The Mormon church is very American or Utah Church. There are too many teachings and practices collide with the culture.
The greatest doctrine of Mormonism is "Families are forever." But the rest is not so attractive.
Here are the few examples of practices many of my Mormon friends and myself think/thought just a little weird or not so wise.

1)Cinder block meeting houses. The cinder blocks in Japan are for building fences and shacks, but not for the chapels. They can not withstand with the type of earth quake there. The Japanese leaders told the men in SLC, but they said such opinions were nonsense. The Utah way of building was the right way to go(only way to go). Some Japanese leaders leave the church due to the very immovable and authoritative stance of men in SLC.
During the '80, and into the '90, It was not just building, but nearly every decision they had to make must have come from SLC. I hope things are better now.

2)Huge floppy disks used in the Church Head Quarters in Tokyo.
In eighties just before I went on a mission, I was working at the Genealogical Department and everyday I had to move the 4 ft.(a little over 1 meter)diameter-long floppy disks back and forth between the computer room and the storage room. The Japanese brand palm size floppy disks and the hard wares were already available even during the era. But the men in SLC did not trust any foreign brands. So, here I was, dealing with super inefficient floppy disks every day. (The Japanese brands were excellent even at that time!!!!)
Also the computer system was down almost every week, and the computer person from SLC flew over to Tokyo (every week!) to fix it. Yes, he was staying at the very expensive Imperial Hotel during the stay.

3)Green Tea.
It is very very rude to decline the tea served by anyone for you. In Japan, the tea is served in every house and at every imaginable occasions. We have to come up with some decent excuses to decline it nearly every day. It is such a stress. But the church leaders would say, "it is such a great missionary opportunity!"

4)Marrying at too young age.
Generally, Japanese do not marry young (=teens or early twenties). The greatest reason behind this is a financial reason. You need so much to rent a new apartment(3 to 4 months worth of rent have to be deposited initially)Men usually finish their education first and start career, then save some money, and finally start looking for wives. Marrying young is not wise thing to do from everyone's point of view there. They struggle between the doctrines of ideal Mormon life and the teachings of their parents.

5)Disastrous marriage
The temple marriage is so important as if it does not matter whom you marry, as long as you marry in the Temple. The ratio between the two genders within the church is like: one driver and a truck full of women trying to get the special seat next to the guy. Consequently, most of them have to marry someone, ANYONE. I have 2 friends came from rather middle upper class: one, a daughter of a company president, another, a daughter of a diplomat who spent most of her life in Europe. They were highly educated but married non-educated/un-skilled men. The both fathers were so angry at the suitors. But the couples married anyway. After the happy temple marriage ceremonies, the reality kicked in too soon. Financial situations were always unbearable to my friends that they had to beg their fathers to help them out. They found themselves working frantically to feed their children. They got divorced later.

Sorry, this is too long. I should have posted somewhere else.
I hope I did not offend anyone.

It's nice to see your point of view. Thanks for this post, it's very interesting.

I too, feel that Mormonism is a very bad fit for Japanese culture.

How ironic that the Mormons feel that they need to bring the Word of Wisdom to a culture with the longest lifespan in the world. Maybe the Japanese could teach the Mormons something about healthy living. I'm sure that the anti-oxidants in green tea contribute to the long lifespan.

Those of us frequenting this site are mostly former and soon-to-be former mormons. We are well aware of the arrogance and intransigence of mormon "authorities". For myself, I can only say that I am not at all surprised by the things you posted. It goes with everything else I know about the mormon church.

This has been going on since the beginning. Leman Copley, Sidney Rigdon and Parley Pratt were sent on a mission to the Shakers at Union Village, Ohio. Copley had been a Shaker and knew the community and acceptable behavior. An outsider could speak at the end of a religious service, but was required to stay quiet during the service. Pratt interrupted the service and began to preach Mormonism. They were thrown out. Pratt shook off his coat tails signifying destruction to the community. The community did eventually close, as did all but one community in Maine. The last of the Union Village Shakers left in 1920. It is difficult to maintain a community that does not believe in procreation.

Maybe that is where they learned the benefits of hyperprocreation to overcome high attrition and sustain a church?

I saw your other post on another thread about the aftermath of the disasters in Japan. I hope you have heard further from your family and that everyone is OK. We are certainly thinking about Japan and its fine people in their time of crisis and need.

It is fascinating to read about your experience with Mormonism, especially the cultural aspects. Here in North America, many find that the Mormon Church tries to make everyone alike and we don't appreciate that "one-size-fits-all" framework they use. Much more so then, people of other cultures must find it very strange for Mormons to try and make every place on earth change to be more like Utah and the people more like American Mormons. Even people born to Mormon parents and North Americans who convert to Mormonism find it difficult to conform 100%. It is extreme cultural insensitivity for Mormon leaders to trample over people's customs and traditions, such as the example you gave about the tea. I like the idea of religious beliefs being adapted to the culture and traditions of the country rather than forcing dogma, history and foreign practices on people to a ridiculous degree (such as doing Mormon handcart re-enactments in European and Asian countries, for instance).

