Interesting perceptions on "Mormonism"

Meridian Magazine recently reviewed a new book. Here are some snippets from the publication based on last year's poll by Lawrence Research, a polling firm, interviewed 1000 randomly selected Americans by telephone and asked them an average of 24 minutes of questions on Mormons and Mormonism [Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints], certainly one of the largest such surveys ever undertaken. The author summed up the findings and noted that there are six general groupings of feelings and perceptions that shape the problematic side of Mormonism's image and standing in America . To Summarize:

Ignorance Factor. Questions about our basic beliefs - whether we are Christians, whether we believe the Bible, our relationship to Jesus Christ, acceptance of historical Christian traditions, the role of Joseph Smith and other prophets, etc.are driven mostly by a simple lack of knowledge, although some ill will may be involved.

The Polygamy Factor. The key word is confusion - confusion about the facts, confusion about the history, confusion about breakaway groups. It has become an excuse not to entertain further information.

The Power Factor. The central suspicion and fear about us is whether we would use force to reach religious goals. This is fed and exacerbated by the negative traits a sizeable segment of Americans believe apply to us.

The Weird Factor. We are a people apart and we are different, as the Lord intended, and the unfamiliar - from our belief in a pre-mortal existence to our ordinances for the dead - might be seen as weird, as the things of God are often foolishness unto the world. These are generally harmless impressions, but if people also harbor suspicions about power, then weirdness will feed it.

The Secretive Factor. Centered on rumors about temple worship, this factor becomes a problem the more we keep to ourselves. Even positive traits such as self-reliance and taking care of our own can contribute to this perception if we are not involved in our communities.

The Exclusionary Factor. Any time a prophet delivers to the world the message God has delivered to him, it follows that the prophet will be mocked and that those who believe him will be viewed as thinking themselves better than others. Antagonism often follows.

Exposure to Mormonism

Among the most basic questions Lawrence Research asked was how many Mormons their respondents actually knew. All but 2%f of the nation had heard of Mormons, but when asked how many individual Mormons they actually knew, 37% admitted they didn't know any, 21% said they knew one or two and only 10% said they knew many.

I guess it's no wonder people have some skewed ideas about our beliefs. I'm not well-versed in the beliefs of other people I know; and even less about those of people I don't know. So, if people don't even know members of the church, or the ones they know are former or inactive members, it follows there will be many mistaken or distorted perceptions. But, like with all groups, there are also excuses for not learning what the belief really is. Sometimes we're quite happy in our ignorance.

Of course prophets have historically been ridiculed (think of Noah!). Elder Neal A. Maxwell said, "The prophets always prophesied that the Church will emerge out of obscurity and darkness. As that is coming to pass, some members of the Church are finding that they prefer obscurity." At least it seems preferable to the mistaken negative publicity we so often receive.