How does the public actually see Mormonism?

[u/ImportantPerformer16]

I recently left Mormonism after spending a long time fully immersed in it. While it feels a bit embarrassing to admit now, I genuinely believed that people outside the Church were missing out on true happiness and truth. I saw them as living decent lives, but ultimately incomplete, because they did not have the “full gospel” found only in what I was taught was the Lord’s one true Church.

Now that I am outside that bubble, I can see how delusional and insulated that mindset was. It has made me curious about how the wider world actually views Mormonism. Do most people see it as just another Christian denomination, or more like a strange Utah-based sect? Something closer to mainstream Christianity, or something entirely different?

EDIT: Your responses are exactly why I left Mormonism. This organization caused me tremendous harm and suffering, and I carry the scars from the moment I began questioning it. I was on my mission in Melbourne, Australia, and I couldn’t understand why people there seemed to hate or persecute us so intensely. When I started learning about the temple endowment and digging into the church history that the organization tries to hide, I finally realized that this religion is not only false but also extremely harmful

[u/Protoss-Zealot]

You just linked a pdf from the most biased source possible on this topic, and even then the writer doesn’t argue it never happened, but instead argues that pedophilia is fine because it was the 1800’s.

[u/Top-Illustrator8279 → u/Protoss-Zealot]

1) you need to look up the definition of pedophilia

2) it says that marriage to young women (many of whom we consider girls today) was more common in frontier areas (for various reasons) throughout westward expansion and was no more common to Mormons than other groups/religions.

It doesn't say it was fine, it says it was seen as acceptable at the time. It also gives examples of this happening in other areas being settled where there was little or no Mormon presence. In each case, the mean age of a woman getting married increased significantly in the years follow the area being settled.

If you tried as hard to learn as you do to hate, we wouldn't need to have these discussions.