are 186 00:10:33,640 --> 00:10:37,400 Speaker 2: going to take care of things, trauma and denial. I 187 00:10:37,400 --> 00:10:39,720 Speaker 2: cut myself off from everything. I cut myself off from 188 00:10:39,760 --> 00:10:44,880 Speaker 2: the news, trying to protict myself of missed opportunities and 189 00:10:45,000 --> 00:10:50,360 Speaker 2: cover ups. You said that people knew he was predatory. 190 00:10:51,120 --> 00:10:57,440 Speaker 2: Who knew and what did they know? But talking to 191 00:10:57,520 --> 00:11:00,679 Speaker 2: her also made me realize I needed to be asking 192 00:11:00,840 --> 00:11:05,559 Speaker 2: some very different questions about the church. Yes, the church 193 00:11:05,640 --> 00:11:08,560 Speaker 2: is rich, and sure it's important to look closely at 194 00:11:08,559 --> 00:11:12,160 Speaker 2: the burden that tithing places on some members. But after 195 00:11:12,200 --> 00:11:16,040 Speaker 2: talking to Caroline, it got me wondering about things like 196 00:11:16,920 --> 00:11:19,960 Speaker 2: who does the church value and who do they see 197 00:11:20,160 --> 00:11:21,040 Speaker 2: as expendable. 198 00:11:21,520 --> 00:11:25,280 Speaker 3: If you feel superior to somebody, it becomes real easy 199 00:11:25,760 --> 00:11:30,160 Speaker 3: to just say, oh, well, wouldn't have happened to my kid? 200 00:11:31,600 --> 00:11:34,480 Speaker 2: Who holds power in the church and how do they 201 00:11:34,600 --> 00:11:35,320 Speaker 2: use that power? 202 00:11:36,000 --> 00:11:37,920 Speaker 6: Every think good that your family wants sort of you, 203 00:11:38,640 --> 00:11:40,040 Speaker 6: you have to get this person's approval. 204 00:11:40,760 --> 00:11:43,079 Speaker 3: The opportunity for abuse as a means. 205 00:11:43,000 --> 00:11:46,400 Speaker 2: And when things go wrong, when lives are ruined, when 206 00:11:46,440 --> 00:11:51,079 Speaker 2: families are torn apart, when crimes are committed, what will 207 00:11:51,120 --> 00:11:53,240 Speaker 2: the church do to keep things quiet? 208 00:11:53,600 --> 00:11:58,520 Speaker 1: Handle problem, sh'll it off, get the victim into figures. 209 00:12:00,040 --> 00:12:02,520 Speaker 2: It would be almost two years before some of those 210 00:12:02,600 --> 00:12:05,120 Speaker 2: questions were answered, and we are going to get to 211 00:12:05,120 --> 00:12:08,320 Speaker 2: all of that soon. And yes, we are going to 212 00:12:08,320 --> 00:12:12,040 Speaker 2: come back to Caroline and hear her whole story, but 213 00:12:12,200 --> 00:12:15,319 Speaker 2: first we need just a bit of context about this church. 214 00:12:15,840 --> 00:12:17,920 Speaker 2: Where did it come from and how did it make 215 00:12:17,960 --> 00:12:23,400 Speaker 2: it over to Altairoa. Mormon history is really fascinating. We're 216 00:12:23,400 --> 00:12:25,720 Speaker 2: going to give you the potted version here, but if 217 00:12:25,760 --> 00:12:28,600 Speaker 2: you're keen to understand more, then listen to our explainer 218 00:12:28,600 --> 00:12:33,160 Speaker 2: episode in the podcast feed. So in eighteen twenties, New 219 00:12:33,280 --> 00:12:36,160 Speaker 2: York State, a young man called Joseph Smith had some 220 00:12:36,280 --> 00:12:39,720 Speaker 2: religious visions which told him not to follow any of 221 00:12:39,760 --> 00:12:42,600 Speaker 2: the current churches out there, but to set up his 222 00:12:42,720 --> 00:12:47,120 Speaker 2: own instead. The way Smith tells it, he was first 223 00:12:47,240 --> 00:12:50,840 Speaker 2: visited by God and Jesus. Then one night in eighteen 224 00:12:50,920 --> 00:12:55,040 Speaker 2: twenty three, an angel called Moroni appeared in his. 225 00:12:55,040 --> 00:12:58,960 Speaker 5: Bedroom, standing in the air, for his feet did not 226 00:12:59,160 --> 00:12:59,960 Speaker 5: touch the floor. 