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68-534: Latter Days is a 2003 American romantic comedy drama film about the relationship between a closeted Mormon missionary and his openly gay neighbor. The film was written and directed by C. Jay Cox and stars Steve Sandvoss as the missionary, Aaron, and Wes Ramsey as the neighbor, Christian. Joseph Gordon-Levitt appears as Elder Ryder, and Rebekah Johnson as Julie Taylor. Mary Kay Place , Khary Payton , Erik Palladino , Amber Benson , and Jacqueline Bisset have supporting roles. Latter Days premiered at

136-622: A stake conference twice a year under the direction of the President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles . The stake president presides at these conferences, unless a general authority or area seventy is assigned to the conference. The stake president is responsible for organizing the conferences or assist in doing so under the direction of the general authority or area seventy as directed. The conferences are used to conduct stake business (primarily

204-496: A Geisha , Slumdog Millionaire , Up in the Air , The Artist , Gloria Bell , and Malcolm & Marie . Director Richard Linklater helmed the prominent Before trilogy, consisting of Before Sunrise , Before Sunset , and Before Midnight . Kasautii Zindagii Kay is a popular Indian romantic drama television series of the 2000s. Same-sex romantic dramas that tackle LGBT issues include Brokeback Mountain , Blue

272-402: A Mormon background, Cox had to research details of the excommunication tribunal, which is held after Aaron is sent back to Idaho. Former Mormons told him about their experiences and provided Cox with "a pretty accurate representation, right down to the folding tables." According to Cox experienced actress Jacqueline Bisset also added valuable suggestions for improvements to the story. Casting for

340-531: A Thief , Vertigo , The Crying Game , The Bodyguard , Unfaithful , Wicker Park , The Phantom of the Opera , The Tourist , and The Adjustment Bureau . The screenwriters taxonomy creates additional categories beyond "subgenre" when discussing films, making the argument that all narrative Hollywood films can be delineated into comedies or dramas (identified as a "film type"). The taxonomy also identifies fifty "macro genres", which can be paired with

408-604: A bet with his co-workers that he can seduce one of the Mormons, and soon comes to believe that Aaron, the least experienced missionary, is a closeted homosexual. Aaron and Christian become acquainted through several encounters in the apartment complex. When Christian accidentally injures himself, Aaron helps him indoors and cleans his wound. Christian attempts to seduce Aaron, but the hesitant Mormon becomes upset by Christian's remark that sex "doesn't have to mean anything". Aaron accuses him of being shallow and walks out. Worried that Aaron

476-465: A church stake. The leader of a district is the mission president , who selects a local district president as his agent. The district president may choose two men to assist him; the three together form the district presidency. The Community of Christ (previously the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) eliminated the designation of "stake" as an administrative unit. The church

544-460: A filmmaker's "voice" because the artistic choice to have the characters sing does not affect the story or the characters – it simply alters how the story and characters are conveyed. Therefore, a romance film like Grease would be categorized as a dramatic (type), romance (super genre), high school / coming of age (macro genres), musical (voice) – rather than simply as a "musical romance". Stake (Latter Day Saints)#Stake officers A stake

612-517: A five-hour layover in Salt Lake City . Christian finds Aaron standing outside the airport terminal. Christian confesses his love, and despite his misgivings, Aaron admits his own feelings of love. With all flights canceled due to a snowstorm, Christian and Aaron spend an intimate night in a motel. When Christian awakes, he finds Aaron gone. Aaron's pocket watch, a family heirloom, has been left behind. Christian returns to Los Angeles. In Idaho, Aaron

680-643: A half stars out of four, declaring that the script was peopled from the " Stock Characters Store" and "the movie could have been a.) a gay love story, or b.) an attack on the Mormon Church, but is an awkward fit by trying to be c.) both at the same time." Michael Wilmington of the Chicago Tribune commented "this movie is often as kitschy and artificial as ... Sweet Home Alabama " (another film written by Cox). Other reviewers were more favourable, such as Toronto Sun critic Liz Braun, who said Latter Days

748-418: A hug. Both men are overwhelmed by their feelings and end up kissing, failing to notice the return of Aaron's roommates. Aaron is sent home in disgrace, leading Christian to confront Ryder, who is angry that Christian corrupted Aaron for no reason. Christian admits that he initially just wanted to win a bet, but says "it's not about that" anymore. Seeing Christian's distress, Ryder tells him that Aaron's flight has

