Alyssa Grenfell, a former member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, now residing in New York City after leaving the church in 2017, has been using her YouTube channel to shed light on the inner workings of the Mormon Church. In a recent video, Grenfell observed that many people were curious about why members of the church tend to have a physical resemblance, referring to it as the “Mormon look”.
Grenfell speculated that the reason behind this physical similarity among Mormons is due to the fact that Mormons primarily marry other Mormons. She explained that in order to have a Mormon temple marriage, both individuals must be members of the church, leading to a limited gene pool, especially in places like Utah where polygamy was practiced. This practice of endogamy and procreation only within the Mormon church has resulted in a small gene pool, making members of the church look similar.
In addition to the limited gene pool, Grenfell also mentioned the hyper-friendly nature of Mormons and how they are taught to proselytize and share their religion. This culture of extreme friendliness and the tendency to follow the same beliefs and practices may contribute to the resemblance among Mormons. Grenfell suggested that Mormon culture is very copycat in nature, further enforcing the physical and behavioral similarities among members of the church.
According to a 2017 study from Utah Valley University, homogenous societies like Utah can exert pressure on individuals to conform to certain standards of beauty. This pressure can sometimes lead individuals, particularly mothers, to undergo cosmetic surgery to meet societal expectations. Grenfell pointed out that even the Latter-day Saints church website offers beauty tutorials, which may further reinforce the importance of appearance within the community.
Scientific research has also found evidence to support Grenfell’s theory. A 2010 study revealed that non-Mormons could identify Mormons correctly 60% of the time based on a common skin texture shared among members. This highlights the influence of physical appearance and how it can reflect group membership. The study author suggested that people often make assumptions about spirituality and group membership based on how healthy someone appears, tying into Grenfell’s observations about the physical similarities among Mormons.
