The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints hopes patrons who see the runaway hit stage musical The Book of Mormon when it lands in Toronto next month will also check out the scripture that inspired it.
The church, which has no involvement in the edgy religious satire, has bought three full-page ads in the Mirvish Productions program for the show to encourage theatre-goers to read the actual “Book of Mormon.”
“You’ve seen the play… now read the book,” says one ad.
“I’ve read the book,” says another.
“The book is always better,” concludes a third.
Each ad features an image of a smiling person and is anchored by a small image of the sacred text that Mormons believe is a companion volume of scripture to the Bible.
The ads also have a link to the church website – TheBookOfMormon.org – and a QR code that takes users to online information.
“I think most people, when they’re going to the musical, they know that they’re not going to see an accurate portrayal of what the Mormons believe or do,” Sandra Pallin, national director for the church’s Canada Public Affairs council, said in a telephone interview.
“The playbill advertisements are really just a way of inviting people that want to know more, showing them where they can get that information… that there is accurate information available at these different resources, and those are provided in the playbill.”
South Park masterminds Trey Parker and Matt Stone co-wrote The Book of Mormon along with Avenue Q co-creator Robert Lopez.
The song-and-dance story follows two young and naive Mormon missionaries as they try to share the book’s scripture while visiting a Ugandan village ravaged by a brutal warlord.
