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

[@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.

[@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

[@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

[@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.

[@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

[@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

[@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

[@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.

[@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 😭

[@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 🫶

[@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

[@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

[@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

[@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.

[@zemberdraws]

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

[@littlesam-n8p]

😆😆

[@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

[@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.

[@Rian-yv6ec]

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

[@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!

[@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. :)

[@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.

[@styphlynne8253]

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

[@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

[@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.

[@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.

[@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.

[@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.

[@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!

[@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?

[@matthewnielsen3017]

@@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.

[@matthewnielsen3017]

@@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.

[@spidermanchickenugget6591]

Being a Utahn and watching this I keep thinking "oh, I guess that is weird, huh"

[@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

[@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

[@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.

[@alexandragraves6167]

As a person who grew up in Utah and went to Bonneville High School, it was a jump scare to have it mentioned out of the many high schools in the state.

[@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.

[@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?

[@mckennawatson1189]

​@@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.

[@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.

[@lukejones4245]

Wendover Productions secretly named for Wendover Utah?

[@TheSpursiest]

Or West Wendover Nevada?

[@lukejones4245]

Actually. I think not. I don't know where the name's from but he doesn't pronounce things like a person from the area

[@cleokatra]

​@@lukejones4245DELET THIS (not because it's bad, just because you commented twice 😂😂😂 not trying to troll or anything I promise)

[@geoffreyharmon5065]

@@lukejones4245 We should see if he can say Tooele, any one from Wendover should be able to say that one.

[@drdewott9154]

Actually I dont think so, I believe Sam, the creator of the channel, has mentioned this here and there, but iirc he's actually from neighbouring Colorado, somewhere around Colorado Springs.

[@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

[@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

[@travisolander4749]

It’s a shame some are still dumb enough to participate in the cult.

[@filan_cabinet]

​@@Robert-rw5lmWhy would they return?

[@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.

[@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.

[@jessesea77]

I am from Utah and always felt Utah was “different”. But it was also hard to put a finger on it, other than the obvious. Thank for this video, and for showing the uniqueness of the state.

[@snazzy]

18:04 More proof how weird we are is that “Mantua” is actually pronounced “Man-a-way.” Other odd pronunciations: Hurricane - hurr-a-kin Tooele - too-wil-a Oquirrh - o-kur Weber - we-bur Duchesne - du-shane Enoch - e-nic

[@amber9040]

Mountian - Moun'nnn

[@gryffindor8896]

Lived in Utah my whole life and have just grown up and accepted these names for cities and only now realize how weird they actually are to pronounce when sounding them out

[@SpreadPenguin87]

@@amber9040 Nail-Nell Mail- Mell Battery- Batttree Corn- Carn Washington-Warshington

[@TinyWeirdo]

The OKURRRRR mountains 😩

[@smacke2950]

them chidren were playin in the crick while we were in the moun'ins last sundee

[@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.

[@alewiina]

As someone who doesn’t drink alcohol, I just wish there were drive thru soda places everywhere 😭 I LOVE cocktails and all their interesting combinations but I just can’t tolerate alcohol Edit: also yeah I’ve been confused about Utah for a while. I have a friend who went to a rehab centre (not for addiction) in Utah, and she said it was so bizarre. It’s SO conservative, but she said everyone is incredibly nice and accepting (she’s an out lesbian) and it just seemed like such a nice place to live and nothing like the red state that she actually lives in.

[@Robert-rw5lm]

I guess those other red states are Protestants based, while Utah is conservative based on the LDS church

[@commanderdreg]

yea i didnt know about those until I saw that video and I am in the same boat as you, when ever I go to an activity they are doing mocktails I have a blast finding interesting flavor combinations! fancy drinks are nice.

[@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…

[@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.

[@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.

[@karukun0212]

Great video--Convert here who moved to rural Utah and then left the church. I love the description where Utah seems like its neighbor states, but "something" is different. In a nutshell, I love my mountain cabin Utah life, and I have great neighbors, but I perpetually know that I am a foreigner in a foreign land, even after decades. If you can tolerate living behind the Zion curtain as an eternal outsider, there are many advantages to life here. If you must either blend in or be unhappy, go somewhere else.

