Why Utah is So Weird

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Writing by Sam Denby and Tristan Purdy
Editing by Alexander Williard
Animation led by Max Moser
Sound by Graham Haerther
Thumbnail by Simon Buckmaster
References
[1] www.pewresearc...
[2] www.pewresearc...
[3] www.ncsl.org/i...
[4] www.sltrib.com...
[5] rsc.byu.edu/fa...
[6] rsc.byu.edu/sa...
[7] www.epfl.ch/la...

[@noahbrown9299]

I really respect creators who don't make you wait for the answer to the question in their title, but Wendover takes the cake here by giving us the answer as the first word of the video.

[@nephi246]

i mean, that's how you write an essay

[@snow-in4zp]

It would be disingenuous to pretend that the church didn't influence our politics.

[@StanHowse]

@@snow-in4zp Which church?

[@snow-in4zp]

@@StanHowse LDS.

[@jackwood594]

@@nephi246bro finally someone gets it, I see this all the fucking time people praise creators for giving the answers when THATS HOW WRITING WORKS

[@Gkowi]

Utah resident, ex mormon here. I usually dont like hearing about Utah and the Mormon church online because people get a lot of things wrong. This was one of the most fair videos ive seen on the topics. Good and bad, it was accurate.

[@jesseoglidden]

I think he captured some of the peculiarities pretty well. Could have gone a step further to explain why Trump is oddly unpopular for such a red state.

[@ianandersen265]

@@jesseoglidden Politicians in general are hugely unpopular, but Utah really doesn't like the other party as much, so they will continue to begrudgingly support Trump!

[@brendenfullmer5573]

same. This fella did his research

[@madisonedwards1995]

Yeah he did a good job. Most of what he said was true.

[@swanceva]

Dude can't pronounce "legislature"

[@TheMonicaAlison]

For everyone wondering, yes even East High where High School Musical was filmed has an LDS Seminary across the street.

[@kellybrandon1179]

Every Jr high and hi school in the state do

[@anhingathing2382]

@@kellybrandon1179 No. They don't... Highschools, almost certainly. But I can tell you already that my Junior High doesn't.

[@gaben9224]

If it's not across the street, it's a short walk into a nearby neighborhood.

[@jeremygreen212]

@@gaben9224I went to East High and it’s right across the street to the north.

[@counterfeit4450]

@@kellybrandon1179not every Jr high.

[@DroseraNara]

Here's the thing that no one talks about: We have a STRONG, decades long, multi-generational alternative community, and it's kind of growing. I work at the same goth nightclub my dad went to when he was my age (he still goes he's just not my age anymore), and I'm not the first nor the only kid of someone who regularly attend for most of their life currently working there. There's a goth club, multiple goth nights a month in various locations, multiple alternative themed thrift stores, goth community events (monday we're all seeing Abigail), goth camping trips, group migrations to out of state music festivals, post concert meetups.. It's a close knit, long lived community and It's so rarely talked about outside of maybe SLC Punk. Here's another thing I never see talked about: Do you know what Utah has disproportionately more of than most states, aside from children? Haunted house attractions. You have Nightmare on 13th, Fear Factory, Strangling Brothers Circus, Castle of Chaos, Shadows of Fear, Haunted Forest, Asylum 49, Haunted Kay's Cross, Dark Nightmare, Haunted Hollow, SO MANY DAMN CORN MAZES, and our local amusement park hosts at least 5-6 haunted houses on its property every fall. The thing that's always cracked me up about the premise of Five Nights At Freddy's 3 is that all of the games canonly take place in Hurricane, Utah, and Utah is no stranger to making haunted houses out of locations with confirmed deaths. I've named three already. I think these two factors are related. I think haunted houses, and fan conventions, and places like Evermore park (I know its closed at the moment but it's coming back as something similar to the original premise, just hopefully better funded) are the neutral middle ground where the least strict mormons and those who feel alienated by mormonism can meet and have a good time together. Halloween is a big holiday in this state because of that, too. For every family with 3 toddlers waddling from car to car in a church parking lot wearing massive coats over their costumes, there's a group of adults going to Nightmare on 13th and then going to eat at that horror movie themed burger resturaunt.

[@truneilson]

Do you think the abundant collection of haunted houses is because Mormons dont typicaly frequent bars, so as the temperatures dip people are looking for a place to hang out without going skiing?

[@artemisiakyrell7727]

Holy shit, I always thought the premise of fnaf3 was ridiculous but I legit wouldn't have guessed that it was based on truth. That's kinda rad

[@DroseraNara]

​@@truneilson As someone who has worked at a bar for the last 5 years, mormons absolutely frequent bars. It really depends on the Mormon, but utah especially has this unique flavor of 'jack mormonism' which is essentially someone who would call themselves Mormon but does not strictly adhere to the rules. I think that is due in part to how large the Mormon community is here, because you'll see Mormon communities outside of the state, and they're all much more strict about the rules on average, because if you don't follow the rules there, where are you going to find another Mormon community to join? Here, if you piss off your church, move 15 mins away and join a new one. There is less consequence of isolation from your community here inherently because there are just so many fucking churches. Take your pick. I think haunted houses (and the massive nerd communities here) are a reflection of both the Mormon and non-mormon communities here. Like, I haven't studied this, so take what I say with a grain of salt, but to me it seems like these are the grounds in which the least strict Mormons and the non-mormons can participate equally. These attractions can accommodate large families, which appeals to Mormons who want to do something for the season with their 2.5+ children (and trunk or treat is not cutting it anymore), and these features are horror-themed and often play off popular horror franchises, and from experience, a lot of ex Mormons are drawn to the spooky and borderline sacreligious. Same with fan conventions: big events you can bring your whole family to, but also go alone or in a small group of young childless friends. You could dress formally, or you could dress scantily, it does not matter how you specifically choose to participate. What matters is that both groups can be present without conflict, and that's why they're so big here.

[@DroseraNara]

@@artemisiakyrell7727 I don't know how much 'truth' is intentionally put into that game, but at the very least it is a huge coincidence that Scott Cawthon picked a location in a state that already has a number of haunted house attractions with known deaths that have occurred there. I mean, one haunted house is literally a former hospital, and another was a factory (fear factory, go figure.) I worked at Fear Factory for a single night (my sister got appendicitis that night WHILE SHE WAS WORKING WITH ME and I had to go to the hospital to see her after shift in full makeup. I looked worse than she did.) and I heard lots of stories about how haunt actors honor one man who fell off the scaffolding into machinery while it was still a factory. They say they can hear footsteps on the metal walkways above them, especially on Halloween.

[@cheese790]

almost makes me wanna visit

[@boccci]

For the record, the beers are no longer watered down. Beer companies got together and told the Government that they would no longer be brewing, packaging, and shipping special 3% beers for a single state. 5%ish is the standard and available at gas stations and grocery stores, but if you want a highpoint you will need to go to a place with a liquor license

[@BlindMarksman]

This was precipitated by Indiana, IIRC, changing their laws to allow for the sale of normal strength beer in regular retail, leaving UT the only state in the nation with such laws still on the books. So less initiative on the part of brewers than a reasonable response to changing economic conditions. 'Course, it all gets to the same place in the end.

[@boccci]

@@BlindMarksman ah yes I think you are correct, Indiana changing the laws made Utah the last bastion of terrible beer !

[@dcjohnson7615]

Actually it was Utah, Colorado, Kansas and Oklahoma that left the 3.2 beer market leaving only Minnesota the last state that requested such beer.

[@No-we6nf]

Don’t defend this state it sucks

[@dcjohnson7615]

@@No-we6nf good, hope you stay elsewhere.

[@emilymabey6151]

Great video! Thank you. As an attorney who practiced in Utah and now practices in Illinois, I would add expungement as one of Utah’s uniquely progressive areas of law. Utah has been one of the leading states in the nation in pioneering ways for those with criminal records to clean, expunge, or overcome their records. Utah’s law is still ahead of Illinois’s in this way.

[@polyspiel]

I have worked in the expungement clinics. It is very cool!

[@darthnosam3313]

Huh, I didn't know that. I like that a lot, its very indicative of the members focus on repentence, and forgiveness.

[@stefthepef]

It's like all of these "odd" policies are a result of all those Mormons taking what's in their scripture about forgiveness and taking care of their fellow man seriously or something. I don't agree with everything they believe, but I have to credit them for enacting a ton of supportive, social-justice-oriented policies.

[@marblox9300]

Illinois sucks big time.

[@GldnClaw]

​@@stefthepef Do not co-opt Gospel Principle-themed practices with social justice. They are not the same thing. It's successful *specifically* because it's not "social justice"

[@doggedout]

I have been in and through Utah many times.. The strangest had to when I spent two weeks in SLC in the 90's for work. At some point I remember telling a friend ..."I have to go to a good burger and beer place!" I was on the road all over the country at the time and was basically living at places like Chili's and Applebees. They took me to what appeared to be an Italian bar / restaurant. We sat down at the bar and I ordered a burger and beer. I could clearly see liquor bottles in the back with beer taps. The waiter said: "You have to have a membership and a sponsor for the beer." I had no idea what this meant. "Membership?" "Spenser?"....for a beer? An older Italian man (like New York / Jersey Italian ..think Tony Soprano) sitting in the middle of the bar said: "I'll sponsor him."....like it was soothing he said 100 times a day and... The waiter brought my burger and beer. Easily the oddest meal experience ever.

[@matthewblackwelder6487]

Haha That was an old law! The Winter Olympics really helped get rid of the weirdest and strictest alcohol laws.

[@pyrotechnic96]

Lol like a reverse AA you need a sponsor to get booze

[@themanhimself3]

@@pyrotechnic96 Gotta have a cosigner for that beer.

[@EbonySaints]

​@@pyrotechnic96We admitted that we were powerless to get alcohol-that our lives have become relatively boring and normal.

[@thomgizziz]

@@matthewblackwelder6487 No, that law had nothing to do with alcohol. That had to do with smoking indoors. In order for a place to allow smoking they had to be a private club and smoking and drinking go together so you ended up with a lot of places moving to being private clubs with memberships. This has nothing to do with republicans or the mormons this was a liberal push and yet here are the liberals trying to pretend that it is a weird right thing.

[@na3rial]

Imagine having a political spectrum that isn't just red or blue. Yknow. AS IT SHOULD BE WITH POLITICAL DIVERSITY.

[@lynnsiecooley1900]

Lol yea, but political diversity also shouldn’t have anything to do with religion. Thats religious diversity lol.

[@thatnobodyguy1535]

​@@lynnsiecooley1900Highly religious people generally trend towards conservative. The two go hand in hand.

