In all of these categories, the most critical people are those with the least knowledge and the most BS in their personal beliefs. Atheists tend to think Mormons are a strange kind of Southern Baptist, with the same judgmental atittudes that Baptists (their leaders admit this!) often display to those not of their faith.

If someone told me they were scared spitless of Mormons, I would ask them if they were getting counseling for their phobia. It really is their problem, not ours. The important thing in encounters of any kind (as homosexuals have learned) is to be proud of what you are and not apologetic. Most Modern Americans have been so indoctrinated by schools and the news media to respect the sincerity of other people’s lifestyles, that if you are assertive and not apologetic, their normal reaction is to say “Oh, well, that’s OK for you.”

On the general subject of fear of Mormons: I think a lot of people are in awe of us. They see our sincere dedication to our beliefs, our willingness to sacrifice, our organization, our knowledge of our own religion, and our personal integrity and achievement, and recognize that there is a power among the Mormons that few religions have. We know what we are about, and we get things done. Protestant missionaries in Japan were in awe of the ability of young Mormons to acquire a working fluency in Japanese within a year. When the reaction to this is fear, it is a confession of their own perceived inadequacies. Sometimes that leads to resentment, as high school students who struggle in math resent the science nerds. Just as Mitt Romney evoked resentment among some people precisely because of his success, attractive appearance, and articulateness, some anti-Mormonism is a resentment of our success as a church and people.

There really is power within the Church. We should not be proud or boastful of it, but we should be aware of it and see it as a reminder of our opportunity and duty to share the Restored Gospel with those who will listen. We are a city set on a hill, and we are commanded to let our light shine so that ultimately others will understand that any power we have comes from the Father, and that they can have it too.

Be confortable with it, and others will be to. We have much to be proud of and much to share.

As per the argument of what to say to whom, this quote by Elder Hales gives a great summation:
“As we respond to others, each circumstance will be different. Fortunately, the Lord knows the hearts of our accusers and how we can most effectively respond to them. As true disciples seek guidance from the Spirit, they receive inspiration tailored to each encounter. And in every encounter, true disciples respond in ways that invite the Spirit of the Lord. Paul reminded the Corinthians that his preaching was “not with the enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power” (1 Corinthians 2:4).”

Rather than calculating out what we need to say to be most comfortable with our presentation of our beliefs, perhaps we should seek the Spirit in each unique situation with each unique person/group to know how they will best receive the truths of the Gospel. Always honest, never apologetic – sometimes bold, sometimes soft, and yes, sometimes silent.

Sara #27, I grew up down here as well and I’ve given many straight-forward answers but there are certain groups who do not give any respect no matter what. one of those groups consists of my so-called “tolerant” friends. Seems they are tolerant of only what they deem to merit their tolerance.

Just a short time ago I was with a group of moms at the playground and treated like a sad, ridiculous religious freak for waiting until marraige to have sex. And they were even more dumbfounded when they found out I was teaching the same thing to my daughters.

It is what it is. I try to stand tall in my beliefs, but occasionally I feel very weary.

Yes, but I think Dave’s point is to precisely point out the ignorance and judgment (as well as personal nature) with questions about Mormons and polygamy. Now, it might be a bit tit-for-tat (rather than turning the other cheek) and would turn off a lot of people. Still, I think the fact that adultery and promiscuity are not even close to universal among non-Mormons is beside the point.

Number of Latter-day Saints for whom polygamy is wrong? Well, let’s just say it’s MUCH MUCH higher than 2 in 5.

Yeah, assume that your married non-Mormon friends are okay with adultery. That’s not just “getting personal”, it’s upping the ante on ignorance and being judgmental.

You might have heard recently that for the vast majority of Americans, in 2009, adultery is wrong. And sex before marriage is wrong for 2 in 5.

http://timesandseasons.org/index.php/2009/06/morality-polls/

These days, I have to remind myself what Christianity is and that it isn’t exactly non-crazy itself. A common joke that gets passed around by atheists a lot is a graphic that declares:

Christianity: The belief that some cosmic Jewish zombie can make you live forever if you symbolically eat his flesh and telepathically tell him that you accept him as your master, so he can remove an evil force from your soul that is present in humanity because a rib-woman was convinced by a talking snake to eat from a magical tree. Makes perfect sense.

It’s meant to ridicule Christianity and be as offensive as possible, but I actually think it makes a really good point. It doesn’t matter what your beliefs are, they are probably going to sound crazy to someone else. Even atheists aren’t completely immune; C. Michael Patton had an amusing post called, “I Don’t Believe a Snake Talked But I Do Believe Aliens Seeded Our Planet,” about a group of atheists who were making fun of the Genesis account, but when they themselves tried to answer where creation came from, “aliens seeded our planet” was on the table.

Uh-oh, I just mentioned atheists in a comment. Somebody better page Andrew S of Irresistible (Dis)grace!

I had an employee once tell me, her boss, that I’m “pretty cool for a Mormon”. I had to remind myself that it reflected more on her ignorance than my identity.

Anyway, thanks for an interesting post.