I have a mormon family living on my block and they have like 5 kids. I have heard the jokes that mormons have large families, but is it really true? How do they afford it? Is that why utah has such high bankrupsy rates? On that note, How do they ever finish college while making all those kids? Most people I knew who get pregnant in college never finished. Sorry if this seems like dumb things to ask, but I look at them and their two brand new SUV's and wonder either they were really lucky, have rich relatives, or what I think is the most likely answer, up to their eyeballs in debt.
Its kind of a shocking thing to see considering that there are so many young people opting to stay childfree and focus on their careers, and when I see something like that, well, kind of goes against the norm for young people nowadays. I know I have busted my backside off and am not middle class yet. How do they do it? Does the mormon church do like Russia and hand out checks for every little kid a couple makes or do they just threaten with stuff like childfree people make baby jesus cry?

up to eyeballs in debt. student loans up the wazoo.

Even us Catholics don't do that anymore!

Perhaps their parents paid their student loans. I know a lot of mormons who have parents that make sure to pay for their kids college. This certainly gives them a jumpstart into life not have to worrying about student debt.

The mormons I grew up around did put a lot of emphasis on education, and many of my TBM friends went through college on their parent's dime. But I don't know. You never know the full story.

Mormons are all about appearance, and how they're viewed. Some of them are smart with their money and end up being really successful, and others go into debt to put off the persona that they're life is going dandy. If you're not successful and happy, then you must not be living righteously. People don't want to be perceived that way so they play the part. Why do you think all the GA's are always successful businessmen. Wealth can equate to righteousness in mormondom.

...Mormon families are only one child larger than the general average. Sure, there are some huge LDS families, and those are the ones that get noticed.

I look at my immediate family, and, with two exceptions, the current generation of adults is having much smaller families than their parents. Two to four kids instead of nine or ten.

Southern Illinois University, our ward's local college, has more than it's fair share of TBM grad students.

They all have new mini-vans or SUV's, 50% of them are purchasing houses they will live in less than 5 years, and all are actively reproducing. Are we surprised that so many of them need FO assistance?

When my wife and I went to grad school we did not purchase a new car, buy a house, or double the size of our family. In fact, we did not even get pregnant the first time until Mr Truthseeker was in her last year of school and her defense was scheduled.

First, they have parents who help them out financially. More than one friend of mine bought condos for their kids to live in for free at BYU or at grad schools. Then, often the wife works and the husband schedules his classes around her work schedule or they rely on free babysitting provided by relatives. A lot of people I knew took advantage of state sponsored programs for low-income pregnant women and had their babies almost free - at taxpayer expense - while in college. Then, student loans and grants take up the slack and so they graduate tens of thousands of dollars in debt. One friend of mine owed over $125,000 and had 3 kids by the end of grad school.

Finally, almost everyone I knew my age had their parents give them the money for the down payment on their homes. My dad didn't, despite being wealthy, because my dad made his wealth himself and felt that having his kids make it on their own without a handout was a greater gift - a gift of character. We had to struggle to get what my friends were handed on a silver platter but Dad was right. Knowing we can make it on our own and that sacrifice wouldn't kill us was a huge confidence booster. But my dad is not a Mormon and my very Mormon mom was mortified that all her rich Mormon friends were helping their kids get into homes and my dad wouldn't help us. She felt it made them look bad.

There is a scripture in the Book of Mormon somewhere that says "the righteous will prosper in the land." Most Mormons internalize this to a certain extent and feel they need to have a successful front in order to look righteous. It also goes along with wanting to keep up that image of happy people - happy families that the church stresses endlessly. Mormons feel if they look happy and successful, people will want to know more about their religion and want to join, so there is a lot of pressure to put out a good image.

This is about what I figured it to be. Basicly, the social support structure is there. Alot of the Asian communities do the same thing. I would also Assume that Mormons to a degree do what other groups do and besides keeping money in Mormon communities, they also deal more often with other mormons or mormon business. didn't Malcom X say something about keeping money in the community?