[@dougsanteramo3008]

Thank you for this topic. I’m moving to Utah this month so this is perfect timing as I’m learning more about the state!!

[@jasonkelley4057]

Utah is a wonderful outdoor state if you love hiking, skiing, four wheeling, and so on. If you are not white, I would travel with a companion outside of Salt Lake County for safety, especially when getting outside 50mi of SLC County, it can be dangerous.

[@articcarton752]

@@jasonkelley4057 fucking typical

[@gagegarlitz1962]

​@@jasonkelley4057 Yeah this is bs, ethnic minorities or, anyone for that matter don't need to worry too much in any part of the state with a few exceptions. As long as people are careful not to trespass, careful on I-80 and the belt route, careful in RLDS territory and careful in a few neighborhoods in SLC metro and Ogden, they really don't need to worry regardless of Ethnicity. However women should try and be extra careful around I-80 and the Belt Route.

[@twelvecatsinatrenchcoat]

Please don't vote for Democrats. We've got a good thing going here, please don't trash the house.

[@BrowncoatInABox]

In Wyoming my best friend at the time was a Mormon (still is), me an atheist learning about Paganism, but very very very broke brought me to his Bishop for the churches food bank thing. The Bishop and I talked about Scott Cunningham, Richard Dawkins and so forth. He pointed out that I was going to be a Pagan and told me as so. Still gave me about $200 in groceries every 2 weeks for about 3 months. Each time talked about Paganism. He never tried to convert me, my boyfriend at the time yes. (btw my ex did become a Mormon and no thats not why we broke up)

[@camdenpike]

Utah is absolutely beautiful. I-70 from Denver all the way to its terminus in Cove Fort is hands down the most scenic stretch of interstate highway in the country. I've love vacationing there, but I will say I was quite struck when I went to go pickup some beer and they didn't even have coolers for it.

[@althepal42]

The intense music in the background makes Utah Mormons sound way cooler than we are

[@briannacluck5494]

Legit, it almost made me climb up a hill and wave a banner of truth around or something

[@RaySmith-zg7od]

What are Mormons?

[@rubiconnn]

As someone who's been there a few times it gets weirder and weirder the more I go there. One time I was given a tour of the LDS (Mormon) Conference Center and the blatant flaunting of wealth in that building was downright revolting.

[@WasatchWind]

Cooler? You mean scarier. This is an obvious attempt to other us, make us a weird far away curiosity in the mountains, separate from "normal people."

[@starzilla2975]

@@RaySmith-zg7od a christian restorationist religious group. They believe in Jesus Christ, that he established a church, that over time the fullness of the gospel was lost and that prophets like found in the bible are still called of God to teach and lead people. They believe that the man Joseph Smith was called as such a prophet and that the church was restored again through modern day prophets and revelation. They believe that Jesus Christ is the saviour of the world and not just the jews and so he visited other people, particularly the americas after his ressurection. They believe Joseph Smith was tasked by God to translate a record from them, a record called the book of mormon (hence the nickname) which they believe he translated through the power of God since he was just a farmer. They believe the book of mormon contains the fullness of the gospel and study it along with the bible as they compliment each other, and they believe anyone who desires to have knowledge that God will guide them, for example, in the orignal story, Joseph Smith wanted to know if he was forgiven of his sins and he wanted to know what church to join and prayed and asked God as a result of reading James 1:5, and they believe that God answered him. That's the basic summary anyway.

[@ksarecords8099]

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

[@jamesjoelholmes4541]

This was so well done. I grew up mormon, but left in my thirties. I learned a lot of things I didn't know much about our history. And you made me appreciate that our politics here is nuanced . Thank you for putting this together.

[@MilkMan1240]

My school has a "Utah Studies" class, and most of it is just my teacher talking about mormons and Brigham Young.

