Hi Hemidakota,
In my ward we actually had a PhD student sit in on a couple of our institute classes because she was writing her dissertation on the growth of the Church amongst Latin immigrants here in South Florida. She has been researching the Church for about 8 years now, and she says that she has always been so amazed at how open and welcoming all the members have been. She is a nonmember, so I think her research is highly significant.
I just got my BA in Religious Studies, and I was highly skeptical of the church for many years. When I converted, it was really hard because all my professors and peers tried to talk me out of it. They still treat me kind of funny, but it's better now. The problem is that they know very little about the structure and character of the church. It's refreshing to see non-LDS scholars doing research on the Book of Mormon. It's long overdue!
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