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How Americans View Mormonism: Seven Steps to Improve Our Image
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July 30, 2013
We spent an hour with Gary Lawrence last night. He was gracious enough to come up to visit our stake in Camarillo from his home in Orange County. Dr. Lawrence is an American opinion pollster who also happens to be a Latter-day Saint. He has been travelling around the church sharing the results of a poll he conducted in the spring of 2007 on American’s perception of Latter-day Saints in the United States.
He published a book in 2008 with the findings of his poll, How Americans View Mormonism: Seven Steps to Improve Our Image. Dr. Lawrence received a PhD in communications psychology from Stanford University in 1972. He said that of over twenty doctoral candidates in his group, he was the only LDS, Republican, conservative hawk among them. So he knows a little about being in the minority.
Lawrence Research
Now if you know anything about recent events in California, you’ll recognize that Gary’s business, Lawrence Research was the opinion polling company that was heavily involved in Proposition 8. Gary was also the state LDS grassroots director for the Protect Marriage coalition. Brother Lawrence, who has served as a bishop has spent over 35 years studying opinions and behaviors of the American public.
From the results of his survey, Dr. Lawrence maintains that the misconceptions, distortions, and untruths being told about Mormons have slowed the growth of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and that the average member is best positioned to turn things around. By the way, the name of his next book, due from Deseret Book later this year is “What Part of Our Name Don’t You Understand?”
Survey Results
For me, the most interesting result of the survey was that our perceived image is upside down. Forty-nine percent of those surveyed had an unfavorable impression of Mormons. Only thirty-seven percent had a favorable impression. They say that we have weird beliefs and are secretive. Yet they also say we are good neighbors, hard workers, believe in clean living, have high moral standards and help others.
Lawrence said that thirty-seven percent of all Americans do not know a Mormon, and fifty-five percent of all Americans do not know an active Mormon. In fact, those who know one Mormon have a worse opinion of us than those who do not know any Mormons. We are viewed unfavorably more than Jews or Baptists (3.5 to 1) and Catholics (2 to 1). Mormons, less than 1 to 1. That’s a terrible ratio.
Negative Image
Simple ignorance is often blamed for Mormonism’s negative image, but Gary also concludes that it is driven by fear — fear of a supposed political agenda, wealth, organizational ability, unwavering doctrine, and a unique vocabulary that is often misunderstood. He gave some wonderful examples but I’ll have to defer in sharing some of the better ones until I receive his book that I ordered from Deseret Book.
His book explains that individual members in their daily interactions with others are the key. In his presentation, which he has probably delivered dozens of times, he pointed out that friendly and natural conversations, the facts, simple claims, individual latitude, non-threatening invitations and gentle mentoring are the ways Mormons can combat distortions, improve our image, and spread the gospel.
Unique Vocabulary
A central claim of our church is that we have the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. Gary explained that this phrase is not well understood by those outside our faith. They equate the word restore as something you do to an old car or a piece of old furniture. He suggested that a better phrase to use would be: “We claim to be the re-established Christian Church.” I like that. It is simpler and easier to understand.
He even broke it down for us into three bite-sized pieces: 1) Christ organized a church. 2) Men changed it and 3) It has been brought back. Amazingly, 84 percent of Americans have had exposure to our church, yet only 14 percent can tell you that this is our main differentiating claim from other Christian churches. While people may not agree with our claim, we want and need them to understand it.
Meaning of Gospel
They can then decide for themselves how they will respond to that claim. But if they never get the real message, how can they make a legitimate choice? Naturally, some people will reject the gospel truth once it has been presented to them. And that’s another word that we use differently from the rest of Christianity. To us, the gospel means more than the words of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Peter and Paul.
Most Mormons equate gospel to mean the overarching plan of happiness that was presented in our pre-earth life. We have come to see the gospel as more than just a theology, but as a way of life, and that it encompasses all truth that we embrace. But in reality, the gospel is the good news of the doctrine of Christ, that all will be resurrected and that we can be forgiven of sins through repentance and ordinances.
Higher Education
That’s why we can say that the fullness of the gospel is contained in the Book of Mormon even though there are many additional doctrines we believe that are only found outside the Book or Mormon. In fact, some within our church have gone so far as to claim that obtaining a degree of higher education is a part of the gospel. Does that mean that early saints and prophets without a B.A. degree are not saved?
Of course not; that would be a ridiculous example. While we believe in continuing education and encourage our members to get all the education we can, an advanced degree is not a requirement for entrance into the kingdom of heaven. A high school diploma is not required. There is no requirement for any type of certified education to meet God’s conditions to enter into his kingdom; only obedience to his laws.
