Proposition 8, a California legislation that defines marriage as strictly between a man and a woman, was passed in 2008. Largely supported by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Proposition 8 has brought negative attention on the Church. 

Amid the controversy, documentary film director Reed Cowan collected documents, audio and interviews that led to the creation of the film 8: The Mormon Proposition that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival this year. 

This documentary covers a wide range of issues such as the number of homosexual Mormon suicides and the homosexual children kicked out of their homes. The majority of the film, however, focused on Latter-day Saints’ fight for Proposition 8.

“How [the filmakers] portrayed the Church, I think, was negative,” said Randy Norton, a graduate of BYU, class of 2005. “How they portrayed the people was positive.” 

The documentary shows the suffering of one couple whose family lines can be traced back to the pioneers. Spencer Jones and Tyler Barrick, both former members of the Church, have struggled with family members turning their backs on them after they became one of the first same-sex couples to get married in California. 

The film also features talks and documents from the First Presidency and apostles of the Church dealing with the campaign for Proposition 8. These clips and documents called the members to action in getting this legislation passed. The Church formed a coalition with other faiths, solidifying their strength and eventually succeeding in getting the law passed. 

Although the Church was within its rights to campaign for legislation, the film voices concerns with the amount of tax-free money the Church spent. According to the film, the Church spent over $180,000 in the campaign. 

The film briefly outlined the history of the Church and its vital belief in families and the afterlife. Cowan said this was necessary to inform the non-Mormon audience of the beliefs that lead to the fight for Proposition 8. 

In Cowan’s opinion, one of the most impactful moments of the film was the connection made with Barrick and Jones’ fight for equality in marriage and their ancestors’ fight for their own alternative definition of marriage, polygamy. The film draws a connection between the suffering of the pioneers’ alienation due to their practices and LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transvestite) suffering. 

“It was crucial that we draw the line between Mormon practice of alternative marriage and modern day alternative marriage,” Cowan said. 

Despite the underlying truths that people who watched the film felt they saw, many were concerned with the agenda of the film. 

“Well, I think it’s beyond purely educational,” said Sean Keogh, an audience member at the Sundance screening. “It’s definitely not 100 percent objective. It definitely has an agenda. I don’t think the agenda is necessarily a gay agenda, though.”

Cowan said the purpose was to tell the story of a wrong that had been done. He felt the public deserved to see and hear what the Church did to bring Proposition 8 to victory. 

“Our motive wasn’t to attack the Church. Our motive was to get the truth out there,” Cowan said. 

The ideas outlined in the film held little impact to LDS members of the audience and many felt the purpose of the documentary was unclear.  

“Nothing is going to change my testimony,” Norton said. “Nothing in that documentary surprised me because I knew the issue really well on both sides of the fence already before I came and saw the video. So there was nothing that was out of the norm for me.”