Have any of you here lived in Rexburg before or had a good taste of living there?My understanding is that it is the most mormon concentrated area on earth.

If you were a devoted Mormon without questioning,you could happily live there.But if you are an exmormon with serious issues with TBM mormons,or a crusader against the church like Sandra Tanner,or a person who has never been a Mormon,but has never admired Mormons,then how easy is it to live there permanently?

He and all his friends from high school are gay. All but 2 of them married women. Two are still married as one wife told her husband there will be no divorce and they put on a show for the ward. The other friend can't believe we don't believe in the church anymore and I think I just said the other day on this board that when I went to his father's funeral there in Rexburg, this friend sat on the stage with the choir and stared me down. We used to be friends. He cheats regularly if not daily, but he stays with his wife and still believes.

According to my "husband" and his siblings, all the kids in the neighborhood (a few blocks form "Ricks") were having sex. My "husband" certainly was. His parents were the two most selfish people I've ever met. His dad put on a good show and everyone thought she was nuts. They thought his dad was holy, but he was looking for his future wives at Ricks and in the apartments he owned. He got picked up for stalking young women in his 80s.

Rexburg has "that feeling" as you stated, but you only know about the ugly underbelly if you know someone from there. I always thought Provo had that feeling. Couldn't stand that area even as a very devout mormon. You couldn't have paid me to go to BYU or Ricks. I'm 64, so I was around during the Ricks era.

48 years ago, I spent my first semester of college at Ricks. It used to have some amazing dark skies for watching the stars. In fact, it’s as close as I ever got to see a faint glow from the northern lights.

What I really like about Idaho, both then and now, are its geological features. There are lava tubes and some very cool sand dunes in the area. And, in eastern Idaho, there are some awesome spots to go river rafting and fishing, if you’re into that.

Also, it’s close to Yellowstone so it’s a good base for national park adventures there and in the Tetons. I really had some fun times in Rexburg as an 18-year-old college student.

The weather can be brutal though. Rexburg does get awfully cold in the winter and it can get quite windy on the college campus.

As for as the Mormón influence in Rexburg, I imagine that it’s like so many small towns in the Morridor. I’m lucky where I retired in Northern Utah as it’s by an Air Force base; it’s a bit more diverse here.

Cuz X



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/25/2022 04:14AM by cuzx.

I went there for a few semesters (quarters?) before I became a RM...

Yes, it's pretty much 100% Mormonfied.

my memories: walking in the dead of winter to the old cafeteria downtown from Ensign Hall; both the food & the walk were Dreadful!! The Manwaring was rumored then.
I hadn't dated much before, I was pretty awkward with the girls, stayed a virgin.

I arrived via the UPRR, a mixed train (freight cars + one passenger car. Idaho then had a law that required Rys to serve county seats daily.

Gals/women were REQUIRED to wear dresses/skirts, this was pre-'67.

i went there to avoid Viet Nam.

I don't remember if there was a theater then in town it was a very sleepy place!

The food at The Manwaring Cafeteria wasn't worth remembering either. I imagine the theater was there when you were. It looked old when I went.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/25/2022 09:59AM by Lethbridge Reprobate.

I was at Ricks for 2 semesters in 66-67 and it oozed...or maybe festered is a better descriptor...MORMONNESS. My experience there was the catalyst for my journey away from Mormonism.

King Arthur said it all when he thought about going to Rexburg: "On second thought," said he, "Let's not go to Rexburg. 'Tis a silly place."

I had two kids each do 2 years there. I agree with Arthur. I might have added, "Tis an irritating place."



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/25/2022 07:39PM by cludgie.

College towns should be vibrant and happening, full of energy. Not so with Mormon college towns. Rexburg was one of the most dismal places I've ever been to. Same with Provo back in the 80s. I couldn't wait to leave. Same with Laie, Hawaii, where BYU Hawaii is located. The best thing about BYU Hawaii was the beach and other beaches. Just about every weekend I hopped on the bus to get away from Laie/BYU. The Mormon church has a way of sucking the life out of a town.

I truly regret not applying to college in Hawaii. Like you, I probably would have made my way out of Laie as often as possible. My family lived in Kailua from 66-67. Later, the Army assigned me to the 25th Infantry Division at Schofield Barracks from 83-85. Oahu has been our go-to-place for vacation since then.

IDK about Laie proper, but life on Oahu sure beats living in Rexburg, Idaho, or Provo, Utah…

My mission president was from there. He was arrogant and drunk with mormon piety. Couldn't imagine trying to live there and that's when I was doing my best to "fit in" as a believing member.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/26/2022 01:49AM by messygoop.