God’s Army

A young Mormon from Kansas (Matthew Brown) serves his term as a missionary in Los Angeles, where he grapples with questions of faith and learns the ropes from an older mentor (Richard Dutcher, who also wrote, produced and directed the film). The questions never seriously disturb the film’s air of earnest piety, and it’s an interesting cross between a Mormon recruiting poster and a vanity production for Dutcher, whose character performs all kinds of wonders—Catholics convert, cripples walk, people give up drinking coffee. Those who call Joseph Smith a prophet and consider the Book of Mormon the Revealed Word of God will respond with warm-hearted affection. Others will be unmoved, but unoffended by the film’s simple sermonizing and sincere, natural acting.