Misconceptions About My Church

I believe that if people understood The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (not what they think they know) maybe they would embrace or respect it.

Some people get offended by the word "church." They think I'm trying to convert them but I'm not. I know that many of them have their own religions. I just want them to know the truth about my church, not what they heard, or what they've been told, and respect what I believe. Instead, they have pre-conceived notions. They think they know how my church is but they don't.

I've been a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints all my life but no one asks me about what I believe. Instead they listen to non-members, or people who hate my church, or people who used to be members but now they aren't. It bugs me that people listen to them and think they know how my church is.

Polygamy has NOT been practiced in my church it for over 100 years but it's the first thing people associate with Mormons. When people find out someone is Mormon, they say "how many wives do you have?" My church is against polygamy, but there are polygamists in Utah. The polygamists are not Mormons. They don't mind using my church's internet technology but they do mind being called a Mormon because they aren't. They are a group of people who broke away from my church. Shows like Big Love and Sister Wives glamorize polygamy - and confuse people. Those shows make people wonder if the characters are Mormon or not - they are not. The characters have a lot of the same beliefs as Mormons but they aren't Mormons.

Mormons don't believe in smoking or drinking or having sex before marriage. Just because other people do, they hold it against the people in my church and say "who do you think you are?" Mormons stand up for values, and doing the right thing but people don't like anyone who has high standards so they tease or bully.

They say Mormons aren't Christian because they believe in other scriptures and modern-day revelation. Who gets to determine the Christian definition? Mormons have Jesus Christ in the name of their church. They don't bash other religions. They try to love everyone. If that's not Christian, then I don't know what is. One thing I do know is saying that Mormons aren't Christian isn't very Christian.

I've heard that people think of Mormons as sheep who just blindly follow what their leaders say. Isn't the opposite really true? Aren't people like sheep when they blindly listen to anti-Mormon propaganda without verifying the truth for themselves?

I am convinced that people want to think wrongly of my church because negativity is attractive. People like the drama that badness brings rather than the inspiration that goodness brings.

If people want to know the truth about my church, they should ask me or a long-time member, or the missionaries, and be open and not quick to judge what they hear.