Few things serve as a starker reminder of Mormonism’s near omnipresence in Utah than the 14 temples that dot our state’s landscape. The Salt Lake temple, as the church’s flagship temple, casts the longest shadow. And because a lot of ex-Mormons and non-Mormons here don’t like living in that shadow, the Salt Lake temple for them almost takes on a menacing visage (the fact that it resembles a fortress doesn’t help).

But I have a confession to make: For the most part, I actually like the temples. Admittedly, I sometimes get the creeps from the Salt Lake temple. Perhaps it’s just too synonymous with the LDS Church’s inordinate influence in Utah. Otherwise, I’m able to divorce the temples from Mormonism and appreciate them as architectural works and landmarks.

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This morning I ran across a column from the Trib called “Life in Mormon ads not consistent with reality.” The comments on the piece seem to split between agreeing with the writer and saying that she clearly has not gotten out of Utah or gotten to know her fellow church members very well.

The thing, I think, is that both camps are right. Not only are church members typically a little more diverse outside of the Book of Mormon belt, but I personally know a hugely varied range of people who are LDS church members. Not only do they have many different takes on their own religion, but their hobbies, careers, looks, race and everything else run the gamut.

BUT.

I also think the sort of people I attract as friends are semi-atypical of Mormons. While the people within the church may have individual lives, the capital-C Church has worked very hard for the last 40 years to create uniformity. The Mormons may have started out as a rag-tag bunch of trailblazers, but the implementation of correlation created personal conformity in addition to doctrinal conformity. From the top down a very conservative personal dress and lifestyle is encouraged. Many members feel pressure from leaders and doctrine to look and act a certain way, and (particularly in my area) any deviation from that is met with judgment from friends, neighbors and fellow congregants. Watch an R-rated movie? Expect a few whispers. Grow a beard? Better hope you don’t get called into the bishopric. Feel like you, as a woman, should work outside the home? God give you strength to deal with people telling you how you are hurting your family.* So members stay in line to stay in good standing with the church and because it is culturally reinforced.

I think this video kind of says it all. The church is trying to attract ever more diverse populations with a uniform, conservative message. But most church members I know deviate from that norm, at least somewhat. (Hell, my best friend is planning on getting dreads this summer!) So where is the truth on this issue? Does the new ad campaign reflect the reality of LDS membership, even if it doesn’t reflect the reality of correlation? Do I just know unusual Mormons? Or is the whole issue just shades of gray? Thoughts?

*Many of these are becoming more accepted and recent talks from church leadership have softened pronouncements on such issues as birth control, working moms and other divisive issues, but there are still a lot of traditional expectations for members.

The following is a paper I wrote for a class in 2008. It was among my first forays into Mormon studies, and my understanding of Mormonism has evolved slightly since then. Still, I hope the paper yields a few insights—at least enough to excuse its length!

Mormonism is a religion colored by complexities and contradictions. The prolific Mormon essayist Eugene England called the Mormon experience “essentially, as well as existentially, paradoxical.” LDS author Terryl Givens, more recently, posits a similar thesis in his book People of Paradox.

“By proving contraries, truth is made manifest,” said Joseph Smith, the founding prophet of the LDS Church. Informed by Smith’s statement, I will discuss Mormonism’s contraries in the hope of explaining the religion. My method in this paper will follow the seven Cs of religious studies: creed, code, cultus, community, culture, confines, and consciousness. In each of these seven characteristics exist tensions that help define Mormonism.

One of the most important aspects of a religion is its creed—its set of core beliefs. The Mormon “creed,” as it were, can be found in the Articles of Faith. Joseph Smith penned a letter to the inquiring John Wentworth, editor of the Chicago Democrat, articulating 13 fundamental doctrines of Mormonism. The letter was later canonized as the Articles of Faith.

The primary articles affirm the church’s belief in: God, Christ, and the Holy Ghost; free moral agency and accountability for one’s actions; the salvation of man through the Atonement and “by obedience to the laws and ordinances [faith, repentance, baptism by immersion, and the laying on of hands] of the Gospel”; the Bible “as far as it is translated correctly” and the Book of Mormon as scripture; continuing revelation; and the Restoration of the Primitive Church.

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