Honest question--Why do so many Mormons work for the military?

So I've lived in northern Utah all my life and faithfully read the obituaries faithfully everyday, Every other dead person was involved somehow with the military. It strikes me of how many former bishops and really dedicated nazi Mormons work for or have worked for hill airforce base or with government contracts. Further north in box elder county everyone in leadership seems to be affiliated with ATK making missles.

All these people pray every sunday and act so pious yet five other days of the week are spent making bombs/airplanes to kill Muslims. Isn't this sacrilege? What would Jesus say?

I had a very conservative Bp, (borderline libertarian or anarchist, I'm not sure which); the counselors he choose were Always gov't employees! Go Figure!!

A lot of the people dying now are draftees. Korea, Vietnam, a few still from WWII.

As a jr. psychologist/sociologist, it's plain to me that the authoritarian nature of TSCC transfers easily to the military hierarchical decision-making model, and vice versa.

Remember, Joe was the head (General?) of the Nauvoo Legion!

1) TBMs work for the military? I find just the opposite after WWII veterans. LDS missionaries are/were notorious during the Viet Nam draft as either going to BYU or Ricks or getting a deferment for going on their missions. Now once a "Mormon" is in the CIA/Secret Service or another example Dept of Ag or some other civil service, they tend to hire/recruit other Mormons (mostly family members[i.e. Benson, Romney, Oaks, etc...]). So for all of their patriotism, it's another false front, fake store front that they present to the public. Mormon Brigade, Morrill Anti-bigamy Act https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morrill_Anti-Bigamy_Act and Edmunds-Tucker Act https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmunds%E2%80%93Tucker_Act Which brought along the Military to Deseret to confiscate and arrest Polygamists.

2) Do Mormons hate Muslims??? This is a strange situation since it brings in Politics. Most Mormons are proud, almost militant Republicans and Tea part. Yet, LDS inc has posted messages since Trump's statements about how they're pro-immigration rights, pro-Muslim and Muslim refugees. http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/immigration-church-issues-new-statement
http://cis.org/mormon-church-and-illegal-immigration
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865643265/LDS-Church-releases-statement-on-religious-freedom-as-Donald-Trumps-Muslim-controversy-swirls.html?pg=all

So here we see the hypocrisy of "Mormons" not following or listening to their leaders when they vote for the person who wants to build the Wall or stop Muslim immigration.

Several of my older Mormon relatives and ancestors joined the military because they didn't have the money or higher education to do anything else.

I've got a Mormon relative who works for the government and has recruited other relatives to also work for the same dept. They are really big on nepotism.

I'm not quite sure if the hatred of Muslims is the main driving factor towards LDS recruitment in the US military, as another said it probably has more to do with the authoritarian nature of both and it transferring easily, but I can definitely say it contributes. All of my family (all TBMs) are extremely anti-muslim. They could be the most peaceful loving people in the world and the hatred is strong regardless. I know my family are an extreme example but that general sentiment is no doubt running throughout the church. It's interesting to see TSCC trying to put out the fire a bit with the pro immigration stuff since Cruz and Trump stepped on the political scene. It's also extremely interesting to watch Mormons be so conflicted with themselves on the extremely rare occasion when their religion disagrees with their other religion (conservatism) .

Do Mormons actually serve in the Military? I have not known many at all.

very good point, I should have rephrased it as civilians working for the military. Mormon's aren't going to put their own neck literally on the line. They work in the 'office' and fit into the bureaucracy.

I didn't come into contact with any Mormons during my time in the Navy; it seems Mormons prefer the ChAir Force and intelligence agencies over the other branches (too scared of combat or the big bad sea?). GNPE's comment about the authoritarian leadership could be one reason, job security (mustn't let the tithing flow stop) another.

I was the only Mormon that I knew in the Army.

I don't buy the anti-Muslim thing. There are many Muslims in the armed forces. Many people from small towns choose military service for economic reasons. I do know the military and other federal agencies are always looking for people with language skills and there is a limited pool of people who can get secret or top secret clerances. Any admitted past drug use for example will permanently disqualify you.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/28/2016 10:59PM by anybody.

Hill AFB is far and away the largest employer in northern UT. That's why a lot of Mormons up there work for the military. A lot of everybody in northern UT work for the military.

IDK if this is a factor or not, but I back-handedly understand that military ppl now have a better chance of choosing their duty location, in particular after their first obligation has ended....


is this accurate?

Not really, they have some say but most of the time their MOS and where they are needed determine where they serve. The OP is talking about civillian employees of the military, you would be hard pressed to find many TBM military members.

Most work for the military because it is a major Utah employer. I worked at Hill myself.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/29/2016 12:41PM by Whiskeytango.

1. Mos do not hate Islam. JS said that Mohammed was a great man whom he clearly imitated. A DD was taught at BYU-I that we should say nothing against Islam!
2. Utah R's voted against the Donald.
3. As for working on the tools of war, Mos are most interested but as for the Vietnam War, they supported it in words but many avoided service.

Any time you have a military base nearby, you will have a lot of area residents working there, both military and civilian. You may also have a number of military retirees.

I never got the impression that many Mormons join the armed forces. It seems like at the age when nevermos are enlisting, young Mormon men and women are doing their missions. And BYU does not have ROTC, as far as I know.

Interesting. Not many actually join the army but yet somehow end up with the government jobs, with all the benefits, magically. How can that be? I'm guessing it must be... nepotism? lol.

As a rule, Mormons, especially Utahns are not found in military service. I served in the military and rarely encountered a Mormon. Utah consistently ranks at the 50th to 52nd in relationship with other states and territories when it comes to military enlistments. Guam,and the South round out the top.

The obvious reasons are the age group the military is looking at is the same that are going on missions. I also think Mormons have the personality for military service.


http://www.statemaster.com/graph/mil_tot_mil_rec_arm_nav_air_for_percap-navy-air-force-per-capita

We were in the military for 23 years, we were never stationed anywhere where we didn't have a full ward. That includes over seas bases. I do think that younger military members who are also members of the church are more likely to become inactive than member families. That's purely anecdotal information since I have no hard data to support that.

The overseas wards were the best, more likely to have normal people out of the eye of Utah. More women wore pants, much more liberal bishops who could get away with being liberal etc.

As too the question do Mormons hate Muslims. I don't think so at all, in fact their patriarchal society that condemns drinking and smoking I think makes Mormons feel validated.

Who knows maybe they'll be telling women members to don a burka so they don't have to worry about mormon porn anymore.

I am retired USAF and I have met many TBM mormons in the military. From my perspective I do think that mormons are over-represented as a cultural identity in the military.

My theory is that mormons don't see that killing enemies of the State or an armed and violent response to evildoers as a bad thing. Not that they see it as a good thing either. It is just something that has to be done and they have the divine right to make it happen.

I also wonder if many young men who don't want to serve the two-year mission back out of it by joining the military. What other choices do they have that are still honorable?

I've noticed many parallels between the military and LDS experiences: overriding concern with appearances; obsession with statistics; willingness to exaggerate or even lie about accomplishments to keep the good reports and rewards coming; manipulating technical aspects of the system for individual benefit; and on and on. Maybe they both attract similar personality types.