Mormons are a peculiar people.  I am one myself, so that gives me license to make such a statement.  Mormons are downright odd, and I’m as odd as they come.

Mormon Church meetings are peculiar.  They’re not a whole lot different from meetings in other churches except that you never see a collection plate passed.  Mormons can get away with that because they don’t have to pay a minister.  Their minister is the bishop.  He’s just a regular farmer, doctor, or government employee who gives up to 40 hours per week in church service while doing the same in his employment, and while being a full-time family man, too.  How does he do it?  Why would he do it?  He serves for five years, and then someone else is given the job.

The bishop rarely gives the Sunday sermon.  He assigns members of the congregation to do it.  Everyone gets the opportunity—even little kids.  Everyone steps up to the plate, yet few of them are polished public speakers.  Why would they do that?  They’re as scared to be in front of a group as anyone.  And why would everyone keep coming back week after week to listen to sermons from such untrained ministers?  It’s strange, very strange.

These people not only sit through an hour of worship service, but then go to an hour of Sunday School class, and then separate into age and gender groups and attend a third hour of instruction.  That’s odd.  They have endurance.

They don’t get a break from religion during the rest of the week, either.  They each have a job in the Church, so they’re preparing lessons, visiting families that they’re assigned to watch over, attending daily seminary classes for youth, holding Monday night Family Home Evenings, working on family history, helping the boys become Eagle Scouts, and teaching the girls homemaking and mothering skills while stressing education for young and old alike.  It sounds exhausting, yet they claim to be, and look, peaceful.

No one ever asks them for money, yet they give 10% of their paychecks to the Church as tithing.  And then they donate to the care of the poor, to humanitarian aid for distressed people around the world, and to an education fund for young people in Third World countries so that they can lift themselves out of the cycle of poverty.  How can they afford that?  It’s weird.

The average Mormon lives a decade longer than his peers, stays married to the same spouse, and claims to be very happy and satisfied with life.  That’s unusual—and enviable.

Imagine people lining up and clamoring for the opportunity to devote up to two years of their lives to full-time missionary service, paying for the privilege to do it, and being willing to be sent to some far-off corner of the world where the culture and language is different.  Why would anyone do that?  It’s strange, yet over 700 Mormons per week do it, and join the force of 58,000 that’s already serving.  We’re so caught up in this strange culture that my wife and I are currently in the process of putting in our application papers so that we can join this force.

Mormons are peculiar.  Mormons are odd.  Why would they do these things?  If you could find out why, you’d be within reach of the pearl of great price for which Jesus said a man would sell his all to obtain.