I know a Morm who is in college (not BYU, just a regular state school in TX), And she goes to "Institute class". What the heck is that and what does it even entail??

Institute offers LDS religion classes on non-LDS campuses. If your child goes to Stanford or U Wash, he or she can take LDS religion classes at Institute.

I can think of two motivations for non-Mo's to enroll in Institute:

1. At many campuses, the LDS Church purchases a plot of land for its Institute close to, if not smack dab in, the middle of campus. Quite often the facility boasts a parking lot, and Institute students may park there FOR FREE, but only if enrolled in an Institute class that term. I know of several students who did that while enrolled at Cal State University, Fullerton, since Institute has a building directly across the street from the main entrance.

2. Institute also offers rec areas (ping pong, billiards) and study areas. Some students, particularly commuters, use these areas to recreate or study. Again, open to non-members IF they enroll in Institute.

A third possibility might be if one is an evangelical Christian and wishes to debate or de-convert people, but I would imagine someone who was too vocal in dissent might be asked to leave.

I should add that other faiths have similar ministries for their college aged members. Hillel is a Jewish organization (but one which focuses on providing religious worship services, not simply classes) and Newman Clubs serve the same function for Catholics.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/01/2011 05:56PM by PtLoma.

"Institute" is a euphamism for: Indoctrination Center.

Since most kolobian kids have been sheltered from the real world their whole lives, going off to college can be an incredible boundary-dissolving experience.

The church tries to counter that by setting up institutes where the kolobian programming can be reinforced during the college years.

I love how you call mormons "kolobians"

ann Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I know a Morm who is in college (not BYU, just a
> regular state school in TX), And she goes to
> "Institute class". What the heck is that and what
> does it even entail??

From Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institute_of_Religion


It sounds like seminary for college kids, especially those outside of the morridor. The way the description is worded it sounds like the class may be more for newly baptized people

Institute is basically the college version of Seminary. There are buildings set aside for just that purpose - classes are held, all on L.D.S. topics, and social life at college for LDS students often centers around what goes on at Institute. It's a way to hang out with other Mormon kids and feel as though you're among your own. You can take regular classes and "graduate" from Institute or you can just take a class here and there. Mostly, at least from my experience, it's a social scene for like-minded young people.

As a nonmormon it appears that they just want to keep a hold on these students as they do in seminary in HS. It is sad they are so controlling and so scared of losing these kids that they must hold classes for them in all things LDS even after age 18....and try to keep them only hanging with LDS kids. Mormons DO NOT want their members to mingle, ya know? Very cultish IMO.

...is to meet and marry another Mormon. Based on degree completion rates (in particular, for women), education appears to be an afterthought. The meat market role is particularly important for Mormons outside the Corridor, where one would be unlikely to meet other Mormons. (inside Utah, easy to meet other Mormons). BYU will never make US News' elite list, and one reason is the low degree completion rate: even when you allow seven rather than five years to complete a degree, factoring in missionary time, the degree rate is worse than secular schools, with the women dragging down the rate. (some men who marry early and have kids don't graduate either, but I believe the degree completion rate is worse for women than for men).

For those whose children go to secular universities (including ones superior academically to BYU), the main hope of keeping them in the fold lies in Institute.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/01/2011 07:02PM by PtLoma.

And if they get married then they're more likely to get trapped in the church for life.

This...very much. My father is an Institute/Seminary director, and the entire point is to try to retain kids through the major loss years (18-30), and get them married.

Exactly this. I had an institute teacher once who actually laid all this out. He said the church did studies that confirmed that if college age students keep coming to church, chances are they'll keep coming to church for a good portion of the rest of their lives. As a result, Churchco invests heavily in the indoctrination of young adults. Thus we have BYU in themorridor and Institute outside of the Morridor.

We have these so called 'Institutes' here in the UK. They present themselves as some kind of Education Faculty and claim to 'serve' many of the local regular Educational Colleges and Universities?

I can't imagine why these colleges and universities would want to 'affilliate' with the LDS Institute which really is just another route to indoctrinating people.

They advertise Institute as being like home away from home?



http://www.ldsces.org/iws1/index.aspx?p=61209

Probably the school pays nothing to have Institute. I attended a private, secular school which has various off-campus ministries supported by various religions, including Muslim, Jewish, and many flavors of Christianity. Don't know if there is an Institute but I doubt it, just because they have very few LDS students. Not having an Institute on or near campus might be a deal breaker for some LDS parents. So barring Institute from a college campus or community might be a deal breaker for some schools if their LDS applicant pool plummets as a result.

"Rootie toot toot, rootie toot toot,
We're the girls of the Institute.
We don't smoke and we don't chew,
And we don't go with the boys who do."


The purpose of "Institute" is to undo the obvious thrust of the education that you are getting at the university. Since reality has a strong anti-Mormon bias, Institute has to provide an Anti-Reality Indoctrination Program (ARIP).



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/01/2011 07:14PM by baura.

Here are the stats for California:

http://lds.org/institutes/locate/0,10049,1397-1-36-0-005,00.html

They appear to have a lot of breadth at the expense of depth.

Case in point: San Diego State University, enrollment approx 40,000....210 enrolled in Institute

Berkeley: 40-50K students, 310 enrolled

UCLA >40K students: 192 enrolled

Cal State Fullerton, 20-30K students: 330 enrolled (this is the Institute with a parking lot right in the middle of campus)

UC Irvine, >20K students: 46 enrolled.

I attended Brown University in Rhode Island, there are no Institutes in RI whatsoever.

http://lds.org/institutes/locate/0,10049,1397-1-36-0-236,00.html

The Insitute director for the entire country is Louis Herrey, of the 1980s pop singing group The Herreys:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herreys

A couple years ago the Institute published an annual report that actually showed a declining enrollment. Needless to say, they haven't revealed any figures since then.

One of best exmo's ever is Ken Clark:
http://www.mormonthink.com/kenclark.htm

His 'Lying for the Lord' essay is critical reading for anyone who leaves the church.

It was in a Institute class in 1960 that one of their instructors got honest with me for five minutes and told me privately, after class, that the Book of Abraham had nothing to do with Abraham but was actually,"The Egyptian Book of Breathings." If only I had processed that correctly. It happened in Long Beach, California.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/01/2011 08:47PM by george.