A ministry of Main Street Church of Brigham City

July 6, 2012

Dear Friends,

The poor girl was pregnant. Not long before, she had been forced into a polygamous union to a much older man by, of all people, the man's first wife. (As surprising as this may sound, it's not that unusual.) And as often happens, the old man got the young girl pregnant--which was a "blessing" that had always eluded the first wife during the years she should have been fertile (and that time had since passed). So now the pretty young girl was pregnant, and she began to flaunt her growing belly before the embittered, childless first wife. The older woman's envy became too much. Despite the fact that she had encouraged this polygamous union, she began to take out her jealousy on the the poor girl. Evidently some fit of abusive rage was the last straw, and the girl decided to take her chances in the big scary world outside her small compound...and escape.

It's a story that gets repeated, in some form or another, time after time in the polygamous Mormon Fundamentalist groups throughout the Intermountain West and beyond. These offshoot Mormon religious groups continue to practice polygamy in the way that early Mormon leaders like Joseph Smith and Brigham Young had taught it, before the modern LDS Church gave up the practice.

But this particular story took place a long, long time before Joseph Smith came on the scene. The poor pregnant girl's name was Hagar. The abusive older wife was Sarah, and the husband was Abraham, and the story can be found in Genesis, chapter 16.

As the story continues, the fleeing Hagar, having reached the end of her rope, sat down in the waterless wasteland she found herself in, sobbing and waiting for almost certain death. But God heard her crying. He provided for her needs, and gave her the strength to face her difficult circumstances. Overwhelmed by His care and compassion, she said to him, "You are the Living God who Sees Me!"

Last year, we embarked in earnest on a new film project containing the remarkable and moving testimonies of peoples' encounters with Jesus Christ. Inspired by the story of Hagar, the project finally has a name: The God Who Sees Me.

Today there are many modern-day "Hagars" who continue to suffer the anguish of abuse and abandonment in the hidden and forgotten corners of Mormon Fundamentalism.

But no one is hidden from, nor forgotten by God. And least of all the poor, the helpless, and the oppressed. In fact, these are the people in whom God takes a special interest.

In the past months, we have interviewed five different women, each of whom can identify intimately with Hagar's plight, and who have found that God is truly the one who sees them, who loves them, upholds them, and cares for their needs. This film is a story of rescue and redemption, of faith and hope, of God fulfilling the promise he makes in Isaiah 61--to bind up the broken-hearted, and to proclaim liberty for captives and set the prisoners free!

Whether you are someone who knows and follows Jesus, or someone who is still trying to figure out what that means, these stories will be a great encouragement to you, and will point to the good news that God not only sees and loves each of us, but that He paid the price of our rightful condemnation, so that trusting in Him we can have eternal life!

We are producing this film in partnership with A Shield and Refuge Ministry, our sister ministry dedicated to reaching out to those trapped in Mormon Fundamentalism and polygamy. We anticipate the film to be completed and ready for distribution in the first part of 2013. But in the meantime, we will be posting the uncut interviews on a new website dedicated to this film-- www.thegodwhoseesme.com. In addition, you can watch film clips (including a new four-minute teaser!) and learn more about the progress of the film and the stories behind it. We will post more interviews and information as they become available.

So stay tuned for The God Who Sees Me--stories of grace, hope and freedom from the hidden corners of Mormon Fundamentalism.

And don't forget--our first film, Unveiling Grace is still available at a ridiculously low price of $4 a copy, and $3 a copy for quantities of 10 or more. We've expanded and updated the Unveiling Grace website...check it out! And this month only, if you enter in the coupon code JULYNEWSLETTER in the coupon code box at online checkout, you will get an additional 25% off orders of this film. (This offer expires on July 31st.)

May you have a grace-filled summer!

--Scott, for Main Street Church / Sacred Groves