Mormon Scholars Testify
In our Mormon culture, besides placing great emphasis on education, we also hold those who have received advanced degrees and yet remained faithful in very high esteem. Dr. Lawrence has shared his testimony in greater detail on the website, Mormon Scholars Testify, which was created by another visitor to our stake, Dr. Daniel C. Petersen, speaking about BYU’s involvement in the Dead Sea scrolls.
My fellow blogger Steve Faux introduced me to the site a few years back when he was asked to share his thoughts and feelings about being a believing Mormon who teaches evolution at the University level. I have watched participation grow over the years until there are now more than 200 testimonies recorded there. Compare that to twenty being promoted on the opposing site Ex-Mormon scholars testify.
Opposition in All Things
One of our fundamental doctrines is that we believe there must be opposition in all things. I love the Internet for the very reason that it allows us to see the very best and the very worst of the extremes on just about any issue. I’m not a scholar and will probably never have an advanced degree, but I have come to appreciate both sides of the debate on controversial subjects I have written about over the years.
I can judge for myself when someone is presenting the truth in a distorted manner because I have been counseled over the years to study things out and come to my own conclusions about the truth of an issue. Some things can never be proven and will have to wait until the next life to determine who is right and who is wrong. That’s one of the purposes of life – to exercise faith and choose what we believe.
Choose What We Believe
I recommend you read the testimonies of Dr. Lawrence, Dr. Petersen, S. Faux and any others that you may recognize. They come from a variety of disciplines such as the Arts, Business, Management, Accounting, History, Religion, Social Science, Language, Literature, Law, Medicine, Psychology, Philosophy, Science, Mathematics and Engineering. Yes, Mormons believe in the value of education.
I hope this helps to dispel any misconceptions that Mormons are ignorant, closed-minded, brain-washed or uneducated. We do not follow our leaders blindly, nor do we worship our prophets, living or dead. But we do value loyalty and respect to those who we sustain as prophets and apostles. It is my testimony that they are leading us to Christ. I choose to follow their direction and counsel for my family.
For a great discussion of our image, or rather reputation, listen to what Michael Otterson had to say to Robert Millet on this episode of Mormon Identity on The Mormon Channel.
Source: http://latterdaycommentary.com/2011/0...
He published a book in 2008 with the findings of his poll, How Americans View Mormonism: Seven Steps to Improve Our Image. Dr. Lawrence received a PhD in communications psychology from Stanford University in 1972. He said that of over twenty doctoral candidates in his group, he was the only LDS, Republican, conservative hawk among them. So he knows a little about being in the minority.
Lawrence Research
Now if you know anything about recent events in California, you’ll recognize that Gary’s business, Lawrence Research was the opinion polling company that was heavily involved in Proposition 8. Gary was also the state LDS grassroots director for the Protect Marriage coalition. Brother Lawrence, who has served as a bishop has spent over 35 years studying opinions and behaviors of the American public.
From the results of his survey, Dr. Lawrence maintains that the misconceptions, distortions, and untruths being told about Mormons have slowed the growth of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and that the average member is best positioned to turn things around. By the way, the name of his next book, due from Deseret Book later this year is “What Part of Our Name Don’t You Understand?”
Survey Results
For me, the most interesting result of the survey was that our perceived image is upside down. Forty-nine percent of those surveyed had an unfavorable impression of Mormons. Only thirty-seven percent had a favorable impression. They say that we have weird beliefs and are secretive. Yet they also say we are good neighbors, hard workers, believe in clean living, have high moral standards and help others.
Lawrence said that thirty-seven percent of all Americans do not know a Mormon, and fifty-five percent of all Americans do not know an active Mormon. In fact, those who know one Mormon have a worse opinion of us than those who do not know any Mormons. We are viewed unfavorably more than Jews or Baptists (3.5 to 1) and Catholics (2 to 1). Mormons, less than 1 to 1. That’s a terrible ratio.
Negative Image
Simple ignorance is often blamed for Mormonism’s negative image, but Gary also concludes that it is driven by fear — fear of a supposed political agenda, wealth, organizational ability, unwavering doctrine, and a unique vocabulary that is often misunderstood. He gave some wonderful examples but I’ll have to defer in sharing some of the better ones until I receive his book that I ordered from Deseret Book.
His book explains that individual members in their daily interactions with others are the key. In his presentation, which he has probably delivered dozens of times, he pointed out that friendly and natural conversations, the facts, simple claims, individual latitude, non-threatening invitations and gentle mentoring are the ways Mormons can combat distortions, improve our image, and spread the gospel.
Unique Vocabulary
A central claim of our church is that we have the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. Gary explained that this phrase is not well understood by those outside our faith. They equate the word restore as something you do to an old car or a piece of old furniture. He suggested that a better phrase to use would be: “We claim to be the re-established Christian Church.” I like that. It is simpler and easier to understand.