Your post was not "too long", Yuko. Actually, I'd love to read more! Say whatever you want, about anything, and take as long as you want/need to do it. I don't think you could offend anyone here by telling your story, as long or as short as it may be.

All good thoughts to you and your family. I'm glad to see you here and I hope you stay awhile.

Hi Yuko. I am in agreement with everything Nighingale said.

they actually ignored the warnings about the cinderblock buildings?

And you KNOW that was their line of thinking.

Thank you for your insightful post, Yuko Cardin.

Thank you for posting your true life experience of the TSCC in Japan.
I grew up in Alaska and always regarded Japan as my neighbor across the pond (Pacific Ocean).

I am a convert to the TSCC and didn't realize that part of the 'true doctrine' of the church was to make people into little morgbots, or clones of the white Utah urban/rural mindset.

I had a friend who was on Indian Placement program living with a bunch of blonde blue-eyed ninnys who insisted she wear curlers in her streight dark hair so it could be 'acceptable' and wavy like theirs!
The church is awful and I find myself embarrassed I ever was in it, especially when I learn of all its abusive tyrannical behavior. How dare they criticize or think themselves the superior moral ground to such an ancient culture?

Please post more of your experiences; I'd love to hear more "from the horses mouth". (crazy idiom of speech) :D!

I remember the people coming door to door to warn us to move to higher ground for the 1964 Tsunami in Alaska, but we had higher ground. I'm grieved at the damage, the loss of life, my son wishes he could come help find people with his St. Bernard dog.... love from my family to yours.

Yes, it is hard wrestling with the Utah-centric culture of Mormonism vs what I termed the spirit of Christian Mormonism that has kept me in the church so far. It's funny how most TBM outside the Morridor would never want to live there because it's too Mormon and yet that's the culture and end result that tscc and tbm want to make the whole world into.

Thank you Yuko for sharing a Japanese perspective. I have a fondness for Japanese culture and in thinking about Christianity there I am always reminded of the story "Silence" by Shusaku Endo. Definitely deepened my thinking on why God is silent, especially as it relates to the suffering of Christians.

Yuko, I have enjoyed your posts, especially this one. I have lived in Japan for 26 years, not counting my mission (and I don't), and everything you brought up is so true. I left the church 4 years ago, and it is such a relief to be out. I think it was a little easier for me as a foreigner, but still it was hard trying to explain my weird Mormon beliefs. There are a few families who keep the local branch going. Most of them joined at an early age, and it's hard to imagine any of them ever leaving. There have been very few baptisms in the past 10 years or so, and there are no longer any missionaries there. I guess there just aren't enough to go around, and they only send them to more "successful" areas.
Mormon Observer- I grew up in Alaska too. Haven't lived there since 1985, but most of my family is there, and I go back to see them every year or so.

Your points are all very true....teas are very important in your culture. but they don't care about you. It is all about their rules. And marrying in the temple...oh yes, only a marriage there counts. That is just hogwash (stupid). Mormons are so rude to exclude any nonmormon family member from a temple wedding. They are arrogant. And all they want is your money.

You are smart to have that opinion that marrying early before you are financially set is an unwise thing to do. They jsut want people to have babies as soon as possible. I see no way that Mormonism is for Japanese. Also Mormonism is only a UTAH thing....not an American thing. Don't ever let them convince you of that.

These are all very good points you made - The Mormon church does not adapt to fit people...they expect people to change to fit the Mormon church. This is not good for people, especially when they are forced to change who they are into someone they are not just to make the Mormon church happy.

Also, what you said about marriage is very true here in America too. Many LDS women who are smart and educated, by the time they finish their education are considered "old maids" in Mormon culture so they rush to marry anyone and marry way beneath them. Mormon men do the same - rush to marry anyone, as long as it's in the temple. This is not the great plan of happiness the Mormons promised but a recipe for great unhappiness.

Thank you for your posts and insight. I hope you post again. It was very interesting.

Good job Josh.

If I got your name wrong apologies. Otherwise email me. We may know each other.

very well said, and nothing you said was offensive. Mormons (or Utah church as you put it) listen to no one, it is their way or the highway.

You have very good points, and I am particularly in agreement when it comes to marriage. My husband is chinese and they also believe in marrying later in life and only after education and a good job. It is smart to get your finances in order and remove that stress out of the equation.

I have seen some of your other post, and hope everything is fine for you. It is a tragedy what happened in Japan right now. My heart goes out to the Japanese people.