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The Singles Ward
Official film series logo
Based on	Characters created by John E. Moyer
Starring	Will Swenson Kirby Heyborne Connie Young Erin Chambers Various actors
Distributed by	Halestorm Entertainment
Release date	2002–2011
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$500,000 (1 films)
Box office	$1,250,798 (1 films)

The Singles Ward film series consists of two low-budget Christian comedies based on original characters, co-written by Kurt Hale and John Moyer. The overall premise centers around members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) who are not yet married and their religious congregations, known as wards. The story details the humorous experiences for attendees in these congregations.

Films

The Singles Ward (2002)

After faithfully serving a full-time mission, then getting married, Jonathan Jordan finds himself divorced and once again attending one of the church's single-adult wards. As he attends a congregation specifically for unmarried adults, where the ultimate goal is eternal marriage he quickly becomes disenchanted with the experience and stops going to church. As he copes with his experiences, he creates a standup routine lampooning the nature and lifestyle of being a member. His resistance to the church continues, until he falls for Cammie Giles who is an active member at a local singles ward. Suddenly, Jordan finds church attendance more appealing, but begins to question whether he is going for the right reasons or if it is just to impress his new girlfriend.

The Singles 2nd Ward (2007)

Dalen Martin, a young professor at Brigham Young University becomes engaged to his girlfriend, Christine, who is an student attending the university and is also a recent convert to the LDS Church. As the couple prepared for their upcoming wedding, Christine's divorced parents arrive, with their new partners, for the occasion. The couple explores their relationship and preparations while attending the church's congregation of single adults. Dalen tries to create a lasting relationship with Christine's separated parents, who are critical of the religion, and assists his friend, Jonathan, with developing a feature film based on his experiences in a Latter-day Saint singles ward. Together, Dalen and Christine build on their love and look forward to being married in a Latter-day Saint temple, though must also explain to her parents why they cannot attend the marriage ceremony.

The Real Life Singles Ward (2011)

Filmed in a documentary style, the movie follows the real-world experiences of a few Latter-day Saints attending their singles ward activities. Over the course of the production, the project examines the positives and negatives of dating; while exploring the young men's journey in trying to find their eternal companion. This occurs through various aspects of the process including engagement for someone who is divorced versus one who has never married. Each of the young men answer questions regarding their faith, and their desires to grow closer to God in their pursuits at church.

Main cast and characters

This section includes characters who will appear or have appeared in more than two films in the series.

• An empty grey cell indicates the character was not in the film, or that the character's official presence has not yet been confirmed.
•   indicates a cameo role.
•   indicates an appearance in onscreen photographs.

Additional crew and production details

Reception

In the book Religious Humor in Evangelical Christian and Mormon Culture, Elisha McIntyre highlighted the proposal scene between Dalen and Christine, stating that it was "a delicate balance of the serious and humorous mode."

Box office and financial performance

Critical response

In other media

The Singles Ward soundtrack

The soundtrack is a collection of Latter-day Saint artists performing songs from the LDS Church's hymnbook and its Children's Songbook. The soundtrack album was released by Guapo Records.

• "The Church of Jesus Christ" – Magstatic
• "Come, Come Ye Saints" – Slender
• "There is Sunshine in My Soul Today" – Ponchillo
• "Do What is Right" – Mismash
• "Popcorn Popping" – Rooster
• "Book of Mormon Stories" – Pipe Dream
• "In Our Lovely Deseret" – Mr. Fusion
• "Keep the Commandments" – Mighty Mahogany
• "I Feel My Savior's Love" – Mismash
• "We Are All Enlisted" – Magstatic
• "Battle Hymn of the Republic" —Slender
• "Let Us All Press On" – Mr. Fusion
• "When Grandpa Comes" – Slender
• "God Be With You Till We Meet Again" – Jamen Brooks

References

1. Letterboxd staff (March 30, 2011). "The Real Life Singles Ward (2011)". Letterboxd. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
2. McIntyre, Elisha (2018-01-25). Religious Humor in Evangelical Christian and Mormon Culture. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 78. ISBN 978-1-350-00550-1.
3. "The Singles Ward (2002)". The Numbers. Nash Information Services LLC. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
4. "The Singles Ward (2002)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
5. "The Singles Ward". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
6. "The Singles 2nd Ward". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved January 15, 2023.

External links

• Complete film on YouTube
• The Singles Ward at IMDb
• Infants on Thrones podcast review of the movie

• 2002 films
• 2002 romantic comedy films
• Mormon cinema
• Films shot in Utah
• Halestorm Entertainment films
• 2000s English-language films
• English-language romantic comedy films