For the last couple of days, since receiving news of the attack on a Latter-day Saint congregation in Michigan, I have witnessed the subsequent conversation online and discussed the event with people in person.
One phrase has been ringing through my mind: “peculiar people.”
Then-President of the Church, Gordon B. Hinckley quoted the first book of Peter calling Christ’s followers “a peculiar people” who were intended to “shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.” He explained to his audience of young Latter-day Saints: “I know of no other statement which more aptly describes you nor which sets before you a higher ideal by which to shape and guide your lives.”
Like many of my fellow Latter-day Saints, his proclamations are something that rang true throughout my childhood. My public high school in Irvine, CA, had an on-campus club for Christian students. They claimed, “You don’t have to be a Christian to join!” They would bring in leaders from local Protestant churches and give out pizza at their lunch meetings.
My junior year, I thought it would be nice to involve myself with the club’s leadership. After a couple of weeks of attending the leadership meetings and trying to help where I could, the co-presidents of the club reached out, asking if they could have lunch with me and my other Latter-day Saint friend who attended the club. The point of the meeting soon became clear: our Christianity was on trial. They brought their Bibles, marked with scriptures they believed proved that we were not true Christians, and subsequently asked us to step down from the club’s leadership.
Perhaps we were too peculiar.
Debating Christian identity
In the immediate aftermath of the attack, some claimed the tragedy was an “attack on Christianity.” However, as we have learned more about the shooter, it seems like something even more targeted. A city council candidate in Michigan spoke with the shooter while he was canvassing only days before the attack, claiming that while their conversation remained polite, the shooter went on a bit of an anti-Mormon tirade, referring to Latter-day Saints as “the antichrist.”
Mainstream protestant Christianity has never claimed Latter-day Saints as a part of their in-group. In fact, Pew Research found that the only Christian group in America that harbors even slightly positive feelings toward Latter-day Saints is Catholics.
Latter-day Saints themselves were actually the only group to report net positive views of every other religious and non-religious group. Peculiar indeed.
Latter-day Saints have sometimes even garnered more extreme public criticism from members of the religious right. Following the murder of Charlie Kirk by a Utah man who had abandoned his faith, Pastor Mark Driscoll, who is regularly featured on several mainstream right-wing talk shows and podcasts, insisted on social media “the assassin was a Mormon,” before calling the church a “demonic cult.”
Even the messages of support were often paired with statements that marginalize — such as: “while any violence against any group is bad, these people are not Christians.”
Maybe it’s OK to be different
Latter-day Saints have been both politically and socially distinct from other Americans (including other religious Americans) for decades.
While the majority of Utah and Latter-day Saints across the country consistently vote Republican, there are several distinct differences between the way Latter-day Saints and other mainstream Christians engage with politics. For instance, they have historically been more likely to express a distaste for President Donald Trump. Latter-day Saints also diverge greatly with White Evangelical Protestants when it comes to views on immigration.
For instance, when asked whether immigrants were a burden on local communities, less than a quarter of Latter-day Saints said they completely agreed, compared to more than half of White Evangelical Protestants. They also largely disagreed with the statement that “to stop illegal immigration, we need to make it more dangerous for migrants to cross the border, even if it means some of them might die.”
A quarter of White Evangelical Protestants completely agreed with this statement compared to only 6 percent of Latter-day Saints.
In 2016, Latter-day Saints voted for Donald Trump in much lower numbers than they had historically supported Republican candidates for president. In the past two elections, however, support for the Republican candidate (Donald Trump) went up again. When asked which political party better represented “people like you,” less than half (45 percent) of the Latter-day Saint respondents said the Republican party, and over a quarter said neither, insinuating a certain sense of political homelessness.
Although Latter-day Saints consistently vote Republican, in the spring of 2024, a survey from the Survey Center on American Life asked Americans if they felt the decision for who to vote for in 2024 would be an easy or a hard one. Four in 10 Latter-day Saints said it would be difficult, compared to just over a quarter of White Evangelical Protestants. Latter-day Saints were also less likely than white Evangelicals to believe that Donald Trump being elected would make the country “much better” (14 percent versus 36 percent, respectively).
Shortly after the election last fall, I spoke with John Giles, the former mayor of Mesa, AZ, an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ and a lifelong Republican. Giles endorsed Kamala Harris for President last year and spoke at the DNC.
“We are taught to look for things that are virtuous, lovely and praiseworthy,” he told me. “So, we’re not taught to say, ‘Yeah, I’m going to hold my nose and vote for somebody that I can’t encourage my children and grandchildren to emulate in any way at all.’”
Giles went on to explain the church’s call to “seek out and uphold leaders who are honest, good, and wise” and shared a sentiment that I am prone to agree with, “if the polling data ultimately shows that there’s no difference between the Latter-day Saint population and the population at large, then that’s a sad day.”
The church remains politically neutral regarding parties and candidates, but encourages civic involvement.
No political party will ever perfectly represent the ideological and moral perspectives of all Latter-day Saints. Perhaps instead of worrying about whether or not we are accepted by political groups, we should lean into the things that make us different.
Political nuances are not the only thing that makes us peculiar. This year, the Survey Center on American Life found that Latter-day Saints also hold a number of pro-social perspectives and values that distinguish the faith from other Americans.
Latter-day Saints were the religious group most likely to agree that people could usually be trusted. Another survey found that we are the religious group most likely to believe that others are looking out for us financially, and we are not on our own.
Community involvement is also higher among Latter-day Saints. Sixty-three percent of Latter-day Saints have reported volunteering in their community at least a few times within the past year, with the next highest being Jewish respondents at 42 percent. Latter-day Saints also report some of the highest numbers of having someone to rely on for something like a ride to the airport, a companion at a doctor’s appointment, a place to stay overnight, help finding a job, or help moving.
Many of the opportunities to serve and be served are facilitated by the lay clergy in our church. As I was watching a video update from the bishop of the ward that was attacked on Sunday, I thought about what he has been through these last few days. He likely has a demanding full-time job and a few kids. There is a good chance he spent the week before in lessons with missionaries and visiting members who were in need. He may have even spent the day on Saturday helping someone move or helping run a youth event.
Since Sunday, he has been grieving for the four members of his ward who were murdered while ministering to their families and organizing efforts to help those who survived. The way this bishop lives his life is peculiar and wonderful.
I am weeks away from having my first child, and I know that when she arrives, people in my community are going to bring dinners and check on me. They’re going to make sure my family is taken care of. They, like so many members of the church throughout the world, are examples of Christianity in their beliefs and in their actions.
Years after being asked to leave a Christian club at my school, I have learned that it doesn’t really matter whether they think I am a Christian when I consistently benefit from a community that strives to practice Christianity daily.
Of course, we have a long way to go and are not always perfectly kind. But I was heartened by a headline published by a satirical news outlet that read “Mormons Respond To Attack By Continuing To Be Amazingly Kind To Everyone.”
Humor aside, it was Jesus himself who taught, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”
Most mainstream Christians in the U.S. will never claim us as their own. But maybe it doesn’t matter if they think we’re Christian, so long as we know we are for ourselves.