[@BorderLanderr]

Everyone: "Why are mormons so weird?" "Our society reflects our values" Everyone: 😮

[@WyvernYT]

I know; the rest of America isn't expecting conservatives who are actually conservative and honest, rather than using "conservative" as a label to cover for being reactionary or Mammonist. It's great to see conservatives with values!

[@robert-rv8lo]

@@WyvernYT America is pretty much the epicenter of reactionary politics. Elections are essentially solely in reaction to what happened during the last 2-4 years, and not the long-term success of the country.

[@tpuggles]

An important note at 5:39, this can be explained as many left-leaning Utahns are registered to vote Republican because A) election primaries in the state are separated by party affiliation (democrats can’t vote for republicans & vice versa) and B) voting district lines split the large democratic majority of SLC into 4 equal parts to dilute their votes with the rest of the rural republican population. Democrats register to vote republican in order to strategically maximize the impact of their vote in the face of these barriers put in place by the republican legislature… & I think that’s called voter disenfranchisement 😅

[@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.

[@timlewis2605]

You made the perfect thumbnail for this video, it just immediately makes you curious.

[@austinmonk8809]

As someone who live on the border of Utah, the answer is Mormons, cool people, just weird

[@jonathanmangum4347]

Thanks Sam for your unbiased nuanced analysis about this weird lil state I call home. Your channel is truly epic

[@mattbrown6755]

Yes, Sam loves Jesus, just ask him how unbiased he is to believers.

[@zebbyscoot3990]

Utah really is an insanely unique place. Having lived here all my life, I’ve always been quite proud of it. I’ve seen firsthand our policies shift and change in a relatively short period of the time. For the record, I am both a member of the LGBTQ+ community *and* an ex Mormon. I’ve consumed Utah born media from both inside and outside the church. It hadn’t occurred to me just how differently we were perceived until relatively recently, on a discord server of all places. I had expressed my dread at some conservative policy or another coming into effect, and every person who replied said something to the effect of, “that’s what happens when you live in a state run by a religious cult, just move.” This caught me off guard. We’re a politically red state, but socially? Utah is one of the most accepting and welcoming places I’ve ever been. It’s probably because I’ve always lived near the urban heart of SLC, but I can’t even remember the last time I spoke to someone who wasn’t firmly in favor of marriage equality, trans rights, and other “liberal” policies. Our state government may be openly Republican, but the landscape underneath that is changing. I wouldn’t be surprised if Utah suddenly turns blue in the span of the next couple election cycles, now that the younger generations have the chance to affect the outcome.

[@littlesneez9002]

Honestly had a very similar experience, also on discord lol.

[@MinecraftWorld1954]

Having lived in Utah for a majority of my life, yeah our state is weird, but I can't help but love it.

[@JemaKnight]

That opening few seconds honestly felt like HAI escaping containment briefly.

[@jphillips7083]

This video is perfect. I found it extremely informational and entertaining and you are right It really is a world of its own.

[@jordansean18]

I grew up in Washington State, and we had a seminary outside our public high school as well 🙃

[@Veilure]

Thabks for being so respectful, Sam! Great work ☺️

[@Coolguy-wl9ng]

I a Utahn I believe this is perfectly normal.

[@juneinblack]

As someone who grew up queer in Utah, I think it is important not to try and paint it as some haven for queers. Especially of trans people.

[@connordanhof5022]

I’m lds, grew up a north of Seattle. Moved to St. George Utah at 19, I’m now almost 30 living in the salt lake valley working in the IBEW. There’s definitely a difference living up here vs so. Utah. Up here it’s called “the bubble” way different inclusive mindset. St. George was more laid back, less judgmental

[@whimai412]

Not only seminary buildings at High Schools, but also the Jr. highs. I had to start going to seminary in 9th grade which is still in the Jr Highs. So even though its only for one year of Jr High. There is still seminary buildings at tons of Jr. Highs too. Btw this is a really cool look and take on utah. I grew up in Orem, its changed like crazy there from the 90s. Its awesome to see the progression from the super sheltered community that I grew up in. That stores used to be boycott and put out of business for being open on Sunday. Lol kinda crazy that Walmart and Starbucks were the only places open when I was younger. Even into the later 2000s.

