Sometimes you can tell on sight whether someone is a Mormon. Mormons refer to this as a "glow from the Light of Christ," which I don't buy. What do you think contributes to the characteristic "Mormon look"?

Sheep...all look similar.

Ron Burr

No alcohol and no tobacco -- produces a milk-fed look.

Also, a high degree of self-satisfaction because they "know the truth".

BS if the 15 and 70 started growing beards and long hair and said it was ok to look like humans the sheep would follow...when Hitler wore that goofy flat stache germans by the millions did the same thing.

Maybe because many of them are related through polygamous lines?

Because that's what they strive for?

I agree with you OP, but I can't put it into words as to how I can recognize them. Yes, saying they are all mostly white is one thing, but there is something else I've never been able to put my finger on. But I know it when I see it. (and it's not a "glow") Someone asked a few months ago on here if "Todd" on breaking bad was Mormon (don't know if they meant on the show or not, can't remember exactly) but ya, that is a good example of a Mormon face (to me)

I played basketball at a Mormon church a few times and it occurred to me that most of them looked the same facially somehow. I don’t can’t see how that thought would pop into my head unless it was true somehow.

Why do heroin addicts have that dead look in their eyes?

Does extreme obedience deaden as well? Cause a disconnect and foster the Stepford syndrome? Is it the look of someone being on automatic pilot?

I don't know, just threw that out there but it reminded me of another story I read here once.

This guy while he was still TBM had to go to another part of the country where he was going to be in an environment of about 50% Mormons and 50% gentiles. He was sure he was going to be able to pick out the Mormons by the glow they arrogantly assume they have. He was shocked to find he couldn't tell who was Mormon and who wasn't by just looking for glow. I believe it was one of the first jolts to his testimony.

All the missionaries in this seem to have it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKkLV1zE8M0

Okay some of them have some exaggerated smiles or faces, but still...

It's the dress code.

inbreeding

That's it, the inbreeding. Most of these families are all related to each other, and they just keep looking for mates in the same places. The Osmonds have traced their family tree, lily white, and I think even some of the wives are related.
Nature hates inbreeding, she loves lots of fresh and diverse DNA.
The result is healthier spawn. The Osmonds need some brown and black folks in their family tree to improve the endless parade of titanium white. It would make them healthier, better looking, and certainly more interesting.

Great Grand Daddy had three wives. They were biological sisters. The children were cousins of their own siblings. My father tried to spin the story as a great patriarchy. They were dirt poor.

Hairstyle, wardrobe, carb face and body.

which ones though? My TBM sil is very stylish and doesn't eat carbs. She is like a hipster Mormon. But I have family on one side that fits your description too. Guess it depends on where you live.

What is carb face?

they're fat. It an easy cop out to saying they're fat.

Not necessarily fat, just soft. Even for slender people, if you combine high-sugar diets with little exercise, it's the look. And yeah, it's an over simplification on my part, but I do observe this in my family a lot.

I wasn't saying you were wrong, I was just simplifying it. I have a bunch of "carbed face" relatives too

Ah, thanks TW :-)

There has been some outsourcing over these past years, so I'm assuming you're referring to Utah Mormon manufacture. Mormons assembled in Utah are made mostly of locally available materials. This accounts for similarity in unit appearance. For instance, if you cross a Sorensen with a Jensen, you're not going to get a brown eyed boy or a tanned girl with raven hair. We used to have some restrictions about which raw materials could be mixed, but orders from above have relaxed those limitations. Watch for lot of exciting new model lines.

--Mormonbags

Where his grandfather (the only other member of this HUGE TBM clan other than me who wasn't a TBM) had emigrated from Greece.

They were all so proud that they were not "white and delightsome" -the reason for their vanity was the fact that they stood out among the Anglo-Saxon protestant population with their dark hair and eyes.

I, an outsider of half Italian ancestry from NY could not figure out what the big deal was.

You know when you catch yourself in that occasional blank stare, checked out state of mind, where you honestly can't recall what you were contemplating...

Yeah, the "glow." My mom used to tell me about the glow like it was proof of something. Whatevs. It's the "I'm better than you because you drink coffee/have a tattoo/say naughty words/don't wear garments/are gay/etc., look in their eyes.

