Considering Utah

[robmaxwell]

It is true that there are many Mormons here, but even if you are not religious, it is a great place, they are good people, dont bother you.
There are actually many Russians here, they say about 10,000. there are Russian stores, and Russian groups. I actually speak Russian, and know many here.

[mountainfaith]

That's so true. It's not that it's pushed on ya, but it's definitely a natural part of the conversation here w/quite a bit of the people we meet. That's one of the reasons many move here because we enjoy that part of life. It's just that so many here are either LDS or of another Protestant faith as well as Catholic, etc. So, it's just so normal and common for people to be talking about their family church activities or their faith just in casual talking. It's just the normal way of life in much of the state here. The same as people talking about the sports or other community activities their families are involved in. It's just so part of most people's lives here to naturally talk about the Lord because He's everything to us. It would be like asking us to NOT talk about our best friend or the most important part of our lives.

Besides the one set of LDS missionaries that were more pushy about it, the rest have just waved and kept on walking, so that was nice. To the one set, I was able to be nice, friendly, but straight to the point w/ them, letting them know we are very thankful & completely fulfilled as born-again Christians and would never convert. They didn't come back, so we've never had any problems and don't expect to. And there are the missionaries of many faiths that come around, but none of them have been pushy w/us at all - just friendly letting us know about their church if we're interested. Or they usually just leave a pamphlet and go w/a smile. So no biggie and no pushiness. That's just part of life no matter what state we've lived in, just much more often here I think.

But hey, we've had a TON more sales people coming and TONS more placing sales advertisements at our door than missionaries or nonLDS local church people visiting. Door-to-door sales is HUGE here.

While any state is going to have some rude or pushy people, the vast majority here have been very friendly and we're the same to them. Things work so much better that way.

Originally Posted by DP525

You cannot escape religion in Utah. It is infused in every aspect of media, government, schools, businesses, conversations, etc. It is not so much "pushed" on you as just always present. You are reminded of it constantly. It is not really bad or in your face, but it is always around. Kind of hard to explain, but I know most people not of the predominant faith would agree with me. If you would have a problem with this, Utah is definitely not the right place for you.

[msfoom]

Thanks WHYNOTSKI - we are considering a move as well. The first thing people ask me about is the LDS thing. I wasn't nervous about it until people kept asking! Then I was like ... should I be worried? I live close to 'Mormon Mesa', AZ as some people put it - and I never knew it until someone called it that and I asked why. I am sure I have met Mormons and didn't know it. The LDS folks I have met don't broadcast it unless it's in conversation or you ask. Just like I wouldn't go Hi! My name is Lisa and I am Lutheran! Besides, even if converting is something I won't consider, I would rather live with a group of nice god-fearing people than the derelects of the world.

[SWUtahNews]

We've found our LDS neighbors to be the best friends we've ever had, and like Lisa, we're Lutheran. Living on the desert of SW Utah, we're all more concerned about our survival, than who belongs to what religion.

I will say, as others have said, that faith is part of daily life in Utah. Your LDS neighbors will be very busy with their church and family first. However, if you make an effort to understand life from their perspective, you will discover they still have plenty of time and love to help you, too.

I've been rather amused at how hard it is to find decent alcohol in Utah. Even wine must be purchased at the state-run liquor store. That was a bit of a shock to me, as I moved from Oregon and lived within 30 minutes of 15 wineries. As for beer at 3.2%, I now drink so little of it that I'm probably better off with the weak stuff.

We've found life is much simpler here on the desert. We wake up when the sun comes up, and go to bed when it's dark (well, a couple hours after dark in the winter). When it's hot and windy we stay inside. When it's cold and snowy, we stay inside. The other 200 days we're out working on our little homestead. Oh, and we can count on plenty of help from our neighbors.

We've found that being helpful, even if our skills are somewhat limited has been greatly appreciated. We're able to feed animals when our neighbors are gone. We've even learned how to milk goats. One neighbor is building a new house and when we can, we go swing hammers, helping out as we're able.

Not one of these neighbors (all very devout LDS) has ever even suggested we consider making a change from our own faith. Even nicer than that, they have fully accepted us as if we'd been here forever.

[lisamikefoster]

I love reading posts on here about people worrying about Mormons and having religion "pushed" on them.

SLC is less than 50% LDS, and the valley is about 50 - 50 And of the percentage of LDS members, less than 50% are actively practicing.

I just returned to Utah after living in various other states for the past 15 years, and on my street in Murray (suburbs), it is far less than 50% LDS...and surprisingly enough, we all get along just fine!

Live and let live, be respectful of others and for the most part, they will be respectful of you. There are plenty of religions represented in the SLC valley, and plenty of people who share your exact same views (no matter what they are).