[@greywolf7577]

I do think that the Federal government should penalize Utah in some way for this practice. They are trying to find a way to cut the separation of church and state. If the state says that the time in seminary isn't school time, then the school should be penalized for not spending enough time teaching their kids.

[@whimai412]

@@greywolf7577 it's a voluntary release time. They do the same thing in HS for kids who want to go to work. And it doesn't affect kids graduating on time. Not like I enjoyed seminary and I'm not Mormon now by any means. But Utah is not the only place like that. Also AZ, and NV have seminary buildings.

[@CoryJohnson0424]

No mention of SLC's transit system, that weirdly rivals several much larger and more progressive cities? Is this even a Wendover Productions video? 4 light-rail lines, 4 BRT lines, and a commuter train line that runs from Ogden to Provo, in a metro with the population of about 1.25 million!?

[@JCsouthernmiss]

2.7 Million between Ogden and Provo but point still stands. People don’t realize how dense the Utah population actually is.

[@MrTwenty20video]

I appreciated your video. I have family member moving to Utah. Thought I would research it a bit. Very informative. Thank you. ✌️

[@Wildkidnoremak]

As a Mormon from California but living in Utah. I am liberal. I don't think that there should be a porous line between church and state. Because I chose to follow my religion and I acknowledge that the standards I hold myself to are not reflective of a life that everyone around me wants to live. Also if there is not a line between church and state, which church gets to be the state? Because there are those in the Republican party who don't think I count as a Christian. Also I'm working as a mailman and Bonneville High School is on my route. I drive by that seminary every day 😊

[@claudia4844]

well said👏

[@juniperjellyfish]

I was expecting this video to end up heavily bashing the Latter Day Saint church, but it was actually really interesting to watch! Great job!

[@gregthomson1064]

It’s weird hearing Sam from Jet Lag talk so in depth about the place I’ve lived all my life. Such a fair analysis, highlighting the positive and negative equally. Also thank you for not using the misnomer “Mormonism” a single time.

[@gordonbyrd7199]

I found it funny that for the picture of the drive through soda shop you showed a shop that is in Mesa Arizona

[@fotnite_]

At my highschool growing up in Utah, the seminary wasn't just across the street, it was literally on-campus. A separate building, sure, but it shared the same parking lot and was surrounded on all sides by the rest of the campus. There was even less separation for the stuff like the special ed program, where some of the teachers at the seminary were also involved in the actual special ed classes inside the school. Most newer schools require the seminary to at least be separate, though, often because enough of the parents are non-mormon to complain to schools planning to include carve-outs for a seminary on their campuses.

[@Sothas]

The land the seminary is on is owned by the church, not the state. It is federally illegal for the land to be state owned.

[@CrispyDaFrog]

I'm a Utahn, the seminary building is literally in the school parking lot for me

[@Sothas]

@@CrispyDaFrog Yes, I get that. My point is the land the seminary sits on is not owned by the school. It's owned by the church. I legally cannot be owned by the school. I also live in and grew up in Utah.

[@fotnite_]

@@Sothas We know it's not owned by the school. The video we all watched said as much. I don't think whether it was owned by the school is particularly relevant to what anyone has said here so far, with respect to the experience of public school students.

[@mrguiltyfool]

Hate it when non-members trying to impose their ideology on Utah.

[@JesseWright1]

19:13 there is only one Dunkin’ in Utah at Hill Air Force Base. They all disappeared around 2020.

[@JesseWright1]

But… who cares.

[@Robert-rw5lm]

Dunk'n doughnuts aren't even good

[@Skank_and_Gutterboy]

@@Robert-rw5lm I think it depends on the Dunkin'. The one I went to that was in a below-ground level of the Library of Congress was really good. The first and last time I got a donut at the Dunkin at Hill AFB, it was literally the stalest donut I've ever had. Disgusting. It must've been sitting there for days. I've never gone back to that place. Getting anything on-base is like eating at the airport, overpriced and sucks because the employees don't give a crap.

