Peculiar People

Having been bullied as a non-Mormon kid in Utah, my negatives for the church are extremely high. 

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Peculiar People

When I was growing up, a popular theme in church was the fact that we were a 'peculiar people', indicating a fulfillment of prophecy. What a lot of Mormons are not aware of is that Gordon B. Hinckley's life's work was to change all that. He understood that if the church seemed peculiar, it just made missionary work that much harder. You might call him the PR church president.

But it seems the rank and file of the church are not helping. A new book by LDS author Dr. Gary Lawrence shows why Hinckley, if not literally inspired, was certainly right. The Mormon church suffers from terrible negatives, and surprisingly, it has nothing to do with negative publicity about Mitt Romney or California's Prop 8 so much as, well, people just don't like them and because of "what are perceived as weird beliefs and secretiveness".

Thirty-seven percent [of those surveyed] have a favorable impression of us and 49 percent have an unfavorable impression". . .

It's even worse when compared with how Americans view other religions. The ratio for people who view those of the Jewish faith in a positive light is nearly 3.5-to-1; the same for Baptists. Catholics' enjoy a positive ratio of nearly 2-to-1; Mormons, less than 1-to-1.

"Thirty-seven percent of all Americans do not know a Mormon, 55 percent of all Americans do not know an active Mormon.

And probably the most telling fact of all:

. . . those who know one Mormon have a worse opinion of us than those who don't know any Mormons," Lawrence said.

Here in Utah, there is a lot of denial about this. Commenters on this blog have said that bad PR is a GOOD thing for the church (kind of a twist on there's no such thing as bad press, just spell the name right).

And before you attack me for hating the Mormon church (I don't, but you won't believe that), I'm just the messenger here. Here's a suggestion: Don't make every relationship about spreading the gospel. Try being friendly and interested in neighbors, co-workers, and even strangers just out of a simple love for and appreciation of people of the non-Mormon variety.

Ginny

I can has iPhone?