The Mormons are and always were regarded as “different.” Their teachings are close enough to “Judeo-Christian” teachings to sound familiar to others, but the variations set them apart in special ways. In this respect, they appear on the American scene the way Roman Catholics did pre-Vatican II (1962-65), in that they have strict rules in respect to belief and behavior and have (or had) efficient structures to enforce them.
To what extent Mormons lean into or away from “mainstream” ways is instructive to others. We historians of American religion could always count on telling the story of Mormonism if we wanted to be “interesting.” Sociologists love the Saints because of their clear and clean record-keeping. Haters hate them because to many they appear so hateable. The envious in other religious bodies envy them for their statistical growth, their ability to command loyalties, and more. That is as true today as it was when Mormons were confined to Utah or “the margins,” and not more broadly at home on the map of American pluralism.
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