Before I moved out to New York with my wife I stayed in Park City, Utah from 1998-2003. Many of my friends were Mormons and used the opportunity to pick their brains and read their literature. Although I found their beliefs easy to tear apart (claiming that there were ancient Israelite and other kingdoms on the Americas continents but zero archeological evidence to support this), they never once got offended, but merely chose to dodge questions the way all ideologists do. In my opnion the religion is truly a "clown" religion in how preposterous their claims are:
1) Jesus returned a second time just to annoint the US and its people as the new Holy Land with a new chosen people. No records of such an event has ever been found.
2) The angel Moroni showed Joseph Smith the sacred golden plates and was told to bury them near his home. These big, solid gold plates have never been found, despite only have been burried around 1823 and that area of New York being heavily excavated and built on.
3) There were feudal kingdoms akin to the great kindgdoms of the Middle East in the Americas, yet apart from those mighty civilizations of South America, nothing even close has ever been discovered on the North American continent, which is just silly considering the development in the US yet no one has stumbled on any of this mighty kingdoms.
I chose these points because they don't challenge the concept of magical beings, but common sense when one considers the lack of archeological evidence to support these claims. In terms of practical argument, their claims are absurd.
What really struck me are how many misconceptions there are regarding their beliefs and lifestyles.
1) They don't have sex through bedsheets
2) Mormons practicing polygamy are ostracized by the mainstream Mormons
3) Mormons do not shun
4) Mormons only constitute about 40% of the Salt Lake City and surrounding counties population.
5) Mormons do not own all or even most of Salt Lake City's real estate.
What I did like about them is how proud they are of their outdoors. When I was last there (2014) there was no litter to speak of everywhere we went. Entire communities volunteer to keep their alloted areas clean. The health care system is also regarded as one of the best in the country.
The religion itself may be for clowns, but I really liked the people.
