Every group has their stereotypes and Christianity is no exception.Throughout the years there have been thousands of murders over the belief in God, laws against certain religions and families have been torn apart by the topic. But even so, the Bible is still the number one best seller in the world.

One religion that has taken a lot of heat since the beginning of its origin is Mormonism. Mormonism was not really publicized until this century. Now it's publicized through Sister Wives, which takes place in Utah, or even in Matt Stone and Trey Parker’s hit Broadway Musical, The Book of Mormon.

These two shows are vastly different in and of themselves. The musical portrays Mormons in a comedic way implying that almost all of their beliefs are so out there that they are laughable. Sister Wives on the other side is a reality TV show of a man in Utah with numerous wives, and he has children with each of the wives as well. The show focuses on the daily struggle they face internally and from the outside world.

Granted both of these shows did not truly offer the best view of Mormonism in my opinion. To be fair, all I knew about Mormons were the facts from the musical. Here’s what I had learned: Joseph Smith founded it; the Book of Mormon was written on golden plates, but never shown to anyone; that the President of the Church of Latter Day Saints speaks directly to God; the church changed its view of black people in the 1980’s; they believe Jesus lives on his own planet; people of the church are supposed to suppress thoughts that aren’t pleasant or question their heterosexual identity.

Knowing what I did and as a big lover of catchy tuned musicals, I headed to Salt Lake City over spring break to visit the beginning of a religion that fascinated me and inspired one of my favorite musicals.

If there’s one thing I was amazed at as I walked around Salt Lake Temple Square, it was how completely gorgeous and clean things were. Everyone was super friendly and didn’t mind talking to a few strangers from Wisconsin about the history of the buildings (I guess a Mormon stereotype that was true).

A magical place for millions of Mormons around the world seemed just like a tourist attraction to me. As my friend and I entered the visitor center, we were immediately overwhelmed by a voice yelling out in the distance, “Hey Sisters!”

It was a girl neither of us had met before and she was quick to run over to us and immediately spark up a conversation. I was interested in learning more about the history of the Mormon church because I thought it was rare that a church founded less than two-hundred years ago could have over 14 million followers.

She was very patient with all of our questions, although I felt bad having to explain to her how the only knowledge we had of the Mormon faith was through the musical. The interesting part to me though, was that she did not deny the claims that the musical had made, but just nodded her head and smiled and said: “Well, that’s a start.” And although I later found out that the claims were true, the presentation was all wrong and it made Mormons feel upset that their beliefs were society’s laughing matter.

As I stated earlier, this was just a pit stop on our spring break trip. Our talk with this Sister missionary lasted about an hour. She talked and talked about her faith, which I didn’t mind, but she was a bit long-winded. When she pulled out the Book of Mormon and started reading it, I thought I had had enough. When she asked my friend to read a passage, I definitely thought this interaction had just overstepped the line.

It wasn't until the passage that my friend read started to make sense that I realized the importance of it. It was a long passage that I wish I could remember word for word, but it talked about how people always find a way back to God, which she said was great. But the passage went on to talk about how important it is to keep your faith in those hard times.

Life throws all these curve balls at you, you may fail a class, or lose a grandparent, some people even struggle through some major depression. The point is, everyone goes through their own hard times in their lifetime, but keeping your faith is something that is so important.

Growing up Catholic, I remember numerous times when I would hate God for taking away someone from me or making life harder, but in reality, he was the one always there for me. It took me driving 20 hours from home and an outgoing stranger to realize how important my relationship with God is. I knew from that moment on that things were going to be different, I was going to trust in Jesus to lead me to the right path like he always does and that’s all thanks to the Mormon Church.

Although I didn’t convert to Mormonism like I think the Sister wanted my friend and me to do, no number of free copies of the Book of Mormon could do that, I do have a new appreciation for the Mormon Church and I’ve learned not to be judgmental just because some things don’t appear right. There are many similarities between Catholicism and Mormonism and an overwhelming love for Jesus.

Salt Lake City will forever have a special place in my heart not just because of the beautiful scenery and super clean buildings and streets, but for what it taught me: when life gets hard, you don’t stop believing.