E76: Keep Sweet: Covering Episode One

**Lindsay Hansen Park** (0:33)
If you really like television and consider yourself a Mormon television aficionado, you would be in St. George, Utah watching Keep Sweet from the Red Rock Hills like a professional. At least that's what we're doing because we are dedicated to bringing you the closest, most accurate TV commentary on earth, which is why we're coming to you again live from St. George, Utah.

**Cristina Rosetti** (0:57)
Hello again.

**Bryan Buchanan** (0:59)
TMZ has nothing on us. We have all of the details that you need and probably a lot that you don't need.

**Lindsay Hansen Park** (1:05)
Now, if you joined us last episode, we gave you the story about how we consecrated our minivan and pulled it out of the mud like a miracle. And now it's a new day in St. George and it's a new episode. We're going to be talking about Hot Mormon Summer, all of the television shows made on Mormon fundamentalism. We just did an Under the Banner of Heaven series, which has wrapped up.
And now we're going to talk about the two Keep Sweet documentaries and the other one, Preaching Evil. But mostly we're going to focus on the most popular one on Netflix, Keep Sweet, Pray and Obey. I've got Bryan Buchanan back for another and the illustrious Dr. Cristina Rosetti, expert in Mormon fundamentalism. And like I said, because we're committed to you, because we're committed to this subject, we're bringing you live from St. George, Utah. So again, if the audio sounds different, that is because we are sitting on a nice balcony overlooking the red rock hills, where we would call this the seedbed of the modern Mormon fundamentalist movement. Is that fair to say?

**Bryan Buchanan** (2:05)
If you listen carefully, you can still hear George A. Smith in the background screaming about something.

**Lindsay Hansen Park** (2:09)
I'm pretty sure that I see George A. Smith's spirit watching over us all today, which is depressing and sweaty. But the good news is he can take his teeth out, his glasses off and his wig off at any time.

**Bryan Buchanan** (2:22)
You'll never be the wiser.
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**Lindsay Hansen Park** (3:56)
Hi, this is Lindsay Hansen Park.

**Bryan Buchanan** (3:58)
And this is Bryan Buchanan.

**Lindsay Hansen Park** (4:00)
Bringing you the story of Mormonism from the shadow of the Everlasting Hills, straight out of Zion. This isn't your grandpa's Mormon history.

**Bryan Buchanan** (4:27)
This is the tale of Mormon saints and sinners from our roots until present day.

**Lindsay Hansen Park** (4:32)
Gird your loins, lock your hearts, and pay your tithing, because we're bringing you the story of Mormonism in all its paradisiacal glory.

**Bryan Buchanan** (4:40)
It's the Sunstone History Podcast.

**Cristina Rosetti** (5:03)
So one of the things before we start talking about the show that I think is worth mentioning at least, is this is the Sunstone History Podcast. I think one of-

**Bryan Buchanan** (5:14)
In theory.

**Cristina Rosetti** (5:14)
In theory, now we're doing the Sunstone TV Podcast, which is fine. But I think Sunstone produces one of the best histories of Mormonism for popular consumption that we have.
But one of the things that's tough, especially with this series, is when we think about the FLDS, a lot of people watch Keep Sweet, or they watch Preaching Evil, or they watch Prophet of Evil, I don't know, all of the documentaries, and suddenly think that they know the history of the FLDS. And if you read Histories of Fundamentalism, or if you look at the Historiography, a fancy way of saying books on the study of history, what you find is usually the histories of fundamentalism, at least in terms of the FLDS, will end at the moment people either get to Yearning for Zion in Texas, or when the raid happens.