Mormon influence on non- mormons (Provo, Ogden: transplants, living, restaurant)

[Blondie-Rabbit]

My sister is not Mormon and maried a man who is long term Provoite, having been born there, that is also not Mormon. They know lots of people who are not mormon. I just called her since even my parents moved to Provo to be closer to her. They also are not Mormon. There is no checking of id if you wear a tank top. No one is going to check your id period unless you purchase something that requires that you show ID. As to the businesses, You have just as much chance with non Mormon as with Mormon. It wasn't even like that back in the 60's.

[chazcrew]

skye, enough with the conspiracy theories, already. That axe is about ground down to a nub by now.

I hope you're not seriously suggesting that it's preferable to live in a place where bars outnumber churches? That's odd criteria, but if that's where your priorities lie, then I can see why Utah might not be a good fit for you.

[wasatchhiker]

I have lived in the Salt Lake Valley for six years now. The people who follow the Mormon faith in my neighborhood seem to be friendly and willing to accept a person who follows another faith or none at all.Just be comfortable with who you are and genuine in your manner.
All most of these people here in Salt Lake Valley really want is to be respected for their beliefs and known as individuals.When you get to know them you'll be surprised how much variation you'll find in their perspectives on life, politics, sports, entertainment. They're for the most part nice, respectable and fun people to know. If you've had a negative experience or more please don't lump everyone else together. They are people who are finding or attempting to find meaning in their lives through living the teachings of the gospel.
Yes, I have been approached by missionaries a couple of times. When I told them I was happy with my faith they simply let me be.
It's also an opportunity to share a bit about something they might not have had experience with and ask about it friend to friend.

[SLCPUNK]

Originally Posted by dan k

Hi,
I was thinking of moving to utah but my wife is worried about the mormon way of shunning non-mormons.She has lived in mormon communities and said she would never do it again because if you want to start a business or anything they will make i rough to make a living and we have 2 young children that if they try influencing them, they dont want to deal with me.I dont handle people pushing their beliefs or lifestyle on me.
I am a firm believer in you leave me alone and i will leave you alone.
How are they to live with, because all i want to do is live my life and enjoy it.I want to appreciate what has been given to us, nature is all i need.
Dan k

There is one major influence I see with the Mormons in that city: Friendliness.

It has a trickle down effect in that city to Mormon and non-Mormon alike IMHO.

My wife and I are not Mormon, but most of our friends originally were when we moved there. Nobody cared, and all our children played together. Another Mormon Mom babysat our children from time to time.

When I showed up in my 25 ft Ryder truck, a team of guys (all Mormon) showed up and helped me unload the thing the next day. There was no sales pitch, only a hand shake and "Welcome to SLC." It reminded me of the barn raising in the movie "Witness". They wiped the sweat from their brow, drank some water and then left. It would have taken me two days to unload the damn thing. We did it in about 3 hours tops. At the end the wife of one of the men brought over a bunch of pizzas to eat.

Our kids never came home feeling shunned or left out EVER.

I have had a couple of instances where people acted a little jerky towards me when they realized I wasn't Mormon, but I believe that is a subset of a group, not the group itself. There are jerks everywhere, it's not exclusive to any city.

You want a good life? SLC is a good life, outdoors, friendly people, great climate, amazing views, affordable living. What the hell else do you want? Are their jerks in the valley? Yup, Mormon as well as "gentile", but again I found most people to be overwhelmingly nice. Everytime I had a visitor, or any time I went back out there, my friends ALWAYS commented on how friendly the people were, and how beautiful the state was.

Originally Posted by aussie_american

The only thing that has "aggravated" us so far is some of the local "driving habits" - speeding, never use their turn signals....

Driving was my pet peeve, failure to yield the left lane and no turn signals (I coined the phrase "The Utah Slide"-just sliiiiiide on over into the next lane, nice n slow)

[Bill55AZ]

I am LDS and may have been guilty of "shunning". I told my kids not to associate with the foul mouthed children of the foul mouthed dirt bag who lived across the street.
If that is "shunning", I agree with it...

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

Did you try to be a good influence on those poor kids' lives? Did you try to tell them "we don't talk that way here" when theyw ere around? Somebody needs to help kids like that, if they are open to it.

[Bill55AZ]

Originally Posted by SouthernBelleInUtah

Did you try to be a good influence on those poor kids' lives? Did you try to tell them "we don't talk that way here" when theyw ere around? Somebody needs to help kids like that, if they are open to it.

we spoke to the mom, and she understood that her kids could play at our house if they cleaned up their language...but they never came over after that. Mom was probably mad at Dad after that...

[osugirl2]

Originally Posted by Bill55AZ

I am LDS and may have been guilty of "shunning". I told my kids not to associate with the foul mouthed children of the foul mouthed dirt bag who lived across the street.
If that is "shunning", I agree with it...

I can understand why you wouldn't want your children to pick up bad langauge and habits but it's important to note that not all non-LDS people are foul mouthed or bad influences, and I think many non LDS get the feeling that's how they are looked upon by mormons. Of course that's just as big of a generalization as saying mormons don't associate with people outside of their religion. I think there is just a big lack of productive communication sometimes.....

[Bill55AZ]

Originally Posted by osugirl2

I can understand why you wouldn't want your children to pick up bad langauge and habits but it's important to note that not all non-LDS people are foul mouthed or bad influences, and I think many non LDS get the feeling that's how they are looked upon by mormons. Of course that's just as big of a generalization as saying mormons don't associate with people outside of their religion. I think there is just a big lack of productive communication sometimes.....

Did I say that the family was not LDS?

[osugirl2]

no, but the thread was influence of mormons on non-mormons, so I assumed.....sorry about that!