What Is the Book of Mormon About Musical
Our story begins in Salt Lake City, where we meet Elder Price—a golden-boy Mormon who really wants to be sent to Orlando, Florida, for his mission. Instead, he gets paired with Elder Cunningham, a socially awkward, chubby goofball who lies about everything. Their destiny? Uganda. Not exactly the Promised Land.
They arrive in a village facing real problems: poverty, warlords, and a general lack of interest in 19th-century American scripture. The locals are not impressed. One of the first songs, “Hasa Diga Eebowai,” translates to a very rude phrase about God. Surprising fact: Parker and Stone originally worried the joke was too dark, but Ugandan audiences reportedly loved it.
The Conflict: Faith Meets Reality
Elder Price has a crisis of faith when his “perfect plan” crumbles. Meanwhile, Elder Cunningham discovers that the only way to get villagers to listen is to embellish the Book of Mormon with Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and alien encounters. He turns Joseph Smith into a Jedi warrior who fought a giant frog. It sounds insane because it is insane—but that’s the point.
The musical is not an attack on religion. It’s a satire of blind faith and a love letter to the power of storytelling. Parker and Stone spent months researching Mormonism and even met with actual LDS missionaries. The church’s official response? A polite statement saying the musical “does not reflect” their teachings. Polite understatement of the century.