[@tidmarshXC]

It's not really just a Utah thing though. Dunkin' Donuts barely exist in the northwestern United States. There's none in Idaho, Washington, Alaska, Oregon, or Montana. There's one at a military base in Utah and one on a military base in Wyoming and that's it. I always found the "America Runs on Dunkin" slogan to be hilarious because I've never even seen one.

[@U.Inferno]

Yeah, Dutch Bros is the big coffee chain that's not Starbucks.

[@danielroehm2822]

For the producer of this video, Thank you for your fair and balanced presentation on us and our State.

[@Infamouslbx]

I am not correcting pronunciation, because even most Utahns can't get some of these right, but it's pretty funny to see small towns with insane and unintuitive pronunciations in this video. Thanks for a great video, this was really well balanced, unlike many I've seen on the state (in either direction, to be clear).

[@karukun0212]

Continuing on--Yes, Utah is "republican in name only." Many differences. I could write a book on everything discussed here, including the church's underground connection to judges, the church's emerging wokeness, etc. A rift is now growing between an increasing number who remember earlier (Ezra T. Benson) days where the church was traditionally conservative and the liberal direction now being taken, directed from the top down. The church is always walking a tightrope in its move towards becoming more mainstream/acceptable while not offending its members, with its eyes ever carefully watching the surveys/polls.

[@dollyinspace]

As a blue state LDS, Utah is such a weird place to me. My family's religion was always rather private growing up, but when I go to Utah it's plastered everywhere. And the culture differences between Utah mormons and mormons outside the state or country even, become very apparent. It's a bizzare feeling. Thanks for the video, it's very informative

[@advisorywarning]

I am a leftist ex Mormon and I totally agree. I grew up outside of Utah and I think that Utah Mormons in general have a negative or Molly Mormon reputation to Mormons outside of Utah/idaho. My mom is a professor at byu and the area is very beautiful but it’s definitely a weird place

[@FatTracksMusic]

Damn, I sure learned a lot about my own State today

[@the_darker_fonts554]

19:57 Well, the church states that no one should have their rights infringed upon on any basis since we are all children of God. However, we don't promote or approve of homosexual marriage because we believe it's a sin. A person is still a person, even if and especially after they sin.

[@FuncleChuck]

Every church pretends that’s the policy, until the doors are closed. Mormons just seem to be almost the only ones publicly acting that way.

[@drumminslife]

Next do "How California Got So Weird", "Why Chicago is So Weird", "Why New York City is So Weird", or maybe "How Oregon Got So Weird"

[@badsnake2022]

Lived in Utah for almost 10 years. The experience is better than other states I've lived so far.

[@chemicalfrankie1030]

Re: alcohol, there’s nothing strange to have government run shops selling it. It’s just a broker state, like many others in the US.

[@ETibbs11]

Yeah, New Hampshire is another state I've lived in that does it that way!

[@shyartistry]

As a citizen of Utah and a non active mormon (im still mormon and plan to always be, just dont like attending church), and yea its a weird place, but I appreciate the lack of alcohol here so i dont wanna hear it, but I can say I appreciate hearing a video where you dont just hate on mormon's, or the way it is in Utah. And a side note, its not just the men of the church who go on missions, women do as well!

[@pangalactictuber]

Last time I was in Utah, a thermal inversion put a lid over Salt Lake City, so the car exhaust got denser and denser instead of blowing away. I’ve never experienced such poor air before or since.

[@n.d.n.e1805]

Go to sothern ut we dont have that problem

[@nathangerber1547]

Yeah, the valleys be like that.

[@allwrathnograpes]

Correct. The Salt Lake Valley and Cache Valley literally have the worst air quality in the country at times

[@n.d.n.e1805]

@@allwrathnograpes That why sothern ut is just better

[@allwrathnograpes]

@@n.d.n.e1805 stay in sothern ut

[@jeremymcginnis7258]

Hey, Weird pronunciation thing. Mantua, is said Man-uh-way.