[@lynnsiecooley1900]

@@thatnobodyguy1535lol That is most certainly true though it shouldn’t be the case in any Secular Nation of Seculsr politics lol. That’s how you end up with this weird crap with like conservatives being broken up into like eight different religious parties but yet they’re all like conservatives and yet they all disagree about certain things. It’s like the whole ‘rules for thee but not for me’, thing… And the Utah Mormons are a great example of this… They’re very liberal when it comes to everybody else just as long as we don’t have to follow those same rules and be accepting of these people in our own church… Which is like… 🤔🤔??? So you wanna enforce these rules on every other church, and every other religion, and every other business, and every other group of people culturally existing in this area… But just not yourselves, lol. Cool… 🙄💁🏼‍♀️ Like I mean really? And Christians do the same shit… They’re all anti-abortion until their own fucking daughter gets pregnant under age… Or until they knock some young girl up cheating on their wives…They’re all great conservative Christians until it comes to beating their wives and children.. They’re all Christians of family values until it come to prayer time at the RNC lol… Then we’re praying to whatever pagan God the Bankers want us to! Lol… It’s just left and right like nobody following their own or any damn value system anymore for that matter anyway lol, && at the same time they wanna be over here trying to tell the freakin multi millions of other random ppl on this planet how to live & what to think & believe…. It’s just kind of not cool lol, && that’s why even as a Christian believer myself, I freaking hate MOST religious institutions around the world today… They’re all freaking corrupt with actions consistently going AGAINST everything within their own teachings & it’s just wrong… Taking billions of dollars from their ppl trying to buy up & run entire cities & states & nations…. With their big ass multi million dollar complexes & Christian & Mormon freaking rock concerts & corrupt creepy Mormon tik tok dancing cults, lol… It’s seriously ridiculous, like who do some of these ppl think they are? Jesus Christ himself in the flesh?! lol, just listen to the way Trump talks about how HE’S going to be the ‘SAVIOR’ of ‘DEMOCRACY’ … 😂😂😂🙄💁🏼‍♀️🤷🏼‍♀️ *Meets with the WEF two weeks later & agrees to force the nation to take untested shots he himself didn’t agree with doing before taking heat from WEF members**…. Dude talks about himself like he’s freaking God… The Libs do the same shit always acting like their shit don’t stink when we ALLLLL freaking see & smell it! lol… Like good lord plz save us all cuz we ALL be on the highway to hell…. 🙄💁🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️🤷🏼‍♀️😅 && yea, quite frankly I just feel like look, that’s fine if you wanna have your religious beliefs, you don’t want gay marriages in your church? Fine whatever, you do you in your own damn churches lol but then don’t be out here trying to legislate the whole damn state telling everyone else THEY all gotta accept this & that & shouldn’t do this other thing we gotta outlaw now or whatever… Just keep your damn weird Mormon, pagan, hell even us Christian’s should be keeping our damn religions OUT of the freaking politics & schools…. Like we already had this problem before when we tried to set up as like a Christian nation, and all the Catholics were hated and mistreated, and everybody was like hated and mistreated if they weren’t freaking Christian… It’s just wrong like you give anyone religion, too much power and you know you end up with people hanging on crosses and shit… Just because like they have a different name for God than you…

[@Piflle]

@@thatnobodyguy1535which is highly unfortunate

[@corporate.security]

​​@@Piflle And? The only way to avoid this is to only let atheists partake in the political system. I know some would actually want that, but it's like racism. If we say, for example, "we mustn't let the blacks vote because they tend to be left leaning" we would consider that racism. Racism is just a type of discrimination. So then, if we say, for example, "we mustn't let the Muslims or the Christians vote because they tend to be conservative", then that also is a type of discrimination. If the Mormons want to cozy up to their government I'd say let them. They seem to be kind and they're not affecting me, nor do they seem to adversely affect big population sections.

[@appa609]

I love videos that answer the title question in the first second. Anti clickbait.

[@bartolomeothesatyr]

It's refreshing, really.

[@v-niftytrickster4166]

FOR REAL! Other youtubers should follow suit.

[@BigShotSpamton]

As a "mormon", plz kill me, I hate the mockery and hate

[@mkl_dvd]

As a Wisconsinite, I take pride in the occasional news story about Wisconsin sports fans traveling to Utah for away games and drinking entire bars dry.

[@tuckerbugeater]

alcoholism is definitely not weird.

[@jordanmackay6746]

Yeah im sure they drink entire walls of liquor bottles and all the reserves. People are so dumb to believe shit like that.

[@josephkelly9239]

​@tuckerbugeater I'm a wisconsinite and it's just our culture. We don't like alcoholics here. They are shunned and it's seen as you let yourself go. Just when we go out we go hard and there is a huge drinking culture. Not if you need to go to work the next day though.

[@stephkent2736]

@@josephkelly9239 I mean, in the eyes of the federal government, 2 beers a day (even 5% on tap beers) means you are damn close to being a binge drinker. There's aren't too many people I know who have a spotted cow with dinner and a Miller light in front of the TV every night and a couple at the fish fry/Badgers game/meat raffle and have a major problem. It's just how they choose to relax.

[@BlindIo42]

I'll take "Things that didn't happen" for $1,000, Alex.

[@crosswordwithsara9989]

One important caveat for the high percent of Republican voters in Utah is the caucus/primary system. Because Democratic candidates are less likely to win, many voters with left-leaning values will register as Republican in order to participate in the Republican primary and elect more moderate candidates.

[@seanipher]

As a UT resident, this is very very true in the Salt Lake Valley 👆

[@jeron3966]

Never works

[@sentiment201]

People's support for a candidate remains until they see their true colors. People tend to stick to their values and may reject a candidate in the next election if their values don't align.

[@andmicbro1]

This is true! I have a relative who is very conservative, and works in local government for a city, and he was ranting about how Utah is full of "milquetoast Republicans" who are just liberals running as republicans because they know they can't win as Democrats. I'm sure that's more true in other states too than a lot of people realize, but Utah is so damn republican it's totally a thing here. Though there's a lot of far right republicans too, so definitely mind the small print on the candidate's voter brochures about what they actually support.

[@henryatkin917]

liberal in utah here. can confirm, i'm registered republican as is everyone i know regardless of their actual politics.

[@RyMcQ]

My favorite Utah liquor law story: In the days when advertising alcohol was illegal, there was a convenience store on the road to the SLC airport that found a clever workaround. One side of their sign advertised "Cold Bee?" (a nod to the Beehive State moniker). The other side said "Cold Beer" with a much smaller "nuts" below it.

[@lynnsiecooley1900]

😂🙌🏻💯

[@djlatu]

@@lynnsiecooley1900 It was on North Temple near the airport. lol

[@starofthestorm8922]

as someone from Utah, I can confirm we are weird

[@KamielDV2]

Are you also a cultist or not?

[@larrycraigrox]

If it’ll keep people like you out then yes

[@letsburn00]

Have you ever had someone try to scam or con you? Utah is famous for its scammers.

[@nikunjmundhra3119]

as someone not from Utah, I agree that yall weird.

[@videojuegos9379]

@@nikunjmundhra3119 as someone from utah, youre completely right

[@godnah]

I said "Mormons" as I was clicking the video, and then Johnny Utah confirmed: "Mormons."

[@RAWDEAL064]

Same

[@Unknown-jt1jo]

Yes, it's pretty obvious.

[@RaysOfPivot]

As a Mormon, yes. The reason is Mormons lolol

[@MikeHarris1984]

LMAO! Same!

[@JohnnyUtah13]

Wait...who? LOL

[@hannahbrooks4615]

As a native Utahn, this is a very fair and accurate exploration of things that make Utah unique (for better and for worse). This video connected a lot of dots I'd never considered before, thank you! One very small point of correction - at 16:11, maps are shown with the streets always starting at temples, using Provo as an example. In these pioneer towns, the streets were based on the Tabernacle, as they didn't have Temples when first settled. Tabernacles are still religious buildings to gather in, but don't hold the same sacred regard as Temples. The Provo example, in particular, is confusing because the Tabernacle burned down in 2010 and was reconstructed and opened as the Provo City Center Temple in 2016. The photo shown of the Provo Temple after the maps is the original Provo Temple that was finished in 1972, that is not in the city center. Again, it's not a huge deal, but I figured I'd point it out in case anyone was confused!

[@lightmare8591]

As a Provo-a myself, I support this message. The Tabernacle burned down due to some electrical shorts in a lamp I believe. It was very terrible, but we are very blessed to have two temples nearby :) Well. Not anymore. The one that took the tabernacles place is staying, the other one is being demolished I believe, it’s completely closed down. I believe they are going to rebuild it though.

[@supernovamike]

@@lightmare8591 Yes; they're calling it a renovation, but the new temple is (according to blueprints I saw) on a completely different footprint on the plot than the current one. So they're tearing the old one down and building a new one on the same plot. It will be called the "Provo Rock Canyon" temple.

[@asherwiggin6456]

Should be helpful when I’m in Provo this summer

[@teehawk362]

Funny enough, the picture of the Swig store they show isn’t in Utah. It’s in Mesa, Arizona on the northeast corner of Gilbert Rd and Brown Rd. Which also happens to be one of the most Mormon places outside of Utah! Bonus: if on street view you go one mile east, you will see a seminary building across the street from a high school, as described in the video.

[@lynnsiecooley1900]

Lmfao, I noticed that too. I also couldn’t help but to point out how all of our high schools also have seminaries on campus so Utah is not alone with their dirty sodas & non secular state schools…

[@ian-hm6cx]

@@lynnsiecooley1900I live in phoenix and 3 of the schools in my district had it too

[@peturf1788]

Moved from New York backcountry to Salt Lake City for my masters degree. You wouldn’t think Utah is weird until you leave the state and go somewhere else. I loved my time in Utah, people are friendly and outgoing, and the temples, while not my thing, are some of the most beautiful structures you’ll see.

[@johnmetermaid]

I too enjoyed my years at Utah for college and a few years after it. Never again was I to be so immersed in nature for my recreation time. An absolutely beautiful place to live and play.

[@skywalkerchick]

Oh man, that’s so true. I grew up in SLC and moved to Sacramento for college, and hoo boy some of the smallest things were such a culture shock for me. Mostly the less restrictive alcohol laws. I worked at a burger joint for a bit and was surprised that we could serve beer, and I remember once seeing a couple buy glasses of wine at a bookstore cafe and my brain just about shut down.

[@andmicbro1]

Native Utahn here, one of my old neighbors was from New York, we had some fun conversations! He was a really nice guy, but definitely a New Yorker, very blunt. Haha!

[@ObvStar48]

I had the complete opposite experience lol. Coming from the south it seemed almost impossible to start a conversation with someone random. Also whenever I held a door for someone or told someone thank you they just didn't say anything at all lol. It was a bit weird.

[@JCsouthernmiss]

As someone who has lived in both places, the south is a whole nother beast 😂. Full scale conversation in any interaction anywhere haha

[@flibbidyx2]

Also, there is a town called Wendover, which is on the border of Utah and Nevada. West Wendover, NV is the go-to place for people to drink, gamble, visit the dispensary, etc. Basically all the sins that are restricted in Utah.

[@m4nc0o]

i also find it incredibly ironic that las vegas is no more than 120 miles away from utah

[@samuelgolding8003]

@@m4nc0owait until you hear who founded the city

[@aemo6996]

@@m4nc0o thats because mormons founded it lol.

[@nathangerber1547]

Yeah, it was built by the Mormon pioneers. It was a useful supply point since it's halfway between Salt Lake City and Los Angeles. The Vegas we have today is the child of the 1930s, Chicago gangsters, and the influx of workers to build the Hoover dam.

[@nathangerber1547]

Also, the Strip isn't in the City of Las Vegas. It's in Paradise which is an officially unincorporated territory in Las Vegas County. There was some drama when the City tried to annex the Strip to tax it and the County blocked the move because they wanted all of the tax revenue.

[@willishadams]

Someone in Wendover calling Utah weird is the best part of this super accurate video.

[@SilverstrikeSD]

I believe Sam is actually from Colorado.

[@vts747]

@@SilverstrikeSD It's an inside joke for Utahns.

[@SilverstrikeSD]

@@vts747 Funnily enough I'm from Utah and it still flew over my head apparently lol

[@ColoradoStreaming]

@@vts747 "Bendover"

[@SamLopezI]

Half of Wendover is in Utah.

[@NFLdefensevideos]

Awesome job. As an ex mormon (from idaho) i dont send most information to my family back home due to it being so disruptive. Im sending this video to my dad (who just got called to be a bishop in the church) because i hope it will lead to valuable discussion between us. Thank you

[@steevf]

A former Utahan here. This is 100% accurate! Well researched and presented. (Aside from a few mispronunciations.)

