Rumors about what members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe are not hard to come by (you know, like how we have cute little horns under our hair).
The items on this list are some of the most original rumors about LDS beliefs you’ve probably never heard before, as told by individuals who have heard them. Comment below with the far-out rumors you’ve heard. Enjoy!
1. “I once heard that we have little green men that work in the temple, something similar to an ‘oompa-loompa’ from Willy Wonka” (via Mackenzie Lipps).
2. “While I was in Africa there was a man apparently telling people we kept live snakes in our church buildings” (via Ty Norman).
3. Apparently President Monson runs an underground fighting ring (via Jake Denning).
4. Jesus Morales heard that members apparently worship someone named Brigham Smith. Well… no. We worship God.
5. Michelle Hernandez heard that “our prophet is John Smith.” Yes, the one from Pocahontas. Looks like nobody told Disney about that one.
6. Silver McCall says she’s heard that the Angel Moroni on top of our temples is apparently supposed to “come to life” at some point. That would be cool.
7. “I was once asked if I will have to wear an obnoxious, overly-embellished floral robe under my wedding dress when I get married” (via Stephanie Thomas).
8. “While on my mission we contacted a man who thought that Will Smith had written the Book of Mormon. That was a fun contact” (via Dave Snell).
9. “I had a couple kids in high school who asked me if Garments were bulletproof” (via Elena Call).
10. Mikayla Anderson, heard that members “fly to church” every week to a building “in the clouds.”
11. Ty Norman also spoke of a person who was under the impression that we pray without any clothes on.
12. Gabriel Cruz, says one family he knew thought that a Caucasian missionary was always paired with a Hispanic missionary because one represented good and the other, evil. Cruz replied that that’s just racism.
13. Some people think members actually baptize dead bodies. Baptisms for the dead isn’t quite that.
14. “The more children you have, the more likely you are to get into heaven” (via Lori Snell).
15. Andrea Martin spoke of a person who asked her if members pray to carrots. “A kid asked me that in all seriousness. We sat next to each other [in] keyboarding class sophomore year of high school.”
16. Speaking of prayer, Bowen Byers had a friend who thought “that to pray, we stick our hands in our armpits.” Close, but not quite.
17. “I have had a lot of people ask me about my magic underwear and what magic powers they have (i.e. flying, immunity, super strength, etc.)” (via Melinda Marshall).
18. The BYU student-run 100 Hour Board has debunked several Mormon myths, including rumors that: The Church owns around half the world’s Buffalo population (question #7101).
19. The Church pays the Sicilian and Russian mafia to protect missionaries (question #3241, #53908).
20. And last but not least, members with current temple recommends can get a discount at Marriott Hotels (question #31312).
To many members of the Church these rumors are pretty outrageous, but from a non-Mormon perspective a lot of what we really do believe may seem equally as strange. We really do believe in a resurrection. We believe in modern day prophets. We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.
Separating truth from fiction can be difficult, but the solution is as true for member as it is for non-members: “…ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost” (Moroni 10:4).