227 00:13:00,320 --> 00:13:03,440 Speaker 2: Moroni showed Joseph the location of some golden plates that 228 00:13:03,480 --> 00:13:04,680 Speaker 2: were hidden near his home. 229 00:13:05,520 --> 00:13:09,440 Speaker 5: He said there was a book deposited written upon gold plates. 230 00:13:10,080 --> 00:13:15,120 Speaker 2: Under divine guidance, Smith translated the pages, and those translations 231 00:13:15,160 --> 00:13:18,120 Speaker 2: became what's known as the Book of Mormon. It has 232 00:13:18,200 --> 00:13:22,880 Speaker 2: a huge narrative spanning centuries, climaxing with Jesus visiting the 233 00:13:22,920 --> 00:13:27,959 Speaker 2: Americas after his resurrection. Smith was into polygamy, the practice 234 00:13:28,000 --> 00:13:31,800 Speaker 2: of men taking multiple wives. This would get the church 235 00:13:31,840 --> 00:13:35,880 Speaker 2: in trouble with wider American society, so they fled westwards 236 00:13:36,160 --> 00:13:39,320 Speaker 2: and set up shop in Salt Lake Valley, Utah, which 237 00:13:39,360 --> 00:13:42,400 Speaker 2: has remained the beating heart of the church ever since. 238 00:13:48,760 --> 00:13:51,199 Speaker 2: Just a quarter century after the Book of Mormon was 239 00:13:51,200 --> 00:13:55,520 Speaker 2: published in the eighteen fifties, the first LDS missionaries arrived 240 00:13:55,559 --> 00:14:00,760 Speaker 2: in New Zealand, they had minimal success converting Europeans, so 241 00:14:00,880 --> 00:14:05,240 Speaker 2: turn their focus to Mary and it went really well. 242 00:14:06,000 --> 00:14:09,720 Speaker 2: Large numbers of Tanga to Fenua joined the church. There's 243 00:14:09,760 --> 00:14:15,400 Speaker 2: a number of reasons that people point to for this. Language. Ancestry, polygamy, 244 00:14:15,440 --> 00:14:20,920 Speaker 2: and prophecies all played a part. But crucially, unlike European missionaries, 245 00:14:21,040 --> 00:14:24,880 Speaker 2: American Mormons weren't involved in the British crowns land grabs. 246 00:14:25,760 --> 00:14:29,720 Speaker 2: But again we dive into these factors in the Explainer episode. 247 00:14:30,400 --> 00:14:34,640 Speaker 2: Whatever the specific reasons, though, the fact is Mormonism became 248 00:14:35,000 --> 00:14:39,120 Speaker 2: really big in Marydom. By the nineteen sixties, over sixty 249 00:14:39,160 --> 00:14:43,880 Speaker 2: percent of the membership of the LDS Church was Mardy. 250 00:14:44,080 --> 00:14:46,760 Speaker 2: So can't we go and can we go inside this thing? Nope, 251 00:14:46,840 --> 00:14:50,880 Speaker 2: So only the most worthy of church members are allowed 252 00:14:50,920 --> 00:14:54,440 Speaker 2: to go in. It's where special rituals and ordinances happen. 