I work with some very young, TBM, recent BYU grads and wives of soon-to-be grads. They think they have the world all figured out (and annoyingly feel they are entitled to respect and pay rates they haven't earned yet), but are noticeably uncomfortable with an espresso machine in the kitchen and a professional work environment that includes mature, outspoken, fully-grown adults who are not mormon. Some of them are LITERALLY terrified of a coffee cup. They say the stupidest things and I just smile.

This is what I thought too - "the glow". This is what I couldn't see in the ex-mormons. When I still had doubts (if tscc true or not), I thought, "Well, maybe this Is the Holy Ghost, then I gotta get rid of my doubts, and the church must be true!"
Then I watched a video with the Heavens Gates followers, and they looked EXACTLY LIKE the most shining Mormons I've ever met! (This glow thing I myself always lacked, and I thought this is because I was not devoted enough.) And I realized that "the glow" is what all cult members have. The more you are brain washed, the more you "glow".

Its the glow from watching so much porn and choking the chicken!

One, limited gene pool.

And two, Mormons have the same glazed-over, empty eyes that are typical of other fundamentalists. It's like the lights are on, but nobody's home. If you watch the Book of Mormon musical, you can see that the actors adopt that same vacant stare, and it's part of what makes them look authentic. Combine that with the regulation helmet haircuts, white shirts, and garment lines, and yeah, all Mormons look even more alike than they did to begin with.

or something they have those dark eyes and hair i dont believe they are all european

Lights are on but nobody's home....
Somewhat like this, especially the first stanza:

Hello?
Is there anybody in there?
Just nod if you can hear me
Is there anyone at home?

Come on, now
I hear you're feeling down
Well I can ease the pain
Get you on your feet again

Relax
I'll need some information first
Just the basic facts
Can you show me where it hurts?

There is no pain you are receding
A distant ship's smoke on the horizon
You are only coming through in waves
Your lips move but I can't hear what you're saying

When I was a child I had a fever
My hands felt just like two balloons
Now I've got that feeling once again
I can't explain you would not understand
This is not how I am

I have become comfortably numb

I'm not LDS but I've lived by them my whole life. There is a distinct Mormon look...mostly in men but they have a unique jaw line and features. Obviously this doesn't represent all mormons there most certainly is a "look". I think it has to do with family lines that tie back to their beginnings.

It's a 1950s look! I've always been fascinated by the 1950s. I hope they never change!

If you are very observant, you can group people by a variety of different categories.

Professions,addicts, criminals,religions, etc.

Generally, good law enforcement officers, human resource managers, religious leaders can make such distinctions, many people call it profiling. Mormons are just another group.

Because the Brethren call for conformity and uniformity. Stand around near the church office building at 5pm and watch all the male employees file out, and tell us what you think. In a word, I'd say it gives a visual that Mormonism is a cult.

what does this picture tell you?:

https://www.google.com/search?q=lds+mission+temple+square+images&tbm=isch&imgil=52Gms7Dl-8cL8M%253A%253BnMCfR24QwUet0M%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.mormonnewsroom.org%25252Farticle%25252Fmormonism-in-pictures-temple-square-attracts-millions-of-visitors-14-june-2013&source=iu&pf=m&fir=52Gms7Dl-8cL8M%253A%252CnMCfR24QwUet0M%252C_&usg=__SD0_mkqQOfjz45x4WSystRvmtxM%3D&biw=1920&bih=986&ved=0ahUKEwibgfGKx_7UAhXGGD4KHaG1CzQQyjcIPQ&ei=fl1jWZvKIcax-AGh666gAw#imgrc=52Gms7Dl-8cL8M:&spf=1499684305482

My god, they're hideous.

I attended a couple of sacrament meetings with my wife in her old ward before we were married. After we married and she moved in with me, I attended SMs with her at her new ward. I made the comment that the wards "felt" the same. I was making a subtle observation, not wanting to ruffle feathers with the new wife, that except for the new names and faces, Mormons must conform to a universal standard. My wife interpreted it to mean that what I recognized was the HG that all Mormons share.

