I got pissed off in GD class this week
 

The lesson was going along fine until someone tries to make a point on unrighteous behavior by comparing Utah Mormons to the rest of The Church.

Utah Mormons = complacency = unrighteousness

The guy (who has held many Stake positions) was serious; it was no FM troll job. I express my disillusionment to my wife and get a lecture on not getting offended. That was nice.

This is a common theme that I've heard throughout my experience outside of Utah (from the pulpit, in the halls, from instructors). WTF is this all about?

IMO, having lived both inside & outside Utah, there are an awful lot of LDS who seem to be making outwardly-apparant righteousness a competition sport. For example, the number of women who try to one-up each other in terms of theirs or their kid's perfection.

I don't think it's unique to Utah, but the sheer proximity of members here lends to the illusion of it being more rampant than elsewhere.


At least, that's my opinion of why there's an anti-utah-mormon sentiment in the 'outside church'.

I hear this all the time so I don't doubt it goes on, but it just doesn't make sense to me.

It has to do with the culture you come from, not your religion. However, the Utah culture has to be the closest to real "mormon" culture doesn't it because of the numbers.

A lot I think has to do with "outsiders" thinking Utah is backwards. Duh, why is it considered backwards. Outside of Utah mormons gain their superiority complex because of their association with the hip "non-mormons" in their culture.

It might be why BYU is has become an elitist, entitlement stronghold for a group of students who have never sat on a toilet long enough to realize "their shit stinks".

Please tell me the knot heads that pulled the Golds Gym stunt were not from Utah. I would use that as my source of evidence that Utah mormons represent reality, the elitists members outside of Utah want to look down on someone like their neighbors look down on them.

I think I know the answer to this. People who have lived both in and out of Utah make unfair comparisons between the Mormons in each place because outside of Utah you get a skewed view of the local LDS community. In Utah, you see the whole range of LDS because they all live in your neighborhood. That includes the best to the worst.

Outside of Utah you encounter basically those LDS who are at church and engaged at a high level. The lower ends of the spectrum are invisible and you might not ever even meet them.

I think this leads to an apples and oranges comparison.

Second, there are things about LDS culture that are distasteful that are amplified in Utah because of the sheer numbers. I think this also contributes to a dim, but unfair, view of the Utah saints.

Idiots are idiots regardless of where they are from. If that same guy were born and raised in Utah, he would be the type who looks down on outsiders / those not of pioneer heritage.

I grew up being taught this myself. Then I moved to Utah and realized it's easy to tell how complacent a Mormon is when they are your neighbor, your coworker, etc. You see them all the time and know more about their daily activities. Out here in the "mission field" (as Mormons outside Utah love calling it) you don't often see your ward members or other Mormons outside of church so you don't really know how complacent they really are. I for one am just as complacent here in Mississippi as I was in Utah.

And then there's the 'mission field' members claiming their superior involvement in their wards/branches..."I have four callings, and spend half my week at the church."

It's normal human behavior to compare yourself to others, and even more normal to look for things about them that show your superiority.


For example, I can look at Adam's posts and point out how I'm not as insane as he is. I can also point to exutes posts and point out how I'm not quite that big an idiot.

The one generalization that I think is somewhat accurate
 

is that there are more casual LDS or those who are active outwardly due to peer/family pressure, etc. in Utah than most places.

Here it woudl be much easier on my kids, dealing with neighbors, etc. if we WEREN'T Mormon in a lot of ways. I suspect the opposite is true in Utah.

Not a bash in any way ... just an observation.

The damage from Elder Bednar's "Don't take offense" talk is the tendency to now interpret any indignation, even just indignation, as "taking offense."

Some things reasonably deserve objection.

Perhaps your wife was offended by your taking offense?

You get the point.

Having grown up in Utah I fully understand its unique weirdness, so I don't get too offended by green jello jokes. It's this perception that people their are less righteous (I even heard this in France). That people feel comfortable saying something so offensive at church amazes me.

I laugh out loud at people that use their four years at BYU as a basis for talking about "what Utah is like."