These viral moments and Mormon Wives project a version of the faith that appears more progressive and lenient than church leadership and other Latter-day Saint influencers might like. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe internet really challenged the church\u2019s ability to maintain its own narratives about itself,\u201d said Nancy Ross, an associate professor at Utah Tech University who studies Mormon feminism.<\/p>\n
Church says misrepresentation can have ‘real-life consequences’<\/p>\n
The church has worked to distance itself from Mormon Wives, issuing a statement ahead of the first season\u2019s premiere in 2024 without naming the show specifically. It said that some media portrayals of Latter-day Saint women resort to \u201cstereotypes or gross misrepresentations that are in poor taste and have real-life consequences for people of faith\u201d.<\/p>\n
Camille N Johnson, the president of the church\u2019s Relief Society organisation for women, said in an emailed statement that it\u2019s important to seek out trusted sources of information about the church and its members in light of recent media attention.<\/p>\n
\u201cMillions of Latter-day Saint women around the world strive to live faith-filled lives grounded in a love for God and all of His children,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
It would be impossible for the Mormon Wives cast to fully represent millions of women in the church. But they are not the only Latter-day Saint influencers online \u2014 nor are they the only ones with large followings.<\/p>\n
Many are women in their early twenties who are married with young children. They post about young motherhood and experiences like buying a house before they turn 25. Lauren Yarro, a Latter-day Saint content creator and podcast host, said she can see this being a foreign image to some.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur culture is fascinating to an outsider, and I can understand why it would pull people in,\u201d she said. \u201cThat Mormon timeline is intriguing to the rest of the world. I think most people innately have a desire for a happy marriage and a happy family life, and we tend to create those in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Taylor](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/taylor-frankie-paul-appears-at-the-oscars-in-los-angeles-on-LTALKPTBKFG2HMV6EUC3R5R3V4.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Taylor Frankie Paul appears at the Oscars in Los Angeles on March 15, 2026. (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n
Cultural fascination with the church endures<\/p>\n
The beliefs and practices of church members have often been the subject of intense interest and scrutiny because of how they differ from other religions. Some of these include the belief that church leadership can receive revelations from God, or the practice of wearing garments under clothing that have deep religious significance.<\/p>\n
Latter-day Saint influencers are not a new phenomenon, but they have found staying power by driving pop culture discourse and documenting their lifestyles. Many of them use content creation as a way to be stay-at-home parents while also generating income for their families. Several prominent creators live in Utah, the home of the church\u2019s administrative and cultural hub, but there is a broad spectrum in terms of how much they bring their faith into their content.<\/p>\n
While Mormon Wives and its controversial star, Paul, have been the recent high-profile drivers of public interest, the cast talks about the church only sparingly. Rosemary Avance, an assistant professor at Oklahoma State University whose research includes religious identity and digital media, said \u201cthere\u2019s so little reference\u201d to the cast’s faith once people are hooked on the show from its title. Many cast members have left the church or are no longer active in it.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was clearly a marketing strategy on behalf of the people putting these shows together. They think that\u2019ll draw people in, and it does,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s not like you have these women sitting down talking about their secret temple practices that they\u2019re not supposed to speak about, or challenging the authority of the church in some way. They\u2019re just not talking about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Avance sees parallels between now and about 15 years ago, when Republican Mitt Romney was running for president and The Book of Mormon debuted on Broadway. At the time, people wanted to know \u201cwhat\u2019s going on behind the scenes in Mormonism\u201d, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople think they know a lot about it (Mormonism), and they\u2019ve heard a lot about it because there\u2019s prominent stories and prominent people who are well-known and those narratives are circulated, but it\u2019s almost always second-, third-hand,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of people don\u2019t know any Mormons and may never meet a Mormon, or if they have, they don\u2019t know it, and so it\u2019s what you\u2019ve heard and the preconceptions you think you have about Mormonism.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/the-sun-sets-behind-the-mormon-temple-the-centerpiece-of-tem-GPPH5ZAMJRAVPIBIZVZYIXRP7I.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
The sun sets behind the Mormon Temple, the centerpiece of Temple Square, in Salt Lake City, April 27, 2006. (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n
‘Secret Lives’ draws mixed reaction from influencers<\/p>\n
Creators like Yarro, who speak about their faith openly online and closely follow the church’s teachings, said Mormon Wives does not feel representative of their experiences in the church or their lives in Utah. <\/p>\n
The Latter-day Saint content creators who spoke with The Associated Press emphasised they don’t place fault on the individual cast members, but rather the production of the show and the way it Hollywoodises their faith. Representatives for Hulu did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe only thing I don\u2019t like about what they do is sometimes they will play on things, twist things, use what is sacred to us as members of the church, and they\u2019ll put it out and it feels like mockery to us,\u201d said Shayla Egan, another Latter-day Saint content creator.<\/p>\n
Some of the more devout members use their online platforms to respond to and course-correct more salacious social media content or Mormon Wives storylines they believe don’t align with their understanding of church teachings or experiences.<\/p>\n
Mimi Bascom, a Latter-day Saint content creator who says the mission behind her social media presence is to \u201cshow that members of the church are real people\u201d, often makes videos responding to Mormon Wives clips. She finds the show to be a \u201cnet positive for our church\u201d since it gives everyday members the opportunity to \u201cshare what we actually believe and get that more out there into the world\u201d, she said.<\/p>\n
Bascom, for one, had always prepared to serve on a mission, but no longer could after getting married. Making content about the church has felt like a way she’s \u201cable to still live that out\u201d, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to be missionaries and spread the good word of the Gospel,\u201d she continued, \u201cand so this is just another way we can do it\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Until quite recently, the prevailing image to outsiders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":362687,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[156,111,139,69,12477,417,437],"class_list":{"0":"post-362686","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-new-zealand","10":"tag-newzealand","11":"tag-nz","12":"tag-religion","13":"tag-television","14":"tag-tv"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/362686","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=362686"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/362686\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/362687"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=362686"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=362686"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=362686"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}