[@debbiemueller7067]

His pronouncing "legislature" as "legislator" was triggering for me - by the third time I was yelling "legislaTURE!" at my laptop. Clearly an opportunity for me to practice patience...

[@steevf]

I cringed hard at his pronunciation of Mantua.

[@jeffhuffman3314]

Yeah, I cringed too, but there’s no way for him to know how to pronounce Mantua 😂 (Mant-away, for those who may be reading this from outside of Utah, or if spoken in the Utah accent, you drop the T and it’s pronounced more like mannaway)

[@braxbro7602]

True, especially the way he pronounced “Zion” and “Wasatch”

[@MC-810]

@@debbiemueller7067 Came here for this comment!

[@witwicky735]

As a Missourian, the stories of the church BEFORE Utah are amazing. The only violence order ever given by a governor in US history against its own people (Boggs). Its a pretty amazing gap in our history that people do not know.

[@KnuttyEntertainment]

Yep, it’s “execute order 66” but real.

[@Froggo9000]

​@@KnuttyEntertainment"Execute order 44"

[@KnuttyEntertainment]

@@Froggo9000 You got it.

[@AzraelThanatos]

As someone from Ohio, there's a lot of odd and criminal stuff even before that which the Mormons got up to...

[@ThymeLeaves_]

​@@AzraelThanatosas a Mormon, I can't think of any criminal activity in church history while they lived in Ohio but ok 😭

[@flyingbanana566]

While on a winter trip to Utah. We got stuck in the snow twice up in the mountains. What amazed us was how nice the people were. They stopped to ask if we need help and pull us out of the snow in the middle of the night(3am). One of them even gave us a pair of snow chains. Beautiful state and great people. Thank you Utahns.

[@MM-hq2bd]

Huh. I was ignored waiting to get seated a 2 restaurants while a bunch of other people were seated and served. 100% ignored in one restaurant. It was one of the strangest experiences I've ever had traveling. I couldnt imagine how Id be treated if i was black or brown.. A number of other people have told me similar or usually much worse discrimination. Utah would be great if it wasnt for the people

[@hommeboy]

@@MM-hq2bd Nope black, lived here my whole life. Treated equally like everyone else

[@flyingbanana566]

@@MM-hq2bd don’t understand why you have to throw in black or brown. FYI, we were a bunch of Asian students when they helped us in the middle of the night on the side of a mountain.

[@jasondashney]

@@MM-hq2bd do you have any evidence that things would be different if you had a different skin color, or are you virtue signaling?

[@jasondashney]

@@flyingbanana566 it's because lots of people are straight up program to see everything through the lens of race. Literally everything, even if doesn't even involve their race by the face they think it would be different if they had a different race. It's a sickness.

[@zemberdraws]

They’re talking about us like little bugs under a rock I love it

[@littlesam-n8p]

😆😆

[@kdizzle_1536]

😅 We kinda do live under a rock.

[@proxymoxie]

Because you are

[@Hrafnskald]

Thank you for being willing to go in depth and not just stopping with "Mormons = Weird". I lived for many years in that part of the country, and saw first hand how, for many people, the church played a positive role in their lives, organizing community events, encouraging family time, and building public institutions that helped the community. I'm not a member, but I respect what they have accomplished.

[@loganbagley7822]

Good comment. I'm a Latter-day Saint. I embrace the weirdness of our culture, which is heavily influenced by our early church history, for better or worse.

[@Hrafnskald]

@@loganbagley7822 Well said, and I think there is a certain amount of weirdness in any religion or culture, when viewed from outside. What matters is how the people treat others, and in that, I've been lucky to know many good, decent members of the LDS Church.

[@gonzo96]

@@rixter2244 yeah the mormon church is pretty cultish

[@thundafellow]

Yeah I’m an exmo and while I disagree with a lot of what the church preaches and stands for fundamentally, it’d be disingenuous to ignore the good that comes with the bad. For example, their humanitarian efforts during times of crisis in different parts of the world are something to be admired. A lot of the characteristic pragmatism taught to me as a young man was pretty positive and healthy, and helped me learn how to be more independent and self-sufficient. Not everyone’s experience is the same, and I have my own reasons for leaving, but to say they haven’t done any good is just ignorant.

[@trappedkitty5335]

These people bled their members dry to fight passing gay marriage legalization in California (Prop 8). That's not what religions should do. Any centralized power that imposes its mores on others is evil. People know right from wrong, but we elevate those who stand outside our general morals in order to fight perceived threats. Think hard on how that affects your daily life. Also, false sacrifice in the name of appeasing a mythological being creates community, but it breaks our character to do so, as we cannot justify it forever. Religions have come and gone and these will be no different. The good and evil that you attribute to the religions, the church, the government - that comes from us willing to follow those who stubbornly hold to the delusion of their importance. Narcissism, writ in vainglorious piety, religious, patriotic, or both, plagues our world. When will we finally see the weakness of withholding skepticism and reason as a species? Imagination is an amazing aspect of humanity. Chasing shared imaginings, fueled by FOMO, is the opposite of pragmatism.

[@KafshakTashtak]

Biggest cultural difference I noticed when I lived in utah: people always talk about outdoor activities as opposed to bars and restaurants and festivals.

[@thomgizziz]

Nobody talks about outdoor activities unless you are into those specific activities and you know the other person is also. People mostly talk about the same things everybody else talks about.

[@thomgizziz]

@@seldomseenn Literally nobody does that unless you live right next to it or you know the people care about it. People are going to talk about the work, weather, movies, TV shows and the like. You aren't going up to a stranger and starting a conversation about utah lake unless you are right next to utah lake and are making up a question about it. You'd be much better off talking about what they do or what they like to do. This selective nonsense that is pretending that the exception is the norm is getting out of hand. I get you all want to feel special and like you have hidden knowledge and deserve attention but you don't, cut the crap.

[@sethjaffe9095]

Outdoor recreation tends to be a big factor in what motivates both Mormons and non Mormons to move here.

[@x808drifter]

​@@seldomseennSo exactly like they said. If your friend is a track guy you're not gonna go and talk about fishing to them.

[@debaucherizer]

same thing in hawaii, you see your friends somewhere all youre gonna talk about is the waves you have been scoring. its like being in a club.

[@Eboreg2]

6:50 - The LDS Church does have a very strong "Love the sinner, hate the sin" approach to this kind of thing.

[@kettleshot6044]

and it something I love about the church. Just seems to follow the true ideals and meanings of the scriptures more

[@maxboyden5209]

Unfortunately… unless you are queer. Then it is much less so.

[@masonc4105]

Also discrimination is why the church and it's people moved to Utah in the first place. It is something that we don't forget and want anyone to experience.

[@RobespierreThePoof]

​​@@kettleshot6044 it's not a respectable or responsible moral position to take. It's one of many reasons there's a very large number of people who "Hate the religion and tolerate its followers." There's nothing "loving" about the way Mormons have treated LGBT people. At all.

[@ethanstump]

The thing I've always been confused of though, is the notion of the harmless sin. It's believed that we are in danger when committing sin, yet time and time again, when we ask to show the harm, the "harm" that gets brought up is the harm to norms and traditions, the harm to those who might stray, the harm to our spirits and emotions, and the harm of accepting what we once thought unacceptable. I don't need to believe in the word of wisdom anymore to no longer think drinking beer isn't a good idea, science has shown me that. But I do need to believe the LDS church that having gay sex is harmful to those who are gay, even though science has shown theirs suicides galore to that belief. Do you believe your lying eyes? Sti's amongst the community is analogous to the straight community, same as marriage rates, same as financial rates aside from discrimination, same as happiness levels, same as can be aside from stigma. The actual harm, the actual sin, is believing I'm superior to someone on account of how I was born, and how I identify as. Straight is now legally equal with gay, and there's so many people who still see an issue with that. If you actually love the sinner, you no longer actually hate the sin, you just see the person you've been judging, and it's you.

[@MikeP2055]

Well done, Wendover Productions. This video kept cropping up in my KZbin feed, but as a lifelong Utahn I was very hesitant to click on it. I couldn't help but think, "We've heard it all before, trust me." But tonight, after a little celebratory session after a trip to the dispensary up the street (You heard that right, folks. It's 4/20/24 and Utah has medicinal dispensaries.) and a few beers from the Utah State Liquor Store, I finally clicked play. Utah IS weird . . . and that's why I love it so, so much! I'm not gonna go through the video point by point because aside from some minor tweaks and pronunciation corrections (I swear you were mispronouncing "Brigham" on purpose, haha! There is no N in Brigham, my guy), you pretty much nailed it. I especially appreciated your occasional use of the word "nuance." As is the case with so many overviews and summaries, it's nearly impossible to emphasize the multitude of nuance surrounding us every day. Making broad, generalized assertions without mention of nuance is just poor journalism, in my opinion. I feel like you did a very good job of describing Utah in such a short amount of time without resorting to GIANT blanket statements. Others will surely disagree, but I think you did a helluva job. I grew up in SLC, then moved to St. George at age 15. I moved back to Salt Lake at 26 and have been here ever since, although I still consider St. Geezy and Las Vegas my other two "hometowns." I've also spent a lot of time in Massachusetts, LA, San Francisco, Denver, and Texas. I only bring this up because I want to mention how wonderful the people of Utah are. Not that people in those other places aren't wonderful as well, but there's a very unique spirit to Utah that I don't see or feel in other states. It's probably just my own biases, but I swear it's noticeable. I can only think of one way to explain what I mean; I've been to hundreds of concerts and comedy clubs all across the country and there is nothing like seeing a band or comedian in SLC for the first time. Without fail, every time, they're like, "HOLY SHIT! You guys are awesome!" Now, that could easily be low expectations on their part, but I've seen it from repeat visitors as well. Utahns have an extra-weird sparkle in their eye, haha. There are definitely militant Mormons and far-right lunatics here (a couple of my friends' parents spring to mind), but it has been my experience that most Utahns are fairly reasonable centrists with a lot of love in their hearts. Especially as the old timers age out, a younger generation of Utahns---people such as myself, in their mid-40s---are taking to leadership roles and dialing back some of the more outdated and outlandish quirks. Anyhoozle, this comment completely got away from me. Sorry for the essay. Utah's a weird, wacky, wonderful place. ✌️❤️

[@coachanderson2704]

I love your essay. lol. I been living all over the world working with my jobs and in the USA too. I love living in Utah and being able to have the freedoms that we have here. Ski and Golf in one day, and flying fishing for big trout. My family loves to camp up in the mountains and do some hiking and mountain biking. And very close to Vegas too.

[@MikeP2055]

@coachanderson2704 Haha, thank you, that's very nice to say. And you're absolutely right! From the alpine mountain peaks to the palm trees of St. George, it's such a uniquely beautiful part of the world. My only complaint is our proximity to good surf spots, haha. Although the other side of that coin is being able to take the city bus up to Snowbird. 😆

[@carols-corner]

As a fellow 40-something Utahn (active Latter-day Saint, and a bit of an outsider as a moderate centrist who carefully researches each election ballot and often votes for the Democrat), thank you for this. Unkind, neverending rhetoric about all things Utah and Mormon is draining and demoralizing. I want so much to make the world a more loving, compassionate, nuanced place. Your comment gave me hope and made me feel seen. Utah (the government and the population as a whole) is imperfect - very much so - just like everywhere else, but I do feel like we get some things right. Love to you all 🫶

[@Maxyy40]

Sam : "Mormons made Utah weird That's why I'd like to thank our sponsor. " End of Story

[@bababababababa6124]

Would’ve been funny if he did that, but that sounds like a Half as Interesting typa joke lol

[@jasonkelley4057]

As someone born in and who grew up and reside in Utah, I can attest to the fact that Utah is weird. End of story. lol

[@WhataMensch]

Do mormons think Utah is the new Zion and what is Zionism?

