Netflix’s Murder Among the Mormons was inspired by Utah’s oddities – Utah Business – Utah Business

Tyler Measom has long felt a calling to tell the lore of Utah. In March of 2021, he brought one of the states most famous stories to millions of televisions across the world with Murder Among the Mormons.

The three-part Netflix docuseries tells the story of Mark Hofmanna prolific forger of documents pertaining to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saintsand the series of bombings he committed in the 1980s.

Murder Among the Mormons brought the story to a mainstream audience and made a star out of the late Shannon Flynn, who was interviewed for the series that became one of Netflixs most-watched titles of the spring.

Both Measom and co-director Jared Hesswriter and director of Napoleon Dynamitegrew up in Utah. They began researching the story in 2017 and pitched it to anyone that would listen. They even sent it to Netflix a previous time before the streaming conglomerate accepted their second pitch.

Just researching and pitching the story was a big pushbut once Netflix accepted the project, the work only intensified. It was a labor of love trying to convince people that this is an amazing story, and Im insanely proud of it, Measom says. Not just because of the content, but because it was done. Because I made it. We made this project. We brought it into the world where it wasnt before.

Measom believes he made a documentary series that was very even-handed and fair, one that doesnt take unnecessary shots at the Church or its members and didnt turn the story into more than what it was. I think a lot of people were afraid that this massive Netflix project would throw punches at peoples beloved faithor conversely, I think people wanted the project to pull the rug out from the Churchs upstanding nature, if you willbut it didnt. I just wasnt part of the story, Measom says. We told the story in three hours, mainly focusing on Mark

Hofmann forged many documents in the 1980s, several of them pertaining to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In 2002, the Deseret News reported that the Church had discovered 446 Hofmann forgeries in its collections. Then, in October of 1985, three bombings set the situation in motion.

Two of the bombings killed Steve Christensen and Kathy Sheets, for which Hofmann pleaded guilty to two second-degree murder charges in 1987. The other bombing injured Hofmann himself.

While Measom believes the story told was a fair one, he felt that a series titled Murder Among the Mormonswhere the main storyline is the forgery of Church documentswas always going to be a controversial topic of conversation.

The Church, the setting in Utahthey were the ballpark that allowed Mark to thrive, Measom says. Peoples love of history, peoples love of artifacts, and Ill say itthe culpability and gullibility of individuals in the state of Utah allowed him to thrive. It was the short right porch of Yankee Stadium for a left-handed hitter if you will, and Mark took advantage of that.

Measom believes there will always be people trying to pull the wool over your eyes. There are snake-oil salesmen. There are used car salesmen with an agenda. There are preachers, there are business leaders, there are people trying to take advantage of you, he says. Its pretty easy to get the facts, and most people dontmany people dont. That may be a forger, that may be a spoon bender, it may be a cult leader. And I just think its up to us as individuals to just dig a little bit deeper, and much of my work reflects on that.

Measoms work has largely been influenced by his upbringing in Utah, with the states culture shaping his career in a meaningful way. He started in the film industry at age 17, starting as a gripone of the people who set up equipmentfor movies that would come to Utah for filming, such as the 1996 movie A Life Less Ordinary.

I remember being on that set and just being in awe, Measom says of the movie directed by Danny Boyle. As a kid, I fell in love with movies. I remember seeing Raiders of the Lost Ark and just being wowed by movies and falling in love with them. I thought, This is what I want to do.

Measom attended Utah Valley University, where he studied in the schools small media department. As his website states, He soon grew weary of carrying C-stands and instead desired to have others carry them for him. Measom began to write and direct, starting with a short film and moving on to commercials and industrials.

In 2010, Measom directed Sons of Perdition, a documentary about teenagers who left Warren Jeffs Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The film won a spot in Oprah Winfreys Documentary Club and has a 6.9/10 rating on IMDb. Among Measoms other titles are An Honest Liar (2014) and Biography: I Want My MTV (2019). He has also recently begun hosting a documentary-style podcast on iHeart with Liz lacuzzi titled Was I In a Cult?

For Biography: I Want My MTV, Measom interviewed stars like Billy Idol and Pat Benatar. Getting someone to open up about leaving a religious cult (such as Jeffs) or an ex-husbands forgery and murder plots (as with Hofmanns ex-wife, Dorie) is a completely different story.

I think its just being able to listen to somebody. People are not used to being listened to, Measom says. Its very rare for someone to tell their story without being interrupted by the other person telling their story. And so for me, to interview someone, I interviewed Shannon [Flynn] for Murder Among the Mormons over two successive days. I interviewed Brent Metcalfe for two days. And I think what showed in Murder Among the Mormons.

Nobody really talks about the vulnerability of these older men, Measom says, who were of a generation that didnt show feelings and didnt cry or open up. For them to really show their emotions on screen was beautiful and amazing, and to get them to that place was difficult for them, but also difficult for me, Measom says. Its really hard to sit and listen to someone tell their tale for eight-plus hours. Its exhausting and difficult, but worth it, because I respect their stories.

From movies to podcasts, Measom loves the stories hes been able to tell. His father grew up on a farm, and that same cant-sit-still work ethic rubbed off on Measom. He loves to watch baseball, exercise, and spend time with his family, and he loves his work. Hes constantly thinking about his next project. I love what I do. I love it. Im good at it. It makes me happy. It makes me fulfilled, Measom says.

He also loves Utah, though it sounds like a complicated relationship. Measom views Salt Lake City as if it were a teenager still growing up, fighting with its parents, and finding its legs and voice. Im a progressive individual, Measom says. I believe in progressive ideals. I believe in rights for all individuals. To see that being gerrymandered in this last census and this last redistricting really hurt because Salt Lake is a progressive city. It really is.

Not only is Salt Lake City progressive, but its also forward-thinking, artistic, creative, and interesting, Measom says. And the fact of the matter is, mom and dad cant keep that from happening, he continues. Salt Lake is going to get bigger, and its going to get more progressive, and its going to get more liberal. Its wonderful to see that, and I wish people would just accept that for what it is and wouldnt be so afraid of it.

Measom has left the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and moved away from Utah for the time being, but the states culture, beliefs, religion, and history have still stuck with him.

Most of my work deals with belief and religionit deals with why people believe things, Measom says. Theres a need for me to tell my fiction, my lore, my history, and the myths around my ancestorsa long line of Mormon families. Polygamy is even in my genes, for goodness sake! Like an Irish man who has to tell great tales of the legends of his past, I feel that same way about the legends of the lore of Utah and Mormonism and the great stories around it.

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Netflix's Murder Among the Mormons was inspired by Utah's oddities - Utah Business - Utah Business