BYU and Utah will be facing off in the Las Vegas Bowl next weekend. This gives everybody a chance to watch one of college football’s most intense rivalries in a special setting.
BYU and Utah are playing in Las Vegas. Here are the things Mormons can and cannot do there
A rivalry with the nickname “The Holy War” is going to a city with the nickname “Sin City.” These things will get along just fine.
Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
The bad news is that it’s probably going to spawn a bunch of terrible jokes about how weird it is that a bunch of Mormons are going to Las Vegas.
“Mormons can’t have fun! Not in Las Vegas! That’s against the rules! The bowl game will lose money because of this! Local tourism will suffer!”
These takes are bad and paint an incomplete picture about the fan bases for both of these schools, so let’s take a second to separate fact and fiction.
Mormons are not supposed to drink alcohol.
Las Vegas is famous for having lots of bars and alcohol at casinos. But it’s true; practicing Mormons are not supposed to drink alcoholic beverages, even if they are drinking them in Las Vegas, and even if they come from impressive-sounding micro-breweries. This prohibition comes from a passage in LDS scripture called the Word of Wisdom.
Mormons are allowed to watch football games.
One of the greatest attractions in Las Vegas on Dec. 19 will be the Las Vegas Bowl, a football game featuring the BYU Cougars and the Utah Utes. Fortunately for the city of Las Vegas and the organizers of the Las Vegas Bowl, active Mormons are allowed to watch football games, even if they have to pay a lot of money for a ticket, since the game was one of the first of bowl season to sell out.
Mormons are not supposed to gamble, including in casinos.
In case you’re unaware, Las Vegas has numerous casinos, where visitors can play poker, bet on the slot machines, bet on sporting events, or engage in any other number of gambling activities. However, LDS teachings oppose gambling, and active members of the church are encouraged to avoid it.
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Mormons are allowed to eat in restaurants, even if they have to spend money.
Mormons are allowed to eat all different kinds of foods in restaurants, even if that food costs money. In fact, my wife and I went to a restaurant just last night.
Mormons are not supposed to steal cars while in Las Vegas.
Another popular entertainment option while in Las Vegas is stealing cars, perhaps to sell them at local chop shops. However, LDS teachings calls for active members to “obey, honor and sustain the law,“ and stealing automobiles in Las Vegas is against the law, even if those cars are minivans. In fact, Mormons are encouraged to not steal cars anywhere, not just in Las Vegas, no matter how much fun that might be.
Mormons are allowed to stay in hotels while in Las Vegas.
Sometimes, Mormons have reason to travel to Las Vegas. Perhaps they want to visit a friend, see a show, attend a business conference, or watch the Las Vegas Bowl, featuring BYU and Utah’s football teams. In this event, Mormons are allowed to stay in a hotel. Some hotels might serve alcohol, have casinos, or have TVs that show content that may be objectionable to a lot of Mormons, like Showtime or MSNBC or USC’s appearance in the Holiday Bowl, but active Mormons can still stay at those hotels.
Mormons are not allowed to engage in securities fraud while in Las Vegas.
The temptation to engage in rampant white collar crime while in Las Vegas might be tempting. After all, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas, right? Actually, committing securities fraud is against the law, something that Mormons are encouraged to follow, so visiting Mormons will have to find other sources of entertainment.
Mormons are allowed to spend money on goods and services, thus boosting the local economy.
Not only can Mormons spend money in restaurants or hotels, they can spend money in virtually any establishment. That might include spending money to go to a rock concert, visit a children’s museum, refuel vehicles, or buy a new home security system from a clean-cut door-to-door salesman.
Mormons are not allowed to engage in elaborate casino heists while in Las Vegas
A popular misconception about Mormons is that they are allowed to engage in elaborate heists of casinos. However, this is actually not true, since heists are illegal, and Mormons are encouraged to not break the law, no matter how totally sweet a plan they’ve come up with or how much that dastardly casino owner deserves it. Mormons are discouraged from participating in elaborate casino heists in other cities as well.
Mormons are allowed to live in Las Vegas.
It seems like these prohibitions would make Las Vegas an uninviting place for members of the LDS faith, but thousands of them choose to live there anyway. It is estimated that about 5 percent of the population of Las Vegas, over 100,000 people, are Mormons.
Mormons are not supposed to punch people in the nuts while in Las Vegas.
But hey, nobody is perfect.
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