A FAQ about Mormonism and Issues with Representations of Mormonism in the Media

This quote is from the LDS Church's newsroom website (http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/) and explains some of the problems with media's representations of the Church and with  the general lack of knowledge about Mormonism of most members of the public.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the fourth largest Christian church in America. More than half of its 14 million members live outside the United States. Yet despite the faith’s growth and presence, survey results continue to show that relatively few people are familiar with Mormon beliefs.

As an institution, the Church has the responsibility to publicly and clearly articulate its official teachings. In turn, reporters can help inform the public by accurately reporting on these doctrines. But in doing so journalists should be aware of some common pitfalls. For instance, reporters pressed for time tend to take peripheral aspects of the faith and place them front and center as if they were vital tenets of belief. Additionally, sincere commentators often overemphasize what others see as “different” about Latter-day Saints at the expense of highlighting the Church’s most fundamental doctrines in their reporting. Unfortunately, as many members attest, this kind of journalism paints a distorted picture of the Church and continues to confuse the public.

Despite these complications, the Church welcomes honest inquiry from all types of media outlets. The Church expects journalists to be accurate and honest and to focus on the faith as it is lived and believed by its members. The Church discourages sensationalized and misleading journalism that accentuates abstract ideas that do not reflect the beliefs, teachings and practices of the Church’s global membership.

These are the problems the Mormon Badge team is hoping to mitigate by publishing badges that use official LDS church material to explain common misconceptions about the church. We hope to release our first badge with information about polygamy and Mormonism sometime next week.  In the meantime, check out this FAQ published in the Church's newsroom that covers polygamy and many other frequently asked questions about Mormons. See the FAQs by clicking the link:
http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/mormonism-101
On the newsroom site, you'll need to scroll down a little and click the FAQ link just below the info-graphic.