When you grow up Mormon, you get used to keeping the Sabbath, dressing conservatively, spending time with your family, and disabusing non-Mormons of the notions they hold about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

"The biggest thing that I try to explain is that we're very normal," said Amber Campbell, who resides with her husband, Alan, another lifelong Mormon, and their two young sons, in West Hempfield Township. "We live very normal lives."

And Mormon values, she said, are much the same as those held by traditional Christians: "We believe in being good and kind and doing unto others as you would have them do unto you, and following Christ's example."

But Alan Campbell said he senses, in many non-Mormons, an "uneasiness" about Mormonism, and this uneasiness can lead to misconceptions. "I don't mean to sound like we're picked on," he said. "There are just misunderstandings."

With Mitt Romney vying with Rick Santorum for front-runner status in the race for the Republican presidential nomination, and Mormonism getting the pop-culture treatment on television and on Broadway, this has been dubbed "the Mormon moment."

And yet, the Latter-day Saints remain a mystery to many non-Mormons, who may be familiar with the Osmonds and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, but know little about the Mormon religion, despite the enthusiastic efforts of the young missionaries who are sent out in pairs to win converts to their church.

According to a survey of Mormons by the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life, six in 10 believe that Americans are uninformed about Mormonism. Nearly half say that Mormons "face a lot of discrimination" in the United States today.

In this area, the lack of knowledge may owe something to geography. For decades, relatively few Mormons ventured east of the Rocky Mountains.

"They were in fact pretty much behind the mountain curtain," said Jan Shipps, a noted scholar of Mormon history, and professor emeritus of history and religious studies at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. "Only the people who had traveled in the West really knew about them."

When a group is isolated like that, "it's fairly easy to have a caricatured picture of them," said Delbert Ellsworth, a retired psychology professor at Elizabethtown College, and a lifelong Mormon.

While Mormons have lived in Lancaster County for about 170 years, they remain a tiny minority here. "I suspect that a lot of people who have Mormons for neighbors just don't know they're Mormons," Ellsworth said. "Though in Lancaster County, when they say, 'What are you?' they don't mean your profession, they mean your religion."

Mormons and Christianity
In interviews, Lancaster County Mormons said that unfamiliarity has bred, if not contempt, then confusion. They said that some people see Mormonism as a cult.

While local Mormons reject that characterization as insulting and wrong, it is a frequently applied one: A November Pew Research Center survey asked, in an open-ended question, what one word describes the Mormon religion. "Cult" was a common response.

Local LDS members also say they are bewildered by the refusal of traditional Christians to accept Mormons as fellow Christians.

Last week, on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," Franklin Graham, son of evangelist Billy Graham, declared that "most Christians would not recognize Mormons as part of the Christian faith."

It's not just evangelicals who believe that Mormon doctrine puts Mormonism outside the bounds of Christianity.

The Roman Catholic church has declared that Mormon baptisms are not valid. According to the Religion News Service, this stance is shared by even relatively liberal Protestants, such as the Presbyterian Church (USA), the United Methodist Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

Mormons point to their church's official name: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

"I think it's kind of funny that people don't think we're Christian," said Jaime Barnum, an Elizabethtown stay-at-home mother who converted to the LDS church 15 years ago. "It's right there in the name."

Essentially, Mormons get voted out of the Christian community. "That's totally baffling, and also hurtful, quite frankly," Ellsworth said. "It implies that we're part of some weird group in the shadows."

It's particularly painful because Mormons are "living their lives emulating Jesus Christ in every way they can," said David Kenley, an associate professor of history at Elizabethtown College.

Kenley is the bishop of the Elizabethtown ward, or congregation, of the LDS church. Mormon clergy are laymen with no formal divinity training; their positions are temporary and unpaid. (After nearly six years as bishop, Kenley said wryly that he's "very ready to share the rich blessings of this experience with somebody else.")

He said Mormons "wholeheartedly embrace" the Bible and the teachings of Jesus.

Mormons depart from traditional Christianity, however, in believing that God and Jesus are separate, physical beings.

Traditional Christians see this as a rejection of an essential tenet of Christianity: a belief in the Trinity — Father, Son, Holy Spirit, as one.

Mormons also differ by believing in a continuing revelation and open scripture. Just as "the heavens were open to speak to man in Old Testament times, we consider the president of our church to be a prophet," Kenley said. "He has the authority to receive revelations from God."

Mormons believe they have been given an additional testament of Jesus Christ: the Book of Mormon.

Mormons believe the Book of Mormon was an ancient record, translated from gold plates, by Joseph Smith, the founder of the LDS church, in western New York in 1827. The Latter-day Saints believe Smith was told of that ancient record by an angel named Moroni.

Kenley acknowledged that, for those "who believe the Bible to be definitive and all-encompassing," the idea that it would be amended might seem blasphemous. "I don't agree with this, but I understand."