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816-440: A novel, which was published by Alyson Publications . Elder Aaron Davis, a young Mormon from Pocatello, Idaho , is sent to Los Angeles with three other missionaries to spread the faith. They move into an apartment next to openly gay party boy Christian Markelli and his roommate Julie, an aspiring singer. Christian and Julie work as servers at Lila's, a trendy restaurant owned by retired actress Lila Montagne. Christian makes

884-417: A place in my heart". Cox has stated that the film is primarily about a love story between two characters. There is also an exploration of religious attitudes towards homosexuality, and the dilemma of religious homosexuals, torn between who they are and what they believe. A non-fiction film with similar themes that has been contrasted with Latter Days is Trembling Before G-d . Cox has also said that there

952-536: A razor to his wrists; thanks to you I have lost my son." Believing Aaron is dead, Christian spends the next few days thinking continually about Aaron. Christian travels to the Davis home in Idaho, where he tearfully returns Aaron's watch to his mother. After looking at the watch's inscription, which mentions charity, she tries to go after Christian, but he has already left. Julie writes a song based on Christian's journal entry about

1020-768: A result of the exodus of the majority of the Latter Day Saints to the Salt Lake Valley . The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) is the largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement. After the death of Joseph Smith, Brigham Young assumed the leadership of the church and led its members to the Salt Lake Valley. The first stake established there was the Salt Lake Stake, established October 3, 1847, with John Smith as president. At

1088-530: A semi-regular basis. Area and regional conferences had been organized attempts to counteract this situation. A format has developed in the church such that groups of stakes are designated to receive a satellite broadcast from Salt Lake City. Using the recording studio at the Conference Center , general authorities deliver sermons that are broadcast to each designated stake. Each stake conducts its own opening hymns and prayers and conducts its own business before

1156-414: A stake conference. Some stakes are geographically large enough that multiple sessions of stake conference may held at different locations to accommodate those who live in distant areas. The multi-site stake conference has become more common in the current stake conference structure. As the number of stakes continued to grow, it became more difficult for general authorities to visit stake conferences, even on

1224-436: A stake is known as the stake president . The president is assisted by two counselors and the three together form a stake presidency. The stake presidency is assisted in turn by a twelve-member body, called the stake high council . The members of the stake presidency and stake high council hold the priesthood office of high priest . The stake presidency and the high council handle the administrative and judicial business of

1292-529: A stake might encompass a few square miles in area. In contrast, a stake in another part of the world might require thousands of square miles to comprise a sufficient number of members. In December 2012, Jeffrey R. Holland organized the 3,000th stake in Freetown, Sierra Leone . At the end of 2015, there were 3,174 stakes in the LDS Church. As of December 31, 2019, the LDS Church reported 3,437 stakes. The stake

1360-490: A stake presidency within a stake are shared between the district presidency and the mission presidency in a district. In addition to the presidency and high council, stake auxiliary leaders are called to oversee the operation of the various auxiliary organizations of the stake. The stake auxiliaries correspond to the ward-level auxiliaries, and include the Stake Relief Society (the church's women's organization),

1428-550: Is excommunicated by the church elders, led by his father, who is the stake president . Aaron is rejected by his father and scolded by his mother, who tells him that he must pray for forgiveness. When Aaron suggests that he might be gay, his mother slaps him. Overwhelmed by despair, Aaron attempts suicide. His parents send him to a treatment facility in an attempt to change his sexual orientation via conversion therapy . Christian locates Aaron's home address and phone number. Aaron's mother informs him that, "Thanks to you, my son took

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1496-401: Is a massive irony, both in the film and in real life, that a religion so focused on the family and its importance is ripping families apart through its teaching on homosexuality. In fact, Cox believes one cannot be Mormon and gay. Nevertheless, a major theme of Latter Days is that there is an underlying spirituality in the world that goes beyond the rituals and dogmas of religion. Latter Days

1564-687: Is a romantic story with a historical period setting, normally with a turbulent backdrop of war, revolution, or tragedy. This includes films such as Gone with the Wind , Doctor Zhivago , Reds , Titanic , A Very Long Engagement , Atonement , Portrait of a Lady on Fire , and Cold War . Paranormal romance is a popular genre of film which features romantic relationships between humans and supernatural creatures. Popular tropes include vampirism , time travel , ghosts and psychic or telekinetic abilities – i.e. things that cannot be explained by science. The genre originated in literature and moved on to

