The Object: All that and a bag of chips

The documentary film The Object is pretty remarkable. The film provides a first person account by Todd Walker telling his story of finding “the object” in a Nashville Goodwill store. He believes the object to be the Urim and Thummim from the Old Testament. Todd also believes he has been called by God to be the modern day protector of the object and that he is to witness to the world of its divinity and of its power to connect people to the divine if they have enough faith. At one point in the film Todd describes the object as “All that and a bag of chips” and that’s exactly what I think of this documentary.

Members of the Mormon faith will likely find Todd’s story exceptionally fascinating yet also somewhat uncomfortable. Todd’s discovery and experience with the object has striking parallels to the Joseph Smith story and translation of the Book of Mormon. Todd even has designated 3 special witnesses for his Urim and Thummim just as the Book of Mormon has its own 3 witnesses. I was fascinated with this film from beginning to end and also found it unintentionally hilarious at times. Though I laughed plenty, I can’t mock Todd’s sincerity. He truly and deeply believes in the divine authenticity of the object and that he has been called by God to protect it and to witness to the world of its power as an instrument of God to communicate to the modern world.

The Object was the feature of our monthly film group and the discussion following the film was one of the most interesting we’ve had. We all share a Mormon heritage. Our reactions to the film prompted a discussion of our personal beliefs – past and present – and of our own reconciliations and/or faith in the story of the founding of the LDS Church.

Thank you to Ed for a great night and for finding this film. Since the film is not readily available I’m grateful for his insomnia and his $5 purchase. If you’re curious but don’t want to buy a copy of the movie for yourself, check out the clip below from YouTube of Todd Walker sharing his witness and testimony.