He even broke it down for us into three bite-sized pieces: 1) Christ organized a church. 2) Men changed it and 3) It has been brought back. Amazingly, 84 percent of Americans have had exposure to our church, yet only 14 percent can tell you that this is our main differentiating claim from other Christian churches. While people may not agree with our claim, we want and need them to understand it.
Meaning of Gospel
They can then decide for themselves how they will respond to that claim. But if they never get the real message, how can they make a legitimate choice? Naturally, some people will reject the gospel truth once it has been presented to them. And that’s another word that we use differently from the rest of Christianity. To us, the gospel means more than the words of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Peter and Paul.
Most Mormons equate gospel to mean the overarching plan of happiness that was presented in our pre-earth life. We have come to see the gospel as more than just a theology, but as a way of life, and that it encompasses all truth that we embrace. But in reality, the gospel is the good news of the doctrine of Christ, that all will be resurrected and that we can be forgiven of sins through repentance and ordinances.
Higher Education
That’s why we can say that the fullness of the gospel is contained in the Book of Mormon even though there are many additional doctrines we believe that are only found outside the Book or Mormon. In fact, some within our church have gone so far as to claim that obtaining a degree of higher education is a part of the gospel. Does that mean that early saints and prophets without a B.A. degree are not saved?
Of course not; that would be a ridiculous example. While we believe in continuing education and encourage our members to get all the education we can, an advanced degree is not a requirement for entrance into the kingdom of heaven. A high school diploma is not required. There is no requirement for any type of certified education to meet God’s conditions to enter into his kingdom; only obedience to his laws.
Mormon Scholars Testify
In our Mormon culture, besides placing great emphasis on education, we also hold those who have received advanced degrees and yet remained faithful in very high esteem. Dr. Lawrence has shared his testimony in greater detail on the website, Mormon Scholars Testify, which was created by another visitor to our stake, Dr. Daniel C. Petersen, speaking about BYU’s involvement in the Dead Sea scrolls.
My fellow blogger Steve Faux introduced me to the site a few years back when he was asked to share his thoughts and feelings about being a believing Mormon who teaches evolution at the University level. I have watched participation grow over the years until there are now more than 200 testimonies recorded there. Compare that to twenty being promoted on the opposing site Ex-Mormon scholars testify.
Opposition in All Things
One of our fundamental doctrines is that we believe there must be opposition in all things. I love the Internet for the very reason that it allows us to see the very best and the very worst of the extremes on just about any issue. I’m not a scholar and will probably never have an advanced degree, but I have come to appreciate both sides of the debate on controversial subjects I have written about over the years.
I can judge for myself when someone is presenting the truth in a distorted manner because I have been counseled over the years to study things out and come to my own conclusions about the truth of an issue. Some things can never be proven and will have to wait until the next life to determine who is right and who is wrong. That’s one of the purposes of life – to exercise faith and choose what we believe.
Choose What We Believe
I recommend you read the testimonies of Dr. Lawrence, Dr. Petersen, S. Faux and any others that you may recognize. They come from a variety of disciplines such as the Arts, Business, Management, Accounting, History, Religion, Social Science, Language, Literature, Law, Medicine, Psychology, Philosophy, Science, Mathematics and Engineering. Yes, Mormons believe in the value of education.
I hope this helps to dispel any misconceptions that Mormons are ignorant, closed-minded, brain-washed or uneducated. We do not follow our leaders blindly, nor do we worship our prophets, living or dead. But we do value loyalty and respect to those who we sustain as prophets and apostles. It is my testimony that they are leading us to Christ. I choose to follow their direction and counsel for my family.
For a great discussion of our image, or rather reputation, listen to what Michael Otterson had to say to Robert Millet on this episode of Mormon Identity on The Mormon Channel.
Source: http://latterdaycommentary.com/2011/0...
June 30, 2014
In 2011, my wife and I heard the author speak, and I was very impressed. I wanted to read the book. But when I saw the Amazon price tag, it went on the back burner. Then I found out that the publisher, Deseret Book had it at one fifth the cost of Amazon. But by then my enthusiasm for buying it had cooled. This spring (2014) we went on a trip to Utah where I acquired a used copy. Lesson learned: Amazon isn't always the lowest price. Today, three years later, the cost of it new on Amazon is still double the price at Deseret Book.
The author is a pollster who decided to see how Americans view Mormonism and Mormons. Many of the questions were open ended, which helps to avoid biasing the results; it also means the pollster has a lot more analysis work to do. The results were a huge mixture of positive and negative perceptions. He found that people have a lot of wrong information and lack of information.
