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Jane Manning James, free black woman, once forgotten and now well loved early Church member, and Emma Smith, wife of Joseph Smith, once scorned for “keeping Joseph’s children out of the Church” but now better understood and respected, were friends. The breadth of their friendship, the depth of their faith in God that sustained them after the murder of Joseph Smith, is the subject of the new film Jane and Emma, released to numerous theaters in Utah this Friday, 12 October 2018.

See a list of theaters showing the film; add your voice to the demand to bring Jane and Emma to cities beyond Utah.

The movie’s website is packed with goodies: the trailer, brief interviews with makers, and – perhaps especially pertinent for Keepa readers – an idea of what elements are documented from history, and what elements are extrapolations necessary to tell a story (see especially Melissa Leilani Larson’s comments on “Approaching the History” in the “press kit” section).

All signs point to Jane and Emma being a new and extraordinary type of Mormon movie. Make plans to see it now, if you can.

One difficulty facing the success of Jane and Emma – and whether anticipated responses will make it possible for you to see it – is that the opening comes in the midst of President Nelson’s call for the women of the Church to shun social media, a major source of building anticipation for the movie. Please consider sharing this post, or at least the link to the movie’s website: https://www.janeandemmamovie.com/ with friends and family who might otherwise not hear of the opening. When you’ve seen the movie, talk about it! Send your reviews to me (AEParshall at aol dot com) and I’ll post them on Keepa. Email them to your friends and family. Take your friends and family to see the movie.

If we’re going to have worthwhile cultural expressions of our faith, we need to help the best creative projects – among which I count Jane and Emma – succeed in the marketplace.