1632-815: Is a term associated with romance films mostly targeted to a female audience. Although many romance films may be targeted at women, it is not a defining characteristic of a romance film and a ' chick flick ' does not necessarily have a romance as a central theme, revolve around the romantic involvement of characters or even include a romantic relationship. As such, the terms cannot be used interchangeably. Films of this genre include Gilda , The Red Shoes , Sense and Sensibility , Gentlemen Prefer Blondes , Dirty Dancing , The Notebook , Dear John , A Walk to Remember , Thelma & Louise , Fifty Shades of Grey , Sleepless in Seattle , You've Got Mail and Romeo + Juliet . Also known as epic romance, this

1700-457: Is able to surmount most obstacles. Humour in such films tends to be of a verbal, low-key variety or situational, as opposed to slapstick. Films within this genre include City Lights , A Night at the Opera , It Happened One Night , His Girl Friday , My Wife's Goblin , The Philadelphia Story , Intolerable Cruelty , Roman Holiday , Good Morning, My Dear Wife , The Big Sick , Enough Said , Lost In Translation , To All

1768-525: Is an administrative unit composed of multiple congregations in certain denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement . The name "stake" derives from the Book of Isaiah : "enlarge the place of thy tent; stretch forth the curtains of thine habitation; spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes" ( Isaiah 54:2). A stake is sometimes referred to as a stake of Zion . The first Latter Day Saint stake

1836-399: Is an intermediate level in the organizational hierarchy of the LDS Church. The lowest level, consisting of a single congregation, is known as a ward or branch . Stakes are organized from a group of contiguous wards or branches. To be created, a stake must be composed of at least five wards. A stake may have up to a total of 16 congregations. Most stakes are composed of five to ten wards. In

1904-418: Is correct, Christian joins a charity, delivering meals to people with AIDS . He gains new insights through a friendship with one of the beneficiaries. Aaron meets and befriends Lila, whose life partner has died, unaware of her connection to Christian. Aaron's fellow missionary, Paul Ryder, has a cycling accident. Returning to his apartment, a distraught Aaron encounters Christian, who tries to comfort him with

1972-726: Is distributed by Fourlab. The film was re-titled Inguaribili Romantici ("Hopeless Romantics"), shown on pay-TV on Sky Show in December 2006, and then released on DVD by Fourlab's gay-themed label "OutLoud!". The film is also available in an Italian-language-dubbed version. Romance film Romantic films often explore the essential themes of love at first sight , young and mature love, unrequited love, obsession, sentimental love, spiritual love , forbidden love, platonic love, sexual and passionate love, sacrificial love, explosive and destructive love, and tragic love . Romantic films serve as great escapes and fantasies for viewers, especially if

2040-443: Is heartbroken, thinking that Christian has returned to his party boy ways and moved on. Having nowhere else to go, Aaron makes his way to Lila's restaurant and begins to recount his journey to her. Christian walks into the dining room, and is overjoyed to see Aaron alive. They reconcile and later celebrate Thanksgiving with Christian's co-workers. Lila tells everyone that, no matter what, they will always have, "a place at my table, and

2108-464: Is often employed to indicate the emotional mood, creating an atmosphere of greater insulation for the couple. The conclusion of a romantic drama typically does not indicate whether a final romantic union between the two main characters will occur. Some examples of romantic drama films and shows before 2000 are Man's Way with Women , Casablanca , María Candelaria , Pride & Prejudice , Appointment with Happiness , Wakeful Eyes , Among

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2176-503: Is the Warmest Colour , Carol , Moonlight , and Call Me by Your Name . Romantic fantasies describe fantasy stories using many of the elements and conventions of the romance genre. Some examples include The Lady Eve , Top Hat , The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (Les Parapluies de Cherbourg) , Singin' in the Rain , Groundhog Day , Enchanted , Cinderella , Beauty and

2244-553: The Philadelphia International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival on July 10, 2003, and was released in various states of USA over the next 12 months. Later the film was released in a few other countries and shown at several gay film festivals. It was the first film to portray openly the clash between the principles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and homosexuality , and its exhibition in some U.S. states

