Hey all im new, currently attending BYU...

[somedude1]

Hey all I thought i would post up my intro since i have been surfing this site for a bit.... I'm suprised that the internet here in the residence halls at BYU (Provo) will even let me access this site... they block out TONS of stuff (half of the internet seems to be blocked out).

Anyways, im not a member of the LDS Church, and I have not previously been one. I am also not going to join the LDS church..... Why am I attending BYU then?

First of all... I like the lifestyle here. I don't have to put up with the alchohol and drinking nonsense which is a problem at almost all other universities, and everyone is SUPER nice here. My classes are for the most part good, the food is good (although I might suspect they are putting mind-control drugs in the food, lol) and I have a high quality of life here. The tuition is cheap, but i kinda miss caffeene now (as its banned on campus).

I have to admit though that when I first came to BYU, I SLIGHTLY considered the possiblity of joining the church. But now after going to church on sunday 2 times, and halfway through my "introduction to mormonism" class (which is required, as well as another 14 credits of religion classes (only LDS religion classes)), i have decided that there is no way I can join this church. The church on sunday that i went to twice was completley bogus, and some lady told some far out story and started yelling at everyone that if they didn't recognise that jesus died for us then we should all be ashamed to be alive (she was crying and screaming she was so emotional about it). Also, lots of the stuff in my intro to mormonism class makes me go :confused: :Crazy: , as its pretty far out there stuff to me. I also find it weird how the bishops ask people really personal questions before they get admitted to the temple, and my religion teacher has contradicted himself like 10 times so far and hasn't even noticed it, even when i try to point it out to him..... Does the Book of Mormon contradict it self a lot as well? (well i guess i will find out, i have to take 2 classes on it)... Anyways these are just very small tidbits of why I am not going to join... i really don't want to get into on the huge details...

anyways, conclusion.... cool place, nice people, good quality of life, weird church practices and teachings, some weird ways of life and thinking (by the LDS church members). I hope to gain some more knowledge from this site to help me truly understand what the LDS religion is all about (with no intention of joining) :D

[mutleydog]

Hello.

I admire your fortitude in going to BYU. I was in the area for a month visiting friends and had the opportunity to visit BYU and spend a few days there. I was fully active at the time and attending a UK university. BYU is like no-other (non-lds) educational establishment. Though active, it was definately not for me. Friends and my bishop were encouraging me to attend, but I knew it just wasn't for me. I never really saw much individuality between students or heard the vast array of opinions etc. I found in other universities I have been to. I found the whole experience quite claustraphobic really and i don't think it would have been an experience I would have enjoyed at all. :rolleyes:

Good luck with your studies....... :D

[dogzilla]

As an exmo who refused to go to Ricks or the Y (my bishop was none too pleased, but I actually had a career in mind, not an "MRS" degree.), I'm burning with curiosity about how you decided to go there in the first place. Did you grow up in Utah or something? Do you have LDS family or close friends? Knew someone who went there and loved it?

I always thought for sure that no non-LDS in their right mind would go to such a school. I'm sure there's hundreds of schools in the country that fit your same criteria: low tuition, good food, high quality of life, kids are so darned nice... Are you sure you're not ... cuckoo? :Crazy: I'm kidding. I'm sure you're quite sane. It's clear you like it there; please tell us how you got yourself there.

Thanks!

[silverfox]

Glad to hear you are having a positive experience at YBU (ooops sorry BYU). Does every student have to take those Mo classes?????

[somedude1]

I went to a different university last semester (im not going to discolse which one, but its in a nearby state) , and I did not like it there becuase of the drinking and drugs going on, which my roomate was into a lot.... I thought i would like the atmostphere here with the no substance abuse thing, low amount of noise in the dorm halls, and a bunch of other stuff i don't want to get into... lets just say it met my criteria. My neighbors back at home are mormon, and i had heard great things about BYU from them since their sons and daughters are attending currently. BTW... no one in my family or relatives are mormon

Everyone here knows that im not Mormon, but thats cool with them, i hang out with them and they don't try to avoid me. No one has tried to convert me or asked if i am considering converting (yet), and everyone seems to be cool with me not going to church on sundays and that... theres 3 other people on my floor besides me who aren't Mormon.

As for being required to take mormon religion classes... yes everyone is required to take 14 credits of mormon religion... :mad:

[stuckasamo]

Glad to hear you are having a positive experience at YBU (ooops sorry BYU). Does every student have to take those Mo classes?????

YBU.....lol! You definitely don't want to be me! 14 credits of Hell is proving to be quite a challenge to get through. I debated whether or not I should take all 14 credits in one semester just to get it over with, or drag it out slooooowly?

In the end I decided on the slow torture, because I'm not being extremely careful about my apostate opinions, and I wouldn't be surprised if I am soon found out and kicked out. And I wouldn't want to have all that religion done for nothing! I'm doing the worst first, though - Book of Moron. If I wasn't BIC and totally parental-dependent, I would not be doing what you are doing, somedude1! I would have high-tailed it to a college far far away from Mo-Town! But hey - You're at the big Y, right? So at least YOU get to wear flip-flops! :cool:

They just keep just keep on tightening the noose in a slow but steady manner, don't they? Any bets on how long it takes them to ban fruit juices from the Moron diet because there might be harmful pesticides in them? How about the banning of contact lenses because we shouldn't put foreign substances in our bodies? How long will it take for people to start saying "This is ridiculous!"? :(

[free thinker]

You know what Brigham Young said?

" I dont care how you Brigham, just Brigham Young"!! :D

Free Thinker

[Free-soil]

I went to a different university last semester (im not going to discolse which one, but its in a nearby state) , and I did not like it there becuase of the drinking and drugs going on, which my roomate was into a lot.... I thought i would like the atmostphere here with the no substance abuse thing, low amount of noise in the dorm halls, and a bunch of other stuff i don't want to get into... lets just say it met my criteria. My neighbors back at home are mormon, and i had heard great things about BYU from them since their sons and daughters are attending currently. BTW... no one in my family or relatives are mormon

Everyone here knows that im not Mormon, but thats cool with them, i hang out with them and they don't try to avoid me. No one has tried to convert me or asked if i am considering converting (yet), and everyone seems to be cool with me not going to church on sundays and that... theres 3 other people on my floor besides me who aren't Mormon.

As for being required to take mormon religion classes... yes everyone is required to take 14 credits of mormon religion... :mad:

I commend your ability to be at that university. I was going to transfer there during my most active mormon days. I loved the people and had so much fun visiting. Hated the implications of the church on the culture. I felt so stiffled, as if I could not think for myself. Looking back, this was more related to the church than the school. However, it was really hard to separate the two areas of my life. I suppose that should have been a sign that I wasn't as assimilated as I thought :)

Free-soil

[miss taken]

I actually applied to do a Masters in History at BYU but didn't get accepted. I was also attracted by the lifestyle,(and the opportunity to study church history) but.....I think it would have been so intellectually clostrophobic?
(excuse spelling) I would not like to go to a religious university on academic grounds because of that.