Who I Am
You most likely know one. Whether you know it or not.
Our real name is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Or we go by LDS. Mormon is a nickname given us because we believe in the Book of Mormon. We usually go by Mormon cuz that's how people know us...either that or they tell us they've been hearing rumors that we have LSD.
We don't drink.
We don't smoke.
We are advised not to drink too much caffeine. An occasional Coke or Pepsi is not bad, but not encouraged either. But we ARE told not to drink hot beverages like Coffee, Tea, and certain other such things that are popular in other countries. Hot cocoa is NOT bad! If you see one of us drinking coffee or non-herbal tea, slap them and say "NO!" just like a bad dog :)
Joseph Smith was the first LDS prophet. Brigham Young was the second.
Gordon B. Hinckley is our current prophet and we all love him.
BYU is a Mormon college...There are 3 of them - one in Utah, Idaho, and Hawaii. BYU stands for Brigham Young University.
We don't have sex before marriage.
The high school-aged youth go to a seminary (like Sunday school) class each morning before school.
Our church session is 3 hours long and we love it.
The Mormon missionaries are the two coolest guys ever. Be nice to them ;)
It's true; we make the best green jello salad you've ever tasted.
By the age of 18, most Mormon girls can make the best dang tasting homemade bread you've ever had - without a recipe. They can even make a wide variety of scrumptious jams for that bread as well - all from scratch - and if you're lucky, they even picked the fruit from their own garden on a monday night with their family on Family Home Evening. How's that for home cooking?
We think Mormon jokes are funny.
We're not supposed to date till we're sixteen.
We know that groups dates are more fun anyway.
We know that the best most fun dates - don't cost money.
We gives talks in church in front of 150-300 people. How's that for public speaking?
We have refreshments at almost ANY meeting.
We celebrate holidays - and pretty much anything and everything - by throwing either a BBQ or a dinner.
We love to sing and dance.
If you go to a youth dance, you WILL see conga lines, break dancing, square or line dances and swing dancing. These phenomenons at times are also spotted at singles dances.
You will also participate in either the Chicken Dance, or the Hokey Pokey :)
We think that "Do As I'm Doing", "Once There was a Snowman", "Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam", and "Book of Mormon Stories" are the best songs ever.
We know what a Sunbeam is.
Almost every Mormon girl can play the piano. Heck yes!
We not supposed to watch R-rated movies.
We CAN use technology. And we are quite good at utilizing it.
We CAN eat fast-food.
We DO NOT practice polygamy.
If we ask you to go to an activity, it's NOT a conspiracy thing where we're trying to convert you. It means we have fun and we want to share that with you. Likely the church won't even be mentioned while you're there, just an opening and closing prayer like any other church would!
If we ask you to go to church, it's because we care enough about you to want to share with you what we know and the blessings we've received.
If we give you a Book of Mormon, we're giving you the most precious gift we have. It may not have the same meaning to you at first. That book has changed our lives for the better and when we see you going through hard times, we want to help. This is the best way we know of helping you. So don't be offended. Even if you don't want it, know that we care about you THAT much.
If you turn us down, it's ok. It's disappointing like any turn-down in life, but it won't change anything between us!
If you think we're pushing you, tell us to knock it off! We'll stop. Sometimes we can get passionate or carried away. :)
We are stubborn as heck. We don't give in to peer pressure.
If you ask us what we believe, only for the sake of arguing, we won't tell you. It's pointless to engage on that when you're not going to open your mind and listen.
Asking you to go to church, an activity, or giving you a Book of Mormon is incredibly hard. It's like a guy asking out his crush. Some of us are more comfortable in doing that than others. It's hard. So if we do it, please be NICE! :)
Realize that if you go to a church meeting, we're not expecting you to be baptized next week. Relax.
We don't care what you wear, what you look like, as long as you come! We're happy to see you!
We'll live on pizza.
We know what it's like to push a handcart.
We have all sorts of useless skills that our leaders teach us - like engraving a picture on leather, or knowing how to make sock snowmen. Or making homemade ice cream and churning our own butter.
We do genealogy. It's pretty darn cool when you find out you're related to someone famous...or that you're royalty.
Your parents will let you go just about anywhere, as long as one of us goes with you. Trust us on this one.
Mothers LOVE Mormons as babysitters.
PG movies ROCK!
We all love the Lion King.
The guy who owns the Marriott Hotels is Mormon.
Steve Martin is NOT Mormon just because he did Cheaper by the Dozen.
We DO tend to have big families. The more the merrier.
The boys go on two-year missions when they turn 19. And no, they don't get to choose where they go. Some girls go on 18-month missions when they're 21, if they so choose.
RM stands for "Return Missionary". They make the best boyfriends and husbands :) and every Mormon girl wants one.
Contrary to popular belief, the majority of us would rather live in Antartica than Utah.
For us, BMW stands for "Big Mormon Wagon".
If you see anything bigger than a minivan and it's full of kids, odds are it's a group of Mormons...
If you see anyone on TV (not on the BYU channel) under the age of fifty talking about Mormons, they're probably lying.
It's nearly impossible to offend us - even if you do it on purpose.
We try our hardest not to use bad language and we don't really want to hear it from others. But if someone slips up, it's not a big deal. They're still loved!
People like, respect, and even admire us, but are rarely interested in hearing what we believe.
Donnie and Marie? Mormons.
We are not perfect. No one is. We make mistakes. We slip. Try not to judge us by one person who is struggling. And remember that we're humans, too - even if you think we're some superhuman subspecies. ;)
If you EVER have ANY questions for us, we'd LOVE to answer them! Don't be shy!
If you're Mormon or have a friend you love who is a Mormon, pass this on.