Utah, the Mormon Mecca

[clbent04]

I have a question for any Mormon life-long Utah resident.  Is there a general vibe from Mormons in Utah that it is "God's country"?  Would you be opposed to living anywhere else?  

When I moved to Arizona from Texas, a lot of my coworkers and people I met had this notion that Texans had the most pride when it came to claiming their state.  Sometimes I wonder if Utahns have more state pride.

I lived in Utah for a while when I went to BYU. Since then I've traveled to Salt Lake City a couple times for work. Utah is okay, but I don't think I'd put in in the top places I'd like to live. Personally I like areas where I find a lot of religious diversity and walks of life.

Since Provo was nearly 100 percent Mormon, sometimes it made me feel overwhelmed and out of place since I'm use to being the 1 Mormon to every 500 people. This may sound strange to someone who has lived in Utah their whole life, and maybe even strange to others living outside of Utah.

Does anyone living in Utah cities with very high-percentage Mormon populations ever feel the need to live somewhere else more culturally diverse?  I guess if you've lived in Utah your whole life that probably would never be an issue for you. Just wondering

Edited August 22, 2017 by clbent04

[Jane_Doe]

SLC is not really comparable to Mecca.  For example, we don't have a pillar of are faith saying we should visit SLC.  That's not to say it can't be cool, but so are other sites.  

I have lived in UT, and personally.... honestly I greatly pefer to live where LDS are the minority population.  I had MAJOR problems living in "Mormonville".  

[Just_A_Guy]

I grew up in CA, live in Utah Valley, and currently work in the Uintah Basin.  Professionally, Mormons have been a substantial minority nearly every place I've worked since law school (always in Utah); and I'm fine with that.  At home, probably 85-90% of the people in our ward boundaries are LDS; and I like that a lot--it's nice to have a common faith with my neighbors, and it makes home teaching ridiculously easy.

Edited August 22, 2017 by Just_A_Guy

[clbent04]

I think Arizona is actually second to Utah in terms of highest state population of Mormons, but where I live in North Phoenix is very different than some of the heavier populated LDS communities like Mesa, Chandler and Gilbert

[Fether]

I love Utah for 2 reasons:

1) All the national and state parks

2) All my aunts, uncles, and cousins live in Utah

I would absolutely hate leaving the West (West Coast Beat Coast!)

As far as a missionary aspect, it doesn't matter where you live, God's kingdom needs building and developing everywhere. Someone who says "I want to live in the mission field so I can serve God" is likely not doing his current duties.

At a cultural view... ya, being around other religions will give you a different view in things. I prefer this actually . I think you will find my safety in the west in raising your children (of course that is not always the case).

My wife and I have also talked about how much fun it would be to live somewhere where there weren't so many Mormons. But we have never said "I would prefer to live here because there are 'x' amount of Mormons".

 

SIDE NOTE: I had a mission companion who said he would never go to BYU because if he did, he would grow weak and unable to resist temptation. He theorized that all people in Utah were like this. Simply not true.

[clbent04]

4 hours ago, Fether said:

I would absolutely hate leaving the West (West Coast Beat Coast!)

I wouldn't want to leave the west coast either. Just more easy going, fewer congested cities and much better weather.

[Guest]

On 8/21/2017 at 10:35 PM, clbent04 said:

I have a question for any Mormon life-long Utah resident.  Is there a general vibe from Mormons in Utah that it is "God's country"?  Would you be opposed to living anywhere else?  

In my mission there were three missionaries from three different parts of the world.  I overheard a conversation that went something like this:

Quote

Elder Rosen, I hear you're from the Holy Land.  Is that right?

Well, I'm from Israel.  But Elder Isom is from the Holy Land.

Elder Isom, where are you from?

I'm from Salt Lake City.  But that's not the Holy Land.  Elder Hurd is from the Holy Land.

Elder Hurd, where are you from?

I'm from Missouri.