Narnia Premiere and Evangelical-LDS Relationships

Last night my wife and I had the opportunity to attend the premiere of the new film The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. The screening we attended was held at The Gateway Theater in downtown Salt Lake City through an idea birthed over lunch during the summer. Greg Johnson, Robert Millet, and I had lunch earlier this year and discussed the mutual appreciation evangelicals and Latter-day Saints have for the work of C. S. Lewis. We thought it would be worthwhile to host a screening of the movie, and to make free tickets available to evangelicals who invited LDS, and LDS who invited evangelicals. I wrote up a conversation guide that was distributed after the screening. The intent of this event was to find a mutually enjoyable experience between evangelicals and LDS that can then serve as part of ongoing discussions and relationships between members of these two faith communities. The event was well attended, the film was great, and we hope that dialogue over the spirituality of Lewis will continue in Utah and beyond.