[@IDFpartyboi972]

Mormons believe in a holy land in Utah right?

[@WhataMensch]

@@IDFpartyboi972 yes. They think it is the modern Zion

[@joelmcgee2280]

He didn't once mention how different Sundays are in Utah vs anywhere else. Many businesses close on Sunday, you should expect it to be one of the slower retail days out of the week. When I was a child it was a lot worse, grocery stores were like ghost towns. More people moving in makes a difference. Another HUGE factor for government and being such a Red state. Republicans can vote in the Democratic Caucus but Democrats cannot vote in the Republican Caucus. So many people (some of my siblings even) will register as Republicans but truly vote Democrat. Its a stupid game the government plays imo, but you've gotta play it if thats what it takes. AMA, born and raised!

[@ColoradoStreaming]

I remember living in American Fork and always going to Costco on Sunday. Going on Saturday was insane.

[@coltonconner782]

That’s how it should be having family time

[@cheguevara7478]

Utah is weird because the GOP doesn’t have a grasp of Utah - conservatives do, and by conservatives, I mean the old kind. That’s why McMullin did so well

[@zorod5475]

There are so many people here in Utah that refuse to vote Trump, even though they have been life long republicans. He is everything Mormons teach against. Many still vote Republican out of habit. But many are terrified what Trump will do if he becomes president again, and are looking for another party closer aligned with their values. Essentially they want a liberal party that has a focus on maintaining religious rights.

[@username65585]

The CIA guy?

[@OSCrustacean]

​@My_pfp_beats_all_dog_breeds. Me when I find out that people can have accurate knowledge of people with different political views

[@MethSloth]

@@zorod5475 lmao yeah right. Religious conservative nuts LOVE trump.

[@enisra_bowman]

@@zorod5475 to be fair, in theory evey christian branch teaches that if they wouldn't just pick parts out of context ooor ignore other parts of the Bible i mean, i'm an atheist but i'm confident to say that i know that book better than 95% of the "Bible" Belt

[@bobthegamingtaco6073]

The only thing this is missing is an explanation of fry sauce. It's good! Everyone needs to try it. The most basic form you can make is (2 part mayo, 1 part ketchup, 1 part mustard. Mix well. Should be pink like a peach and taste tomato-y and tart. Goes well with heavily salted food.)

[@jesseoglidden]

Arctic Circle's is best.

[@bobthegamingtaco6073]

@@jesseoglidden agreed, almost makes up for the food lol (some of their menu isn't bad, but their burgers are a solid 4/10)

[@markthomas6794]

He forgot to mention the other big July holiday. Half of Utah celebrates Pioneer Day. The other half celebrate Pie and Beer Day. Good times for everyone!

[@sirstamfordraffles6557]

What kind of mustard?-Sweet or hot/spicy or medium (hot)?

[@bobthegamingtaco6073]

@@sirstamfordraffles6557 hot/medium is my preferred, but even just yellow mustard like you put on a hotdog works

[@potatoman7895]

That's about half of my 7th grade Utah history class in only 25 minues. Can I have those hours of my childhood back, now?

[@scottbmcqueen]

The Utah history class was very pro-LDS church as well, glossing over much of the context that led to the church founding the state.

[@Hdu3u3he83be]

@@scottbmcqueennot mine in Murray. Where did you go?

[@leandersearle5094]

When the rest of us can get back the hours the State consumed from us on every other subject (through incompetence or propaganda), sure.

[@JJH-jc1fg]

@@scottbmcqueenvery true, at least in the middle school I went to

[@AC-ni4gt]

Each county and school district is so different that I can't keep up.

[@austinknighton5319]

Native Utahn here, served a mission, married in the temple, the whole 9, this was one of the most well done, unbiased, and informative video essays I’ve ever seen, I was worried that it would just be 25 minutes of you lambasting the dominant religion, but you did a great job giving an accurate view of the state, it’s origins, and its values! I served my mission in Oklahoma speaking Spanish, and it definitely softened my view on ilegal immigration! I learned a lot about what drives people to leave, and gain the sense of compassion that I had lacked otherwise

[@Clydeisms]

Yep, same story here!

[@kirkwalker141]

"[Brigham] Young officially legalized Native American slavery in the Utah Territory in 1852 with each purchased Native American person allowed to be held up to twenty years in indentured servitude. Children between seven and sixteen years old were supposed to be sent to school three months of the year, but were otherwise put to work.  Soon after Mormons colonized the Salt Lake Valley in 1847 child slaves became a vital source of their labor, and were exchanged as gifts. Within a decade of settling the Salt Lake Valley over 400 Native American children were purchased and lived in Mormon homes. In 1849 a posse of around 100 LDS men in southern Utah chased and killed twenty-five Native American men in retaliation for some cattle raids, and their women and children were taken as slaves. Leader Brigham Young advocated buying children held by Native Americans and Mexican traders as slaves, and encouraged Latter-day Saints to educate and acculturate the children as if they were their own. However, despite the requirement to educate the Native American indentured servants, the majority had received no formal education according to an 1860 census. Young's spouse owned a Native American slave Kahpeputz. At age seven she was kidnapped from her Bannock family and tortured, and later purchased by Brigham Young's brother-in-law and gifted to one of Young's wives and renamed Sally. She was a servant in the Young household for over a decade working long hours with the rest of the servants and was not taught to read or write."

[@gabriellazane673]

Mormons are often very weird as hell but often very kind. Thank you for dirty soda, it came to my Colorado a few years ago and man, what a treat

[@fronts3165]

Utah is awesome. Mormons not so much, not that they are bad people. The problem is with the brethren who believe their values supersede all the values of other groups. They make a lot of mistakes to their detriment and when they fail, they lie about it. The dominant religion is cultish, which is actually not that unusual. Utah is only weird when compared to “mainstream” American culture, which is weird compared to British culture, etc. You get the idea. Utah is unique, but so is Japan. What am I missing. Utah is awesome; best skiing I have ever experienced. ❤

[@steampunkwhale2280]

May God bless you and reward you with goodness because you opened your heart to kindness and empathy

[@TheJackiscool]

As a wierd person , I can confirm, i live in Utah .

[@andymiller6661]

*weird

[@x77punk77x]

As a wired person, I can affirm you do as well.

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

I don't live in Utah, so I guess I can't be a weird person. That's too bad.

[@aglliu]

I live in Taiwan and I'm a Taiwanese. I'm a "wierd person" because missionaries from Utah converted my mom. I'm grateful for their service and sacrifices.

[@wildfire9280]

@@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721 at least it’s not New Jersey

[@alexvaughn3834]

Regarding the Church's relationship with LGBT people: The morality of the LDS majority tends toward the concept that Church doctrine is a path that should be followed to reach happiness (often called the Iron Rod), and that a part of this is the conscious rejection of sin. They idolize that pattern of behavior, and consider it particularly admirable for someone to "struggle" with, for example, same-sex attraction yet still choose to marry heterosexually and have children. One might struggle with alcoholism or chastity, but that personal failing can always be amended with proper dedication to the Church. Meaning that those who have let go of the "Iron Rod" and wandered from the path need only be guided back like lost children. This creates a rather infantalizing view of any non-member, but especially of apostate ex-mormons. Namely, the ever-increasing number of people raised in the church who have come to realize their own queerness and left to live the life they want. These people are the children and siblings and friends of Mormon Utahns, and those same Mormons see them as lost and wandering more than abominable or evil. "Hate the sin, love the sinner" may be patronizing as hell, but they sure don't want us dead. They can't reconvert us if we're dead. -Sincerely, an ex-Mormon queer woman

[@jeffmorris5802]

"Hate the sin, love the sinner" may be patronizing as hell, but they sure don't want us dead. They can't reconvert us if we're dead." Is a creed everyone should strive to live by. Are you so accommodating of your political opponents? I suspect not.

[@alexvaughn3834]

@jeffmorris5802 Actually, I'd say I am, at large. It goes both ways. Many of those "opponents" as you put it are my aunts, uncles, grandparents, even cousins. I don't want them to hurt or suffer, and I definitely don't hate them. Hell, I was raised in it, I can really easily empathize with them. But "accommodation" isn't what they're doing. They're legislating my lifestyle out of existence, wishing that we'd just take it back into the shadows where they don't have to think about it. They're letting their fear prevent continued and meaningful relationships with people like me. They're hurting us, then chastising us for not keeping quiet about that hurt. I don't see how that's accommodation. What's more, they're the majority. Especially here in Utah. You ask if I'm as "accommodating" as they are, but I'll ask you this: How can a group of ten people "accommodate" a crowd of 1,000? That's not how accommodation works. Choose a different word.

[@jeffmorris5802]

@@alexvaughn3834 "They're legislating my lifestyle out of existence" You should really stop talking in those terms, because it isn't true and I think you know that. No, the Utah legislature is not attempting to "legislate your lifestyle out of existence". If anything, they've consistently done the opposite. Utah is remarkably accommodating of LGBTQ, even when compared to most Blue states. When you talk in hyperbolic terms like that, most moderates (IE most of the country) tune you out and cease taking you seriously - it's one of the many reasons the US population continues to drift to the right of politics. If you have a specific grievance, articulate it. I don't know enough about you to make judgements on what "wanting you to go back into the shadows" means. In my experience, that usually means you're overly flamboyant - meaning nobody actually cares about your lifestyle and they wish you'd tone it down. I'm not going to pretend like there aren't still pockets of bigotry however.

[@alexvaughn3834]

@@jeffmorris5802 God, I know your type. Belligerent. Prone to fallacy. Selection and confirmation biases abound in that head of yours, and yet you consider yourself the beacon of reasonable thought, right? Because you're above it all, like a lord in his tower. Because you don't stoop to our level, you don't get emotional. It's not all that important, after all, why is everyone being so dramatic? Must be that they aren't as reasonable or intelligent as you are, that's the only explanation. Right? These are people's lives, Jeff. You don't accept that fact, I know. But you're not the arbiter of what is and isn't impactful. You can roll your eyes, say I'm exaggerating, call me "flamboyant" or whatever other diminutives you can think of to brush me off and keep feeling superior, but I've seen it all before. Hell, I might know you in real life. I wouldn't know, you all talk exactly the same. Does your throat ever hurt from all that hot air? You're sad. I pity you. I hope you can stop choking out your sense of empathy before it atrophies entirely.

[@jeffmorris5802]

@@alexvaughn3834 Lol, you sure got a lot out of KZbin comment, eh? Well, if we're making snap judgements about people we've never met, allow me to return the favor. I've seen your type as well. You think the world revolves around you. You think your issues are more important, and consequently deserve more attention, than anyone else's. You interpret everything in the most negative possible light, as it feeds your victim complex. You're a drain on everyone around you. You're determined to see bigotry where there is none, to interpret indifference as malice, and to rage against any machine because ultimately, your identity is the only thing that's interesting about you, and you crave any kind of attention. People may finally find you interesting if you can just garner enough sympathy. See how easy that was? It was also a giant load of bollocks, and I don't believe any of it. People are nuanced. You label me as some belligerent narcissistic arbiter of truth, yet that's exactly how you started this thread - slinging fallacies and half-truths from your tower. My only point in this thread is that you're being too negative, and to give people the benefit of the doubt, yet somehow you've made me out as the villain. Utah is VERY liberal on LGBT issues, more than almost everywhere on Earth. The LDS church is extremely benign on the issue. Mormons themselves - as you yourself said - even LOVE the "sinner"! Step back, take a deep breath, and relax. You're going to be fine.

[@loganbagley7822]

When I lived in Utah, one of my favorite parts was the public transit system, UTA. It's clean and efficient.

