Reply #3: I went to a high school that was about 25-33 percent Mormon

[rockymountaindem]

and the rest was mostly evangelical Protestant. This was within the last five years, so my experience is relatively recent. I have to say that despite my theological differences with them (I'm Jewish) I respect the Mormons way more than "the fundies" we always complain about. The Mormons kept the religious agenda largely off the table, while the fundies kept hammering away at how bad Mormonism is. The Mormons would not be provoked, and largely I would say they were much more dignified in their spiritual and temporal lives than their fundamentalist Protestant counterparts. To give you an idea of the kind of fundies I'm talking about, Ted Haggard's old church is in my neighborhood and several of my friends were part of his congregation.

As one of the few people of faith outside Christianity, many of the fundamentalist Protestants (including my friends) would always try to tell me of the evils of Mormonism (such as the addition of the Book of Mormon to the Bible). When asked my opinion on the matter, I'd always reply "how is the New Testament not a supposedly proscribed 'addition' to the Bible" and "the Mormons never tell me how bad you guys are" (which was totally true). Long story short, while a lot of people who don't have experience with the Mormons think they're a bunch of clannish wierdos, in reality the Mormons are far preferable to the madness of Focus on the Family et. al.

And, don't forget, Harry Reid is a Mormon.