Official Discussion on the Mormon/LDS influence in Idaho (Boise: fit in, transfer)

[Sage of Sagle]

jadbad2004,

From my time in North Idaho, this whole thing is such a huge non-issue. Just seems to be something that people should be aware of, same as how our state isn't known for having a wide choice of ethnic foods, or how it's known for the greenery and the fishing and hunting....this is just one more facet of life in some regions of Idaho that will be a positive for some, a negative for some, and neutral for the majority of people.

[pimit2]

I was befuddled by the constant discussion of the LDS church and its members long before our distiquished moderator, the Sage of Sagle, put a stop to it in this wonderful Idaho forum.

I can understand the fear of vicious animals, gunmen in the streets, dark alleys, and even the fear of heights, but opinions do not scare me. I have come to the conclusion in my 69 years that others have opinions that differ from mine. I ain't scared of that.

Your next door neighbor has opinions different from yours. I can guarantee it. If it is your desire to move to Idaho, let real issues help you make your decision. Don't let non-issues get in your way.

Bob (Pimit2)

[gripster2]

My brother lives in Eagle and has many neighbors who are Mormon, he is not. His kids play with the mormon neighbors kids although my brother has never met the parents, purely by the mormons choice not his. They will allow their kids to play but will not associate with the non mormon parents. There is a church outside every public school for the mormons and starting a business is difficult if you are not mormon. Idaho has the second most Mormon population next to Utah for those of you who do not know this. Consider this when moving to Boise, it is a fact.

[Sage of Sagle]

Gripster,

Agreed, but I think that people should also be relatively aware that the influx of people from out-of-state is faster than the LDS birth rate from what I can surmise.

For example, in Pocatello, while there appears to be a massive LDS ward right near Idaho State campus, there is a BIG protestant church on the north side of the freeway I saw when driving through. So I would think (guessing here) that an "outsider" would be able to connect with other non-LDS people through what are probably some very tight church groups...but it would require more proactive effort than just running into your neighbors. What do you think?

Here around Sandpoint, people tend to assume you're a theist (mostly protestants), but nobody is shocked when someone is an atheist or agnostic.

[jadbad2004]

Sage,
Would the large Mormon population also filter into smaller communities? I am relocating to Salmon, and wondered if that area is heavily influenced by LDS. Thanks for any info you can provide.

Beth

[gripster2]

Look at Sperlings Best Places and you can get a complete breakdown of religions for any city nationwide as well as other info you cannot get on City-data. It is a vey helpful and informative site.

[fabforever]

I live in an upper middle class subdivision and 90% of my neighbors are Mormons. There is a LDS church a block away from the subdivision and most of the kids in the neighborhood attend the LDS church. I have seen and dealt with some of what Gripster2 is describing. My daughter (who is 3 years old) is allowed to play with the LDS kids but they never invite her into their houses and the kids are not allowed to play at our house either. The playing is mostly done outside. I am very respectful of the LDS religion and my husband and I have tried being the best of neighbors, inviting people over, taking cookies and cake at special holidays and etc. I even read quite a lot about the religion so we could be polite good neighbors and respect that Sunday is family day, that they don’t drink coffee or alcohol and etc.

However last week one of our LDS neighbors came over to talk to me, and we got into the subject of school since she has a 3 year old also. To my surprise and shock, she told me that my daughter would probably be alone in the school bus because all of the kids in the subdivision went to the same church and she didn’t. She also hinted that her daughter would be a proper little girl, while mine would be a bad influence to their kids. At the time I was unable to respond, I just felt so upset and hurt. Although I had noticed that we were not very welcomed in the neighborhood because we were not Mormons, it didn’t bother me until these comments were made last week.

I don’t believe this is a typical Mormon behavior; however people should be aware that certain subdivisions that are largely Mormon might not be so accepting of non-LDS neighbors and because you are not part of the church, you might be left out of certain subdivision activities since some of them are scheduled within the church itself.

[Sage of Sagle]

Originally Posted by jadbad2004

Sage,
Would the large Mormon population also filter into smaller communities? I am relocating to Salmon, and wondered if that area is heavily influenced by LDS. Thanks for any info you can provide.

Beth

Beth,

Gripster2 gave some good advice. If in doubt, look at the churches in an area, and the area's population, and you'll get a VERY good idea of how it breaks down. And any realtor should be able to tell you how LDS an area is...

[nancygluna]

I am not LDS and reading all the negative comments about this religion is just being childish and not minding other people's beliefs. The LDS might have some influence on this state, but most of those influence are for the good and not for the bad. Living in a highly populated LDS region has not affected me in any way. LDS, Cristian, Catholic etc, are all humans with their own ways of living.

[Jim Paulson, CRS, GRI]

Yes, Boise does have a healthy LDS population, but we also have our share of Catholics, Seventh Day Adventists, Jehovah Witness, Baptists, Muslims, Jews, and Athiests too. This diversity is one thing that helps make us a great place to live and raise a family.

Being a Realtor, it makes it interesting dealing with all the diffent beliefs (i.e. some don't like to work from sun down Friday - sundown Saturday; while the LDS prefer not to do business on Sunday at all).

My main recommendation is learn the customs of each belief and try to respect it. For example, I learned that if I want a birthday party for my child to be on a Sunday, I can have it at my home or in the park; just not at a "place of business" since that would require others to work on the "day of sabath". No problem, now that I know!

Regardless of which religion, at least they have some belief in a higher power because I know they believe they are accountable for their actions while on this earth.