Through the years, I have heard many false rumors and stereotypes about my faith. Although I am not bothered by jokes, rumors, and stereotypes, I believe that misconceptions can damage truth.

My religion is a big part of who I am, and it saddens me to hear misunderstandings about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Here are fallacies that I hear quite often, and the truths that follow.

1.. “It’s a cult. They definitely have human sacrifices.”

I’m not really sure where this one comes from. Many times I have heard our religion referred to as a “cult,” and this stereotype may just be connected to what people have in their minds as to what defines a “cult.”

No sacrifices of any kind take place in our faith.

2.. “Mormons have big families.”

This one makes a bit more sense. We believe that God has given us a commandment to “multiply and replenish the earth.” We know this from the Document “The Family: a Proclamation to the World”. Although there is no number of offspring we are required to have, many take this commandment to mean having many children.

I have seen practicing families of all sizes. To make a blanket statement like this one is inaccurate.

3.. “All Mormons live in Utah.” 

Although I am guilty of this one, being born in Utah and all, this stereotype comes from the final settlement of the first LDS across the United States after facing persecution and ending up in Salt Lake City, Utah. 

However, there are temples and meetinghouses on every livable continent on earth. Our religious texts have been translated into over 100 different languages and are spread through every corner of the earth.

4.. “Mormons aren’t Christians.”

I do not understand this stereotype. The correct name of our church is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The name Jesus Christ is directly a part of the name our church goes by. 

To assume that we do not believe in Jesus Christ and his teachings is completely false. In reality, we do not call ourselves “Mormons” anymore, because we believe that it distracts people from the fact that we are Christians. We preferred to be called “members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.”

The name “Mormons” comes from our main religious text titled: The Book of Mormon; unfortunately, this has led to people believing that we worship the prophet Mormon, but this is not the case. We stopped using this nickname for our members in 2018 in order to reduce the misinterpretation of our faith.

5.. “They have many wives.”

This most likely stems from the earliest parts of the restoration of the church (early to mid-1800s). Some members during that time did practice polygamy, but our church leaders have since testified (late 1800s) that polygamy is not right in the eyes of God. 

We also have a commandment to follow the laws of the countries, states, and regions we live in. Since polygamy is illegal in the United States anyway, we do not practice it. Those who do practice it are not affiliated with our faith.

All in all, our faith teaches to respect others beliefs and practices too. We know that it is wrong to discriminate against anyone regardless of their practices, beliefs, and ways of life. As righteous citizens, we should strive to include others and learn from those around us.