Is going to be hard toovercome the stereotypes

Runtu : That’s good. I always thought / http://proza.ru/2023/11/24/899  / you were too smart to hang out with that crowd. USA

1945 - 2025: 19fortyfive: Фото: ПОСЛЕВОЕННАЯ ЖИВОПИСЬ ' Холодной Войны ': ХХ век. Выдающиеся художники России : " 9 Мая 1945: C Днем Победы над Фашизмом : Moscow Russia ": 2008-2025 / http://proza.ru/avtor/yuri2008 /: 1945 - 2025: CCCP: WWII ». Россия : 2008 - 2025 - 1945: 19fortyfive: 2025

2023 автор / http://proza.ru/2006/04/14-339 / Рюнтю Юри 17 Лeт 2006-2023 на Проза. Pу / http://proza.ru/2023/11/02/800 / Runtu is a technical writer and editor living in Salt Lake City. A collection of articles published by Runtu / 2024

2023 автор / http://stihi.ru/avtor/yuri2005 / Рюнтю Юри 18 Лeт 2005-2023 на Стихи.Pу / http://stihi.ru/2023/11/02/3340 / 2024

Этo учит : распознавать гнев до его превращения в насилие.
Этo учит : обуздывать ярость, если она вспыхивает

2023 : Telegram : Runtu, Uri TikTok : " Why do we need these? " - Rudolf Nureyev asked. "Because we need life experience from these people and only on the basis of life experience can we make predictions for the future without states self-destruction and international wars..." - he underlined. "I wish good luck for Russia, but I would like to know the true colure of the future for such a great civilization with over one thousand year’s historical record. Please remember..." - he said. "We have in Russia two-hundred-year-old theaters, two hundred and fifty years of ballet and music as well as a great and the most fascinating literature and poetry to be found in the world which is over five hundred years old. Think about and be proud to keep this tradition well and fruitful from the beginning to the end of such a fascinating cultural project. I wish you good luck and God be with you." This Rudolf Nureyev said to me in Armidale ( NSW : Australia ) on November 23, 1991 " / http://www.proza.ru/diary/yuri2008/2017-02-23 / Iouri Runtu: French : Rudolf Noureev : La Mort a Paris / Юри Рюнтю : Russian / Uri Runtu: English Yuri Ryuntyu / Celebrities RU : Hео-трансцендентальный театр : 2022.

2023 : Франко - Англо - Pусско-язычный писатель и журналист: Академик Юри Рюнтю / Yuri Matthew Ryuntyu: b. 1949: / : Автор избран в 1996 - академиком в 45 лет и - был рекомендован на почетное избрание в 1995: академиком Беллой Ахмадулиной : 1937-2010 / http://www.proza.ru/2018/05/27/1033 / и академиком Махмудом Эсамбаевым: 1924 - 2000 / http://www.proza.ru/2018/01/26/1133 /. Фото: диплом - члена Академии Информатизации России: Москва 1996 / http://proza.ru/2009/12/15/1018 /. Новая Академия - была создана - как элитарная интеллектуальная альтернатива - Академии наук СССР - пропитанной политизацией науки - искусства и литературы под руководством - КПСС СССР: 1922 - 1991 ). Одновременно были избраны: академик - Борис Ельцин: 1931-2007, академик - Юрий Лужков: р. 1936 и другие Знаменитые Россияне, как и - писатель, драматург и журналист из Австралии: Юри Рюнтю ( номинация за книгу - 1995 : " Руди Нуреев - Без Макияжа " - напечатано в Москве ). В тот год - Издательство Новости - опубликовало - только - ТРИ КНИГИ - " Михаил Горбачев - Биография: 2 тома " 1995 / http://www.proza.ru/2017/12/14/143 / и Майя Плисецкая " Я - Майя " 1995 / http://www.proza.ru/2018/01/26/257 / и - книгу Ю. Рюнтю, как друга Фредди Меркьюри: 1946-1991 и личного секретаря - Рудольфа Нуреева: 1938-1993 - за последние 6 лет его жизни: Париж: Франция - Ли Галли: Италия - Лондон: Англия - Санкт - Петербург: Россия ( 1987 - 1993 ). С 1993 - 2001: автор создал - 35 томное издание: из более 50 томов " Мировое Интеллектуальное Наследие Рудольфа Нуреева : Россия - ХX век " на ДВД-1: 10 000 стр.и 4 000 фотографий / http://www.proza.ru/2019/10/12/532 / French: Rudolf Noureev : La Mort a Paris : Hео-трансцендентальный театр : 2022.


