Based on a true story

The news has been dominated this week by Lance Armstrong and Manti Te'o, two sportsmen who were revealed to be living very elaborate lies. If you want an athlete you can still have faith in, then study the life of the prophet Joseph Smith--the subject of this week's Sunday School lesson.

The focus of the lesson is on Joseph's first vision of God the Father and Jesus Christ, which many feel is just as much a fabrication as Te'o's girlfriend, but I testify to you that it happened. Smith also testified of its veracity in very strong language, including this passage near the end of this week's assigned reading:

I had actually seen a light, and in the midst of that light I saw two Personages, and they did in reality speak to me...I have actually seen a vision; and who am I that I can withstand God, or why does the world think to make me deny what I have actually seen? For I had seen a vision; I knew it, and I knew that God knew it, and I could not deny it. (JS-H 1:25)

There will be no sitdown with Oprah about this claim, no exhaustive journalistic investigation, but you can learn for yourself if it's true or not. I challenge you to do so if you haven't already. Let me know if you'd like more information.

In the meantime...for the non-sports fan, one of the biggest stories of the week is the opening of the Sundance Film Festival. A quick glance at the list of titles shows that many could be about Joseph Smith. They're probably not, but I didn't take the time to read the actual descriptions. Anyway, here's my guide to Sundance 2013, if it were dedicated to the first Mormon prophet and his associates. There have surely been some creative liberties taken with the narratives, as filmmakers are wont to do.

When I Walk--A biopic of Joseph's childhood, highlighted by the radical surgery that saved his leg from being amputated.

Sightseers--A documentary on the Urim and Thummim and seerstones used by Joseph and others to receive revelations.

You Don't Know Jack--An entirely fictitious account of a friend of Joseph's named Jack Kirtland, a well-meaning man who struggled to resist temptation--the original "Jack Mormon."

There Will Come A Day--A collection of short recreations of some of Smith's now-fulfilled prophecies, describing the growth of the church, the move to the Rocky Mountains, the onset of the Civil War, etc.

The Whistle--A Kill Bill style reimagining of the time Joseph was tarred and feathered by a mob. He seeks his revenge on the attackers who broke his tooth, causing him to speak with a whistle. Not for children.

Fat Shaker--A comedy about the only overweight member of the Shaker community, who is overjoyed when Mormon missionaries arrive to teach (among other things) that God does not require a vegetarian diet (see D&C 49).

Ain't Them Bodies Saints--This film depicts the inner turmoil of a member of the Missouri mob opposed to the persecutions his friends inflict on the Mormons.

We Are What We Are--An exposition on the concept of godhood espoused by Smith. The title is a combination of Mormonism's plurality of gods and Jehovah's "I Am that I Am" declaration from Exodus.

Gideon's Army--The saga of Zion's Camp, with some actual battles thrown in. (It's more commercial that way. Typical Hollywood.)

Two Mothers--The story of the first plural marriage, told from a child's point of view.

The Moo Man--A dramatization of the infamous "milk strippings" incident that helped drive early Apostle Thomas B. Marsh from the church and turn him against Joseph Smith.

Running From Crazy--A buddy pic about the relationship between Joseph Smith and Porter Rockwell.

Oh Willy...--A screwball comedy depicting counselor-to-the-prophet-turned-apostate William Law as a bumbling goofball whose betrayal of Joseph was a result of incompetence rather than treachery.

See you at the movies!