Do you mean this glow? https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AqSZhwu1Rwo

Do you mean that the youth look like deer caught in the headlights and the old look tired, pasty white, and over fed? I think it's because the youth are kept clueless and ignorant while the old are worn out from running on the gerbil wheel without benefit of stimulants like coffee, cola, or tea. They never see much light of day due to the necessity of going to work by day to earn money to survive and pay tithing. They spend their nights and weekends sitting in temples or working to promote Mormonism and take abuse for failing to bring in new recruits. Their refreshments of choice are cookies, Kool-Aid, root beer, and ice cream. Nourishment consists of MRE's, freeze dried, and canned goods from decades old food storage.

Fun. What's fun?

Pooped Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Do you mean that the youth look like deer caught
> in the headlights and the old look tired, pasty
> white, and over fed?

Pooped, I've also noticed this contrast between younger and older Mormons. From missionary age and on into their 20s, they tend to have the healthy, spiritual, radiant look. And older ones tend to look as you describe.

[Note: What I just said I do not mean to be taken as a blanket statement applying to all Mormons, and I certainly don't regard their appearance as being the determining factor as to their value as human beings.]

LDS are the ones living it up in the great and spaceous building. The one floating on air. Laughing at a beautiful world, which is full of life in all its "chaotic" glory.

Eventually it sinks in that they're on a slave ship, but the shackles are tight.

I like to think I can spot them, but I had a recent fail. I was hiking a mountain in the East, and met a family. Man: blond, crewcut, first touches of gray, looked like a former athlete, now beginning to paunch at the waist. Kids: all slender and very blond. Mother: Blond, very beautiful, perfect runner's body, real trophy wife.

"Definite Mormons," I told myself. We chatted, and I asked them, "What's your home ward?"
"Uhhhh....what?" the woman answered. She drew a blank. Not Mormon! Alas, another Caffiend fail.

caffiend Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
I was hiking a mountain in the East,
> and met a family. Man: blond, crewcut, first
> touches of gray, looked like a former athlete, now
> beginning to paunch at the waist.

I have a friend who is gay, and he has a theory that once a handsome, physically fit young man gets married and has children, he will be begin to develop what my friend calls "the daddy look." In other words, due to the rigors of married life and raising kids, he will tend to develop the paunch and other features that a passionate gay guy like my friend finds less than attractive. My friend also believes that single gay guys age differently than heterosexual men and that one can find older gay men who are much more fit and handsome than their heterosexual counterparts.

Because they feel [fill] the same. If mormonite looks could feel (they'd feel like shit).

That people are frequently dressed in the same faddish fashions. I'm not speaking of what you're likely to see in any general population but people wearing the SAME thing. For example, multiple (I mean MULTIPLE) people wearing t-shirts with the same logo on the front. Or the EXACT SAME brand and style of shoes.

No diversity.

Just sameness.

You've seen one you've seen 'em all.

I'd also say inbreeding since they still tend to isolate themselves, especially outside of the Morridor. My TBM ex-husband is one of those inbred Mormons since his parents were cousins, and while his parents were inactive while his dad was alive, he had pioneer ancestry.

Another reason so many of them look alike is that their earliest converts were people from northern Europe and that includes a lot of people with the blond hair/blue eyes in their genes. Obviously, not all Mormons have blond hair or blue eyes, but enough of them do to show where their ancestors were probably from. They're still not likely to marry a Samoan or someone whose ancestors weren't from northern Europe, even if they've been attending the same ward.

There's definitely a Mormon look. I don't live in the moridor but there is a Mormon stake close to where I live and I can usually spot the Mormon families. They are usually more "clean cut" than average, the women wear more modest clothing to cover their gs, and they have more kids than average. They also have an aloofness about them as they are a little fearful of mixing with the non-mos. They're socially awkward with nevermos and inactive mos. They do have kind of a whiter, paler look than others - probably, as others have mentioned, from lack of fresh air and sunshine as a result of being trapped in a chapel for several hours on a Sunday, and cleaning the chapel on a Saturday. I don't think they spend a lot of time outdoors.

Similar body language (?)

I was a convert who went on a mission after 1 yr. in tscc. I'm from the Southeast and did not notice anything overly alike. Then, the mission was foreign, I still did not notice. Then, after mission, I visited in Provo. Great moogley-googley! I felt surrounded by stepford wives type people! Ewww. It was all of above just mentioned!