253 00:14:54,520 --> 00:14:56,760 Speaker 2: So you got your ceilings, which is your weddings, You've 254 00:14:56,800 --> 00:14:59,680 Speaker 2: got your baptism and they are dead. You've got your endowments, 255 00:14:59,760 --> 00:15:01,880 Speaker 2: So not anyone can just go in at any time. 256 00:15:01,920 --> 00:15:05,920 Speaker 2: It's only for special situations, ceremonies. Watch out for that 257 00:15:06,040 --> 00:15:10,440 Speaker 2: track temples are one of the most important symbols of 258 00:15:10,480 --> 00:15:14,840 Speaker 2: faith for Latter day Saints. Sure they have churches all over, 259 00:15:15,400 --> 00:15:18,960 Speaker 2: but temples are much more rare and much more special. 260 00:15:19,680 --> 00:15:21,920 Speaker 2: As I mentioned there to Adam, only those who are 261 00:15:21,920 --> 00:15:24,960 Speaker 2: deemed to be behaving well enough according to church doctrine 262 00:15:25,360 --> 00:15:29,120 Speaker 2: are allowed inside the temple. This new temple in the 263 00:15:29,160 --> 00:15:31,880 Speaker 2: south of Auckland will no doubt be a huge deal 264 00:15:31,960 --> 00:15:34,960 Speaker 2: to the many members living nearby. But if you wind 265 00:15:35,000 --> 00:15:37,640 Speaker 2: the clock back to the construction of this country's first 266 00:15:37,680 --> 00:15:42,120 Speaker 2: Mormon temple in nineteen fifty eight, well, it literally shifted 267 00:15:42,160 --> 00:15:42,880 Speaker 2: the landscape. 268 00:15:43,000 --> 00:15:47,040 Speaker 6: An American style suburb spraying from the swamp and Tuikaramea 269 00:15:47,200 --> 00:15:51,280 Speaker 6: became Temple View, a beautifully landscaped village, snugly and closed 270 00:15:51,280 --> 00:15:54,000 Speaker 6: by one thousand acres of church owned farmland. 271 00:15:54,120 --> 00:15:58,200 Speaker 2: That was from a nineteen seventy three documentary marveling at 272 00:15:58,240 --> 00:16:01,160 Speaker 2: how the church had built a self content community in 273 00:16:01,200 --> 00:16:06,000 Speaker 2: the Waikato centered around a brand new temple, a vast 274 00:16:06,040 --> 00:16:10,360 Speaker 2: white building with a sharp spire reaching for the sky. 275 00:16:10,400 --> 00:16:13,360 Speaker 2: This was just the eleventh Mormon temple in the world, 276 00:16:14,040 --> 00:16:16,760 Speaker 2: so it was a matter of enormous prestige and pride 277 00:16:16,840 --> 00:16:20,680 Speaker 2: for New Zealand Mormons. The school next door, Church College, 278 00:16:21,200 --> 00:16:24,000 Speaker 2: was a co ed secondary school that took borders and 279 00:16:24,160 --> 00:16:28,440 Speaker 2: day students. The temple, the school, and the houses of 280 00:16:28,480 --> 00:16:34,000 Speaker 2: Temple View were all built by volunteers called labor missionaries. 281 00:16:35,160 --> 00:16:41,040 Speaker 2: Their mantra was Kiirhanga mortunu ake, build for eternity. 282 00:16:41,720 --> 00:16:46,720 Speaker 4: The labor missionaries were just ordinary people who were mostly 283 00:16:46,800 --> 00:16:48,600 Speaker 4: Marii being missionaries. 284 00:16:49,200 --> 00:16:54,040 Speaker 2: That's doctor Gina Colvin her father have been Mormon for generations, 285 00:16:54,640 --> 00:16:57,160 Speaker 2: and although Gina has been a vocal critic of the 286 00:16:57,280 --> 00:17:02,320 Speaker 2: church over the years, she's only recently left. The idea 287 00:17:02,440 --> 00:17:05,560 Speaker 2: of Temple View was to build a community where Mormon 288 00:17:05,600 --> 00:17:08,600 Speaker 2: families could flourish and look after each other. But for 289 00:17:08,720 --> 00:17:12,280 Speaker 2: some of the mari among them, it was something