How Under the Banner of Heaven carefully depicted of one of the most sacred and closely guarded rituals in the Mormon church: the temple endowment ceremony

Los Angeles Times

Production designer Renee Read and costume designer Joseph La Corte also had their work cut out for them. “Everyone was on the same page about being as detailed and accurate as humanly possible, and respecting the religion,” says La Corte. “People think this show is this bigoted attack (on the church), but it’s actually just telling them a true story that happened, as accurately as possible.” As the Los Angeles Times' Meredith Blake notes, "this is not the first time the ceremony, which is closed to outsiders and the details of which are not publicly disclosed, has been depicted on TV: A 2009 episode of the HBO series Big Love dramatized the ceremony and provoked so much backlash the network issued an apology. There are also surreptitiously filmed videos of the ceremony available on YouTube. The church itself has sought to demystify aspects of the ceremony, which have been modified since the time depicted in Under the Banner of Heaven. Still, the portrayal in the series is likely to anger some members of the faith, not only because it discloses closely guarded rites but because it also asks viewers to consider the connection between the ceremony itself and the atrocities carried out against Brenda."