[@Gdsamplify]

No one cares

[@connormc4050]

Can confirm! One of the worst examples of something being spelled differently than it's pronounced

[@adamgreenhaus4691]

Flying in the face of all the phonological rules of both English AND Italian.

[@allwrathnograpes]

Next time I get pulled over I'm pronouncing it "Man-too-ay". It's not like I'm getting out of that ticket anyway

[@TruthfromanAlien]

Mormons care about their children, families and communities. They are some of the politest people you'll meet and generally have a "Live and let live attitude".

[@Bob-kz6vs]

Yeah right. Couldn’t do anything in Utah without Mormon neighbors calling cops for any all thing. Everyone is up each other’s ass constantly.

[@dsbennett]

When a public school allows space and time for students to exercise their religious freedom, that does not violate the 1st Admendment's prohibition on Congress making laws respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. Allowing citizens to exercise their God-given freedoms is a totally different matter from government sponsoring or requiring citizens to follow and support a certain religion. When I was in Germany, for example, it was against the law to work on Sunday. This included working on your car or mowing the lawn at your home. Everyone was required to pay tithing to the church (I forget which church it was). That's what the Founders wanted to prevent in this country.

[@greywolf7577]

But the Utah schools are allowing students to spend entire class periods in religious study. Even if it isn't technically a state run program, the state is cutting out large chunks of the school day specifically because it benefits one religion. At the very least, Utah schools should be punished for not spending enough time teaching their students. If students want to go to seminary outside of school hours, that's their choice, but to allow them to do so during school hours is the school failing at its mission to teach such topics as math, science, and history.

[@moose5445]

​@greywolf7577 Some detail not covered in the vid. The religious study is an option presented opposite of a study hall. Students who elect religious study are not missing out on any other part of the curriculum, and students who elect not to have religious study can fill with another elective class if they choose.

[@nathangerber1547]

@@greywolf7577 Anyone can take the free period. Most of us used it for seminary, but a non-member could totally have gotten one if they asked and done whatever.

[@josephhefley9701]

I'm from Portland. I went to SLC and rode public transit. Like someone from Portland does, I watched everyone that came on. The scariest thing to happen was someone stood up and started reciting passages from the Book of Mormon. It took me a few. But I accepted even the drug addicts in UT were safer to be around, and I stopped looking over my shoulder after about an hour of walking the downtown area. The worst things about SLC, UT was the shitty beer, and you couldn't buy beer at a bar or restaurant unless you bought food too.

[@Robert-rw5lm]

Makes me wonder if Muslim majority countys have similar laws

[@JCsouthernmiss]

Sounds like you were here a decade ago. Cool analysis but it’s actually super different now regarding beer and restaurants etc

[@prettypic444]

Most Mormons don’t really seem to care what the people around them do as long as they can do what they want. Of course, what they choose to do is often a VERY different issue… (I once had a Mormon acquaintance who go pregnant as teen. Because the father wasn’t a Mormon, they couldn’t pressure him to marry her, so they sat the girl in the middle of a circle of elders, publicly shamed her, and then excommunicated her. After that, I can’t see the Mormon church as “harmless” anymore)

[@cousinit718]

Don't be so gullible mcfly

[@thearsenalfan2005]

Thank you for a balanced presentation, I've lived in utah for many years and love living here (outdoors enthusiast), people are generally kind and helpful, and the state ranks well in most metrics - but I've learned the hard way when traveling out of state not to tell people where I'm from (I've been spit on). People outside the state (and some in it) have a caricature-like image in their head of people from utah in my experience, because usually they've been exposed to only misinformation about mormons. Most videos/posts on youtube/internet are filled with misinformation and vitriol about the state and people here. Even my coworkers that move to the state have this weird (sometimes paranoid) image in their head about the people here, and some that have lived here for years still don't know even the basics about mormon beliefs or they'll even think they haven't met any mormons yet because we dont fit their caricature-image expectations. Thank you for a video that goes deeper than the societal stereotype of people living here and shows both positives and valid critisisms.