even more, 290 00:17:12,600 --> 00:17:12,880 Speaker 2: you know. 291 00:17:12,920 --> 00:17:16,960 Speaker 4: After generations of having your land and your livelihood taken 292 00:17:17,000 --> 00:17:19,920 Speaker 4: away from you through the confiscations and the land grabs, 293 00:17:20,160 --> 00:17:23,080 Speaker 4: and all of the agony and the traumas that were 294 00:17:23,080 --> 00:17:28,040 Speaker 4: as result of that, it was phenomenal, I think, to 295 00:17:28,080 --> 00:17:32,160 Speaker 4: be part of something that built something for mari and 296 00:17:32,200 --> 00:17:36,119 Speaker 4: for the spiritual flourishing and the spiritual welfare. 297 00:17:37,320 --> 00:17:40,800 Speaker 2: Mormons flocked to live near the temple. Some came from 298 00:17:40,840 --> 00:17:44,640 Speaker 2: Pacific nations or from Australia, places which at that time 299 00:17:44,880 --> 00:17:48,680 Speaker 2: didn't have temples of their own. Remember Gayalen, the woman 300 00:17:48,680 --> 00:17:51,240 Speaker 2: who watched someone throw dirt all over a white cake 301 00:17:51,359 --> 00:17:54,400 Speaker 2: when she was a kid. Her family moved from Dunedin 302 00:17:54,600 --> 00:17:56,080 Speaker 2: to live near the new suburb. 303 00:17:56,440 --> 00:17:58,600 Speaker 3: We moved up here and that was different because like 304 00:17:59,080 --> 00:18:02,639 Speaker 3: there were more everywhere. Like you go to the supermarket, 305 00:18:02,680 --> 00:18:04,520 Speaker 3: you'd bump into them. You'd walk down the road, you'd 306 00:18:04,520 --> 00:18:06,760 Speaker 3: bump into them. You wanted to talk to someone, and 307 00:18:06,800 --> 00:18:09,440 Speaker 3: it's just over your fence or over the down the road. 308 00:18:09,880 --> 00:18:10,800 Speaker 3: They were everywhere. 309 00:18:12,240 --> 00:18:15,800 Speaker 2: Temple View is still a really distinctive place, although it's 310 00:18:15,880 --> 00:18:18,600 Speaker 2: much quieter since the school shut down in two thousand 311 00:18:18,640 --> 00:18:22,600 Speaker 2: and nine. The whole suburb, which is southwest of Hamilton City, 312 00:18:23,080 --> 00:18:25,080 Speaker 2: is a little bit eerie if you drive into it 313 00:18:25,160 --> 00:18:28,520 Speaker 2: without realizing what it is. A tiny land island of 314 00:18:28,560 --> 00:18:33,080 Speaker 2: suburbia centered around spotless white buildings in the middle of farmland. 315 00:18:33,760 --> 00:18:37,399 Speaker 2: There's around twelve hundred residents and just about everyone that 316 00:18:37,480 --> 00:18:41,240 Speaker 2: lives there is a Mormon. For a very long time, 317 00:18:41,520 --> 00:18:45,240 Speaker 2: this really was the epicenter of Mormonism for the whole 318 00:18:45,280 --> 00:18:48,560 Speaker 2: of the Pacific region. Many of the people you'll meet 319 00:18:48,640 --> 00:18:52,000 Speaker 2: in this podcast lived in or near that suburb, or 320 00:18:52,040 --> 00:18:56,040 Speaker 2: studied at church college, or married their spouse at that temple. 321 00:18:57,720 --> 00:19:00,680 Speaker 2: But even though it's kind of a religious one, and 322 00:19:00,880 --> 00:19:04,840 Speaker 2: even though this is a really tight knit community, Mormons 323 00:19:04,880 --> 00:19:09,120 Speaker 2: haven't completely separated themselves from mainstream New Zealand. We've had 324 00:19:09,200 --> 00:19:13,439 Speaker 2: Mormon all Blacks, including Jonah Lomu Mahonu and in the 325 00:19:13,520 --> 00:19:18,200 Speaker 2: sixties and seventies the Going Brothers Sid, Brian and Kenn. 326 00:19:19,600 --> 00:19:23,600 Speaker 2: We've had Mormon Olympians including Valerie Adams and Joseph Parker. 