8 kids in my family. In the small Mormon town I grew up in, 4 kids was a small family, 6 was the norm.

I was number 9 out of 11 kids, but my parents were married in 1951, so they are a little old school. Mormons have a belief that in the "pre-existence" we all picked each other to be a family here. If you don't keep having kids, you could be leaving one of your spirit babies behind, and they will have to be assigned to someone else. People buy into this belief in varying degrees, so some have babies until their uteris falls out, and some only have a few. Most off my sibs have between 5-9 kids of their own, but one of my brothers and I have none. It's all a huge guilt trip to get them to make more tithe payers.

No offense intended, but people actually believe this?!
LOL!!!!!!!!!
How do educated adults buy into this? Sure when they have their sacrament meetings there not handing out magic brownies and washing it down with colt 45 or something?

My sister got married in 1979 and she and her husband are both well educated, and they believe this. They have 11 kids because she kept feeling like there was "one more behind the veil."

My sister has 12 kids and she believes it's because the Lord trusted and admired her so much that many kids were enticed to choose her for their mother. Each additional kid is like a badge of honor in a traditional mormon community.

Mormons have been programmed to comparmentalize their thinking. The areas of the brain that think this way are disconnected from the more scientific or logical brain sections.

I was #10 out of 11. Always wondered why they didn't throw me back for tithing.

Go to the main page on this site, and spend some time on "so you are thinking of joining Mormonism". You will find stuff even more kooky than this!!!!

Magic Brownies and Colt .45 would have been a great improvement!

per your advice, I looked at the thinking about joining mormonism thread. Just curious, how the hell does the mormon religion get people to convert?! Who would buy into something that dumb? Even if I ate 10 sheets of acid you could never convince me of stuff that wild!
I can understand stuff like friends have told me, people will convert to appease their spouse and just play along, but they never believe any of it and after a while just drift off, but there are people who actually believe all this? WOW!!!

Ha. That's exactly what I thought when I started reading up on this stuff. I guess I just forgot how idiotic it sounds to everyone else.

Look up the Mormon garments online. Wild stuff.

Wishful thinking keeps them from looking into mormon claims. They need and hope the mormons are telling the truth and they temorarily close of part of their brain. Mormons jolly them along and withhold facts that might dissuade them until they're hooked and it's hard to leave.

So, in other words they find people who appear vulnerable, young and naieve, or all three and get them so indoctrinated that by they time they figure out whats up its too little too late.

I'm told missionaries spend a lot of time at hospitals visiting the sick and the bereaved and prey on them, mostly with the "your family can be together forever, we have the true priesthood to ensure that" line. Before the internet, it was hard for the victims to find out what else this wonderful religion believed. I have no idea how they convert them in these times.

out of work, recently divorced, or in any kind of life changing transition.

Well...the husband graduates. The wife drops everything to make babies and do what she can to squeeze every last penny. Which means that she will more then likely stick with him no matter what she does, or else she'll be a single mom with no college education, and 4+ children to feed.

OK,I have 5 kids and started young, before I had a college degree.However, without having help from parents, church welfare or other outside support, we managed to raise and support all 5 (one having a disability that increases his living expenses) on our own. At one point I went back to school and finished my degree. I have a SUV and a convertible (and extra SUV that sits in the drive).

It is a pet peeve of mine to keep having children you are unable to support them. Had I not been a member I probably would of have had 5, but I do. Therefore, we have worked hours we didn't always like and even jobs we didn't always like.But today,I am 51 and debt free (including house). My brother has 4 kids and is in even better financial shape than I am.Some people, even mormons, are just hard working folks who handle their money well.

Brava, ladybug!

I wish I had been taught the appropriate skill set young to be on the road to that position. Unfortunately, we're learning it in our mid-late 20's(me)/early 30's (him) due to a long road of trial and error.

Our goal at this point is to simply have good jobs, and the debt that we accrued when we were younger taken care of.

Someone has to support the SLC economy, with consumer demands, and SOMEBODY has to shop at their mall.