The number one favorite book among students at BYU-Idaho is the Harry Potter series and number two is the Book of Mormon, according to a recent survey conducted on www.facebook.com.

Jessica Durham, a freshman from Sultan, Wash., said the survey does not necessarily reflect a lack of belief in or a dislike for the Book of Mormon.

“Harry Potter is simply easier to read and understand,” Durham said.

“These results aren’t really bad news,” said John Thomas, associate dean of the Religious Education Department. “As long as the students are learning and applying good principles, I think that it is okay.”

Some students have even found that reading the Book of Mormon has helped them to better understand Harry Potter.

“A lot of the words in the Book of Mormon that are confusing come up in other books. If I hadn’t read The Book of Mormon, I wouldn’t have known what those words meant, and I would have been totally confused if I read it in some other book,” said Taryn Taylor, a junior from Mesa, Wash.

“Harry Potter may have been written for a young audience, but it still uses vocabulary they might not understand,” Taylor said.

“I like the words used. They are creative and suspenseful. You can’t guess what’s going to happen,” Durham, who has read all of the Harry Potter books six to eight times, said.

Even relationships to the gospel can be found in Harry Potter. Durham compared BYU-I to Hogwarts.

“We are different than everyone else. We have our own school. It’s just like the witches and muggles in Harry Potter,” Durham said.

Harry Potter appears to have opened the world of reading to some students who may have formerly been uninterested in literature. Harry Potter is geared towards children and is considered an easy read with an appealing storyline.

“I’m definitely more of a reader now,” Durham said.

Another indication of Harry Potter’s popularity with BYU-I students on Facebook is the existence of a Harry Potter fan club, which many have joined.

In reality, the Book of Mormon received roughly 100 votes less than Harry Potter did, and the survey was by no means representative of the entire student population. Only about 500 students from BYU-I belong to Facebook.