Thread by @latimes

In #UnderTheBannerOfHeaven, Dustin Lance Black delivers an unflinching portrait of the faith he grew up in: “I was sometimes angry that so much about my own faith had been withheld from me.” lat.ms/3737krk

“I was also heartened that I wasn’t insane, that my doubts were legitimate,” says Black, who grew alienated from the church over how it handled his mother’s physically abusive marriage. “I didn’t understand why it should be life and death to believe.” lat.ms/3737krk

“The [Latter-day Saints] church I grew up in encourages members not to dig into the past, to doubt one’s doubts, to put your questions on a shelf,” said Black, who adapts Jon Krakauer’s propulsive nonfiction bestseller. lat.ms/3737krk

Krakauer, credited as a consultant on the show, expects it will rattle the organization: “They think they’re justified in censoring their history, that all history should be faith-affirming. They hated my book, & I think they’re gonna go crazy about this” lat.ms/3737krk

“I’m sure the Mormon Church will still find fault here and there. That is their job. But I wanted to make that job very difficult for them,” Black says. lat.ms/3737krk

“I stand behind the show in terms of how it depicts Mormonism — and not just Mormonism but, frankly, Christianity in America,” he adds. lat.ms/3737krk

“If the Mormon church is unhappy with me for doing this, they have themselves to blame,” Black says.

“The Mormon Church taught me if it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right. Put your shoulder to the wheel. And I have worked really hard to get it right.” lat.ms/3737krk