2312-523: The Philadelphia International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival on July 10, 2003. The audience enjoyed the film so much that they gave it a standing ovation . When the cast came on stage, they received another standing ovation. The film had a similar reception both at OutFest a week later, and at the Palm Springs International Film Festival. The film also screened at the Seattle and Washington film festivals before being released across

2380-677: The Rodgers and Hammerstein productions. Some examples include South Pacific , West Side Story and its 2021 remake , Grease , High School Musical , Across the Universe , Moulin Rouge! , the Mamma Mia! franchise, Sunshine on Leith , and La La Land . Romantic thriller is a genre of film which has a storyline combining elements of the romance film and the thriller genre . Some examples of romantic thriller films are Desire , To Catch

2448-419: The romance super genre. Using this approach, films like Gone with the Wind (noted above) would be classified as a dramatic (type) historical/family (macro genres) romance (genre) rather than simply a historical romance; while The Notebook would be identified at dramatic (type) disease (macro genre) romance (genre) rather than simply a romantic drama. Similarly, musicals are categorized as one option for

2516-567: The Beast , Knowing , Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind , Midnight in Paris , Her , and The Shape of Water . Romantic musical (alternatively musical romance ) is a genre of film which features romantic relationships and whose story is partially explained through song and/or dance numbers. This genre originated on Broadway and moved to the silver screen thanks in part to the popularity of

2584-456: The Boys I've Loved Before , Four Weddings and a Funeral , Dave , Say Anything... , Moonstruck , In Summer We Must Love , As Good as It Gets , Something's Gotta Give , When Harry Met Sally... , Annie Hall , Manhattan , The Apartment and Pablo and Carolina . Romantic dramas usually revolve around an obstacle that prevents deep and true love between two people. Music

2652-594: The Ruins , The River of Love , Dearer than my Life , Love Story , Paris and Love , Featureless Men , Coming Home , Daughters of the Dust , Like Water for Chocolate , Sommersby , The Bridges of Madison County , The English Patient , Shakespeare in Love , An Officer and a Gentleman , Saptapadi and Cinema Paradiso . 21st century examples include Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna , Sideways , Memoirs of

2720-612: The Stake Primary (for children under 12 years of age), the Stake Young Men Organization and Young Women Organization (for youth 12 to 18 years of age), and the Stake Sunday School organizations. Typically, the stake-level auxiliary leadership consists of a presidency (made up of a president and two counselors), a secretary, and perhaps additional assistants or board members with specific responsibilities within

2788-647: The United States and Canada, a minimum of 3,000 members is required to create a stake; elsewhere, a minimum of 1,900 members is required. For a stake to be created, there must be at least 99 active, full- tithe -paying Melchizedek priesthood holders living in the stake boundaries. In late 2023, the First Presidency announced plans to standardize requirements for becoming a ward which would take effect in 2024. Stakes may be compared to dioceses in other episcopal Christian denominations. The presiding officer in

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2856-558: The United States over the following 12 months. Later the film was released in several other countries and shown at numerous gay film festivals, namely in Barcelona and Madrid (where it was also a popular pick) and Mexico City . Since its initial release it had received nine best film awards, as Cox mentioned in 2005 on a featurette included on the UK DVD. The film was banned by Madstone Theaters, an arthouse cinema chain with nine theaters across

2924-513: The Young Men and Young Women organizations, may also coordinate activities with other stakes in the general area as well. This is especially common of youth dances, and occasionally of youth conferences. All stake leaders are lay members who serve without remuneration. Today, stake presidents generally serve for seven to eleven years. In the past, lengths of tenure have varied, with some stake presidents serving for many decades. Each stake will hold

2992-418: The appointment and sustaining of stake officers) and to disseminate counsel and guidance from the stake presidency. Speakers at stake conferences generally include the three members of the stake presidency and other stake members, called upon by the stake presidency, to speak on assigned topics. When a general authority or area seventy presides, he is the featured speaker. The general session (for all members of

3060-428: The boundaries of the stake. The stake center is where functions of the stake such as stake conferences, stake meetings, and stake activities are usually held. There are usually offices for conducting stake business in the stake center. During the mid-to-late 19th and early-20th century, in areas with larger LDS populations, stake tabernacles were used for most of the larger activities now performed at stake centers, while