"The idea of open scripture may be rather unorthodox," but that doesn't mean Mormonism is not Christian, he said.

Jan Shipps, a United Methodist who has studied the Mormons for five decades, maintains that Mormonism is a "new religious tradition," a "faith system that is not just Christian, but also Judeo-Christian, much more Judeo-Christian than any other form of Christianity existing in 1830" (when the LDS church was formed).

Faith journeys
Five or so years ago, when the local LDS church embarked on a plan to build a 26,000-square-foot church across the street from an upscale development in East Hempfield Township, the development's residents protested.

In meeting after meeting, they detailed their concerns about the size of the church, and the traffic it would bring to their neighborhood. Some LDS members said they wondered if anti-Mormon sentiment was behind some of the concerns.

But when the newly built church held an open house last summer, the reaction among the local community members who turned up seemed positive, said Andrew Whitlock, an LDS member and German teacher at Donegal High School.

He thinks perhaps that the resistance to the church's plans could be attributed mostly to "a fear of the unknown ... and of change."

Said Whitlock: "If you don't know what kind of church it is, and all you've heard are negative things, of course you're going to be upset about it."

To non-Mormons, some Mormon beliefs and practices can seem peculiar. For instance, when Mormon adults go to an LDS temple for the first time, they are given white undergarments, which they are to wear for the rest of their lives under their ordinary clothes.

These sacred undergarments are "physical reminders" of the promises made to God to keep the commandments, "tangible reminders of the lives [we're] trying to lead," Bishop Kenley said.

He noted with a laugh that Mormons don't generally talk about these garments "because it's our underwear —and nobody talks about their underwear."

Jaime Castellanos, of Columbia, and his wife, Letisha, converted to Mormonism in 2008, after two LDS missionaries — one from Utah, the other from Arizona — knocked on their door, and introduced them to the faith.

He said he and his wife had gone to church as children, but hadn't really found a church home. He said the traditional belief of God as a Trinity "never made sense to me." But the Mormon belief that God has a physical body, and that Jesus is God's literal son, did.

Much to the dismay of their families, he and his wife were baptized as Mormons a month after the missionaries first came to their home. In order for their marriage to be sealed for eternity, in adherence to Mormon belief, they had to marry again — this time, at the Mormon temple in Washington, D.C.

Castellanos said they celebrate the anniversaries of both of their weddings, the first of which took place in 2005, and the second one, which Castellanos said he holds in higher regard, fouryears later.

Erin Judd, of Marietta, converted to the LDS church seven years ago, at the age of 20.

She had grown up in New Hampshire as the daughter of evangelicals, "really great parents who taught me about God and Jesus Christ." She loved the music at her parents' church, where her father played the drums, but "always felt everyone was in on something, and I didn't understand."

She was intrigued by some of the Mormons who attended her public high school. "I really felt like they lived lives that were exemplary," she recalled.

But when they told her about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon, "it just didn't seem believable at all ... it just seemed crazy."

Still, her interest in the LDS church grew, even as friends directed her to the anti-Mormon sites — some authored by ex-Mormons — which abound on the Internet.

In the summer of 2005, she went to Brigham Young University in Utah, and enrolled in a class on the Book of Mormon. "I wanted to believe the Book of Mormon but I just felt like I couldn't. It just seemed so ludicrous."

And then, after weeks of studying and prayer, she said she had a "wonderful change of heart," and "it just fell into place and made sense to me."

She was baptized Mormon about a month later. Her parents, she said, "weren't thrilled. I think they were a little upset and kind of confused." To this day, she said, they are respectful, but "there's a lot that goes unsaid."

When she converted, she bade farewell to her morning coffee. According to Mormon doctrine, the human body is a gift from God, and God doesn't want Mormons drinking coffee or tea, or using tobacco or illegal drugs (tattoos and multiple piercing also are discouraged).

But forgoing coffee was a small sacrifice. "I've never been happier," Judd said. "I've never been more of the person I want to be. I've never felt this sure of my relationship with God."

Judd said she "really loves" being commanded to keep the Sabbath. She and her husband wear their Sunday best, all day, to make the day feel special. Mormons spend three hours at church on Sundays; shopping and work are to be avoided.

She met her husband, Jordan Judd, when she enrolled at Brigham Young University-Idaho. "I really wanted to marry an LDS man because I had so much respect for them," she said. "I felt more respected by them. I felt they were more genuine in their pursuit of the Savior.

"I could accept [an LDS man] as the head of my household — otherwise, I would probably take over, and I would be the one wearing the pants. My husband is the spiritual authority of my home."

Women cannot be admitted to the Mormon clergy, but women do hold leadership positions, Kenley said, noting that women can preach from the pulpit, and "do pretty much everything but be bishop."