327 00:19:25,520 --> 00:19:28,400 Speaker 2: There have been Mormon Miss New Zealand's. One of them 328 00:19:28,400 --> 00:19:31,359 Speaker 2: made it to the top seven in Miss World Miss 329 00:19:31,400 --> 00:19:32,120 Speaker 2: New Zealand. 330 00:19:32,800 --> 00:19:35,560 Speaker 6: My name is Vicky Lee HUMEI I'm a student teacher 331 00:19:35,600 --> 00:19:37,600 Speaker 6: and I'm studying English and Education. 332 00:19:38,640 --> 00:19:42,040 Speaker 2: There are New Zealand judges who are Mormon, Mormon politicians. 333 00:19:42,400 --> 00:19:45,560 Speaker 2: I mean, our third most recent Prime Minister was a Mormon. 334 00:19:45,640 --> 00:19:46,400 Speaker 4: I was Mormon. 335 00:19:47,320 --> 00:19:50,919 Speaker 6: I lived in Mornsville, and while I loved politics, I 336 00:19:51,000 --> 00:19:53,480 Speaker 6: never ever dreamed I would work in it. 337 00:19:53,880 --> 00:19:56,440 Speaker 2: Ja Cinder Ardern quit the church in her early twenties 338 00:19:56,520 --> 00:19:59,600 Speaker 2: for reasons. We'll get to, but her family is still 339 00:19:59,720 --> 00:20:03,240 Speaker 2: very involved. Her uncle Ian is a senior leader and 340 00:20:03,320 --> 00:20:06,600 Speaker 2: was principal of Church College in the nineteen eighties. The 341 00:20:06,680 --> 00:20:08,800 Speaker 2: church has made a real effort to help the country 342 00:20:08,920 --> 00:20:13,480 Speaker 2: understand that they're pretty decent folk. Since the mid nineteen eighties, 343 00:20:13,600 --> 00:20:15,760 Speaker 2: the people of Temple View have put on their epic 344 00:20:15,840 --> 00:20:20,040 Speaker 2: Christmas Lights extravaganza, and around the same time in nineteen 345 00:20:20,080 --> 00:20:22,760 Speaker 2: eighty one, the church commissioned a documentary for the New 346 00:20:22,880 --> 00:20:23,640 Speaker 2: Zealand audience. 347 00:20:23,840 --> 00:20:26,040 Speaker 5: I've asked me to tell you a little bit about. 348 00:20:25,760 --> 00:20:30,040 Speaker 2: Themselves, narrated by five star gold plated New Zealand hero 349 00:20:30,520 --> 00:20:34,040 Speaker 2: Edmund Hillary, who, as you know, climbed Mount Everest before 350 00:20:34,200 --> 00:20:34,920 Speaker 2: anyone else. 351 00:20:37,080 --> 00:20:39,960 Speaker 5: For the Mormons, the most important single unit in the 352 00:20:40,040 --> 00:20:41,480 Speaker 5: church is the family. 353 00:20:42,400 --> 00:20:45,919 Speaker 2: To be clear, Hillary was not a Mormon himself, but 354 00:20:45,960 --> 00:20:46,720 Speaker 2: as he put. 355 00:20:46,560 --> 00:20:49,800 Speaker 5: It, maybe they didn't convert me to anything, but I 356 00:20:49,840 --> 00:20:54,800 Speaker 5: couldn't help admiring their politeness and their sincerity. 