Bridge of Reason

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- HBO on Tuesday defended its plans to depict a sacred Mormon temple ceremony in an upcoming episode of " Big Love ." The drama about a Utah polygamous family will show an endowment ceremony Sunday. HBO said it did not intend to be disrespectful of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and apologized. "Obviously, it was not our intention to do anything disrespectful to the church, but to those who may be offended, we offer our sincere apology," the premium cable channel said in a statement issued Tuesday. But the ceremony is an important part of the "Big Love" story line, HBO said. There seems a certain inevitability in this story. It is inevitable that so-called Mormon "sacred ceremonies"  will figure in the controversial HBO TV series Big Love, an every day tale of polygamists; inevitable that the Mormons would complain bitterly; inevitable that the officials of the church would not enc...