I watch Jeopardy! every night, and I personally never thought Ken Jennings had that Mormon look, although I believe he was Mormon, wasn't he? And a very smart one, at that! (I'm nevermo, so I'm not sure that he was, but I think I heard that he was.) But recently--like last week or the week before, there was a another guy who won like 3 or 4 nights in a row, and I think he had that "look" that you guys are talking about. I thought it even before he said he was from Utah and had gone to BYU. Did any of you see him and know who I'm talking about and agree?

They're all shell-shocked, scared and tired....

limited gene pool.

(HOW RUDE OF ME)

I just about asked a guy I saw in a Very Public place/situation if he was Mormon/LDS....


scared myself!!

Everyone is the same I've come to find.

It's because many are carb-faced adults who dress like 10 yr olds.

When my kids were in high school they would play "spot the Mormons" at lunch. They were correct every time. The Mormon kids were in a group at one table. They only looked at each other. When someone came by to sat hello, they looked down. I have seen this behavior in Mormon adults at parties that were not sponsored by Mormons.

I can tell a Mormon, not because of their glow, but their lack of glow. I have always lived in areas where Mormons were in the minority. They are the quiet ones because they cannot talk about anything but church. If someone is drinking and/or smoking, they cannot carry on a regular conversation with them. Mormonism teaches not treat people like human beings. People who are not Mormon are to be treated as a potential convert. Many cannot relate to people in an everyday environment.

When I was uber TBM, I went to Vegas with my kids. At that time they were going for a family friendly vibe. It was fun. We went to Red Rock to ride horses one day. Our guide was talking about a type of foliage and told a joke at the expense of Mormons. It was pretty funny. We laughed. He said he was glad we were not Mormon. I told him we were. He said he would have never guessed it. He was inactive, and he said he could tell who was Mormon because they never looked happy.

I know these are blanket statements, but this has been my experience.

Can't say that about the whole lot of them.

But dang, the Osmond kids look like carbon copies of each other.

The FLDS look more alike than the LDS IMO. There has been more inbreeding among them may be the reason why.

Gosh-golly jiminee-jee,
I look like you
And you look like me.

But that is good.
It's terrific,
It's Mormon for sure!

Because, you know,
This way
You'll stay hooked to your clan
Where God can find you
When he needs a (perfect) Man.
_________

See its all about keeping together and not getting lost from each other - its the Mormon way and a purrfect example is the large TBM fam at Lagoon Amusement Park all wearing obnoxious pea-green matching shirts (but when you have 10 kids to keep track of you gotta do sumpin').

We're/ are you one?

It's a certain dimness.

Maybe a boxey look.

I've been trying to learn how to read people, and Mormons have a few aspects of a look that's shared

-clothing: typically longer, sometimes second hand unless it's a wealthier Mormon. Dark colored clothing is rare. White button up shirts and bland ties are normal dress for several occasions.

-haircut: males usually have shorter hair, but rarely military short; closer to a haircut a protagonist in a cheesy 1950's short film would have.

-build: males are typically more "doughy" than average or fitness freaks. Not beer-doughy, but sugar-doughy. Sometimes have shorter legs (likely the inbreeding mentioned by other posters).

-body language: they usually try to present a front of being friendly, but still give off the vibe of either having an agenda or wanting you to go away. Bishops and higher ranks usually have the body language of people who have more authority than ethics or brains.

-voice: typically quieter than most people, conference and talk drone usually present in small forms. Forced friendliness also common in the voice.

-eyes: Mormons have a look in the eyes that's usually seen in livestock. Usually the best indicator of a Mormon.

Very insightful list. Made me smile.

The "usually try to present a front of being friendly . . ." strikes a cord. When I am around Mormons I have always felt that in most cases the friendliness is a "performance" rather than a genuine engagement between two people. All for show.

And the sugar. Don't get me started on the sugar and my family.

I came from an all Mormon community where everyone had Scandinavian heritage or at least Northern European and almost everyone's nick name was "cotton top" and when the Farrah Fawcett winged hairstyle was popular you couldn't tell one girl from another, haha.