[@RainDoesArt1116]

yessss i love UTA

[@BluefrostOfSageclan]

I'm from rural Utah. The best part of visiting grandparents was they'd take us on the trax into downtown. We thought it was the most high-tech thing ever! It's a nice and neat system.

[@jesseoglidden]

Yeah, but service on Sunday sucks. Could be worse.

[@lynnsiecooley1900]

Lol, a lot of that Mormon money going into that state. 😅💁🏼‍♀️🙌🏻 You can say a lot about them but their community values are real. 🙌🏻💯

[@bighorn9119]

Why did you move

[@CrispyDaFrog]

as a Utahn and an LDS member, the "dirty soda" is actually so true it's hilarious also, this was very well researched and thanks for being respectful

[@ChefMovktax2]

Dirty soda is so good

[@kirkwalker141]

"[Brigham] Young officially legalized Native American slavery in the Utah Territory in 1852 with each purchased Native American person allowed to be held up to twenty years in indentured servitude. Children between seven and sixteen years old were supposed to be sent to school three months of the year, but were otherwise put to work.  Soon after Mormons colonized the Salt Lake Valley in 1847 child slaves became a vital source of their labor, and were exchanged as gifts. Within a decade of settling the Salt Lake Valley over 400 Native American children were purchased and lived in Mormon homes. In 1849 a posse of around 100 LDS men in southern Utah chased and killed twenty-five Native American men in retaliation for some cattle raids, and their women and children were taken as slaves. Leader Brigham Young advocated buying children held by Native Americans and Mexican traders as slaves, and encouraged Latter-day Saints to educate and acculturate the children as if they were their own. However, despite the requirement to educate the Native American indentured servants, the majority had received no formal education according to an 1860 census. Young's spouse owned a Native American slave Kahpeputz. At age seven she was kidnapped from her Bannock family and tortured, and later purchased by Brigham Young's brother-in-law and gifted to one of Young's wives and renamed Sally. She was a servant in the Young household for over a decade working long hours with the rest of the servants and was not taught to read or write."

[@bobthegamingtaco6073]

There's just so much variety lol, my favourite is blackberry dr. Pepper, plus any other flavours I feel like that day

[@FaydeOut435]

Dirty Dr.Pepper is so good

[@silverXnoise]

I have old friends in the Mormon community around Phoenix. I’ve been a lifelong atheist/agnostic, and blurry borderline communist politics, so it’s an unlikely friendship, but we bonded over music (we were all in touring bands at the time). We engaged in plenty of political discussions, and found that our values aligned nearly across the board. We just had different ideas for how to approach solutions to societal issues. It’s a great idea example of how much we all have in common, and how much we could do together if we could abandon the counterproductive culture war BS.

[@WoodEe-zq6qv]

Wild how "borderline communist" doesn't get you absolutely destroyed like saying "borderline fascist" despite how much worse communism was.

[@uncensoredpilgrims]

"culture war BS". No, I don't think so, buddy. These are the most important questions in life. As Jesus said, he came not to bring peace, but the sword. Mormonism is a cult, by the way!

[@lakovkreativity]

Yall should've joined up and formed a supercult 😂

[@grimaffiliations3671]

why hasn't Utah passed a land value tax yet? That seems like a common sense law that all sides of the political spectrum agree on

[@lakovkreativity]

@grimaffiliations3671 it's pretty much all church, can't tax the church apparently 💀

[@Rachel_Banner]

Me, a Utah resident of many years, clicking this video: it can't _just_ be the Mormons, I'm sure there are plenty of details about the geography or the weather or -- *"Mormons."* Me: ...yeah I knew it. Jokes aside, great video. I appreciate the quality research and care taken to show the state's history and culture in a fair and nuanced way. The LDS church prides itself on being "a peculiar people", and it certainly shows. Peculiar doesn't necessarily mean bad, just different.

[@Dinnerspoon]

As a Mormon from Utah I approve of this video. It correctly shows why and how we are different, for good or for bad. I especially appreciate how you have showed how much involvement the church has had in everything for good or for worse. To be honest, Utah is like a bubble, the community the laws the people, everything is different in big or small ways, and it all adds up to make a very unique community that at times is the most supportive, but in others can be the most hypocritical and biased on other matters.

[@IDFpartyboi972]

Many religious communities are bubbles. Some can be brought to do terrible things while in such a bubble, especially when encouraged by powerful friends

[@TheSpursiest]

The only beef I have with it (and it is minor since this video is approaching the subject from an outside perspective) is that he grossly misplaces the central focus of the theology. Often he shortens to “The Church of Latter-Day Saints” instead of the more accurate shortened “Church of Jesus Christ” and when he talks about seminaries, he says we go to “Learn about Joseph Smith.” Although it is an understandable mistake, the focus in LDS seminaries is Jesus Christ. One year out of a four year curriculum the focus is on what Joseph Smith himself taught about Jesus Christ, but the rest is purely out of ancient scripture.

[@user-lo4me9oe9z]

you are in a cult

[@IDFpartyboi972]

@@user-lo4me9oe9z Im Jewish dont tell me im in a cult

[@robertramsey4079]

you're in a cult that was invented by a guy with schizophrenia. must feel good

[@connorpack3735]

As a big fan of this channel, an active member of the LDS church, and a Utah resident (not born here, recently moved), I would like to offer Sam and his writing team a huge THANK YOU. I was honestly bracing for this video to be a roast of my faith and beliefs. Instead, it was respectful and nuanced. Appreciate you!

[@daisiedragon]

I know the exact feeling. Any time our church is mentioned online, just can't help but brace in anticipation of scathing commentary and horror stories. This is a lovely, level-headed rundown, that neither leans towards or away from the LDS religion.

[@cosmicrevolt7476]

I was thinking the exact same thing. I was scared of another hit piece but this is so much more fair.

[@ThymeLeaves_]

I know, I was shocked when I realised how many people thought we were cultists and polygamists 😭 this was nice to hear.

[@Clydeisms]

100%. I almost didn’t click but I’m so glad I did!

[@jacedesbff]

I dragged my heels in terms of clicking, but the algorithm was convinced I would like it and kept putting it up. Algorithm was right. 😊 Nice to see us reported on in neutral fashion rather than a whackos. 🎉

[@galiantus1354]

16:18 So the interesting thing about that is the Provo City Center Temple wasn't a temple until very recently. It used to be just a tabernacle (a very large meetinghouse). However, in 2010, it caught fire, and the whole structure other than the outer walls burned down. This prompted the decision to renovate it into a temple - and it just so happened to be at the center of the Provo city grid.

[@ColoradoStreaming]

lol It doesnt change the fact your car is still going to get towed down there...

[@Fizzygotlost]

As a member of the LDS faith, who has lived in utah my whole life, thank you so much for showing utah without any bias! It always makes me feel ridiculously small and unheard when all anyone ever says about us is "what, that phycotic cult state?!" We really arent as bad as everyone makes us out to be on social media, and anyone who travels hear can say the same!

[@Utonian21]

Utah, here. Another weird aspect to our state, is the fact that it serves as a crossroads for fastfood joints from both the East and West. We have everything here: In N Out; Zaxbys: Shake Shack; Dunkin; Starbucks, etc

[@seldomseenn]

Dunkin’ has just about died out here by this point, but we’ve got Dave’s hot chicken now at least

[@ksarecords8099]

It's also where the first ever KFC franchise was

[@erti655]

the mormon missionaries taught me english when they were in albania, was pretty cool. and they were extremly nice.

[@penguinslippers]

I am curious when this was, if it's fine for me to ask? I had a friend go to Albania for a mission a few years back, and from the pictures he took, it's a beautiful country.

[@wilfulbuckle13]

That's how they get you

[@LordBeef]

I served a mission in Russia. We weren’t allowed to teach English by Russian law, but we held game nights and some people like to practice English with us. It was cool. I’m glad you had a good experience with missionaries!

[@lotgc]

​@@wilfulbuckle13may'n... heaven forbid anyone does anything good out of religious principles -_-

[@迫田聖也]

@@wilfulbuckle13 You should get to know the missionaries, they are just people and many really just want to do good. did you know they pay the trip themselves to go on a mission? Many would work parttime in highschool middleschool to go on the trip. I don't believe the church so I did not go nore do I go anymore on Sundays, but I know the good heart many of those church members have!

[@appalachianenthusiast9499]

As a Republican, I praise Utah for going beyond everyone else and actially building a good public transit network. One can get from Brigham City to Santaquin (distance of 123 miles) on ONE transit agency (UTA). A total of five rail lines (one commuter, one streetcar, and three light rail) and two bus rapid transit networks make the backbone of transit in the Utah Valley.

[@faenethlorhalien]

You don't need to preface it with "as a Republican". Your partisanship does not matter when it comes to praising them for having a sensible transit network.

[@Brandon-kt1qh]

I’d have a lot less problems with the Christians in the US as a whole if they acted more like the Mormons. I disagree with Mormons in almost every way but their hearts are in the right place, even if they are broadly abusive, insular, and toxic about it.

[@DisasterAstor]

You can actually get from Brigham up to Cache/Logan through Sardine and UTA runs a rideshare van from Brigham up into Box Elder. UTA is really strong program.

[@appalachianenthusiast9499]

@morenauer I'm saying it as if this should be what Republican legislatures are promoting because it is what the populous wants. It's more just to show that this is a bipartisan issue.

[@simplyepic3258]

They just need to expand the train up to Cache Valley. Currently the only way from Cache Valley to SLC is by car.

[@shoshanayoung]

Weirdest thing that's seems exclusive to Utah to me is that it is common for people you meet to ask "Are you a member?" And everyone just knows what that means without a second thought.

[@xelxiez90]

I appreciate all these in-depth videos on individual states; It helps people see the forest for the trees when it comes to what makes the United States as a whole.

[@Schaaschaa]

California, Florida, Utah, West Virginia. Weirdness of four states explained so far. Just 46 + 6 to go, Sam 😁

[@thedapperdolphin1590]

PA would be interesting to see, and not just because I’m from there. It’s the 4th most populous state, but much of the population is centered around Philly in the Southeast and Pittsburgh in the Southwest. Then there’s just a lot of small towns and rural areas. Would be interesting to learn about what drove the settlement

[@jamesmitch9792]

West Virginia isn't weird though, it is just broke.

[@galanopouloc]

I would say that LA would be an interesting state to make a video about. It is both quintessentially southern and a sui generis in its own right.

[@Blukat2-pb8lx]

NC is also weird mainly because i've met like two republicans while living here but its still red, the triangle and rural areas are a lot different

[@mevans4953]

Would be great if we could get KZbin shorts as updates for the rapidly changing states like California

[@historynerdj2900]

As a member of the church, I have to say this has been probably one of the most fair and well researched videos I have seen discussing the church in a social-political lens. Thank you for the good video

[@andy4an]

What would you say are the most common "unfair" takes about mormons?

[@My_Personal_Taste]

@@andy4an Misrepresenting our beliefs around who God the father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are. Mostly from evangelical Christians. Getting confused and thinking we still practice polygamy.

[@andy4an]

@matthewnielsen3017 Interesting. What's a common misrepresentation regarding father, spirit or Jesus?

[@chloefitzgerald7197]

Some people don’t believe we are Christian’s because we believe that Jesus is the son of God and that Jesus and God are two separate beings. Although, we do believe that they are connected (they are part of the Godhead) That is how I understand it it at least.

[@My_Personal_Taste]

@@andy4an Some people believe we teach that the Father literally had sex with Mary to make Jesus's mortal body, we don't teach that. Other people also teach that we teach that God the Father has sinned in His past. This is not true, we believe that Jesus, the Father, and the Holy Ghost have eternally been God.

