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Talk About It

1. Elder Rogers goes through a spiritually dry time, doubting the value of many things he has believed. Can you relate? When that happens, how can we rekindle the fire of our "first love"?
   
   
2. Film critic Roger Ebert once noted the similarities between evangelists and salesmen. Are they alike? Are you comfortable with that comparison? How can we share our faith without being "salesmen"?
   
   
3. What similarities do you see between your faith and that of the Mormon missionaries? What differences do you see?

The Family Corner

I have absolutely no idea why this film didn't merit a G rating. You won't find a more squeaky-clean film this side of Finding Nemo. Christian parents may want to talk with their children about some of the differences between their beliefs and those of the Latter Day Saints, and perhaps use some of the questions above in "Talk About It."

The Best Two Years is only playing in limited release, but it may draw the attention and concern of Christian viewers, as it is a project funded and promoted by Mormons.

Ron Reed (Christianity Today Movies) says the movie is "not primarily evangelistic; it's confessional. To its credit, The Best Two Years shows a refreshing willingness to acknowledge the foibles and possible problems with some Mormon missionary practices, but the story ultimately comes round to affirming the value of the whole enterprise. Christians may have objections to Mormonism, but viewers who can get past those concerns will connect at a human level with the sense of standing outside the prevailing culture, the passionate desire to have a testimony and share it with others, and the often painful tension between the mandate to evangelize and the immense personal and cultural barriers to carrying that out." Reed concludes that his personal objection to the film is its suggestion that eternal life depends upon good works rather than grace.

Mainstream critics who have seen the film are giving it high praise … although it is worth noting that almost all of those that have reviewed it are based near Salt Lake City, Utah.

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