LDS, two questions about prejudice.

[thesometimesaint]

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[mercyngrace]

If we're talking about acts against missionaries - I know of several awful things. I know some sisters who were chased off the road by a car (they were on bikes), several who got water thrown on them, and I got the Book of Mormon thrown at my face - literally thrown. There were rumors of some missionaries getting a bucket of bleach and water thrown at them but I never spoke to them personally so I don't know if that is urban legend or not. The missionaries in or present ward were threatened with physical violence by one of our neighbors.

I think missionaries have these experiences because they are recognizable symbols of the church. And maybe because no missionary is going to press charges against hate-monger.

[BlueDreams]

1. Have you or someone you know had an instance that you believe, you or they, were have been treated with prejudice by non-LDS Christians and will you share it here?

When I lived in Texas it was considered simply normal. I remember when one girl had her first shell-shock (she was from boston prior to this) of how much people seemed to care about her being mormon here (and when I say care, she was given a long talking to in a parking lot as to why she shouldn't be mormon). As she was telling everybody her story about what happened we all nodded sympathetically and said, you'll get used to it. I remember a few instances that bothered me, though I don't think I got it as bad. I'm mixed race, so some that might have said something were simply blown away that the racist mormons, who believed black people were demons, would have a memeber that was half black.....and no I'm not exaggerating. I heard it on the radio and whispered by a black friend as a question of whether we really believed black people were demons.

One thing I do remember was learning about evolution for the first time in biology. It caused an uproar of major proportions in the classes as friends looked up evidence to counter the great lie of evolution. Meanwhile, I finished with the first video, explaining the basics and thought to myself, well that makes sense and it's not all that bad even. I tried to explain this to two of my friends and they immediately blew me off. "Of course you wouldn't," The girl said. "You're mormon." And that was that.

Most of high school went by without much more, I had my group of friends of religious misfits and AP/IB students (it lowered the amount of people who cared about religious affiliation significantly). But I still got the stray comment. The best one was of a guy who overheard the word mormon in one of my conversations (not realizing that I'd said "I'm mormon"). He then went on a long diatribe about how bad the mormons were, how prejudiced they were, etc. etc. It was possibly the most awkward 5 minutes of my life. His parents were mormon and he blamed their mormony ways for being sent to texas to live with relatives (I have my doubts, but okay). Anywho this same kid would later find out I was mormon and looked at me in complete shock. "you're mormon!" He'd say. "I always thought you were agnostic or something like it." I asked him why. "Well, you always seemed so intellectual." For some reason it didn't seem so complimentary.

2. Have you or someone you know had an instance that you believe, you or they, treated non-LDS Christians with prejudice and will you share it here?

Yes, myself to an extent. I remember going to a baptist church with my mom and feeling like some spy, sneaking into a church, to watch a service. I was antagonistic against just about everything (I thought they had really crappy decorations, the program was too rehearsed, that they used so many different bibles, and there was that weird factor of something completely different to me....okay looking back the decor was still clashy). I was worried about them finding out we were mormon the entire time, but they did in the end with mom and were very nice. Still, it was the last time I went. But my mom went to plenty of services afterwards at various churches in the area. The experience was clensing (somewhat) for her as she'd built up a big prejudice against baptists and the evangelicals thanks in large part to my crazy baptist aunt. To this day I think I still have a little prejudice towards evs, specifically baptists. The word itself (shamefully) makes me cringe a little inside. Mostly because of my aunt. I don't think I've acted prejudicely though. Nor has my mom or family, for that matter. I've never curtailed my friends or relationships due to religion and couldn't imagine having my children be friends with only mormon kids.

With luv,

BD

[Rock_N_Roll]

1. I was approached by a lady in a night club who handed me her card and said she was a promoter in Las Vegas and that they were always looking for new singers. I had just finished a set with my band and she said she was "very impressed with my voice" and that I was "much better than that inbred, Mormon that filled in for you last week". Someone had told her the singer in the band was Mormon. She just assumed it was the other guy. When I told her that *I* was the Mormon, she took her card back from out of my hand and turned her back to me.

2. I had a guitar player once who had been in-active, LDS for many years. He told me that he was thinking of returning to the church. Then one day he related this experience...He and his family had just moved into a new neighborhood and his kids were starting to make new friends. One day his little boy came home from his new, LDS friends house crying. When asked "why the tears"? He said his new friend could not play with him anymore because his daddy "had long hair and drank beer". This man and his wife never went back to the church as long as I knew him.

[Traela]

1. One year when I was a teen, we held our Youth Conference at a local private college. There were no problems. Nevertheless, we were not allowed back the next year. The leaders who tried to make the arrangements were told specifically that it was because some members of the church the college was affiliated with, objected to Mormons using the facility.

2. 15 or so years ago, my mother was witness to a debate in her ward's RS on whether LDS children should be allowed to play with non-LDS children. She was too flabbergasted to tell the bigots how stupid they were being, which is...um...unusual for her.

[emeliza]

I am not sure if I consider it a prejudice for a private school to not allow a child in if they aren't not of the faith that is 'acceptable' by them. In our town we have many preschools. The local Christian Academy wouldn't take my daughter because I won't sign a statement affirming my belief in the trinity. I didn't think that was a prejudice, just rules the private organization has on membership.

Now, if they had said they allowed all people regardless of their religion and then didn't let me in, that would be a prejudice.

Most of the other preschools in the area let anyone in, including the Lutheran, Methodist and Catholic church preschools. I had LDS friends who had children in each. I only once got a litte worried about prejudice as my daughter kept getting in trouble. Come to find out my daughter is a hooligan. However prior to discovering she had problems that I hadn't known about in the 1 1/2 years, the teacher had mistaken our beliefs as those of Muslims thinking we thought Jesus Christ was not the Son of God and that we didn't believe in the Holy Ghost. The teacher thought my daughter was maybe getting confused at 'Jesus Time'. I assured her that at the preschool level there was nothing they were teaching that we didn't believe in and that we just had some extra stuff (scriptures, current prophets). She looked confused, but let it go. Not sure if she ever looked into it further.

This same church/preschool hosts a vacation Bible school. Last year I let my two girls go. I didn't this year. Last year my then 10 year old had a teacher jump on her about how Joseph Smith was a fraud and a fake and so on and so forth. Scared the heck out of my daughter. I contacted the church secretary who informed me that all were welcome no matter the religion and that the teachers would all be spoken to again to assure that this wouldn't happen. I had talked to my daughter prior to VBS starting and made sure she understood about respecting others beliefs and that we weren't there to share our religion, but when the teacher had asked if the kids read scriptures every night, she mentioned that she read her BoM every night. That was what started it. Anyway the rest of the week went on with out a hitch. The teacher didn't treat my daughter any differently the rest of the week, though I don't think either one was exactly keen on the other. I don't believe this is a prejudice either.