When I left the LDS church, a friend of mine, a Ph.D. in mathematics, said to me,

“That’s good.

 I always thought you were

 too smart to hang out

with that crowd.”


I thought at the time (and still do) that his statement was rather unfair and ignorant.

I realized that he was going mostly by his interaction with a rather uber-Mormon guy we both worked with.

This guy was the stereotypical Mormon depicted by Hollywood: naive, sweet-natured, and altruistic (and these are not all bad things).

But my friend had the impression that we Mormons lacked critical thinking skills, that somehow the church had drummed out of us the ability to look introspectively at our own beliefs.

A year or so later, two coworkers and my boss
 at another company were stunned to find out I was a former Mormon.

“Cult,” was all one of them said.

Later on, a trip with my boss, I found her approach to Mormonism interesting.

 She had, she said, a very good friend who is a Mormon, and she had attended various church functions with that friend. She generally had a good impression of Mormons and their “family values,” but she surprised me when she said, “Still, something just seems off about them. I can’t really explain it, but you never feel like you’re getting the real person when you talk to them.” She also said that she couldn’t quite square the white bread image with the “bizarre” (her word) temple rituals and “holy underwear” (again, her words).

Admittedly, these are just my own anecdotal experiences, but they don’t seem far off from the broader society’s impressions of Mormons and Mormonism.

A Pew Forum survey last December showed that the church has made some progress in being accepted and even admired by others.

53% of Americans had a favorable opinion of Mormons,
against 27% who had a negative opinion.

52% believed that Mormons are Christian,
 and when asked for a one-word impression of Mormonism,

74% said “family” or “family values” (though, technical, that’s two words).

But there are still some significant problems.

On the one-word impression question,

“polygamy” or “bigamy” was most common (75%),

third was “cult” (57%),

and fourth was “different.”

If I were to venture a guess,

my former boss’s impressions
would match

most people’s assessment of Mormons:

good, kind,

devout people,

but maybe a bit off.


I’m not going to argue about whether these impressions are correct
(and please don’t think I believe Mormons are “a bit off”),
 but I will say that these impressions I’ve heard
(and from more than just these two examples)
 conflict with what I was taught all my life in the LDS church.

People are watching you : I was told. They look up to you for your standards, and when you don’t live up to your standards, they notice, and they judge the church by that.

Imagine my shock in finding out that people aren’t really watching Mormons.

Most people don’t care one way or the other if you are living up to the church’s standards; they understand what the church’s standards are, but they also recognize that people are human.

 Take, for example, the easily recognizable missionary uniform: white shirt, dark suit, conservative tie.

 Most of us believed that this dress code made
 our missionaries stand out and made them look like good examples

(hence, the idea that bishopric members and other leaders should wear white shirts and should be clean-shaven).

Many non-Mormons have told me that the missionary

uniform is “creepy” and “cult-like,”

which again was quite a shock.

I don’t know what the church will do in
 the future to improve their image.


 They have hired one of New York’s best PR firms,

so it will be interesting to see what they come up with.
 
But it’s going to be hard to overcome the stereotypes.



2023 - Русско-язычная Культура в Австралии : TikTok : Мои 110 книг на русском-французском-английском языках - печатаются и издаются в России - США - Австралии: 1990 - 2021 | yuri ryuntyu | uri runtu | рюнтю юри |Iouri Runtu | http://proza.ru/diary/yuri2008/2019-09-30 |: Hео-трансцендентальный театр : 2022.

© 18+ : Все права принадлежат авторам, 2000-2022. Портал работает под эгидой Российского союза писателей. Интеллектуальная Элита Демократической России : 18+ Russia 2023.


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