My friends and I stumbled upon this LDS seminary video from the early ’90s and I must share it with you! Look who stars in it:
That, my friends, is actor Aaron Eckhart (from “Thank You for Smoking” and “The Dark Knight”). Funny stuff. Turns out Eckhart was raised LDS, served a mission in France and Switzerland, and graduated from BYU in film studies. He no longer identifies as Mormon, however.
Just for fun, here is a list of some other ex-Mormon celebrities. I’ll add more as I find them.
Amy Adams
Eliza Dushku
Ryan Gosling
Jewel
Katherine Heigl
Paul Walker
Is it odd that the first think I noticed is the shot at the end is impossible? There isn’t a single spot that shot with the Ogden Temple could be shot from. (Sorry, native Ogdenism is showing :P)
It does make me glad I never signed up for institute or anything else after graduating from high school.
That shot was of the Provo temple.
Man that is like my top 7 hottest people of all time list…
Eliza Dushku and Ryan Gosling yum!
Oh and Katherine has said she might want to recommit to Mormonism later in life.
Two of Eckhart’s best roles are in two of the best American films of the 1990s — “In the Company of Men” (1997) and, extending the lacerating analysis to both sexes, “Your Friends and Neighbors” (1998) — directed by fellow BYU alum Neil LaBute, who also wrote the Foreward to a new translation of Lermontov’s “A Hero of Our Time”.
Eliza Dushku?! Holy crap! I wonder if any of these current actors are still practicing.
And I don’t know if anyone knows this, but Richard Dutcher, who is said to have given birth to the mormon cinema, has left the LDS church. I thought that would be an interesting fact to include ;)
Uhm, does the fact that they left make them even sexier? I say hell to the yes. Mmmm.
I had no idea. You always hear about the celebrity members, but never the celebrity ex-members. Obvs, but still.
Thank you for this. Super sexy eye candy, for sure.
Eliza Dushku was at the Mormon Women’s Forum Counterpoint Conference in the UofU student union yesterday (10/23). She was there to watch her mother, well-known Mormon feminist Judy Dushku, get an award. She hung out at the entire conference and listened to discussions of the future of Mormon feminism and the role of sex in the lives of Mormon women. She was gracious, involved–and even more beautiful close up than she is on TV. (Plus, she’s TINY. Really, really TINY.) Those of us who are “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” fans had a very hard time not geeking out.
I didn’t get the video. What is it saying, confessing your dirty dirty sins to the bishop will make everything better?
Great article! jfoprhggf
Very interesting. Katherine Heigl is one of my favorite actresses. I am 17 and LDS and while I don’t always make the best decisions I love the church and its principles. While it doesn’t matter to me whether or not a person is “Mormon” its awesome to know that they have some form of religion and morals (whether LDS or not). Makes me have way more respect for them then I already did.
How about including in your links: http://www.iamanexmormon.com/
AND http://www.templeweddingpetition.org
the most important thing to keep in mind about the beautiful, talented folks in this list is that they are EX-mormons. they might have been born into families that took them to church and through the lds upbringing, but when they had freedom of choice as adults, they chose to NOT be lds. it goes to show that the idea that your life will be crap if you leave “the church” is b.s.
furthermore, i’ve noticed a lot of the lists online of “famous mormons” include a host of people who were only members for a brief time of their childhoods or have since left the religion as adults. how annoying would it be to be touted as a “famous member” of a religion that you are not a part of just to boost that religion’s profile?
I think Keri Russell is ExMo? My sister says she used to live in Highlands Ranch in Colorado?
For me, the question of whether mormonism is true or not has become an aside. I joined the church 20 years ago, persuaded by a mixture of reason and spiritual experience. Since then i’ve served a mission, read widely, and found that there does appear to be a number of troubling facts in the church history – but recently i concluded, i simply don’t care.
I don’t care if Joseph Smith made it up, or if he is telling 100% the truth. Mormonism was my last religious gambit – i grew up a protestant, and when i look at everything from born againism, to islam it makes mormonism look positively logical.
For me, the conflict came to a head with the realisation that the church and the principles offer a really great way to live. I want to live in a peaceful and loving civilisation. I want to share my life with people who have the same values. I’m happy being LDS, happy going to church, because i asked myself who the better man was, the person who sought eternal life and did good and kept the commandments to recieve this reward, or the open minded person who could not confirm the truth but really wanted a better world, opportunity for all, and to love one another. I’m active because i respect the values, i love the culture, and yes i hope it is true as i don’t see any faith based alternatives out there.
That aside, i’m convinced there is a supreme being. I’ve had too many odd statistically improbable experiences not to think something greater is going on out there. I hope it’s true, i want it to be true, but if it isn’t i’m not going to get lost in the debates, i’m going to live a happy life, love my family, do good to others, have ‘faith and hope’ in the existence of a God, and wish everyone else peace and happiness.
As for the anti mormons that attack the church, i wonder why they waste their lives, what do they profit from such aggressive attacks. If it is false, leave it alone and let people discover that themselves – handing out leaflets outside the temples just smacks of obsessiveness. It made me wonder what kind of society they would have if the church announced it wasn’t true, and millions of Utah saints suddenly thought that adultery, corruption, theft, murder, gambling, drinking, drugs, and other such crimes were now on the table. Who wants that, would these people be happier? Not me, i love being LDS, if its true, the fantastic, if it’s not, well i’m happy. I wish you all well.
Darren A,
I, too, was once in your shoes. I grew up in a devoutly lds household and was pretty content in the church for many years. When I started to learn about church history and study things on my own, I also had doubts. I thought that staying in the church while I sorted out my doubts, if but for social reasons at the very least, could do no harm. However, over time, I came to see what a drain ignoring my own inner voice of truth in order to follow the church was becoming. I felt like I was a compromised person and that sharing testimony was next to impossible without sacrificing a clear conscience. I read an old Tal Bachman interview where he said something about how wrong it would be to set the example for his son of not standing up for the truth by going along with the church, while doubting it deep down. Basically, teaching him to be a tacit liar. This struck a nerve with me. I’ve since resigned and although I miss certain positive aspects of the church (some of which you’ve listed above), I have never been happier and more at peace than ever before. I know standing up for the truth will always be the right thing for me to do.
While you may not have found it in any of the religions you’ve searched through yet, I have no doubt that you will find a faith that suits you and that you find to be true someday…but I doubt you’ll be able to search for it while wrapped up in the busywork of the morg.
Peace.