Why are some if not most Mormons so arrogant?

Question

I live in a neighborhood with more than a few latter day saints, I am Catholic, they do not know me or my religion, they shun me and my family, my religion teaches me to accept and love all, Mormons have very little to stand on theologically and are officially not accepted by the vast majority of organized religion as Christians because of heresay, the book of Mormon is pretty hard to accept for most people however I do not hate mormons and I do try to be civil with them and could even be friends,they typically are un socialable and keep to their own, I can tell you that a Mormon can walk into any Catholic church they would like, however I am prohibited from entering their temple, this speaks volumes of their intolerance of others.

Let me make this clear, I would like to be friendly with everyone

being Christian is accepting EVERYONE!

anyone can walk into the Vatican..just wait in line we accept all in our cathedrals and churchs as mormons should accept all in their stakes and temples.

actually they do shun me I go out of my way to be friendly but right from the start my Mormon neighbors blow me off, I gave them xmas cards with no acknowledgement, thier kids will not even look me in the eye, this is not my imagination I am being systematically shunned, I do know some Mormons at work that are perfectly nice but I can tell you that for the past 15 years living here in the northwest a good number of Mormons are not friendly.Many non mormons in the area have had similar experiences, I will not give up trying to at least be civil with my mormon neighbors.

I am speaking for my self as an individual Catholic when I say many Mormons in this area exclude people not sharing their faith,exclude even though Igo out of my way to be friendly with them...like I said Many non mormons in area share my experience and in fact I have been ridiculed by some Mormons for being Catholic, unprovoked ridicule for wearing a crucifix,like I say again I try to be friendly with everyone, I AM NOT PREJUDICED.

poor choice of words on my part concerning the temple. I am curious, not trying to criticize, the Vatican and our cathedrals are our equivelent of LDS temples...the big house if you will.Seems like I am struggling with individual personalities not LDS in general, I just wish people were more caring of each other.I am sorry to say I have been ridiculed and shunned by numerous LDS...I will not lose my faith in my fellow man.

Answer 1

Yes, most of my fellow LDS members come off as arrogant and intolerant. The Temples are sacred places of worship in our doctrine. We believe that it is a very holy place, and as close as we can get to God while here on this Earth. But that's just the Temples. Ask any of your Mormon neighbors, and you'll be gladly invited to attend services at thier meeting house. Also, if a new Temple is being Constructed, find a way to attend the open house. Open houses allow visitors of all faiths to enter and see the building. The Temple is very powerful and sacred to us. It is where we perform our most sacred rites.

We believe that we must serve our brethren, be they Jew or Gentile, Muslim or atheist. I'm sorry that those members in your area are so snobbish, they cast a flawed view for the rest of us.

Answer 2

1) You are allowed to enter the temple during the Open House, which is a great time to see it (which occurs when they originally build it and when they perform renovations). However, my friend, you are comparing apples to oranges (or maybe in this case, grapefruits...) The temple is not a church. We go to the temple to perform spiritual, eternal ordinances. You are more than welcome to come to any LDS church, as Pinkadot mentioned the sign always says "Visitors Welcome." Also, several of the larger temples, there is a "Visitors Center" where you can go and learn about why you cannot enter and what we do in the temple... See Salt Lake, UT and Washington, DC immediately come to mind...

Actually, Mormon and Catholic are the only ones that could be truly right (all other Christian religions stemmed off), we are the only two that have explanations for everything. The main problem is probably, as Pinkadot stated, that they are worried that you will be offended by them or you will think that they are trying to convert you.

And I would also add that the Book of Mormon is not hard to accept if you do read it with an open mind.

Answer 3

You have gotten some very good answers already. let me just add that temples are very sacred (not secret) places. They are where worthy members go to prey and make commitments to God. It's not the regular house of worship though, these are used for personal reasons. It's just like the temple around Jesus' time (and before) where only certain people can go into certain rooms to do certain things. However, you are always invited to come to a weekly church meeting, just as I'm sure we could go to a catholic meeting.

Sean does have a point, sometimes Mormons seem arrogant because the persecution from the past all the way through to today. But, they are also very support of each other, so the primarily stay with each other. However, they are very much encouraged to go out and meet with everyone. Mormonism embraces the idea of learning about and helping other cultures and religions. So if you really would want to be friends with them, it shouldn't be a problem. However, it is a two way street understandably, they would have to give you the same attention you clam you would give to them.

