Mormons like to make a big deal out of persecution. They talk endlessly about their past persecutions.

I was taught that there will come a day when mormons will once again persecuted to the extreme. Were you taught that?

I find it ironic. The only people who have ever persecuted me for being a mormon, is the Mormons themselves. They have heaped it on.

Yes, as it happens I was.

Just bullying by some other lads of my age, but it was just because I was a Mormon.

Never lived in Utah so growing up our family was considered "freaks"...I was teased at school constantly.

I hated being Mormon and left at 18.

Struggled through my teen years because I didn't want to be Mormon. I hated being Mo just like you and left as soon as I could.

The closest I ever came to being "persecuted" was being excluded from keggers with my high school friends. And one friend had a mom who didn't much like me because I was Mormon. In fact, she acted like a super TBM mom would if her daughter wanted to hang out with a teen who'd resigned formerly from the church. It wasn't persecution as much as she was just a snot.

I think Mormons confuse "persecution" with "not being respected" or "being thought ridiculous" or "being laughed at." Persecution is being excluded from a job or the yacht club or made to use a different drinking fountain or sit in the back of the bus. People laughing at you may not be nice but it isn't exactly the same as persecution.

Or, perhaps finding a burning cross in your front yard in the middle of the night. Or having the landlord send some minions out to torch your house. THAT's persecution.

I was never persecuted or teased for being Mormon, but I grew up with plenty of Mormons who persecuted anyone who wasn't Mormon. It is all too common in Utah for Mormon kids to not be allowed to play with non-Mormon kids.

No, I was just embarrassed to be one.

Ditto.

Treated like shit by Mormons in High School... who thought I wasn't. I was 100% active.

Teased a little out of Utah later for not drinking.

The Mormons were WAY worse.

I did have plenty of people yell at me on my mission (even people who we weren't bothering, but they would go out of their way to yell at us), and I had rocks and other stuff thrown at me a few times.

Well, in my youthful mind a boy I had a crush on from seventh to nineth grade couldn't go out with me because I was Mormon. Later in high school he dated a girl from his church who everyone commented on, that we looked a lot alike. His father was a Baptist preacher. I felt persecuted. I'm almost over it though.

I was talking about this with my brother today. It was very uncool to be a Mormon when we were in high school. It wasn't something you wanted to bring up, so we never did. It was like telling everyone you're a bedwetter.

...by the mormon kids b/c I wasn't one--one little snot even sneered at me 'You can't sing that song!' when she heard me singing a primary tune.
Then we moved to 'tha mission field,' joined the cult, and I was shunned & ostracized for being a mo in the bible belt. That's *hell* for a sensitive teen.
I still struggle with social situations & interactions.

No, but God's underpants I sure thought I was. My friends would make light-hearted jabs or talk about how they thought the church was ridiculous, which I took as persecution for my beliefs. No, it's not persecution - it's just outsiders looking in and calling it like they see it.

No. Actually for my first years in the Church, people went, "You're a what? What's that?" They'd never even heard of the Church, as I hadn't either before talking to the missionaries.

Yes!

By the Mormon church and many priesthood leaders.

Oh you mean by non-Mormons? No, not really.

In one situation I was mildly discriminated against. It was during a job interview with three HR people. I went to BYU so it's on my resume, and one of the interviewers made a few snide remarks about BYU while the other two giggled. I asked the snide remarker to explain what she meant, and she choked out, "Well, uh, well, uh, we don't get many applicants from Brigham Young." I told them it seemed like it wouldn't be a good fit and ended the interview.

They seemed like a bunch of nitwits--if it hadn't been snark about BYU they would've found something else to be stupid about.

The worst I ever got was the occassional "How many Mom's do you have"? comments. Ha ha, it was laughed off and nothing else was ever said.

Ironically, the worst persecution I ever witnessed was Mormon on Mormon. And it was in the MTC and on my mission. I saw guys be unbelievably cruel to other elders while in the MTC. I saw the same kind of cruelty in the mission field with the self righteous behaving in a very less than Christ-like manner towards those they considered less valiant.

Witnessing that was probably the first steps I took on my journey to see the man behind the curtain.

I wouldn't go as far and say I was "persecuted", but I did get teased about it. I think people felt sorry for me more than anything though.

The thing was, there was another mormon in my year at school as well. He wasn't teased about it, and was actually fairly popular, but he didn't really follow any of the mormon rules, which is where the difference lies I think.

