Dang it to Heck!

HBO, Mormons square off over airing of sacred rite
By JENNIFER DOBNER, Associated Press Writer



HBO on Tuesday defended its plans to depict a sacred Mormon temple ceremony in an upcoming episode of "Big Love."

The drama about a Utah polygamous family will show an endowment ceremony Sunday.

HBO said it did not intend to be disrespectful of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and apologized.

"Obviously, it was not our intention to do anything disrespectful to the church, but to those who may be offended, we offer our sincere apology," the premium cable channel said in a statement issued Tuesday.

But the ceremony is an important part of the "Big Love" story line, HBO said.

In the scene, actress Jeanne Tripplehorn's character, Barb, goes through the endowment ceremony as she faces losing her membership in the Mormon church.

On Monday, Mormon church leaders criticized HBO for its decision to include the ceremony and said airing the material shows the insensitivity of the network's writers, producers and executives.

"Certainly church members are offended when their most sacred practices are misrepresented or presented without context or understanding," the church statement said.

Cry me a river mormons. You know why this is happening? Because we're sick and tired of you ringing the doorbell and trying to strike up a conversation about Jesus while we're trying to drink and watch internet porn. And something tells me HBO isn't too worried. I highly doubt a high volume of mormons subscribe to a network that uses such filthy language.