By Adrienne Andros
Cami grew up in Utah. Anne grew up outside of Utah. Maria got a taste of both.
According to these students, there are both pros and cons to being raised amongst Latter-day Saints in Utah, and among those who aren''t of the LDS faith in other parts of the country.
One of the advantages that is apparent to living in Utah is the harmony of values.
'It was easy to keep my standards,' said Cami Butler, 22, a junior from St. George, majoring in exercise science. 'There wasn''t a lot of peer pressure to do bad things.'
There were different pressures that accompanied having a lot of LDS friends in Utah, said Maria Nelson, 22, a junior from St. George, majoring in hospitality management.
'The pressures were things like if you wrote in your journal last night,' Nelson said.
Nelson said the biggest difference in the pressure in Utah versus the pressure she experienced in Montana was it made her want to be better, instead of worse.
Anne Selden, 21, a senior from Shaker Heights, Ohio, majoring in elementary education, said that she liked growing up outside of Utah because she was exposed to the pressure and other things she wouldn''t have been exposed to in Utah.
'I grew up locking all of my doors,' Selden said.
Whereas in Utah, people are a little more trusting.
'You ask my dad where the keys are and he says ''in the ignition,''' Butler said.
But they all agree that Utah doesn''t offer much of a chance for missionary work.
Growing up outside of Utah gives you a chance to make a stand that people will notice, Nelson said. And when people notice that you are different, they start to ask questions.
'It forced me at an early age to decide what I believed,' Selden said. 'It was a catalyst to gain a testimony.'
Butler said one of the disadvantages of growing up in Utah was that she wasn''t able to share her beliefs with others; because everyone already knew them.
But growing up outside of Utah offers its own set of challenges - especially people not understanding LDS beliefs.
Nelson said she struggled with coaches wanting her to train when she should be at church activities.
'They didn''t understand how important they were to me,' she said. Nelson also had a hard time with her friends'' families thinking she and her family were a 'lunatic religious family.'
Butler, Selden, and Nelson all said they are happy with where they grew up.
'I used to want to live in Utah,' Selden said. 'I used to think it would be easy. But I''m glad I didn''t.'
Selden said that she feels that growing up in Ohio offered many opportunities for growth that she would not trade.
'I like the nice, neat, life,' Butler said. That is what growing up in Utah provided, she said.
Butler said that it may have been beneficial for her to see the world outside of Utah, but she was exposed to it on her mission and that was enough.
Growing up in Montana and then Utah helped to embed the church''s standards, Nelson said. But after experiencing both, Nelson said that she would opt to raise her kids somewhere other than the Beehive State.