I will always remember Richard Dutcher as the LDS missionary who dies after giving a blessing to a crippled man who is a new convert to the Church. In a spiritually soaring scene, that man is miraculously healed, and then Richard Dutcher, content but suffering from a terminal disease, passes away overnight.
That might be one of my favorite scenes in all of cinema.
As many readers know, that was the climactic scene of the 2000 film “God’s Army,” still probably the best of LDS cinema after all of these years. Richard Dutcher played “Pops,” the faithful Elder Dalton, who refused to leave his mission.
Artists like Richard Dutcher are given special gifts. They are able to synthesize the thoughts, emotions and feelings of millions in powerful scenes that allow us to feel the urgency and clarity of God’s love for all of us. And when these artists direct, write and act in such personal and poignant movies, how can we not feel special empathy for them?
Most readers probably know that Richard Dutcher made another very good movie called “Brigham City” after “God’s Army.” He then went on to make a several more movies…and during that period he announced he was leaving the Church. He gave what I considered to be a melancholy interview for Mormon Stories, then he got divorced, and then there is this horrific story about an ex-girlfriend filing a request for a protective order against Dutcher. Dutcher is quoted saying the following: “These are very painful and worrisome allegations. I do feel the need to state publicly that I have never in my life hit a woman, never choked a woman, never kicked a woman — certainly never sexually abused a woman.”
(I want to make it clear to readers that there are always two sides to every story, and we should all reserve judgement about Dutcher because we don’t know the full story of what happened with his ex-girlfriend.)
The IMDb web site gives more information on what Dutcher has been up to lately. A web search shows that in 2015 he filed a lawsuit that got tossed out.
The big news for fans of Richard Dutcher is that In 2018 he gave a very interesting interview for Utah Film Studios. He looks quite happy, healthy and upbeat in that interview, and I really enjoyed watching it. If you watch, make sure you watch parts 1 and 2 and 3.
In that interview, Dutcher says he no longer goes to Church but he still believes in God. He calls his faith in God a “gift,” but he says that the God he believes in does not necessarily correspond with the God many others believe in. He says that he does not have the arrogance to tell other people what they should believe. He says that he “sees God in the death and the tragedy.” He says that God is not just happiness and life but also tragedies, because “God is everything.”
In the interview, Dutcher, talking about his movie career, says he has “faith that it will all work out..giving up is never an option.” He points out that he has seven children and he wants to show them he will never give up.
He says: “As hard as it is to go through a period where you have no money, no prospect for money…where you have lost all your friends, all your support group, everything, you’ve lost your investors, you’ve lost your reputation…that’s awful, but worse than that would be giving up and sitting in an office selling insurance, and there’s nothing wrong with selling insurance, but if you are an insurance man who could be Victor Hugo, but you are selling insurance, that’s sad not only for you, but that’s sad for the rest of us.”
(I should point out here that earlier in the interview Dutcher says he does not compare his talent to Victor Hugo’s — his point is that some people are meant to be artists and to explore their artistic abilities).
Dutcher says his favorite film project is “Falling,” which is an R-rated movie based on Dutcher’s life that is described as a drama that chronicles the mental and spiritual collapse of a Hollywood videographer. I am sorry to say this, but that as a believing Latter-day Saint I have zero interest in watching that move. I just don’t watch movies about mental and spiritual collapses.
Dutcher says that he is doing a lot of writing for other producers. He says he is “script doctor,” and mentions he has worked with several big names in Hollywood. He is also working on a pilot for a TV series. He mentions he worked on a movie called “Boys at the Bar.”
(I would like to apologize to Richard Dutcher if he reads this — I spent many hours researching this post, and I could not find much more information on what you are doing lately.)
I want to make this as clear as can be: I am not here to judge Richard Dutcher. As Elder Soares pointed out so eloquently during the most recent Conference: “Considering we still have a long way to go to reach perfection, perhaps it would be better if we sit at Jesus’s feet and plead for mercy for our own imperfections, as did the repentant woman in the Pharisee’s house, and not spend so much time and energy fixating on the perceived imperfections of others.“
I have plenty — PLENTY — of imperfections that need attending. I am much more concerned about my own shortcomings than about Richard Dutcher’s shortcomings.
What I really want to do is send Richard Dutcher a message of love and support. We are about the same age. I have been through a very painful divorce. I am a very flawed man. But I also have found peace and solace in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I have dozens of very close friends there, and I know these people love me. I have seen incredible acts of self-sacrifice and charity. These people in the Church are the kindest, most loving people I have ever known.