An interesting observation bears on these misunderstandings "... a visiting professor from Austria [observed] that American undergraduates are very religious but know next to nothing about religion, whereas European students know religious facts ... but wouldn't be caught dead going to church." (Page 40)
It is a beautiful book printed on sturdy high gloss paper, such as an art book would use. Many of the pages contain enjoyable photographic images. Enjoying the pictures and trying to figure out how they related to the topic kept it interesting. His comments on the results of the poll also helped to keep interest up.
In Section II, he proposes how to replace misinformation with simple facts.
I already know who I will be loaning this book to.
The author is a pollster who decided to see how Americans view Mormonism and Mormons. Many of the questions were open ended, which helps to avoid biasing the results; it also means the pollster has a lot more analysis work to do. The results were a huge mixture of positive and negative perceptions. He found that people have a lot of wrong information and lack of information.
An interesting observation bears on these misunderstandings "... a visiting professor from Austria [observed] that American undergraduates are very religious but know next to nothing about religion, whereas European students know religious facts ... but wouldn't be caught dead going to church." (Page 40)
It is a beautiful book printed on sturdy high gloss paper, such as an art book would use. Many of the pages contain enjoyable photographic images. Enjoying the pictures and trying to figure out how they related to the topic kept it interesting. His comments on the results of the poll also helped to keep interest up.
In Section II, he proposes how to replace misinformation with simple facts.
I already know who I will be loaning this book to.
September 6, 2014
At first I found this book kind of boring, filled with lots of facts and statistics. But then I realized that I had picked up a book that was supposed to be about facts and statistics, and recalibrated my expectations accordingly. This book is exactly what it needs to be, showing that we Mormons are both feared and admired, as contradictory as that is. It then details things that we all can do to correct the misperceptions that have naturally sprung up.
The author has several ideas of what we can do. I'll just mention a few.
1. State the claim that we are the original Christian church, restored. It gets people thinking about us, because now a claim has been staked.
2. Be clear that we have an incredibly strong doctrine and belief in free will/free agency. Many people are worried that, say, if political power were gained by the Mormons, we Mormons would try to force conversions. That is, of course, patently untrue.
3. Just be casual in our conversations. Mr. Lawrence does a good job of demonstrating that there are plenty of people who want to know more, but aren't interested in converting. We should be willing to correct misunderstandings and misinformation, but not info dump on everybody who is the least bit curious about us, or who asks the most innocuous question. Thousands of small interactions will help the work more than more aggressive proselytizing actions, he argues, and he argues it well.
Recommended for all LDS to see how moving the work forward doesn't have to be as difficult, or as nerve-wracking, as we might think.
The author has several ideas of what we can do. I'll just mention a few.
1. State the claim that we are the original Christian church, restored. It gets people thinking about us, because now a claim has been staked.
2. Be clear that we have an incredibly strong doctrine and belief in free will/free agency. Many people are worried that, say, if political power were gained by the Mormons, we Mormons would try to force conversions. That is, of course, patently untrue.
3. Just be casual in our conversations. Mr. Lawrence does a good job of demonstrating that there are plenty of people who want to know more, but aren't interested in converting. We should be willing to correct misunderstandings and misinformation, but not info dump on everybody who is the least bit curious about us, or who asks the most innocuous question. Thousands of small interactions will help the work more than more aggressive proselytizing actions, he argues, and he argues it well.
Recommended for all LDS to see how moving the work forward doesn't have to be as difficult, or as nerve-wracking, as we might think.
March 11, 2010
This is an excellent book. I would highly recommend it to all Mormons who want specific ideas of ways to share the gospel and our beliefs and who would like to know what others know (or don't know) and believe about us. Lawrence goes beyond the usual "sunday school/talk in sacrament meeting" discussions of missionary work. I wish I had read it before my mission.
The author quotes M Russell Ballard: "Perhaps now, more than ever, we have a major responsibility as Latter-day Saints to define ourselves, instead of letting others define us."
The author quotes M Russell Ballard: "Perhaps now, more than ever, we have a major responsibility as Latter-day Saints to define ourselves, instead of letting others define us."
Want to read
May 19, 2010Looks like a good one to check out as I am seeing many things during my student teaching which suggest that "Mormons" are very highly scrutinized and can easily rub people the wrong way! Whoda thought?
August 27, 2009
Excellent book. Very interesting review of a study done in 2008.
Currently reading
September 20, 2010So far this is extremely interesting. Ordered it, fairly expensive...so if you'd like to borrow it when I'm through let me know...you can leave your kids or pets as collateral ;-)
July 9, 2011
Mormons should guide friends
Patiently through natural,
Tailored, true comments.
Patiently through natural,
Tailored, true comments.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews