Over 600 local members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, friends, family and community leaders poured into the two local Cineworld cinemas at Northampton and Huntingdon on May 20th to see a special charity showing of the US cinema success ‘Meet the Mormons’. The newly elected MP, Rt Hon David Mackintosh, for Northampton South attended the event, along with other community leaders from SACRE and the Northamptonshire Community Police. Donations to the Royal British Legion amounted to over £700 collected on the night from the cinemagoers.
Stake president Karl Hirst commented, “It was simply brilliant to walk into a cinema advertising MTM on their feature boards and then to see a large and attractive group of missionaries and YSA inside taking donations for Royal British Legion. The film was outstanding and very well supported. Everyone there found something in it to which they could relate and something desirable in it. As impressive as the movie was, to see the foyer filled with members afterwards was at least equally moving. The influence of the Saints pushing back the natural atmosphere was tangible. The manager of the cinema said what a pleasure it was to have hosted us. Other staff called after us to thank us and wish us goodnight as we left. The whole experience seemed to capture the essence of an important, hastening work.”
The Church-produced film is now being shown around the 25 countries of Europe, including the UK, in cinemas and meetinghouses. Recently, LDS Charities of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gave a $1.8 million donation to the American Red Cross from the proceeds of ‘Meet the Mormons’, a film the Church released last October in America.
Further to an invitation to attend the charity showing in Northampton, the Rt Hon Michael Ellis, MP for Northampton North and Private Parliamentary Secretary to Theresa May, Home Secretary, received a tour of the Northampton Stake Centre, with an invitation to speak with the YSA at a later date.