[@silvereaglestudios]

As a Utahn, upon learning that Utah is a very red state surprised me due to the fact that almost everyone I know is tolerant/accepting of LGBT people.

[@PhyreReighn]

Ive been a member of both and the gossip & gaslighting once one turns their back is pathetic!

[@Croz89]

I remember a BBC journalist who did two documentaries, one on Scientology and one on Mormonism. With Scientology he experienced secrecy, mistrust and sometimes hostility, this was a religion (or cult if you prefer) which didn't really care about public relations and tried at every turn to discourage him from digging any deeper, right up to having someone film him to intimidate him, and it kinda worked, he infamously lost his temper during one interview and again during a radio broadcast when famous Scientologist Tom Cruise was mentioned. Investigating Scientology basically traumatised him. So he was understandably nervous when doing a similar documentary on a controversial religion a year or so later. But he found Mormons to be almost the opposite of Scientologists, very keen to talk to him, happy to let him into their temples and show him around, and very transparent about their culture and beliefs. There was a clear desire to present a positive image to the media and pressure to maintain good public relations with outsiders.

[@filan_cabinet]

There is plenty that the LDS church is secretive about, such as their finances and the temple ceremonies.

[@RandallSlick]

John Sweeney. Brilliant guy. Has done a lot for Ukraine recently.

[@capadociaash8003]

Did he really get let into the temples? I always thought that was a no no. The churches are for everyone but the temples are only for members

[@jonhanson8925]

It should be said that the LDS church has opened up quite a bit recently, not so much by the choice of leadership. For quite some time they made a lot of effort to suppress uncomfortable truths about their history, especially from their own members. But with the rise of the internet it became much harder to hide the historical record and leadership got dragged into a more open era by events like the Swedish Rescue, the widespread publication of the CES Letter, etc. I don't say any of this to attack the LDS faithful, mainly because I think the church's current, more open stance was built on the back of a lot of people brought up in the church in the past who suffered a lot of pain and anguish to slowly pull the uncomfortable truths of the faith's history into the light.

[@greywolf7577]

Mormonism has a "milk before meat" policy where it starts teaching the beliefs that are similar to main stream Christianity. And only once you join the faith does it start focusing on the more, shall we say "unique" beliefs that Mormonism has. Scientology does the same thing.

[@StivyIvy]

Swig: because downing 200g of sugar mixed with soda water is way healthier than drinking coffee.

[@theinquisitor3930]

Fiiz is better. Not saying it's less sugary just better. 😆

[@InstaCody]

​@@theinquisitor3930 they both use the same soda brands and the same torani syrup, the only possible difference is if they kids who work there push harder on the pump or not...

[@jdavies]

*processed sugar

[@brianday13]

*Black cofffee. You get a flavored coffee at Dunkin or SB and they put soda to shame with sugar content

[@corporate.security]

It depends what kind of coffee you get. If you just get a black coffee, or a coffee with milk, then yes, coffee is going to be healthier. But if you get one of those fufufrapfrap libtard coffees with vanilla and sprinkles and whatever other nonsense, then no. Those coffees are always going to be way less healthy.

[@althepal42]

I just want to thank you so much for your nuanced take-as a queer Utah Mormon, it can be frustrating to see Utah, and the LDS church, painted in a strictly wonderful or terrible light. It’s refreshing to see someone talk about it and acknowledge the good and the bad, as well as some quirks that are merely unique!

[@j134679]

what's it like for LGBT? I work remotely from across the planet for a company there & practically everyone is LDS. Never came out or opened up that way because all I know is that LDS is majority & the stare is Republican.

[@Robert-rw5lm]

Yeah nuance is just rare

[@PoopSqueezenuts]

y'all are pretty neat, and I am eager to see you all tell stories of how California's hideous culture and ecology absolutely destroyed that place in like 500 years

[@tempy2440]

Wait does LDS allow gay marriage now?

[@filan_cabinet]

​@@tempy2440 Nope

[@Nlegenski]

At 0:43, the image of Swig used is actually from a swig franchise in Mesa, Arizona. 2010 E Brown Rd, Mesa, AZ 85213. Thanks

[@colincormier19]

It was about a mile from my old home

[@nathanong]

As a gay person who lived in Utah, I was always struck by the genuine efforts made by my Mormon colleagues to find middle ground with me. I obviously don't agree with them on a lot of issues but I respect the good faith efforts (no pun intended) to love thy neighbor, which is becoming an increasingly difficult thing to do when political polarization is pushing everyone into their respective corners

[@ayoCC]

multi choice voting, and break up media giants into smaller parts, and make it illegal for media organizations to be lead by single people, it's ok for a board of directors to be rich, but it should at least be owned by simply money hungry investment banks instead of some family who gets to dictate the program. As for online radicalization... it might only be solved by our society adjusting to the new reality that some 20 year old shut in can suddenly form radical opinions and get so angry about it where before they wouldn't even care about politics at all.

[@Civil_Maniac]

The only Utah city built around the temple was salt lake. All others were built around a tabernacle (a church building for the local congregation). Provos was converted to a temple after a fire destroyed most of the original building. It’s a fascinating construction story

[@jennarhodes2724]

One thing I always thought was kind of neat, though, is the Logan tabernacle is just down the hill about a mile from the temple and there are quite a few design elements (including a sculpture) that draw the eye upward toward the temple

[@Civil_Maniac]

@@jennarhodes2724 I lived between the Logan tabernacle and temple. It was neat having such prominent landmarks in my front yard

[@ajbXYZcool]

Rexburg, ID has a similar road naming scheme around the campus of BYU-Idaho.

[@toastingtony9104]

My mom used to play for the Utah Valley Symphony in that tabernacle when i was a kid and I ended up getting married In that now temple when it got renovated.

[@rappcu]

To a non-believer this just sounds like semantics.

[@Fox9582]

Utah an amazing state I've been there twice, I'm not Mormon but the ones I met when I was in my country were really nice they spoke good Spanish. They were good persons to us and treated us with dignity and kindness.

[@lucaskp16]

same i am an atheist but have been to their crurch a couple times because friends and they are really nice people. while I dont have faith myself I strongly believe some religions values make people better on average. mostly Mormons and evangelists and Buddhists. i also went every weekend for 2 years to an evangelical church while in HS just to hang out with the other teens after the service, liked being with them because they didn't smoke or drink. while catholic , Islam and judaism not so much since they tend to be quite confrontational with people not sharing their values. ofc I am talking about strong believers. i myself now a ton of Catholics that only put foot on a crurch or see a priest for baptisms, marriages, deaths. like my family that when I told my mom I was bi she was like ''ok''. while for Mormons and evangelist I meet very strong believers radical even that still where polite to me.

[@Idontkmowwhatshappening]

As someone who lives in Utah i feel like a big reason why we care so much about equity is there is a lot of community built into the culture so people get to know each other more and realize that we’re all just people

[@PhyreReighn]

Not even close to my Utah community but good for you

[@thearsenalfan2005]

Most people seem to not know or realize that the Mormons were refugees themselves, and are in Utah/the west because in the 1840's they had to physically leave the united states (as the borders were before the mexican-american war) and go live in the desert where no other settlers wanted to live to survive due to persecution and violence. The state government of missouri even issued a literal 'extermination order' against them in the 1830s if I remember right. The reason pioneer day is important to them is because they see it as a significant step in their survival. Most Mormons that I've known, know personally what its like to be hated just because of who they are, and most I've met are more accepting of peoples differences than others I've known. (Of course not all of them but generally in my experience, and those that aren't tolerant are especially frustrating considering their own faith's history with intolerant people/government) but overall that may be why they seem to be more moderate rather than straight right/left.

[@silverlink8805]

Fun fact: that "extermination order" was only retracted in the 1970s, because everyone had forgotten it until a very lucky lawyer stumbled upon it.

[@terrancehall9762]

you seem to ignore their history of racism

[@zenwhirlpool]

The US as a whole was racist.

[@realldonaldtrump]

Umm, their “persecution “ was that they were not allowed to have multiple wives lol. So they moved to the Utah region so they could continue practice their polygamy legally.

[@AzraelThanatos]

In both Ohio and Missouri it was mainly due to their leaders being involved in a lot of things that aren't on the up and up...then you had crap like mountain meadows. Only reason that they didn't get hammered for that one was due to the civil war breaking out

[@james.lambert]

As a latter day saint, I think Utah's openness to immigration may stem from so many members going on foreign missions. I can speak for myself having served in Mexico City. I love the people of Mexico and don't mind immigration despite my conservative leanings.

[@matthewblackwelder6487]

I definitely think this helps. Also, I've known people that served Spanish speaking LDS missions in the US and it seems like the LDS church at an institutional level is very pro immigrant. Lots of international students go to church schools and get married and then become citizens.

[@prateekmahapatra1789]

definitively weird

[@kellymoses8566]

Brigham Young was an intensely racist man.

[@nathanmcguire932]

A Venezuelan immigrant is the bishop of my Spanish speaking ward in Utah. It’s kind of hard to believe the “immigrants bad” rhetoric when there’s easy concrete examples of them being upstanding people.

[@chucklebutt4470]

Whoa, It's James Lambert of Nintendo 64 homebrew fame! :) Love your vids, man. Hope you're well.

[@carsonscott1107]

I've lived in Utah for a long time, and one important note has to do with why so many people here register as Republican. The Utah GOP, up until this year, ran a closed primary election, while the Democrats held an open one. That means only registered Republicans can vote in the GOP primaries, but anyone can vote in the Democratic ones. A strategic voter who understands that Utah is a strong Red state will register Republican, even if they don't idealogically agree with the party, so that they can influence the State's Republican representatives.

[@GeorgeMaj15]

Proud RINO here. Live in Utah and am republican so I can be in the primaries

[@twentysixbit]

They aren't closed anymore?

[@carsonscott1107]

@@twentysixbit I'm not 100% certain on the openness of it, but they switched to a Caucus election this year.

[@Greenicegod]

​@@carsonscott1107which means unfortunately you have to attend a caucus

[@thomgizziz]

@@GeorgeMaj15 I live in Utah and vote in the democrat primaries... you shouldn't be too proud, if enough people find out what you are doing they will make sure that your democrat candidates are more on the republican side.... which of course you will cry about it not being fair after years of you not playing fair.

[@Rian-yv6ec]

Born and raised in Utah. Not Mormon, family is. Can confirm Utah is weird af.

[@bradleysampson8230]

I live there. So close on “Zion”, “Nauvoo”, and “Deseret”.

[@WhataMensch]

why is it called zion and if I fall in that park can i get aid quickly?

[@IDFpartyboi972]

@@WhataMensch It depends on if you let people know where you are going ahead of time. if you do they can get to you as quick as 1 2 3 and boom they are there

[@WhataMensch]

@@IDFpartyboi972 Cool. I want to go biking there

[@TheSpursiest]

Not even close on Mantua

[@WhataMensch]

@@TheSpursiest How close is zion to Mantua? Is the aid delivery in emergency situations good there in Mantua?

[@ApolloTheDerg]

Gay ex-LDS guy living in Utah here, personally I don’t see any issues with the church not supporting or welcoming me within its institutions. I think the fact they flat out made laws to protect people in other ways like work is a completely fair and admirable stance. It’s against the religion, I don’t understand why folks who clearly do not belong within its confines would want to be part of it. I say this after coming out and leaving of course, it’s never that simple, but at the same time, it really is. I like guys, I’m not shoving it down the throats of my LDS family or coworkers, and in turn, they value and respect me. This is how most LDS folks operate in my experience. They do not hate, they do not agree with, and when you respect their beliefs, they tend to respect you. Demanded respect isn’t respect, it’s compliance and may even contain contempt. My word of advice to those struggling with their sexuality in the church, my best advice is to be yourself. Love yourself, respect yourself, you must do this before you can expect others to. Don’t live your life to make others happy, live for yourself before you live for others. Also, you can live between the lines, I’m tired of watching people become polarized and majorly changing everything over this when you can simply fit where you fit. You don’t need to be an activist anti-Mormon if you leave, and you don’t have to be a stuck up bigot either. Just bear in mind, respect is earned, earn yours, and others need to earn your respect too.