Judd, the stay-at-home mother of an infant girl, said Mormons believe that men and women are equal, but hold different roles. Her husband's role, she said, is "to lead our family and provide for us financially; my primary role is to bear children, and make our home a home."

The homemaking abilities of young Mormon wives are documented on the Mormon mommy blogs that proliferate on the Internet. They are stylish websites featuring perfect Mormon families, residing in homes that are perfectly — and thriftily — appointed with repurposed vintage furnishings. The tone of these blogs is unceasingly sunny (this cheeriness was spoofed on a blog called "Seriously, so blessed!").

"You don't get a lot of angry rants on there," Erin Judd noted. "We try to focus on being grateful for the blessings that we have. ... There's quite a lot of satisfaction in creating your home."

The traditional family is celebrated, and emphasized, in the Mormon church. "We believe that God, our heavenly father, has organized us into families — that is the essential unit," Alan Campbell said.

And, added Amber Campbell, "we believe that when married by the proper authority" — in a Mormon temple — "we'll be able to have our family for the next life, for eternity. There's nothing that brings me more happiness."

To foster family closeness, Mormons are encouraged to have a "family home evening" once a week.

Family values
This belief in the traditional family has had political implications: Mormons were vociferous supporters of Proposition 8, the ballot initiative in California that sought to ban same-sex marriage in that state.

One stereotype of Mormons — that they have large families — is "probably justified," said Delbert Ellsworth, who has, with his wife, Mary Lou, a retired schoolteacher, six grown children and 22 grandchildren. All of their kids remain in the LDS church, and all married within the faith. ("To bat .1000 is very unusual," Ellsworth acknowledged.)

But modern-day Mormons do not practice polygamy. And, said the local Mormons interviewed, they're a little weary of the polygamy jokes. ("How many wives do you have?" is apparently a joke often directed at Mormon men.)

Jessica Mains, who's pursuing a master's degree at Millersville University, said non-Mormons often assume she was surrounded by polygamists when she was an undergraduate in Utah.

Television has not been helpful in this regard. TLC's reality show, "Sister Wives," features a polygamist named Kody Brown and his four wives; they are members of the Apostolic United Brethren, a fundamentalist offshoot of the Mormon church. HBO's hit series, "Big Love," which ended last year, was about a fictional polygamist family living in Utah.

"It's drama and it's entertaining," but it's not true, Amber Campbell said. "You just hope that by your example, you can show [people] what a real Mormon life is like."

In fact, Kenley said, plural marriage "has been completely purged from our culture," and is grounds for excommunication.

As the LDS' official website explains: "In obedience to direction from God, Latter-day Saints followed this practice for about 50 years during the 1800s but officially ceased the practice of such marriages … in 1890."

Ellsworth said his great-grandfather had four wives and 42 children. When he meets another Ellsworth, "I ask, 'What was your great-grandmother's name? I know who your great-grandfather was,' " he quipped.

He said that polygamy was "a quirky part of our heritage," and it's a subject Mormons don't mind joking about with fellow Mormons, but they'd rather that non-Mormons dropped the subject.

"That's not who we are," Ellsworth said. "I just want to say to people, 'Let it go. There's enough you can pick on us about.' "

Lately, Mormons have been assailed for another practice altogether: the posthumous baptizing of Holocaust victims.

Mormons are encouraged to research their family genealogies, and to posthumously baptize dead family members who were not part of the LDS church. Mormons believe that baptism is necessary in order to achieve "exultation" in the afterlife, Kenley explained. "We realize that not everybody has had that opportunity."

So Mormons stand in for the dead in these baptisms; according to Mormon belief, the dead can choose whether to accept the blessing.

When it was discovered that some LDS members were posthumously baptizing Holocaust victims, Jewish leaders decried the practice. LDS church officials promised that they no longer would accept the names of Holocaust victims for these proxy baptisms, unless the person submitting a name was a direct descendant of the victim.

But last month, the church had to apologize to the family of the late Simon Wiesenthal, after it was revealed that the parents of the famed Nazi hunter had been baptized by proxy. A church spokesman called it a "serious breach" of LDS protocol.

Just last week, The Associated Press reported that Anne Frank may have been baptized by proxy. "Holocaust victims were killed solely because they were Jews. And here comes the Mormon church taking away their Jewishness," said Abraham H. Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League. "It's like killing them twice."

Ellsworth said the baptizing of Jews by proxy was a "mistake" for which the church rightly apologized.

He has seen his church weather other storms.

To this day, the LDS church is criticized for its slowness in admitting blacks to the priesthood. It didn't happen until 1978, more than a decade after the civil rights movement.

Ellsworth said he keenly remembers the day in 1978 when he was driving home and heard on the radio that the church practice had been changed to allow for black ordination. "I had to pull over to the side of the road, and just cry out of sheer joy."

Contact Sunday News staff writer Suzanne Cassidy at scassidy@lnpnews.com.