Whatdid the Mormon practice was most opposed by their neighbors?

Answer 1

It depends on the location and time period. For the most part, Mormons have just been considered strange, and people naturally fear and dislike people who believe differently than they do. In the mid 1800's, when the Mormons were chased from New York to Ohio to Missouri to Illinois and then to Utah, the Mormons were disliked and persecuted because of their practice of gathering. Mormons believed that they should live as close to each other as possible, and the locals grew concerned once growing population of Mormons began to affect the local politics and economy. Imagine how you would feel if suddenly the population in your town doubled and all the people who moved in were members of a group that you didn't agree with!

In modern times, some Mormons still face opposition from their neighbors. This is most often because the neighbors don't want to be 'preached to' or because they don't want conservative neighbors who might complain about their more wild lifestyle. Others might fear that the Mormon neighbors will have a large family or that they won't be friendly.

Some may say that the opposed practice was polygamy, however this wasn't very common in the church until after the move to Utah, where the Native American neighbors didn't mind. Its true polygamy was practiced in Illinois, but it was not extensive enough to have caused much trouble.