[@tyman2323]

To your point of why be in a religion if it’s “clearly defined” that you aren’t fitting in its framework, I struggled with that a lot. I’m a gay Muslims, and no I don’t think acting on it is a sin, and it took me a bit to get comfortable where I am. When I was struggling with it I genuinely thought it was a sin to be gay because it was “clearly stated” in the Quran. After all, all these scholars were saying it was. It changed when I decided to try and critically think it out for myself. I read, analyzed, and heard different opinions(thanks Muslims for progressive values) and came to the conclusion it wasn’t a sin. I don’t wanna go into to too much detail for anyone who’s curious but I suggest checking out Muslims for progressive values page on LGBT, and also checking out the progresisve_islam subreddit and LGBT_islam subreddit.

[@robbierobinson5798]

Awesome message. Let individuals worship how who or what they may, or in regards out side of religion, do according to their own dictates.

[@PARK-sy3tf]

Very well put.

[@scottanos9981]

I'm a Jack Mormon too, and appreciate the comment on the polarization of everything nowadays. We now must learn to balance our lives as we see fit.

[@danielivko6819]

didn’t even read ur entire statement but u stated that u like guys & although u don’t shove that down the throats of ur LDS family or coworkers, u r in fact shoving them down ur own throat . imagine living a life of such activities

[@rustyrolla5432]

Utahn here. You did a really good job explaining the history and politics of the State.

[@renegadezen7841]

You are my hero. Because you are the first person ive ever heard use the word "figment" without the word "imagination" in the same sentence.

[@GranRey-0]

As someone from Vancouver, the city being surrounded by mountains and a huge lake on one side is ideal skyline quality!

[@jasondashney]

@BostonElton Air quality in Vancouver is great. It was much much worse quite recently. When you took the ferry to the island on a calm sunny day, you used to be able to look all around you and it would be a yellow haze. Now it's crystal clear. From the US border you can see the mountains clearly. I work with tons of immigrants who are blown away at how clear the skies are here versus the cities they come from where everything is a gross smog.

[@peterchristensen6617]

As a mormon myself, I really appreciate the detail and research that clearly went into this video, as it’s so accurate and while showing our quirks and obvious oddities, it doesn’t paint members of the church as complete weirdo’s or cult-ish. I’m just glad to see a correct video on my religion, Thanks Sam!

[@mattbrown6755]

I think Latter-day Saints have become overly tolerant when they say it wasn’t so bad or it could have been a lot worse. I’m guessing that what the Jews said of Hitlers political cartoons of them.

[@cubicinfinity2]

There are some small innacuracies, but I've lived in Utah for the last few years and was also impressed by the amount of research that went into this.

[@amazingsoyuz873]

@@mattbrown6755 Ideas can and should be criticized. The mormon religion has historically and even today has morally reprehensible policies and their leader was verifiably a conman who could not translate ancient languages. Pointing these facts out does not mean I'm discriminating against mormons.

[@JamesWest-gk5go]

@@amazingsoyuz873 If you believe that Joseph Smith was a conman and did not translate the Book of Mormon, where do you think the Book of Mormon came from? Joseph Smith had very little education (3rd grade iirc), so I don't believe it was even possible for him to write the entire thing on his own. I believe the Book of Mormon was translated through the Gift and Power of God.

[@amazingsoyuz873]

@@JamesWest-gk5go Look I can tell your probably deep in this nonsense so I'll just cut to the chase and save us a debate. There is hard proof Joseph Smith couldn't translate ancient languages: The Book of Abraham. Joseph Smith claims he translated it from an ancient Egyptian papyrus. This papyrus still exists and spoiler alert: it has nothing to do with Abraham or Christianity and is a common Egyptian funerary script about a dude named Horus. Seriously, look it up. He even made a whole translation manual and all of it complete BS. Mormonism is funny to me because it is one of the few modern religions which can be verifiably debunked beyond any reasonable doubt. Anyways, have fun trying to mental gymnastics your way around that little fact lol

[@danielstarr9037]

I do like how the Mormons show like how federalism can really really be used to tailor a society around what their value systems. I think it should be used as examples of federalism in class rooms

[@KWade-bt4dc]

This is so true! I think a lot of the U.S. is just too unfamiliar with the state and its people for that be easily brought up. I know that in my hometown, no one had really heard of "The Mormons." They often confused them with Jehovah's Witnesses and based their ideas on whatever their pastor might have said, if he said anything at all. Lots of people thought they were extinct too. I think it would be great if the rest of the country learned more about the unique little state tucked into the mountains.

[@bowmain1577]

@travisolander4749 Bro do you know the history of America?? The US has NEVER been a secular non-religious republic no matter what the laws say.

[@Lq32332]

@travisolander4749Just like America pretends to be secular? In God We Trust am I right?!

[@eleonarcrimson858]

@travisolander4749me when i do not have any knowledge of what I am talking about

[@matt3570]

@travisolander4749 When "in god we trust" is all over the money?... truly secular and non-religious.. I mean these are the kind of things literal children notice, and actual history substantiates that you are just wrong. We call ourselves one thing and yet still constantly contradict it with our actions. If someone acts like an ass but swears they are nice it doesn't change that everyone see's them as an ass.

[@nathanmclemore7620]

Students in Seminary spend more time learning about Jesus Christ than Joseph Smith.

[@colombiananarchy]

I am Colombian and member of the LDS church. I came to Utah for school and I love it here. I appreciate the nuanced and respectful tone of the video and the comments! Much love to everyone ❤

[@kirkwalker141]

"[Brigham] Young officially legalized Native American slavery in the Utah Territory in 1852 with each purchased Native American person allowed to be held up to twenty years in indentured servitude. Children between seven and sixteen years old were supposed to be sent to school three months of the year, but were otherwise put to work.  Soon after Mormons colonized the Salt Lake Valley in 1847 child slaves became a vital source of their labor, and were exchanged as gifts. Within a decade of settling the Salt Lake Valley over 400 Native American children were purchased and lived in Mormon homes. In 1849 a posse of around 100 LDS men in southern Utah chased and killed twenty-five Native American men in retaliation for some cattle raids, and their women and children were taken as slaves. Leader Brigham Young advocated buying children held by Native Americans and Mexican traders as slaves, and encouraged Latter-day Saints to educate and acculturate the children as if they were their own. However, despite the requirement to educate the Native American indentured servants, the majority had received no formal education according to an 1860 census. Young's spouse owned a Native American slave Kahpeputz. At age seven she was kidnapped from her Bannock family and tortured, and later purchased by Brigham Young's brother-in-law and gifted to one of Young's wives and renamed Sally. She was a servant in the Young household for over a decade working long hours with the rest of the servants and was not taught to read or write."

[@The53732]

Anarchy isnt permitted by the LDS church

[@colombiananarchy]

@@The53732 Hahahha that’s the username I created when I was like 12 😂😂

[@DreamingDarlin]

Beware, they are not Christians. Jesus is the Son of God who loves us, lived and died, and was resurrected for us. They do not believe that. Please do some research!

[@alancrawford3189]

Hey, I’m a member. We actually do believe in Jesus, and that we are saved by His grace. This video was a pretty good, respectful look at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, but it seemed to miss that the focus of the church isn’t on Joseph Smith or the angel Moroni or anyone else, it’s on Jesus Christ, who you correctly said is the Son of God who loves us and died for us, thanks for bringing that up! I believe that He lives, and atoned for my sins. I believe that the Church of Jesus Christ is the true and restored church, and its gospel has been and always will be the gospel of Jesus Christ. If you want to discuss anything else, I’d be happy to talk!

[@Lancecoolie]

The beauty and variety of Utah's outdoors cannot be overstated. Otherworldy. What an exceptional place.

[@TechMDYoutube]

You literally described the reason why I love living in Utah I grew up here in Utah most of my life being non-LDS and it was quite the learning experience but overall I’ve came to love this place, and it’s hard to move away I’ve tried, and I’ve always came back

[@TOTTUM]

The fact that he gets straight to the point is actually one of the best things about this video. To be honest, intros are useless since we often know what the videos we watch will be about, and how can we know? The title, that's it.

[@WasatchBDC]

Can now confirm Wendover is from Wendover ❤

[@arevolvingdoor3836]

Which Wendover though, the one in Utah or the part in Nevada?

[@eviljesus84]

@@arevolvingdoor3836Buckinghamshire

[@sambishop1667]

I came to the opposite conclusion. He doesn't pronounce "Zion" and "Deseret" like a local.

[@theinquisitor3930]

or Mantua@@sambishop1667

[@austinkoster99]

I was wondering the same thing

[@aBrewster29]

Good job. Utah is difficult to portray, but this was really accurate. And the mispronunciation of “Nauvoo” shows it wasn’t an insider-seriously impressive for anyone, let alone an outsider.

[@jesseoglidden]

Also Mantua.

[@circleception3916]

@@jesseogliddenwait im utahn how do I pronounce that? Is it pulling a Tooele?

[@awjensen467]

​@@circleception3916"Man-too-way"

[@circleception3916]

@@awjensen467 ah of course. I see the W in the pronunciation now- (thanks)

[@awjensen467]

@@circleception3916 Makes prefect sense right. :)

[@DrBeauHightower]

I went to high school in deep blue New Mexico in Albuquerque and we had a Mormon seminary across the street from my high school and all the Mormon kids would go over there for seminary class in the middle of the day 20 some years ago

[@dreadmonger55]

Mid day is so much better than going to LDS Seminary at 6:00 AM back when I went to high school in California. I envy them.

[@gufu21]

Yep. My brother attended a high school in Oregon that also allowed release-time seminary.

[@ThymeLeaves_]

I live in Utah I'm Mormon and so are my cousins who live in Indiana, while they were visiting us we got on the topic of seminary, my cousin mentioned how she had to wake up early so that she could drive to seminary before school every day. She asked me how early I had to wake up for seminary and I was confused because I had it 6th period, so practically the end of the school day. She was very jealous to say the least that I could get a period off school for seminary 😂 to be fair though it takes a full credit so I had less electives that I could choose, but always nice to have some jesus time.

[@ThymeLeaves_]

I live in Utah I'm Mormon and so are my cousins who live in Indiana, while they were visiting us we got on the topic of seminary, my cousin mentioned how she had to wake up early so that she could drive to seminary before school every day. She asked me how early I had to wake up for seminary and I was confused because I had it 6th period, so practically the end of the school day. She was very jealous to say the least that I could get a period off school for seminary 😂 to be fair though it takes a full credit so I had less electives that I could choose, but always nice to have some jesus time.

[@thecraftinista]

My high school in Eagle River, Alaska had the same setup.

[@FridaCollins-un7lu]

Yep that’s our Utah! I’m really impressed in this video. When most people talk about our church they just say the “crazy” and wrong stuff it’s done. But this was more educational than anything. Thanks for taking the time to really research the state.

[@collinandersen3369]

18:05 contrary to all logic and reason, Mantua is actually pronounced *“mana-way”* Sorry about our local linguistic boobytraps. Also, (from your arms manufacturing video) Tooele is *“too-willa”* Thanks for highlighting our wacky state!

[@thomgizziz]

It is only said manaway if you crush your t's like saying mountain like moun-an. Otherwise it would be pronounced man-te-way. And the reason for that is that is close to how you pronounce it in Italy where the name comes from.

