My chief complaint about this movie is that the advertising is ambiguous and misleading. It gives you the impression that it is an early American faming/romance movie when it is actually a Mormon recruiting film. I like learning about other faiths and I am proud to say I was one of the few adventurous soles who saw "Mohamed messenger of god". I am glad I learned about the formation of the Mormon faith but I do like being tricked into seeing it.

If you judge this film solely as a religious film then it is better than average. However, if you judge it by normal standards then it falls short. It is a bit melodramatic with a weak plot that is contorted to show the founding of the Mormon Church. The acting is mediocre with inexperienced actors in key roles. In one particular scene it was obvious by the eye movements that they were reading lines. The main plot of two brothers vying for the same girl just sinks into nonsense. The cinematography was nice and the best part of this effort. In summary, see this movie if you would like to learn about the founding of the Mormon faith otherwise avoid it.

I would warn that judging by the huge number of glowing recommendations on this website that Mormons are piling on the praise partly with pride in their faith and partly as a missionary effort. There is nothing wrong with that but you should be aware of it. My observation of Mormons is that they are fine people and a credit to their faith. If you doubt my observation, note that no credible source reviewed it.

Finally, I say that the producers did this film a disservice by disguising the true nature of it. There are thousands of Mormons in my town yet the theater was empty probably because they did not know about it. Proper marketing would have done it better service and brought in a lot of people like me who like knowing about the religious diversity of this country.

Went with my family to see W&G. I haven't read the whole series but still enjoyed the movie more than I expected to. It was by far the best movie in its genre to date, but still not up to Hollywood caliber. The cinematography and sets was very good and some of the actors were really impressive--especially Joseph and Benjamin. Others did well although at times felt forced. But no cheesy acting which was a relief. Although one or two scenes felt a little too preachy for my taste, overall I thought the spiritual topics were handled tastefully. Especially those moments I would have most wanted to be handled respectfully--i.e. the retelling of the first vision. I'll likely go see it again.

Gerald Lund's fictionalization of the origins of the Mormon Church gets its start in The Work And The Glory. His character creations, the Steed family move west from their farm in Vermont and go to the fresh area of Western New York and as fate would have it, settle on a tract of land near the town of Palmyra.

Where they hire Hyrum and Joseph Smith as laborers to clear the rather large plot of land they've acquired. Joseph is a figure of controversy in the community, he has said that at the age of 14 angels appeared to him and promised that some gold tablets telling the story of a lost North American civilization would be given to him and he would be given the ability to translate from the lost language of said civilization.

Joseph Smith as played by Jonathan Scarfe is a figure who has divided his community of Palmyra. Some see him as divinely blessed, others feel his inspiration is from an evil source. That division spills over into the Steed family.

As if that isn't enough the two older Steed brothers, Eric Johnson and Alexander Carroll are divided not only about Smith, but are also rivals for the local merchant's daughter played by Tiffany Dupont. Johnson starts running with some of the local toughs as well and he's alienated from his parents Sam Hennings and Brenda Strong. But Carroll believes that Smith is the real deal and Hennings is against Smith while Strong wants to see he gets an even break in the marketplace of ideas. It's what Carroll says their grandfather fought in the American Revolution for.

You don't have to be a believer in the Latter Day Saints church to appreciate a well written story that a well crafted piece of cinema was made from. You couldn't have shot The Work And The Glory in present day Palmyra as the place doesn't look anything remotely like it was during America's Era of Good Feelings. The makers of this film did a remarkable job in making Johnson City, Tennessee look like 1820s Palmyra with the Erie Canal running down the center of the town.

I'm sure this film is shown at LDS gatherings a lot and well it should as it brings their history alive and renders it understandable. And its good for us Gentiles who want to know about such things.