By Melissa Plowman
By noon on Monday, BYU students took all of the 429 tickets reserved for the free screening Thursday night for the ?Work and the Glory: American Zion,? which comes to theaters nationwide Oct. 21.
Based on the second book of Gerald Lund?s ?The Work and the Glory? series, the film follows the early Mormon followers as they struggle against the injustices they came against.
?The truth is that this particular ideology was persecuted terribly, and had to put up with tremendous pain and suffering in order to believe what they believe,? said Brenda Strong, who plays Mary-Ann Steed in the movie. ?It?s very important to know that we?re capable of this, to wake ourselves up.?
The first film followed the fictional Mary-Ann along with her family during the Restoration. Based mostly on character and story development, the first Work and the Glory movie focused on each person, where they came from and where they could be going in the future.
The Steed family was introduced moving from Vermont to just down the road from the Smith family in Palmyra, N.Y. They come into contact with Joseph and Hyrum Smith after hiring them on as labor hands to help clear the field in time for the crops to go in.
Because of this first interaction, the Steeds were able to become familiar with Joseph and the first vision. Later on in the movie, the family, excluding the father and oldest child, become converted to what Joseph tells them about the gold plates and their contents.
?She?s a woman of character and morals and discipline,? said Strong of her character. ?You don?t find a lot of that in people in modern times.?
The oldest Steed sibling, Joshua, mocked Joseph and ended up leaving his family with hatred after an ill attempt to steal the plates from Joseph.
Ending out the story is Joshua?s love-interest, Lydia, rejecting him because of his contention with his family and realizing her heart lies with Joshua?s younger brother, Nathan. She also converted to the church after debating whether or not her parents, who disagree with the church, or Nathan is more important.
Following in its footsteps, American Zion picks up right where the first film left off. Mormon hatred, among many citizens in New York, rises in Palmyra and Joseph, the rest of the Saints including the Steed family, move to Kirtland, Ohio.
In the summer of 1831, Joseph goes down to Jackson County, Mo., to identify the city of Zion. The Saints establish a newspaper called ?The Evening and Morning Star,? which later is destroyed by the mobs in Missouri and the owners of the press are tarred and feathered.
Strangely enough, Joshua is flourishing in Missouri with a fleet company. He has not forgotten Lydia, although he has married a saloon hand, Jessica Roundy, after learning about Lydia and Nathan?s wedding.
After being treated poorly by Joshua, Jessica leaves his house to live in an outside settlement. When Joseph organizes men to help restore Zion and bring hope to the persecuted Saints in Missouri, Jessica meets her brother-in-law, Nathan.
Nathan, with the utmost determination to humble his brother, goes to Joshua to bring him back to the family. Not listening to his brother, Joshua and the mob try to destroy Nathan?s will power and faith.
?The thing about Joshua is that he?s coming from a lot of hurt and pain,? said Eric Johnson, actor who plays Joshua. ?It?s not just anger or spitefulness or I don?t like the Mormons. He really feels like he has been wronged by his family.?
One of the changes between the first film and American Zion is the rating. Because of the harsh treatment Joseph Smith and Nathan go through, the Motion Picture Association of America rated the second film PG-13 for ?some violence?.
?The fact is, these things did happen,? Wagenen said. ?Joseph Smith was tarred and feathered in the night. Women and children were forcibly expelled from Jackson County, Mo. But while these scenes are necessary, their representation in the film is very mild.?
At the free screening of the movie, patrons will be able to ask questions and receive American Zion memorabilia.