Experience in Utah

Since my husband, Kemp, and I have moved to Utah we have been introduced to the "culture shock" of the area. We have never been around so many LDS. Earlier this week we were driving around looking for apartments and we went down one street that had 2 church buildings within a block of each other. We continued a few more blocks and saw a 3rd meeting house. We finally found a house for rent next to some of our friends that we met at Southern Virginia University. Although they are right across the street from us, they are not in our ward. There are 4 different wards in our neighborhood! It's amazing!

We have both been raised in the church, but there seems to be a difference in the LDS here than in Idaho (where Kemp is from) or Texas (where I am from). This isn't a good or bad thing necessarily, but the church is a constant figure here in Utah. When we went to Home Depot, we were helped by a non-LDS man who moved to Utah from Las Vegas. He mentioned that some people in the area are very critical of those with other beliefs. This was somewhat disappointing to us because we always thought that Mormons are the "nice people". Of course we don't fully understand the circumstances, but I hope for the LDS to know that as they sincerely share their beliefs they can also be offensive.

Members of the church must realize that they can share their beliefs, but cannot force it on anyone. Our faith is designed to be bring a fullness of joy to life. It is a spiritual experience between the Lord and those who are investigating the church. The LDS community has been nothing but friendly since we have moved here, but we are already members. I hope that we can reach out to those in a more subtle way to help them find their way to happiness.