357 00:20:57,200 --> 00:21:04,359 Speaker 2: Clean cut, family, focused, working, polite, harmless, and that's the space, 358 00:21:04,560 --> 00:21:07,119 Speaker 2: more or less where Mormons have sat in the eyes 359 00:21:07,160 --> 00:21:10,159 Speaker 2: of non Mormon New Zealand for a good half century 360 00:21:10,240 --> 00:21:14,639 Speaker 2: or so. A minority religion. Fifty four thousand members according 361 00:21:14,680 --> 00:21:17,520 Speaker 2: to the twenty eighteen census, closer to one hundred and 362 00:21:17,520 --> 00:21:21,240 Speaker 2: twenty thousand according to the church's own figures. A church 363 00:21:21,240 --> 00:21:24,640 Speaker 2: whose followers here are mostly Maudi in Pacifica, but a 364 00:21:24,680 --> 00:21:29,080 Speaker 2: sizeable minority of Pakia, with some doctrinal quirks that make 365 00:21:29,160 --> 00:21:31,640 Speaker 2: it a bit different from a lot of other Christian churches, 366 00:21:32,720 --> 00:21:36,880 Speaker 2: a bit old fashioned, a bit straight, and sure outsiders 367 00:21:36,960 --> 00:21:39,920 Speaker 2: might find some of their rules and rituals a bit unusual, 368 00:21:40,680 --> 00:21:43,919 Speaker 2: worthy of a bit of teasing, Like in the TV 369 00:21:43,960 --> 00:21:44,880 Speaker 2: show south Park. 370 00:21:45,040 --> 00:21:45,760 Speaker 6: That's another thing. 371 00:21:45,800 --> 00:21:47,320 Speaker 1: Why do you have to be so freaking nice all 372 00:21:47,320 --> 00:21:47,600 Speaker 1: the time? 373 00:21:47,640 --> 00:21:50,840 Speaker 2: It isn't normal, Or in the hit Broadway musical The 374 00:21:50,880 --> 00:21:54,400 Speaker 2: Book of Mormon, which was written incidentally by the creators 375 00:21:54,400 --> 00:21:57,679 Speaker 2: of South Park. That's been born of the. 376 00:21:58,040 --> 00:22:00,560 Speaker 6: Modern Jackson Chary. 377 00:22:02,520 --> 00:22:05,520 Speaker 2: For this sketch from the mid nineteen eighties New Zealand 378 00:22:05,560 --> 00:22:07,920 Speaker 2: comedy show Funny Business, I. 379 00:22:08,080 --> 00:22:15,000 Speaker 6: Don't drink goff it, I don't drink tea, and I 380 00:22:15,200 --> 00:22:15,720 Speaker 6: enjoy it. 381 00:22:17,720 --> 00:22:18,880 Speaker 5: Celibacy. 382 00:22:19,840 --> 00:22:22,600 Speaker 2: And I don't know if there's any connection between that 383 00:22:22,720 --> 00:22:25,200 Speaker 2: kind of teasing and the fact that around two thousand 384 00:22:25,200 --> 00:22:28,040 Speaker 2: and nine, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day 385 00:22:28,080 --> 00:22:32,879 Speaker 2: Saints started distancing itself from the label Mormon and insisted 386 00:22:32,880 --> 00:22:36,000 Speaker 2: that people refer to the religion as LDS or by 387 00:22:36,000 --> 00:22:39,359 Speaker 2: its full wordy title. Most members I spoke to still 388 00:22:39,359 --> 00:22:42,359 Speaker 2: referred to themselves as Mormons, even though it's no longer 389 00:22:42,359 --> 00:22:43,320 Speaker 2: the official line. 390 00:22:43,520 --> 00:22:47,600 Speaker 6: A Mormon, Norman Mormon. 391 00:22:49,359 --> 00:22:51,560 Speaker 2: But if the worst thing you're known for is your 392 00:22:51,600 --> 00:22:57,040 Speaker 2: straight laced faithfulness and your Christmas lights, then reputationally speaking, 393 00:22:57,400 --> 00:23:02,480 Speaker 2: you're not doing too badly. Demon eler after the break 394 00:23:03,800 --> 00:23:08,040 Speaker 2: your front dormant, O me the door knockers. 395 00:23:12,680 --> 00:23:15,719 Speaker 1: You've just heard the first half of episode one of 396 00:23:15,840 --> 00:23:19,360 Speaker 1: Heaven's Helpline. You can listen to the full episode and 397 00:23:19,400 --> 00:23:22,679 Speaker 1: the rest of the series on iHeartRadio or wherever you 398 00:23:22,720 --> 00:23:23,800 Speaker 1: get your podcasts.