An Irish woman has described her life as a Mormon following a hugely successful Hulu series which has blown up and brought attention to the religion .
Niamh Smyth is a content creator from the north of Ireland who has amassed over 20,000 followers on TikTok. Niamh normally shares fashion, lifestyle, and daily vlogs, but changed tac recently to talk about her religion.
The switch-up came hot on the heels of hit TV series Secret Lives of Mormon Wives which follows a group of Mormon mom influencers who find themselves embroiled in a swinging sex scandal that makes global headlines .
Discovering Niamh was living in Ireland as a Mormon, followers were intrigued to know what life was like living as a Mormon in Ireland. Doctrines include eternal marriage, sexual purity, fasting, and Sabbath observance .
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"One thing off the back of the show that I laugh at... is, is this a thing of wearing the same blue colored coat?" Niamh said in the clip. "No, course not... but when I watched the show myself and seen the clip where they're all wearing the same long, blue coat, I was like, the producers knew what they were doing there . They obviously did this on purpose to... I don't know, make it out as if it was a cult as such... I'm not really sure what that's about.."
Moving on to the second question about whether divorce is allowed in Mormonism, Niamh replied: "I know people who have divorced before. It's most definitely not a thing that is frowned upon... it happens."
Touching on whether Mormons always observe rest, no work, and no spending on a Sunday, Niamh elaborated: "Typically, no. There are instances where you do have to spend money , where you... need to go to the shops.
"For example, I used to work in Debenhams on a Sunday. When we're on holiday and we have no food... there isn't an issue there... I don't go out my way to spend money on a Sunday but I do like to do online shopping on a Sunday . I go to friends' houses. I don't need to sit in the house and do nothing."
Mormons are also taught to avoid hot drinks like tea and coffee . Niamh said she enjoys a frappe or other fun drinks as long as they don't include coffee, but "doesn't feel like she's missing out" on her caffeine fix.
Lastly, when asked what the biggest challenge about being a woman in today's society is , Niamh said she is often hit with bizarre comments online about her religion - remarks that wouldn't be made to another person of faith.
"People feel it's okay to make comments or judgements... I feel if it was any other religion or community, it wouldn't be okay ," Niamh admitted. "Someone commented on one of my videos saying I don't look like a Mormon.
"I don't know what that comment meant. What does a Mormon look like? If that was another religion, would people stand for that or take that?"
She went on: "Someone left another comment saying it 'wasn't very Christian of me' and 'wasn't I supposed to live a simple life' while I was sitting in an airport lounge in Belfast International Airport. That's one of the reasons why I don't talk about my religion much online because people make judgements on how you live your life .
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"I feel we're an easy target for things like that."
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