I have a few Morman friends. I probbly have a few more, but since I don't typically ask someone's religious affiliation, I have no way of knowing how many. +5

I've never met a Mormon.

zero, zero, zero. I like Mormons, they are really family oriented and really stand together as one, always helping out fellow Mormons- as well as helping people that need it, especially their prospects. I do feel at ease with them, they are good people. I think that the beliefs they have that differ with Christians are totally bogus though, I don't believe they are right. Nice people though.

(Don't know if you want to hear from me since I'm sort of a lapsed christian) I actually knew a number of Mormons growing up, there was a big community in our Illinois town. I was good friends with one particular family and went to their church 2 or 3 times. In general I've found Mormon people to be lovely, nice folks. But I've also found that there are dark secrets that these nice folks would like to keep hidden. Just in the people I knew, there were two cases of sexual abuse by a church elder, neither of which were ever prosecuted or addressed in any way. Because of this I'm a bit suspicious of the kind of "we're super-normal!!" facade that I usually see in this community. I also find the "get married and start having babies right away and as many as possible" thing to be more than a little creepy. And there's a fairly virulent strain of racism in the church (black people could not be ordained in the church until the late 70's, I believe) and homophobia, but that's in no way unique to Mormons. Catholics are just as bad in a lot of the same ways. But again, I've had some good friends who were and still are in the church, and they are great people. Generally the people are fine, it's the church I have a problem with. Same with the other Christian churches, which is why I'm not a part of them anymore.

I was going to wait but what the hey . . . Q: How many Mormon Church services have you attended? A: To my recollection I have attended the following LdS Church Services - Sunday School - Sunday Evening Service (that was a LONG time ago in the 1970's) - Sacrament Service - Fast & Testimony - Funeral I have also participated in one or two Family Home Evenings If I had to pick a number I would say, I've been to around 6-10 LdS Church services of various configurations - I might have forgotten one or two since I've been to a few. Q: How many Mormon family members do you have? A: Quite a few. First, there's my Aunt and Uncle. Then there's my Brother and his family of 7 (count 'em) kids who are all grown and now have children of their own. At last count my brother's family was WELL over 60-people and growing. Q: How many Mormon friends do you have? A: I live in Southern California where you can't throw a stone without hitting a Mormon. I've lived with and around Mormons my entire life. I have known them intimately, professionally, as friends, as neighbors, and as acquaintances. Again, if I had to pick a number I would say that I've had over 100-Mormon friends, maybe more. Q: Do you like Mormon people and culture? A: People, yes - very much so in fact. Culture, no - very NOT so. I think that Mormons are some of the finest, most sincere, hardest working, most diligent people on the planet. However, I despite Mormon culture. If I had to use one word to describe it, it would be "phony" or if you prefer, "inauthentic". This is a complex topic - and a controversial one as soon as there's more than one Mormon in the room - so I'll stop there. At least for now. Q: And do you feel at ease with Mormon people and culture? A: When they're alone yes. When there's more than one Mormon in the room, no. When Mormons are alone they tend to be their authentically real self. However, I've noticed that as soon as another Mormon enters the room the infamous Mormon fascade comes up and they start acting more "Mormon". It's really disappointing and kind of depressing if you really love Mormons like I do. Unfortunately, because I've studied Mormonism and seen the end result of Mormon culture over time I know too much. The "uber-happy, uber-together, uber-nice" facade no longer impresses me and, in fact, it pisses me off. I know enough LDS Theology and Culture to know WHY Mormons feel the need to put on that false face (it's typically a defense mechanism BTW) but. personally, I like it when people are 100% authentic 100% of the time and, sadly, Mormons (like many Christians I must add) aren't. Which, of course, reminds me of one of my favorite Mormon jokes: Q: How do you keep your Mormon friend from drinking all your beer and smoking all your cigars on your fishing trip? A: Bring another Mormon. Thanks for letting me share.