People tell me I’m too sheltered because of the Church. How can I respond to them?

When people say you’re sheltered, it usually means they think you don’t know enough about the realities of the world. But quite often, all they’re really saying is that you’re not worldly enough for their liking.

For example, if you’re with a group of people who are telling dirty jokes and you don’t understand everything they’re referring to and don’t want to hear those kinds of jokes anyway, those people might tell you you’re too sheltered. The fact is, of course, that you just don’t want to wallow in filth.

You can tell those who say you’re sheltered that you know enough of what goes on in the world to know that you don’t want to be a part of some of it.

Frankly, those who accuse religious people of being too sheltered are usually too sheltered themselves—from spiritual things. They seem to put a high priority on acknowledging the “realities” of life, but they deny the spiritual side of reality. “The Spirit … speaketh of things as they really are” (Jacob 4:13).

If you feel you are naive about things you ought to know more about, though, you can remedy that. Through education and service, you can learn about what’s going on in the world without immersing yourself in foul things. The Savior said, “I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves” (Matthew 10:16).