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American Experience

Season 19 Episode 13: The Mormons: Part I

36 SeasonsApr 30, 2007TV-PG2h6.6

Historian Sarah Barringer Gordon says of the LDS Church "that from the moment of its birth, Mormons were under a kleig light." This insightful documentary explores the religion's roots, from prophet Joseph Smith's 1827 discovery of the golden plates that formed the Book of Mormon to the cycle of persecution and exodus that followed the religion's adherents for much of the 19th century. Included: a look at the practice of plural marriage; comments from church elders an...

American Experience background

Season 19 Episodes:

Episode 1 Eyes on the Prize: Parts 1 & 2 - Awakenings/Fighting Back

1. Eyes on the Prize: Parts 1 & 2 - Awakenings/Fighting Back

Aired: Oct 2, 2006

Part 1 of 3 of the award-winning 1987 documentary "Eyes on the Prize." Includ...

Episode 2 Eyes on the Prize: Parts 3 & 4 - Ain't Scared of Your Jails/No Easy Walk

2. Eyes on the Prize: Parts 3 & 4 - Ain't Scared of Your Jails/No Easy Walk

Aired: Oct 9, 2006

Part 2 of the 1987 documentary "Eyes on the Prize." Included: the 1960 Greens...

Episode 3 Eyes on the Prize: Parts 5 & 6 - Is This America?/Bridge to Freedom

3. Eyes on the Prize: Parts 5 & 6 - Is This America?/Bridge to Freedom

Aired: Oct 16, 2006

Conclusion of the 1987 documentary “Eyes on the Prize.” Included: events of 1...

Episode 4 Test Tube Babies

4. Test Tube Babies

Aired: Oct 23, 2006

The world's first successful in-vitro fertilization takes place in Great Brit...

Episode 5 The Great Fever

5. The Great Fever

Aired: Oct 30, 2006

The history of yellow fever, and how it was determined that the disease was t...

Episode 6 The Gold Rush

6. The Gold Rush

Aired: Nov 6, 2006

A vibrant retelling of the mania that followed the discovery of gold in San F...

Episode 7 The Berlin Airlift

7. The Berlin Airlift

Aired: Jan 29, 2007

One of the first skirmishes of the Cold War, the 1948-49 Soviet blockade of r...

Episode 8 The Living Weapon

8. The Living Weapon

Aired: Feb 5, 2007

"The Living Weapon" explores the history of America's biological-weapons prog...

Episode 9 New Orleans

Aired: Feb 12, 2007

A history of New Orleans, from its origins as a French settlement to its post...

Episode 10 Sister Aimee

10. Sister Aimee

Aired: Apr 2, 2007

Sister Aimee tells the dramatic life story Aimee Semple McPherson, the contro...

Episode 11 Jonestown: The Life and Death of the Peoples Temple

11. Jonestown: The Life and Death of the Peoples Temple

Aired: Apr 9, 2007

Todays theme is Jonestown: The Life and Death of the Peoples Temple.

Episode 12 Summer of Love

12. Summer of Love

Aired: Apr 23, 2007

Thousands of young people flock to San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district in...

Episode 13 The Mormons: Part I

13. The Mormons: Part I

Aired: Apr 30, 2007

Historian Sarah Barringer Gordon says of the LDS Church "that from the moment...

Episode 14 The Mormons: Part II

14. The Mormons: Part II

Aired: May 1, 2007

An examination of the modern-day LDS Church, including its missionary program...

Episode 15 Alexander Hamilton

15. Alexander Hamilton

Aired: May 14, 2007

From his humble beginnings as an immigrant, to his infamous death, the life a...

Guest Staring

David Ogden StiersNarrator (voice)

Appearances

Leslie Berger

Creators

Helen WhitneyDirector

Info about American Experience

Current Status: Currently Airing

Network: PBS

Production Country: United States

Genres:Documentary, History, Biography