3128-415: The broadcast begins. Another advantage of this format is that in stakes that are geographically large it is easier to hold stake conference in more than one location. In each stake, one of the meetinghouses is designated the stake center . This building is usually the largest meetinghouse in the stake, but where stakes are large in area the stake center may be chosen because it is more centrally-located in

3196-470: The country, which claimed it was "not up to [our] artistic quality." The company was pressured with threatened boycotts and protests by conservative groups to withdraw their planned release. At the North American box office, Latter Days made $ 834,685 from a maximum of 19 theaters. As of January 2011, the film is the top-grossing film from its distributor TLA Releasing. Critics' reviews have been mixed; on

3264-520: The events of the Mormon War . In 1839, the church's central stake was established at Nauvoo, Illinois , with William Marks as its president. Additional stakes were established in the area around Nauvoo in 1840. Immediately after the death of Joseph Smith in 1844, there was a schism in the Latter Day Saint movement . In 1846, all of the existing stakes, including the Nauvoo Stake, were discontinued as

3332-450: The film: finishing, for example Christian's cry – in the film – of "That's the hand I use to…" with "masturbate with". In France, Latter Days has been titled La Tentation d'Aaron ("The Temptation of Aaron"), and the DVD given a cover showing Aaron in a nude and suggestive pose. A new trailer was also released, which is considerably more sexual than the original. In Italy, Latter Days

3400-422: The ordeal. Julie shows Christian her video for the song, and he is upset that Julie used his writings without his consent. Julie tells Christian that she hoped something good would come from it. In the treatment facility, Aaron hears Julie's song when her video airs on television. The video prompts Aaron to return to Los Angeles in search of Christian. When a stranger answers the door to Christian's apartment, Aaron

3468-430: The organization. The stake auxiliary leaders provide oversight, advice and counsel for the ward-level auxiliary leaders and organize stake-wide activities. Other stake specialists may be called to organize activities—typically sports or drama programs—which are more suitable for the larger numbers of people available to a stake and might be difficult for a ward to carry out on its own. Stake auxiliary leaders, especially in

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3536-559: The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 46% of 48 critics' reviews are positive, with an average score of 5.4/10. Metacritic , which uses a weighted average , assigned the film a score of 45 out of 100, based on 21 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. Frank Scheck, reviewer for The Hollywood Reporter , wrote: "Cox's screenplay, while occasionally lapsing into the sort of clichés endemic to so many gay-themed films, generally treats its unusual subject matter with dignity and complexity." Film critic Roger Ebert gave it two and

3604-582: The screen in the early 2000s, following the success of the Twilight Saga adaptations from Stephenie Meyer 's books. By 2007–08, film studios were producing various paranormal romance films, many adapted from novels. Examples of paranormal romance films include The Exterminating Angel , The Twilight Saga , Warm Bodies , Vampire Academy , I Am Dragon , and The Shape of Water . Romantic comedies are films with light-hearted, humorous plotlines, centered on romantic ideals such as that true love

3672-454: The size and number of local congregations, the creation of a new stake also requires sufficient Melchizedek priesthood holders to fill the required leadership positions. At times the absence of available leadership constrains the creation of new stakes and the number of congregations within a stake can be much larger than normal. The geographical area encompassed by a stake varies between countries and regions based on membership density. In Utah,

3740-409: The stake offices were located in what was known as a stake house . In areas with fewer members and no stake tabernacle, a stake house was used like a modern stake center for both meetings and offices. A church district is a geographical, administrative unit composed of a number of congregations called branches. A district is a subdivision of a mission of the church and in many ways is analogous to

3808-421: The stake) is usually held on Sunday. This general session may be held in a local tabernacle if available. If held in the stake center , the general session may be divided into multiple sessions, by ward, so that all stake members may be accommodated in the building. A session for all adult members is generally held on the preceding Saturday evening. A priesthood leadership session is also held in conjunction with

3876-506: The stake. The three members of the stake presidency are given the honorific title " president ". In an area where there are insufficient congregations to form a stake, a district is formed to oversee the congregations. The presiding officer in a district is called the district president. The district president may or may not have counselors, depending on the number of members in the district. A district council of up to twelve individuals may also be formed. Duties which would be carried out by

