Can someone please tell me why a "Bible-believing Christian whose life was changed by the power of Christ" is making movies and books for the Mormons, unless he is one? Michael Landon Jr has been involved in not just one, but several, projects for the Mormons. Read the following review of his movie, Trail of Hope, from the website of CIMA, the Conference of Inter-Mountain Archivists, an organization of approximately 150 archivists and records managers, mainly from Utah, Nevada, and Idaho. It is a Mormon organization.Trail of Hope wins national honorsThe recent book Trail of Hope: The Story of the MormonTrail, co-authored by longtime CIMA members William Slaughter and Michael Landon, has won the 1998 Small Press Book Award, a prize for independent publishers sponsored by Independent Magazine. The book placed first in the history-political-current events category.
Slaughter and Landon both work in the Historical Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Landon is quoted as saying that he is glad that the pioneers are finally getting their due reward. "The quality of the book is a credit to those who left a documentary record," he says. "We kept everything as close to the original as we could. The pioneers were great journal keepers. You can even hear their accents in their writing sometimes. Still, the Trail of Hope was really not just a Mormon component, it's an American component. We wanted to show everything about the trail in a bigger context."
Released last year by Shadow Mountain, a division of Salt Lake City based Deseret Book, Trail of Hope was the companion volume to a PBS documentary that aired last year. The feature was so popular it will be re-broadcast on July 18 this year and then again on Aug. 10.
Details about the book (and TV documentary) and biographical information on Slaughter and Landon may be found at the PBS web site: http://www.pbs.org/trailofhope/bookbio.html..
Perhaps Michael Jr. was introduced to the Mormon faith by his father's costar and good friend, the Mormon Merlin Olsen. I do not know if his father also embraced the Mormon religion, but I do know that Michael Sr. was born to a Jewish father, whose real surname was Orowitz, and an Irish-Catholic mother. From his own mouth, Michael Landon, who sometimes drops the Jr, since his father's death in 1997 from pancreatic cancer, praises the Mormons tenacious ability to keep good records. Why are Mormons so interested in keeping genealogical records? Because Mormonism teaches that one must be baptized in water to be saved, or "baptismal regeneration", and that salvation will also be available in the next world for those "missing-out" in this one. Therefore, Mormons avidly pursue genealogy and practice baptism for the dead.
I know quite a few Mormons who consider themselves Christians and talk about Jesus as we do. They are fine people, very family-oriented, and have many admirable qualities, such as their missionary work and abstinence from alcohol. However, the Saviour told us that we, the Church, would be infiltrated by many wolves wearing sheep's clothing, and that we, the elect, could be deceived. I question any true Bible-believing Christian's motivation in helping to spread the false teachings of any cult. We are commanded to point out error and false teaching, not help promote it. Jesus had this to say in Matthew 7: 15- 23:"Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."If anyone doubts that Mormons are NOT just another Christian denomination, please read the info available at this link, as well as many others:I stand by my previous statements, and as far as I am concerned, the Word of God is the only measuring stick I am using to judge anyone's fruits, which must be important enough to Jesus that He told us this twice in the above passage, so that should lay the matter to rest.