May
25
2011
Poor Wayfaring Man
In the previous post, I focused on the fact that 12 year-old young women in the Church are taught, in YW Lesson Manual 1, Lesson 5, to find joy in their mysterious “divine potential”. It is mysterious because Lesson 5, despite using the term repeatedly, never reveals exactly what that “divine potential” is. The mystery is rendered non-mysterious and solved, however, by reading through the group of lessons in the manual that follow Lesson 5. Lessons 6 – 8 seem to flesh out the concept that Lesson 5 merely hints about. Here is the whole group of lessons, in summary form: Continue reading
4 comments | tags: Conformity, General Conference, LDS Church Sunday curriculum, LDS morals and ethics, LDS Social Circles, LDS social pressure, obedience, orthodoxy enforcement, Quentin L. Cook, sexism, Young Women organization, youth in the Church | posted in List Item 03, List Item 04, List Item 10, List Item 12, List Item 13, List Item 16, List Item 22, List Item 24, Mormon Culture, Mormon Stories
May
23
2011
Poor Wayfaring Man
In the previous post, I asserted that young women in the LDS Church receive messages that essentially accord them second-class status to young men. It is clear, based on the words of Church leaders and the contents of the YW and YM curriculum, that the Church understands that these messages are there, and that they are psychologically harmful to girls. Instead of repudiating and changing these messages, however, the Church reaffirms them as divine truth.
As an example of this, I will use Lesson No. 5 in the current YW Lesson Manual 1, titled “Finding Joy in our Divine Potential“. Here is the stated objective of Lesson 5:
OBJECTIVE: Each young woman will understand her divine potential and learn how to find joy in it. (emphasis added)
Clearly, a young woman’s “divine potential” (whatever that happens to be) is not something she would be happy with naturally. The Church recognizes that she needs to be persuaded and taught, from a young age, how she can adjust her thinking to eventually feel okay about it. Continue reading
no comments | tags: Conformity, gender, general authorities, LDS Church Sunday curriculum, LDS gender roles, LDS morals and ethics, LDS social pressure, LDS spirituality, obedience, orthodoxy enforcement, priesthood authority, sexism | posted in List Item 03, List Item 04, List Item 10, List Item 12, List Item 13, List Item 22, List Item 23, List Item 24, Mormon Culture, Mormon Doctrine
Feb
14
2011
Poor Wayfaring Man
The LDS Church has developed gender-segregated youth programs to educate and socialize (read: indoctrinate) boys and girls in the Church as they reach adolescence and grow into adulthood. The programs start when they reach age 12 and generally end at age 19, at which point they join the gender-segregated adult programs. The girls’ program is called the “Young Women organization“, and the boys’ program is called the “Aaronic Priesthood“. Continue reading
no comments | tags: Aaronic Priesthood, Conformity, gender, indoctrination, LDS Church Sunday curriculum, LDS gender roles, LDS morals and ethics, LDS Social Circles, LDS social pressure, LDS spirituality, Mormon Doctrine, priesthood authority, rites of passage, socialization, Young Women organization, youth in the Church | posted in List Item 12, List Item 13, List Item 22, List Item 23, List Item 24, Mormon Culture, Mormon Doctrine
Mar
9
2010
Poor Wayfaring Man
As noted in a previous post, Church leaders often struggle to control how the lifeblood of the Church (i.e., personal reassurance that one is on the path to salvation in the Celestial Kingdom–a concept I’ve termed “Hope”) is distributed to, and apportioned among, the members of the Church. Below is an example of one such battle.
In the early 1980’s, a BYU professor named George Pace had previously given speeches and written a book promoting the idea that people should “center their lives on Christ and…develop their own personal relationship with Him.” Even though Pace was simply echoing ideas recently taught in General Conference by then-apostle (and future First Presidency Counselor) James E. Faust, his “taking out the middle man” approach to interacting with the Savior prompted a humiliating public rebuke from Apostle Bruce R. McConkie, which included the following counsel: Continue reading
3 comments | tags: Apostasy, Bruce R. McConkie, BYU, Conformity, general authorities, General Conference, George Pace, heresy, hope for salvation, James E. Faust, LDS morals and ethics, LDS social pressure, LDS spirituality, lifeblood, Living Systems, obedience, orthodoxy enforcement, populism, priesthood authority, prophets | posted in List Item 03, List Item 04, List Item 08, List Item 09, List Item 22, List Item 24, Mormon Culture, Mormon Doctrine, Mormon Stories
Mar
8
2010
Poor Wayfaring Man
In a previous post, I outlined the concept of the LDS Church as a living system. I’ve been thinking recently about what keeps a living system like the Church together. I think the general answer has something to do with the system as a whole being able to obtain and create things that the system components need (or want), but are unable to get independently. Continue reading
no comments | tags: Conformity, LDS morals and ethics, LDS social pressure, lifeblood, Living Systems, obedience, orthodoxy enforcement, priesthood authority | posted in List Item 03, List Item 04, List Item 08, List Item 09, List Item 22, List Item 24, Mormon Culture
Feb
13
2010
Poor Wayfaring Man
A reader posted a comment recently, asking two questions. Good ones. I answered the first one in my previous post, and the second one here.
Mormon Woman Wondering asked:
Please help me understand how you…speak with your children, with integrity to your beliefs and with sensitivity to their need for something to hold onto in this world.
This is a tough question, particularly for somebody like me, with a spouse who is active in the Church, and who wants our kids to be active too. Obviously, my solution is a compromise, and could possibly have been different if she felt differently. But I think this solution does take into account the potential need for kids to have something to hold onto as they develop their own worldview. Continue reading
4 comments | tags: inactivity, LDS Church Sunday curriculum, LDS morals and ethics, LDS social pressure, Leaving the Church, mixed-faith marriage, orthodoxy enforcement, raising kids | posted in List Item 05, List Item 08, List Item 22, Mormon Culture, Mormon Doctrine, Mormon Stories
Oct
18
2009
Poor Wayfaring Man
It is a big deal for a member of the LDS Church to walk away. It’s not like simply changing pastors or switching to a more convenient worship service. The LDS Church is not just a place Mormons go on Sundays. It is the central mechanism by which they regulate, plan, and live their lives. On top of being the place where Mormons go for religious instruction, the Church is also the main source of a Mormon’s social connections; the means by which Mormons perform community service; and even a place where Mormons who are struggling financially can obtain food and monetary assistance.
Continue reading
no comments | tags: baptism, Conformity, Covenants, LDS Fraud, LDS legalism, LDS Social Circles, LDS social pressure, orthodoxy enforcement | posted in List Item 01, List Item 04, List Item 22, List Item 23, List Item 24, Mormon Culture, Mormon Doctrine