Answer 4

Sorry to hear about your circumstance, I don't know of your specific situation, but it's true, Mormons, like many faiths can be a close knit group of people and seem strange, exclusive, and arrogant to others.

I would bet that the Mormons in your neighborhood aren't as arrogant as they seem. Maybe you should try to get to know a few of them - invite them to your house or an activity or something. I'm sure they would appreciate it. That may be the best Christian thing to do, and you may even find some new friends in the process.

Answer 5

I am glad I converted to Catholicism.

I am always seeking knowledge.

I found this info online as 'additional readings" :


Protestants being thus impious enough to make liars of Jesus Christ, of the Holy Ghost, and of the Apostles, need we wonder if they continually slander Catholics, telling and believing worse absurdities about them than the heathens did? What is more absurd than to preach that Catholics worship stocks and stones for gods; set up pictures of Jesus Christ, of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and other saints, to pray to them, and put their confidence in them; that they adore a god of bread and wine; that their sins are forgiven by the priest, without repentance and amendment of life; that the pope or any other person can give leave to commit sin, or that for a sum of money the forgiveness of sins can be obtained ? To these and similar absurdities and slanders, we simply answer: "Cursed is he who believes in such absurdities and falsehoods, with which Protestants impiously charge the children of the Catholic Church. All those grievous transgressions are another source of their reprobation."

"But what faith can we learn from these false teachers when, in consequence of separating from the Church, they have no rule of faith? ... How often Calvin changed his opinions! And, during his life, Luther was constantly contradicting himself: on the single article of the Eucharist, he fell into thirty-three contradictions! A single contradiction is enough to show that they did not have the Spirit of God. "He cannot deny Himself" (II Timothy 2:13). In a word, take away the authority of the Church, and neither Divine Revelation nor natural reason itself is of any use, for each of them may be interpreted by every individual according to his own caprice ... Do they not see that from this accursed liberty of conscience has arisen the immense variety of heretical and atheistic sects? ... I repeat: if you take away obedience to the Church, there is no error which will not be embraced.

Source(s):

Additional Reading
Against the Reformers

St Alphonsus Mary De Liguori (1696-1787)Bishop and Doctor of the Church

Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible online

Answer 6

That is too bad you feel that way. Have you ever thought of introducing yourself to them? OR maybe you being the one to start the conversation? Maybe they are thinking to themselves, well, if that Catholic guy wanted to talk to us he would. Maybe they are nervous to talk to you because you might think they are just being nice to try to convert you...it sounds as though you have your mind made up about them anyways.
I live in Utah so of course very Mormon-populated...I have a friend that is not LDS and thinks (or used to think) Mormons are a bunch of snobs because none of her neighbors want to hang out with her. Well, she drinks, goes to bars, parties and does lots of things that we as LDS don't do...so we are seen as snobby because her neighbor won't go out to a bar with her. I am not saying that is your situation but see how things can get misconstrued? I talked to her about the church and her concerns about us LDS being snobby.
Anyways...you could go to any LDS church you wanted as well, there is even a big sign on the front of every church that says VISITORS WELCOME. But notice how YOU compared the LDS 'temple' to the Catholic church...two TOTALLY different places my friend. Compare apples to apples...
The temple is dedicated as a house of the Lord, and He Himself has set the standards that those in attendance must be living by. It is His house afterall, He has that right I would think.
Anyways, it sounds like you are being quite judging yourself and maybe you should look at it from another perspective. Good luck.

Answer 7

My experience is that Mormons are fine people to deal with in a work place environment but as you say they keep to themselves socially. That's their right -- There's no law that says Mormons have to mingle on their own time.

Answer 8

They were the nicest people when down in Southern Alberta. They were thoughtful, modest, warm, funny and generous. Albeit, I don't get polygamy, but from my perspective, the hatred, unfair stereotyping, etc. makes things worse because people are divisive that way.

Answer 9

Not to be mean to Mormons, but some of it stems from thinking they can become a God in the afterlife.

Answer 10

They are probably just defensive from being attacked by everyone based on their views.