Richard Dutcher, people in the Church still love you. There is room for you in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, no matter what you have gone through. Despite my many shortcomings, I was welcomed with open arms when I joined the Church, and I know you would be welcomed also. Richard Dutcher, you can have the faith of Elder Dalton again. I have heard your testimony, and I know you believed it then. That testimony is still inside you someplace. Oliver Cowdery and Martin Harris left the Church, and they came back. You can too.
Who knows — maybe you have already returned to Church since that 2018 interview. If this is the case, then just let me say I still cry every time I watch “God’s Army,” and I have watched it at least a dozen times. Thank you for that.
God’s army was a memorable movie. There have been some great LDS movies since, as well as some average ones and some below-average “comedies”. Great service to the Kingdom and great message to non-members. It was seminal and undoubtedly inspired many LDS aspiring filmmakers. I join you in sending my Brotherly love and friendship to Richard Dutcher. Nice of you, Geoff, to reach out.
““God’s Army,” still probably the best of LDS cinema after all of these years.”?
Really? I personally wasn’t too impressed with the movie – it was ok, but I would put Best Two Years or Saints and Solders as better LDS movies. But I guess that’s the beauty of life, we all get to have our favorites.
Huh. I’ll have to watch the interviews when I get some spare time. Last I heard, Dutcher was firmly in the thrall of the secular left who are decidedly hostile to us and everything we hold dear, and relish the opportunity to control us and our children. In other words, he was part of the coalition-ex-secret-combination against whom many of us had turned to Donald Trump and his tactics for protection.
I’m always hopeful for anyone’s ultimate repentance; but until then—I’m getting awfully sick of nominal Mormons who turn against the Church and its teachings as soon as they get (as they perceive it) a little success in the world and the hector the rest of us about how *we* should live even as they themselves crash from one level of dysfunction to the next; and that disease seems particularly pervasive among Mormons who go into entertainment. Dutcher is where (and what) he is for a reason; and if we truly believe that there are modern-day Gadiantons, then we’d better be ready to call ‘em when we see ‘em and not go light on them just because once upon a time they played on our emotions in a way that made us willing to give them money.
JimD, I am willing to bash the left as much as anybody out there, and I too don’t like all of the left-wing ex-Mormon hectoring going on, but I have to say that I watched Dutcher talk for an hour and a half, and he came across quite well. He was not at all political, and he talked about how much he loves Utah, and he talked a lot about trying to overcome adversity, and he said nothing negative about the Church. As I said in the OP, he and I are about the same age, and I think we could be friends if we ever met. He really had a good vibe. Just sayin’.
Powerful invitation Geoff, thanks. I hope Richard sees this post, it’s powerful. On a side note, I want to push back a little on his comment about giving up his dreams and settling to sell insurance. I see a lot of goodness and nobility in the person who is willing to give up on one dream for a higher, better dream- providing for their family. Now I don’t know anything about his story and I’m not judging the choices he made in his life. But I’m grateful for the people in my life (my parents primarily) who gave up on so much to ‘sell insurance’ metaphorically, to provide a life for me. I have a good job and am able to do meaningful work for people who need it, but there are days that it feels like I’ve settled for ‘selling insurance’ to provide for my family. I feel like I’ve made the right choice. I’m glad there are dreamers and artists out there, but I’m more glad that there are people who work the mines, collect the garbage, fix the leaks, build the bridges, or the mom’s who give up the glamorous career to stay home with their children. Thank God for the Common Man.
Stewart, very good point. There is nobility in doing a hum-drum job so you can support a family. I always wanted to be a writer, and I even published a novel that has probably been read by fewer than 100 people, but that was no way to raise five kids. And, frankly, I am happier putting aside my own selfish artistic needs so I can support my family. It is possible to change your reality so you don’t go around moping about how you lost your opportunity of being an artist. Instead, you can concentrate on all of the positives in your life.
As you say, I don’t mean any judgement or disrespect to Richard Dutcher. None of us know the details of his life. But when it comes to the general subject of: should people sometimes settle for hum-drum jobs rather than “pursuing their artistic dreams,” the answer is yes, in many cases, you should settle for the hum-drum job and concentrate on the positive and raise your family. That will probably give you more happiness in the long run.