3944-481: The time of Young's death in 1877, there were 20 stakes in operation with a total of approximately 250 wards . New stakes are created when the congregations in existing stakes or districts have grown sufficiently to support a stake. Districts may be elevated to stakes and are then no longer presided over by a mission president . New stakes are also frequently formed by dividing an existing stake (or by creating three stakes from two existing stakes, etc.). In addition to

4012-738: The two leads finally overcome their difficulties, declare their love, and experience their "happily ever after", often implied by a reunion and final kiss. In romantic television series, the development of such romantic relationships may play out over many episodes or different characters may become intertwined in different romantic arcs. Screenwriter and scholar Eric R. Williams identifies Romance Films as one of eleven super-genres in his screenwriters' taxonomy , claiming that all feature length narrative films can be classified by these super-genres. The other ten super-genres are action , crime , fantasy , horror , science fiction , comedy , sports , thriller , war and western . ' Chick flick '

4080-443: The two main characters did not focus on their sexuality, but their ability "to show vulnerability". In a behind-the-scenes commentary, Steve Sandvoss explains that he did not want to play his character as a gay character, and Wes Ramsey emphasizes that the love story aspect of the film to him was detached from the character's gender. Due to several nude and kissing scenes, Latter Days was released unrated. Latter Days premiered at

4148-579: Was "the most important gay male movie of the past few years." Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times commented: "At once romantic, earthy and socially critical, Latter Days is a dynamic film filled with humor and pathos." Gary Booher, an editor for the LGBTQ Mormon organization Affirmation , said "It was so realistic that it was scary. I felt exposed as the particulars of my experience and of others I know

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4216-565: Was brazenly spread across the big screen for all to behold." Eric Allaman scored the soundtrack to the film after shooting wrapped, and composed much of the score himself. Several scenes featuring the rapid passing of time, such as Christian's desperate search for Aaron at Salt Lake City Airport , were scored with techno style beats, and scenes with emotional content were given a more "ambient 'tronica feel". A total of three songs were written by C. Jay Cox for Rebekah Johnson to sing: "More", "Another Beautiful Day", and "Tuesday 3:00 a.m.". Allaman

4284-458: Was controversial. Various religious groups demanded that the film be withdrawn from theaters and video stores under boycott threats. The film was met with mixed reactions from film critics, but was popular with most film festival attendees. At the North American box office however, Latter Days only made $ 834,685, barely covering the production's costs with an estimated budget of $ 850,000. In 2004, freelance writer T. Fabris made Latter Days into

4352-611: Was filmed in several locations in Los Angeles in 24 days on an estimated $ 850,000 budget. After Cox had financed the search for initial backing, funding was acquired from private investors who wanted to see the film made. However producer Kirkland Tibbels still faced several bottlenecks, as financing the whole film remained difficult. It was distributed through TLA Releasing , an independent film distributor, who picked it up through its partnership with production company Funny Boy Films, which specializes in gay-themed media. Despite coming from

4420-595: Was organized at church headquarters in Kirtland, Ohio , on February 17, 1834, with Joseph Smith as its president. The second stake was organized in Clay County, Missouri , later that year on July 3, with David Whitmer as president. The Missouri stake was relocated to Far West, Missouri , in 1836, and the Kirtland Stake dissolved in 1838. A stake was organized at Adam-ondi-Ahman in 1838 and abandoned later that year due to

4488-408: Was published by Alyson Publications . The book was faithful to the film, but added several extra scenes that explained confusing aspects of the film and gave more about the characters' backgrounds. For example, the reason Ryder tells Christian where to find Aaron is his own broken heart over a girl he fell in love with while on his mission training. The novel also added dialogue that had been cut out of

4556-453: Was very impressed with Cox's musical ability, and both men composed more songs as background music. The official soundtrack album was released on October 26, 2004. Due to contractual reasons, Johnson did not appear on the album, and her character's songs were performed by Nita Whitaker instead. In 2004, the Latter Days screenplay was adapted into a novel by freelance writer T. Fabris, which

4624-457: Was written and directed by C. Jay Cox after the success of his previous screenplay, Sweet Home Alabama , gave him the financial resources and critical credit to write a more personal love story. Cox based both characters – Christian and Aaron – on himself. He was raised as a Mormon and served a mission before coming out as gay, and had wondered what the two halves of himself would have said to each other if they had ever met. Latter Days

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