Like I think as a mormon I was getting teased because I was such a goody-goody, and such a wimp, that never swore, that never got into fights, that never did anything with girls, that didn't do drugs and so on. I think I was getting teased for THAT, more than for just being a mormon. As there were other kids with no religion at all, but were similar to me who also got teased. And as I said, that other mormon in my year who actually acted like a normal teenage boy didn't get teased much.

The only thing I can think of didn't happen to me, but to a friend's mom when we were kids. She had called in to some Christian show on TV (I think it was the 700 Club?) to request a prayer for someone, and they asked which church she belonged to. When she told them RLDS, they said they wouldn't pray her because she was a member of a cult.

Yes and no, I was bullied as a child, and often times my religion was a part of it. Then again, a lot of my Mormon friends were not bullied. I think I would have been bullied regardless of what religion I was taught to believe in, but when you are young you don't draw that kind of conclusion.

Actually, since I had a sever speech impediment, most of the bullying was because the other kids thought I was gay. They had been taught gays talk funny, and even though I did not have a lisp, they assumed I was gay and a Mormon, so they targeted me. So I got the joy of being persecuted by homophobes, on top of everything else, even though I am a vagina enthusiast.

Later in life, when I was "persecuted" for being a Mormon, it was because I was doing something annoying, like knocking on peoples doors at 9am on a Saturday.

I have to watch myself in this area.

I have been on hiring committees at my university where there were obviously TBM applicants and it's tough to leave that out of the equation knowing that they support something that was such a destructive force in my life and fearing that they'll bring their anti-gay, anti-intellectual attitudes into my workplace. Such a battle to set it all aside and look at their credentials and research....

That's actually a legitimate concern with very religious people, especially in academia, that their preconceived notions will influence their research and teaching unfairly. Then again, it's just not Mormons and evangelicals that have that problem. Politics also mucks things up a good bit. In fact, I have found that anytime someone is a bit too idealist, right or left, they often let their idealism color their conclusions unfairly. I know that I myself do this a great bit, but it is easier to spot it in the work of people we don't agree with.

Sure, a little bit. But we're talking school-type bullying/exclusion, & let's be honest, if I hadn't been mormon they would have just picked another attribute.

In fact they did. As many kids in MN & CA picked on me or bullied me for being smart or musical as did for being mormon.

In my adult life, I never experienced any persecution (apart from the mission... but it's different when you invade someone's country telling them all that they aren't good enough and that you, a little snot-nosed teenager, know better than them, and they should all listen to your teachings and follow you).

I do live in the morridor, but I have travelled a decent bit, both for pleasure & business, and everyone has been very accommodating. (though it is way nice now to NOT need to be accomodated)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/07/2013 11:25AM by justrob.

Most of the nonmos I met where I worked treated me like a queen. My first real exposure. I knew a few nonmos in school (in Utah), but not very well.

I used to sing in a community choral group, the kind that sang with a orchestra, directed by a mormon and about 10% mormon. I often got stuck sitting next to a strange young woman who really had trouble with appropriate boundaries and felt it necessary to manage to let anyone know in about every conversation that she's blessed to be a Mormon... gag.

Eventually I began to fight back in silly ways... like bringing a cup of coffee to rehearsal and exhaling coffee fumes (no sugar, that is too cruel; sugar-laden coffee breath is gagacious, rota the breath). One night during a hot flash I removed the sweater I was wearing to reveal the tank top I was wearing underneath; she knew darn well I'm not a cult member, but turned and told me during rehearsal (sh!) that I should cover up more or something like that. I steamed until a break in thr rehearsal, then turned to her a let her have it, that I'm not not a member of her crazy, repressive group, she knows it, learn some manners, chickie, and mind your own business. Truth, I don't remember what I actually said, but it was a set down. Hell, I'm old enough to be her mother on top of it!

She went tattling to the director, but he wisely left it alone, although he certainly didn't correct her, but I heard her say I was "persecuting" her.

From what I've read and heard, this is a common kind of momo persecution.... pullleeze...

I have actually had some people give me crap for being mormon at work. They didn't even know I was mormon, they just knew I was from Utah so they assumed. One client, when I told people in a video conference about my upcoming wedding asked me "which wife is this". I had never spoken to the guy before. Another time a coworker made some negative comment on a conference call about mormons when he heard I was from Utah, then when someone else called him out for making the comment he said "what? I didn't say he is a mormon" like that made it all ok. I don't consider it persecution, but since I would get fired for talking sh1t about catholics, gays or people of differing ethnicity at work I don't care for people talking like that about mormons either in a work environment.