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I'm agnostic and I’m among the 1.5% non-LDS at BYU, Provo. I have been in contact with many non-LDS students here at the school and it seems like this minority group goes to BYU because:BYU only costs $9,000 for non-LDS.The Marriott School is one of the best undergraduate business schools.Athletic scholarship.They love LDS church values (Part of The Honor Code): non-drinking, non-smoking, non-swearing, no sex before marriage.They want to know more about the LDS church.Classes. As non-LDS, you will get some sort of a special treatment in school. I have to take only 3 classes on church religion which focus mainly on the Book of Mormon and Doctrines. LDS students have to take more religion classes. These classes are notoriously useless and they got lots of complaints from LDS and non-LDS alike because they are pretty hard. No universities would accept these credits but these classes generally ruin people's GPA. For non LDS, these classes are harder even when you think you know the doctrine of the church. Most students in class live with the church their whole life so I can't expect a curve. There’s one class for non-LDS at BYU called “Intro to LDS church”. Most of non LDS friends said it’s an easy A class where non-LDS can get to know each other and make fun of the atmosphere at BYU.Honor Code. Most non-LDS students at BYU are not fully committed to the Honor Code. I definitely know some non-LDS students who had sex, drank coffee, bought grocery on Sunday, and bashed about the church. But again I do also know some Mormon BYU students who did the same thing. Hence, I think most students at BYU observe the Honor Code…with modification.Mormon friends. These people here are great! As non-LDS, in my case, everybody knows me. My close LDS friend told me that some of these people are not that friendly but they force themselves to be friendly to non-member and it’s true. Sometimes you would talk to a lot of members of the church who are super-friendly to you, they’d have a nickname for you, they appear to be your best friend but they don’t really know jack about you and they would never hangout with you…Everybody is a missionary. My first week at BYU, I decided to go to church. As soon as one kid know I’m not a member, he set me up to talk to his whole apartment where all his roommates are returned missionaries. Within a few weeks, two actual Mormon missionaries visited and gave me lessons. In October, I got two invitations to go to General Conference, a semi-annual events where LDS prophet and apostles speak in Salt Lake City. The whole experience was really cool cause I love to learn about religion. Though if you mind the LDS missionary mode, you'd feel like some sort of a target.Social life. As non-LDS, it’s harder to make friends and date. Most of the social activities here are church activities. Most apartment complex have their own ward. In your own ward on Monday, you’d have Family Home Evening when you talk and play games with your “family members”, usually your neighbor apartments. On Tuesday, there’s Institute where there’d be speakers on spiritual matters. In my ward right now, on Wednesday, there’s a trip to the LDS temple and on Sunday we’d have ward prayer meeting. There’re a lot of activities going on. In my opinion, they serve two purposes: to strengthen the LDS faith and to get kids to marry each other. BYU also serves this purpose. Some kids I talked to get very frustrated about marriage because they think that if they got out of BYU without a ring on their finger, they’d never find a right spouse. Dating with an LDS is another issue. LDS girls here are generally not that ambitious which I hate. They love to have LDS husband who could marry them in the temple which I can’t do. Many non-LDS got converted to date LDS. But it’s easier that way. For a non-LDS to date LDS here, you know the relationship won’t last. LDS girls/guys are smart and good-looking; it's just that their ideology makes me want to run into walls sometimes.To sum this all up, going to a Mormon school is an interesting experience. It could be very overwhelming. Sometimes you would feel very lonely and depress and it would take time to make true friends who respect your beliefs. But those people are there. I have more LDS friends than non-LDS friends. Most of my LDS friends are very open-minded.For agnostic and atheists, there is hope! I’m living with two non-LDS kids right now. They were both BYU LDS students but now they are not LDS anymore so they got kicked out. I didn’t convert them! Quite a few LDS students come to BYU with a doubt, some come because their parents want them to go. My two roommates were among those people. In Utah Valley here, there are at least 1,000 atheists (my roommate showed me this group on Facebook). You’d find someone to talk to eventually but they could be “diamond in the rough.”Additional Edit:Most Mormons take jokes very well.This video is not 100% accurate but it has some really good points.You can listen to the band named "Sons of Provo" for some really good songs about the LDS culture in Provo. It's pretty funny.Again, Congrats to my own school for being "The Most Stone-Cold Sober College" for 16 consecutive years.

I am on the opposite side of this equation. I was born into the LDS church and my parents are extremely active - as is about half of my family. I not only left the church - I converted to Judaism when I got married, came out as LGBTQ+, and while I appreciate the culture of Judaism and believe in the search for God - I myself do not actually believe in God.I am literally an atheistic pansexual liberal Jew that lives in Hollywood. You can’t get further away from the conservative small-town LDS culture that I grew up in.My entire family loves me, makes me a part of their lives, and not only invites me to all family events - but also regularly visits me here in California.Not only have they not shunned me, they constantly show me unconditional love, and do not attempt to convert me. The LDS church is not like Scientology, The Amish, or Jehovah's Witnesses. ‘Shunning‘ isn’t really a thing for them.

Fundamentalist Mormons are still doctrinally white supremacist. They believe only white people have God’s grace. The mainstream LDS used to be white supremacist, but formally abandoned the doctrine of white supremacy in 1977.The LDS church bans caffeine and alcohol. The FLDS church does not; FLDS members are allowed to do things like drink coffee.The FLDS believes in the process of “blood atonement,” in which you can gain God’s grace by killing other people. (Blood Sacrifice—the idea that you can be forgiven by spilling your own blood—was taught by mainstream LDS leader Brigham Young. Warren Jeffs, the imprisoned leader of the FLDS, took that idea and ran with it—he preached that you could also gain favor under certain circumstances by spilling the blood of sinners.)The FLDS bans interracial marriage, as a consequence of their white supremacist beliefs.FLDS women are banned from cutting their hair.FLDS women are forbidden to wear makeup.The FLDS practices forced marriage (the prophet assigns wives to his male followers) and forced divorce (a man who falls out of favor with the church has his wife or wives taken away).