[@jmjosh90]

@@thomgizziz from my understanding its more man-chew-uh

[@weirdlanguageguy]

@@thomgizziz My understanding is that the weird pronunciation of mantua without the /t/ came about because of the influence of the danish immigrants who founded the town

[@UnrealZeal]

Also Zie-in not Zie-on and dez-er-rett not desser-it

[@can72287]

Mantua is used in Philadelphia (a neighborhood) and Pennsylvania (a county). It’s pronounced man-chew-uh

[@redpanda2467]

As a Utah resident, this was a very well-researched, accurate and informative video! The one thing that I think should be clarified is that the church teaches its members to treat LBGT+ community with kindness and respect, but they haven't changed their position on the morality of same-sex marriage.

[@Law_desu15]

Marriage is just a social contract anyways

[@nicks6788]

@@Law_desu15 Not in the church

[@tempest_dawn]

the church may say that on the surface but the cultural undercurrent in the church is anything but nice

[@coachanderson2704]

That is why they still do BYU shock treatments to the gay men at the BYU school. huh?

[@Camorose007]

​@@coachanderson2704 BYU is its own terrible thing. I don't agree with a good chunk of the honor code and especially how it's enforced. And don't even get me started on how staff are treated at BYUI.

[@rmacsthing8610]

I live in a city in Utah that's ~90% Mormon. It's illegal for stores to be open on Sunday, and the city council just barely approved restaurants to serve alcohol and everyone is losing their minds about it! An old dude knocked on my door the other day with a petition to overturn the decision and I had the fun of telling him that I'm 100% in favor of restaurants being allowed to serve alcohol... Then I saw him in church the next day. :)

[@brianday13]

What town in Utah has rules against Sunday business? I've lived here 40+ years and have NEVER heard of it.

[@07wrxtr1]

Yeah because alcohol and drugs do so much good for the world? Like the legal drugs coming from pfizer and the other beta male thugs running big pharma. I think people understand that alcohol does damage to society and families. And I don’t even go to church…

[@christianj252]

​@@brianday13it's just that most people here don't go shopping on Sundays so many stores don't bother.

[@blakeelzinga1168]

That's straight misinformation lol

[@Lovehandels]

This sounds so awkward yet super fun...until the tiki torches come out o.o

[@ksarecords8099]

Utahn here, the state is changing. Im a drug using hippie and that crowd is getting more and more present here. There is a massive underground culture in SLC

[@wesleybrehm9386]

When I first moved to SLC in 2016 my first thought was that it reminded me of Portland, Oregon in the 1990s. I love how inclusive SLC is. I just hope it doesn't keep going down the rabbit hole that Portland did. It's definitely weird here, and starting to feel a lot like LA does with how crowded it is. What's nice is that even when people disagree politically or religiously, we can get along and do stuff together. One of my favorite people to hang out with is a British Muslim. I'm guessing we disagree on a lot about life, but we focus on commonalities instead of differences and it works. I wish more people around the world would realize we're all more alike than we are different.

[@tomp6685]

I'm an inactive member of the LDS church that lives in the southern US. Most LDS members that live outside of Utah think Utah is very weird.

[@IDFpartyboi972]

Lol its the same for us American Jews and our connection to Israel haha

[@MethSloth]

That church is rife with abuse. Normal people think LDS members living anywhere are weird.

[@twelvecatsinatrenchcoat]

I've lived in Utah my entire life. I noticed very young that there's a big difference between Utah Mormons and non-Utah Mormons. Sometimes it felt like non-Utah Mormons weren't really mormons.

[@videojuegos9379]

@@MethSloth why does abuse in the church make LDS members weird? Most religions have problems with abuse, because you're giving someone a lot of power who doesn't necessarily have much self control. I am a Utahn, so I have a lot of friends, neighbors, and people around me who are mormon. if you didn't ask, you would never know.

[@robertramsey4079]

@@videojuegos9379 dude you dont have to ask, you can see the deadness in there eyes from a mile away. you just don't notice because you have them too

[@joshuapluim]

I find that this was expertly timed to take advantage of the church's annual conference.

[@rebekahhiggins9002]

Semi anual. It's every april and october! I totally didn't even think about that but it totally is!

[@commanderdreg]

that is a funny i wonder if that was on purpose...

[@EpsilonDoesStuff]

​@rebekahhiggins9002 not to be that guy but the April conference is considered the annual one and the October conference is the semiannual one

[@EpsilonDoesStuff]

Watching 10 hours of church leaders talking about cool stories and uplifting messages wooo!!!

[@Jdog1681]

A few weeks ago there was also a quasi-viral video on the geography of Salt Lake city. Could be inspired by a recent algorithm push as well.

[@trivialtrav]

The Mormons I've met have been extremely kind and polite....like in a borderline creepy way. I'm not sure if that says more about me or them but it was very uncomfortable having someone I just met acting like a close friend.

[@FatTracksMusic]

Never in my life has the first sentence of a video so accurately answered the title (As a former Mormon in Utah I can assure you all of this)

[@KamielDV2]

Happy you got out

[@Robert-rw5lm]

Its a shame you left. Hopefully you may return

[@alexrogers777]

@@Robert-rw5lm man shut up, it's a good thing when someone manages to make it out of a cult

[@filan_cabinet]

​@@Robert-rw5lmWhy would they return?

[@drdewott9154]

2 very differnet responses in the replies. Im just curious as to what your reason for leaving is, if you dont mind telling. For the record I am not affiliated with anything Mormon, Im an athiest from Denmark.

[@r.r.r.918]

It seems like Utah is striking a reasonable balance between tolerance and their values. We as a nation do not need to accept every lifestyle and idea that is proposed to us; however, what we should strive to do, I would argue, is follow the general classical libertarian principle of maximizing individual freedom in so far as it does not harm other people’s freedoms. This allows for an incredible degree of tolerance within society, but not manufactured acceptance.

[@articcarton752]

i dont know how anything u listed applies to utah but yuh

[@QemeH]

That's actually the stance of most catholic churches in western europe. It's the old quote of: _I don't agree with you. But I will fight to the death for your right to say it._

[@gljames24]

I perfer the original Libertarianism which was Libertarian Socialism. Worker and Consumer cooperatives allow for better individual freedom as worker and consumers aren't exploited and no one individual can accumulate capital that grows indefinitely monopolizing markets.

[@JCsouthernmiss]

@@articcarton752must not have watched the video chief. It’s pretty clear how this aligns with what makes Utah unique

[@robert-rv8lo]

@@gljames24 Yes, but the American ruling class will never allow this because it still fundamentally means workers hold the means of productions, and not a class of oligarchs.

[@herolink9530]

As someone who lived in utah for years and used to be a member of the church I appreciated the unbiased view this video presented. Even though I personally don’t agree with a lot of the doctrine taught I still have a lot of respect for people within the church as my family and a lot of old friends are still members. It was nice to see someone cover a topic that is incredibly easy to politicize in a way that pretty much only covered facts and routed their arguments in logic and reasoning rather than hate. Props to the creator for showing people the actual causes for the mormon influence on politics rather than the biased crap the typical person would give.

[@lynnsiecooley1900]

&& having respect for your family & community is a good thing. You don’t need to agree with someone’s religious doctrine to respect them as a fellow human being, something sadly many religious institutions do not teach… But just because certain individuals within these institutions become corrupt, be they Mormon or Catholic or anything else, doesn’t mean every practicing Mormon or Catholic or whatever else is some horrible corrupt weird person, lol. I’m not a Mormon but I have a lot of respect for a lot of what I’ve seen from the Mormon families I’ve known, all the Mormons I’ve known have truly been absolutely wonderful hard working & well valued people who seem to have very happy families & children who grow up & do well in society so, nothing but respect for good people here! Can’t say I feel the same about many of these institutions taking advantage of their positions & their people but… That’s a diff story lol, & one that affects more than just the Mormons, lol.

[@redroomstudi0]

As someone who's lived in Utah my whole life, I've personally had a bad experience with the LDS church. I had decided to leave when I was still in Jr High, but throughout my life in Utah I had made wonderful friends that made me feel more welcome here and gave me confidence to be myself.

[@Aido1098]

As a Utahn, I have been waiting for YEARS for a Utah video It finally came

[@ciCCapROSTi]

Yes, but did YOU come?

[@joshchild]

That’s what she said…

[@samueleborn9909]

I'm honestly never been more impressed with the degree of research put into making this video as accurate and informed as possible. Hats off to you, my friend.

[@bradyrobbins5446]

Deseret: “Dez-ur-ette” Mantua: “man-away” (yes, really”

[@JeffreyBennett91]

Zion: zi-un not zi-on Nauvoo: NAW-voo not nuh-VOO Wasatch: WAW-satch

[@stickfigureslauralee]

Let's correct Zion too "Zai-Uhn" this both relates to how it's referenced in the video and the national park!

[@loganleroy8622]

It's leviOH-sah, not levio-SAH

[@squid1712]

Mountains: Mau-ns.

[@RobespierreThePoof]

Dialects do odd things.

[@RandomRob3000]

Lived in Utah from the 1960s until the mid-1990s. There was a refrain that a local radio host (Tom Barberi) made very popular: Legalize Adulthood in Utah. There were a few improvement with the advent of Salt Lake hosting the Olympics in the early 2000s, but the mantra remains very applicable.

[@mso82]

Regarding their support of immigrants - It's not so crazy to realize that experiencing the plight of others opens your eyes to their acceptance and makes it harder to dehumanize them. I've known several mormons (my wife is a former member), and each and every one seemed like this - conservative in their ways, but not judgemental or expectant of others to be like them. Mostly, they were great guys, that just didn't drink coffee.

[@alexrogers777]

Well that and they just want easy access to more people to try and convert into their religion

[@brianday13]

@@alexrogers777 Nah

[@chanoname4940]

Cheap labor.

[@PointNemo9]

Wanting lower levels of immigration does not mean someone dehumanises immigrants or even dislikes them personally. What people dislike is the effect that high levels of immigration has on a community.

[@itsROMPERS...]

A huge factor has to be the major Mormon settlements in Mexico. They are accepting of immigrants because the immigrants that come there tend to be Mexican Mormons. It's not because they're "accepting of others", the immigrants aren't "others".

[@richardg8651]

Thank you. This channel consistently presents topics I had no idea that were topics and tells them in a smart informative way without being stupidly political.

[@camthred2636]

I would specify more directly that in Seminary they don't just, "Learn about Joseph Smith." As a member, very little of my education resolved around Joseph Smith. Of the 4 years I attended seminary, half were dedicated to learning about The Bible.

[@noahlee4598]

well, to be fair, seminary does focus on the Bible AND the Book of Mormon, which was published by Joseph Smith. I bet he just simplified down to avoid making the video longer lol

[@brianjones4194]

I mean, he's not wrong, and WAY more right than Johnny Harris' recent video. There's really only so much you can mention in one video and I think he did a good job taking a neutral stance.

[@VonGeggry]

Yup 1 for each book. Old testament, new testament, BOM, and then one thats pearl of great price and like general church history.

[@jonathanmangum4347]

@@noahlee4598when we had our Book of Mormon classes in seminary like only 3 of the classes were about Joseph Smith

[@amber9040]

Evidently the one year I spent in seminary before I left the church I was ONLY (mis)learning about joseph smith 😆

[@lovelessissimo]

Very well done. I grew up in Utah and in the church. Although I have been in California for a very long time, married, raised a daughter, and don't believe in religion anymore, a tiger can't change his stripes. My Californian wife is sometimes confused by my world view, and for good reason. The history of the mormons has made them understandably both open to oppressed people and also distrustful of the government. This is great.