Reader Question Box is a series where we answer questions and just generally respond to Google search terms that show up in our website traffic monitoring statistics that led people to us. Copious oddities are to be found in the search term logs, and some worthwhile questions. (In case you missed our previous editions: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9)
Question: “i hate utah”
Answer: We feel your pain. There’s a lot not to like about Utah. And of course, like any location, there are plenty of reasons to like living in Utah. Like….um…..outdoor recreation…..um…..nature…..uhhh….beautiful countryside……
Maybe we should just let Aaron B. give us his reasons, here.
Question: “does george lucas hate punk rock music?”
Answer: Maybe, maybe not. But it’s a pretty sure bet that punk music hates George Lucas.But also see Aaron B. once again (we’re beginning to suspect that he’s googling these terms on purpose, just to get into Reader Box posts. That’s kind of pathetic).
Question: “what is the difference between fundamentalist mormon and mainstream mormon”
Answer: Scholars would point out a number of distinctions (not the least being that there are different branches of Mormonism at work here), though most people usually see the main distinctions in the differences between this image:
And this one:
But, you can also talk about mainstream vs. fundamentalist as cultural terms within the “mainstream” Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints context as well. Represented in images, it might (roughly!) look something like this:
Mainstream, orthodox:
Mainstream, unorthodox:
Fundamentalist:
By Common Consent, a Mormon Blog 
In most wards, the last picture of a Fundamentalist is indistinguishable from the actual people in the Mainstream, Orthodox (Mitt does not qualify as an actual person). YMMV
Favorite feature of BCC. Or at least tied with Police Beat.
Thanks for the laughs – and the thought-provocation, as well.
Hooray the return of RQB!
That last one was the the one. Nicely done.
Yep. They were all good, but you saved the best for last.
Nice going, hermano.
Like.
Man, reading Aaron B’s old Star Wars post has angered up my blood! I’m going to be yelling about those awful prequels all night!
I just clicked on the link and read Aaron’s “I hate Utah” post from 2004 and would like to comment on that. As someone who did not grow up in Utah (I’m from a rather small town in British Columbia, Canada), but who lives here now, I want to defend Utah. I like it here–well, I like living in Salt Lake City, anyway, except for the inversions and the current smog. I like the mountains here and I like the red rock country in the south. I like the fact that I could probably go to a concert, play, ballet or opera anytime. There is so much to do here. Where else in a city this small could you find a great symphony (okay, sometimes they do get pretty bad conductors, like Keith Lockhart), a world-class ballet company, and a decent opera company, no to mention a multitude of theatres, some good (Pioneer does great stuff, and the Grand is pretty good) and there is the Hale for those who like mediocrity (although from time to time the Hale gets it right, and the Hale in Provo is pretty good)? Yes, some of the people are rather provincial, but there are some thinkers, too. I’m sure the teacher of our Friday morning Book of Mormon class at the stake center gets a few raised eyebrows now and then, but some of us attend because he isn’t afraid to debunk some of the church myths Utahns grew up with. So I like Utah.
Crud. Who’s the old dude? I have the sense I’ve missed out on some great joke, or at least an adequate one. ;) Help a visually ignorant sister!
(Upon re-reading this, I cringe at having said “old dude.” Should have just said “last dude.” My apologies if my first word choice gave offense.)
He’s old. And crud. So you were right on both accounts.
He’s Randy Bott, a former BYU religion professor who was hugely popular because he was a friendly guy and taught easy-A classes. He also taught some crazy false doctrine, and stated some of his out-there ideas while interviewing with the national press.
Bravo!
While I did live in Utah for 4 short, extremely terrible months, the vast majority of my Utah experience has come from dealing with Utah ex-pats who have moved to Oregon. I started writing about some of my more memorable experiences, and instead of something comment length, it turned into an entire post. So, if you want to read about three of the crazier Utah Ex-pat stories, they just posted here
http://www.poetrysansonions.com/2013/01/my-mormon-perspective-why-i-cant-see.html
The sad thing is that the two craziest ones I don’t feel like I can post on my blog, since I try to keep things PG-13 and under there. Sigh.
Thank you, Tim! I know Bro. Bott by name, but being neither a BYU grad or a Utahn I have never laid eyes on him before.
I like the land of Utah; I don’t like the people. And yes I lived in Utah for 2 years.
My theory (having lived in all of these states) is if one is LDS then Utah is not the best place to live, Arizona second, Idaho third, areas of southern New Mexico/El Paso, Texas and Nevada tie third. For some reason Colorado escapes most of the attitudes and cultures of Mormonism even though it is next door to Utah. I know some LDS people who moved to Colorado from Utah and were shocked at how different (in a good way) the people were and how much better the wards functioned. These same people also said they hope they never have to move back to Utah ( I know, there can be exceptions.)
On my mission the worst companions were the ones from Utah.
I got all giddy when I saw that another installment of the reader question box had been posted. Love love love it!