Questions Commonly Asked By Those Not of Our Faith

Cat Herder · Understander of unimportant things

Questions Commonly Asked By Those Not of Our Faith

salesortonscom · Wise and Revered Master

I never seem to get those questions. I always get asked things like, "What do you think of Warren Jeffs" or "Why do mormons practice polygamy" or "Don't you guys drive buggies and wear all black?". The only good question I got was "Why are you so into geneology". I never get the good questions of people who are actually interested. Just the stupid ones.

Cat Herder · Understander of unimportant things

Yeah, know what you mean... Makes one who has lived in the "mission field" all but his years at BYU wonder how much exposure to the "gentile" heathens folks who write these kind of books really have, and then to what sort of "gentile" heathen audience that interaction and exposure is.

I would get asked by kids in school when they found out I planned on going to BYU for college things like, You're going to BYU? You gonna sing with the Tabernacle Chior?

salesortonscom · Wise and Revered Master

Yea, reminds me of the things I got asked about California. "Do you surf to or at your school?" "Is Baywatch filmed near your home?" "What's Hollywood Like". I live near none of those places and didn't even try surfing until I was 30 which I do enjoy but am not very good at. Guess where some of these questions were asked? In Utah in the great city of Provo. I guess ignorance is international!

arbilad · Head Chef

Reminds me of something I've heard a lot - people who say they went to Los Angeles to go to Disneyland. Anyone who lives in Southern California knows that Disneyland is in Anaheim, a significant drive away from Los Angeles. I even encountered this error amongst those living in Northern California.

Of course, in other countries some people think that there are only two cities in the US, New York and Los Angeles. When 9/11 happened, my wife's mother in Ukraine asked her if we were all right. Colorado is good long ways from New York, and so it was fairly impossible for us to suffer from it physically. But try explaining that to a concerned foreign mom.

Roper · Senior Bucketkeeper

How many of you heard a story like this when you were a missionary?

"I'm not going to join your church because when my sister visited Salt Lake City, some Mormons kidnapped her, took her into the top of the temple, and were going to force her to participate in some kind of animal sacrifices. She escaped by jumping out of a window, landing in the Salt Lake, and swimming to safety."

That's quite a jump! I wonder if she was wearing her super hero costume with the cape and everything.

I heard a few variations of that one, but they always had that same ending--jumping from the temple into the Salt Lake.

Cat Herder · Understander of unimportant things

Well, in my experience, per capita, a lot less... ummm... ahem... shall we say cultural awareness of anything outside the immediate area exists among folks along the Wasatch Front...

True life encounters... Mrs. Cat Herder, who wasn't Mrs. Cat Herder at the time but just Cat Herder's main squeeze kind of betrothed pre-engaged kind of gal, came to visit me during spring break once. She stayed with a cousin. One of my cousin's room mates had some family visiting and when me love was asked where she was from, one girl said "Ohio?! You mean there really is an Ohio?!" in all seriousness... not missing a beat, me love resonded in the same sort of sing-songy airhead voice she had been asked "Yes! Just like I learned there really is a Utah!" ... then when we moved back to Orem so I couldn't finish up at BYU after we got married, our Elder's Quorum president (who was a young guy about the same age, college student, RM, the whole shabang...) after finding out we were from Ohio said: "Ohio, eh. So, there's like what, maybe two stakes in the whole state?". I firmly and authoritatively stated that there was no less than 11 strong stakes in the state, and that the city we came from had it's own region! And that our home stake actually exported missionaries to serve in Utah as well as overseas... He kind of sheepishly tried to excuse his ignorance, but I think he learned his lesson not to assume things in ignorance... And did I ever tell any of you about my senior project at BYU in my major? A map of the US, sized by region based on data retrieved on perception Utah natives have of the influence those areas have on their life... That was fun... I got the idea from an old map I saw in the HBLL map library of the US as seen by a Texan...

glumirk · Senior Member

In response to arbilad's comment about Disneyland, it's really not that far away from LA. My grandparents live in an eastern suburb of LA and it's only like an hour, maybe an hour and a half drive to get to Disneyland. Considering I grew up in a town where the closest temple is 3 hours away, that drive doesn't seem very long. Heck, we had to drive that long to get to the nearest mall, and many Southern Californians tend to drive that long to get to a mall they like. So to get to an amusement park, it's really not that far.

I tend to prefer Six Flags Magic Mountain myself, and we have had road trips there where we stay at my grandparents house and leave at 8am so we can be there when it opens at 10am and stay for 12 hours and usually make it back to their house by 1am because we inevitably stop at the in-n-out burger.

Anyway, on the topic of misunderstanding the Church, the worst misunderstanding I've encountered is really the fact that people don't think we are Christians. I've had people tell me that while I may say I'm Christian, I'm really not. The only reason I'm not is because I differ from their belief in the Trinity.

I did hear that in our seminary building (which was right across the street from my high school, we were lucky enough to have release-time, but we had to make up 2 credits in summer school or by being dual-enrolled at the community college) there was a swimming pool in the basement and we sacrificed goats there. I think they just heard that we had a Stake President with the last name of Goates, and somehow "Stake" and "Goates" became stabbing goats with stakes. All a big misunderstanding. In general, other people seem to understand that "the Mormons" are pretty cool people, just with a different religion. I'm lucky enough that if I mention it to people they seem to know exactly what my standards are too. I guess I'm still in a school bubble, but the University is the same size as my hometown. Plus we do have our fare share of "stupid people" (it's a big party school...or so I hear)

Cat Herder · Understander of unimportant things

Anyway, on the topic of misunderstanding the Church, the worst misunderstanding I've encountered is really the fact that people don't think we are Christians. I've had people tell me that while I may say I'm Christian, I'm really not. The only reason I'm not is because I differ from their belief in the Trinity.

Actually, by their definition (as shown in the article) of what a Christian is, we are not. And I have no problem with that, nor do I wish to be considered Christian if it means that I have to subscribe to the Apostolic or Niceane creeds. The scriptures tell us that the only ones The Savior acknowledges as his followers are those that do His will, that keep the commandments. I'm more concerned about obtaining that acknowledgement than the acknowledgement of a theology based in apostate teachings mixed with the philosophies of man. One doesn't have to be "Christian" by their definition in order to live a christian life and become Christ-like. In fact, I think it has been shown that definition too often becomes a hinderance to actually becoming Christ-like... By their fruits shall ye know them.

salesortonscom · Wise and Revered Master

glumirk wrote:
In response to arbilad's comment about Disneyland, it's really not that far away from LA. My grandparents live in an eastern suburb of LA and it's only like an hour, maybe an hour and a half drive to get to Disneyland. Considering I grew up in a town where the closest temple is 3 hours away, that drive doesn't seem very long.
Hour and a half? Maybe at 2am if there is no traffic. The whole southern California area is one big suburb of LA now. Without the road signs you can't tell when you've left one city and enter another anymore. The only gap now seems to be on the I-5 by Camp Pendleton and only then because of the military.
As far as being called a Christian goes, I can do without. The term means little to me. I prefer being called a latter day saint anyway!

rayb · Hot Air Balloon

We are Christian in the sense that the early Christian martyrs are called "Christians".

--Ray