The "Mormon" Culture: Is my book true-to-life?

Currently Marti, the main character from my book, Not of This World, is a Mormon or member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Her routines and culture are similar to our family's. My daughter read the first twenty pages of the book and told me that she felt like she was reading about our family and that the routines I described were comfortable and familiar. My sister-in-law read the book and also said she felt at home but was concerned that the way I portrayed the Mormon culture would be misunderstood and seen as fanatical. In the first draft of my book, the family was from a strict Christian background, not necessarily Mormon. My husband encouraged me to take the risk and write about what I know, that others are curious about Mormons. I've submitted my manuscript to a few agents and received a few rejections and am waiting to hear back from others. After a critique session about my book and thinking about my query letter and submissions, I wondered if having the family be Mormon is a mistake. That I would be presenting our culture in a bad light or that the term Mormon was turning away some agents. Although one agent said that it was a "wonderful peek into [Marti's] Mormon lifestyle without being a Mormon book about her issues with her faith, or too heavily Christian."

When writing a story, the characters and plot are exaggerated or heightened, because no one really wants to read about real life. We'd be experiencing our own boring stories. We want something different, something more interesting. I've taken the Mormon culture and heightened or exaggerated issues. In Not of This World, Marti's parents are very strict, Marti is required to do a lot of the work around the house, her mother believes the world is about to end, and against Marti's will, she is taken with her family to a cabin near Yellowstone National Park to be safe. Marti's family acquires food storage and guns, holds daily scripture study in their home, and has restrictive rules for dating. Which of these issues are real and which are exaggerated?

We do believe the world will end. We don't know when, but prophecies from John the Revelator indicate that before the end of the world and the second coming of Jesus Christ, there will be many wars and natural disasters. People will choose wickedness rather than following Christ. We do require our children to help a lot around the house, not as much of a maid as Marti might seem, but it takes everyone in a family to take care of each other. There are some fanatical members of the Church and other organizations that have left the "real world" and gone to the woods or other remote areas. That is not a common Mormon practice. We do store food in case of emergency. That could be for a natural disaster or loss of a job. We use our food storage and rotate the items. Many Mormons and non-Mormons store guns and ammunition. Most Mormon families hold regular family scripture study. We do have rules about dating. Youth should wait until they are sixteen to date and then not date one person exclusively. Dating standards can be reviewed in the For Strength of Youth.

I still haven't decided if I will leave Marti's family as Mormon or keep much the same but not name a religion. I would hope that when my book is published, readers will read with a learning mind and connect with the story whether they are Mormon or not.