sock puppet wrote:I gotta say, angsty, I like your style and spunk.
Thanks :-) During my early 20's, I was under the naïve impression that 'modesty' just meant not looking like a slut. I didn't realize that it was going to evolve to officially include such trivialities as hair color, and piercings. When the 'brethren' amended their advice to include hair color and certain piercings, I diligently conformed. Although I never thought it was inspired, I knew that other people did and I didn't want to give the impression that I had 'worthiness' issues. I was already having problem with that in virtue of the fact that I didn't change my last name when I got married. So anyway, it wasn't so much spunk as it was a genuine belief that I looked better with unnatural hair color, etc., and that God didn't care about that. I also used to wear a necklace made of white plastic dinner forks bejeweled with glass aquarium pebbles-- no one ever objected to that though. Must not have been morally important.
What really cracks me up is that to look at me, 'rebel' is probably the last thing that would come to mind. I've got a certain style, don't get me wrong, but doesn't seem to be off-putting (here in TN, at least). It's more honest eccentricity than anything. People have known me for years without even realizing that my nose is pierced, just because I don't make a thing of it and it just suits me. Apparently I was just too much shock for the good people of Utah back in the 90's though. It made dating RMs complicated and confusing-- took me a while to figure out that my getup meant 'bad girl' in Utahanics. Lol. Good times.
Last time I went to the temple (like, fifteen years ago?), we were asked to remove our jewelry (except wedding rings), regardless of how many piercings we had.
My best friend was just recently married in the temple, and she has more than five piercings in each ear. She's never mentioned getting any complaints about them.
angsty wrote: Thanks :-) During my early 20's, I was under the naïve impression that 'modesty' just meant not looking like a slut. I didn't realize that it was going to evolve to officially include such trivialities as hair color, and piercings. When the 'brethren' amended their advice to include hair color and certain piercings, I diligently conformed. Although I never thought it was inspired, I knew that other people did and I didn't want to give the impression that I had 'worthiness' issues. I was already having problem with that in virtue of the fact that I didn't change my last name when I got married. So anyway, it wasn't so much spunk as it was a genuine belief that I looked better with unnatural hair color, etc., and that God didn't care about that. I also used to wear a necklace made of white plastic dinner forks bejeweled with glass aquarium pebbles-- no one ever objected to that though. Must not have been morally important.
Wait what?!?! I missed the hair color thing, I think.
I went purple for a bit my senior year, but my place of employment wasn't very happy with it.
~Those who benefit from the status quo always attribute inequities to the choices of the underdog.~Ann Crittenden ~The Goddess is not separate from the world-She is the world and all things in it.~
angsty wrote: Thanks :-) During my early 20's, I was under the naïve impression that 'modesty' just meant not looking like a slut. I didn't realize that it was going to evolve to officially include such trivialities as hair color, and piercings. When the 'brethren' amended their advice to include hair color and certain piercings, I diligently conformed. Although I never thought it was inspired, I knew that other people did and I didn't want to give the impression that I had 'worthiness' issues. I was already having problem with that in virtue of the fact that I didn't change my last name when I got married. So anyway, it wasn't so much spunk as it was a genuine belief that I looked better with unnatural hair color, etc., and that God didn't care about that. I also used to wear a necklace made of white plastic dinner forks bejeweled with glass aquarium pebbles-- no one ever objected to that though. Must not have been morally important.
Wait what?!?! I missed the hair color thing, I think.
I went purple for a bit my senior year, but my place of employment wasn't very happy with it.
I've always wanted to have long hair, but my parents were too concerned with what our fellow ward members would think and they forced me to get hair cuts. Right before I turned 18 they told me I had to get a haircut, so I drove myself to the barber and got a mohawk. I went from the barber to a friend's house where we bleached my hair then dyed it blue. Needless to say, my parents were pissed. I let that thing get to be about a foot long before I cut it off and grew my hair out. It was awesome. I vowed from a young age not to control my children's choice in style, its their bodies after all not mine.
As soon as you concern yourself with the 'good' and 'bad' of your fellows, you create an opening in your heart for maliciousness to enter. Testing, competing with, and criticizing others weaken and defeat you. - O'Sensei
The coolest thing I saw in the temple was an older bald guy sitting in front of me with a large color tattoo on the back of his head. It was a graphic of a burning sun done in a very artistic way that could have been a symbol of the celestial kingdom.
Was in one of the European temples two years ago and one of the older women who were...well, not going to give out anything regarding ordinances; just that she had three gold earrings in her right ear. Quite noticable and nobody said a thing.
Maybe the lust for conformity is an American thing, even in the Lord's church.
Fiannan wrote:Was in one of the European temples two years ago and one of the older women who were...well, not going to give out anything regarding ordinances; just that she had three gold earrings in her right ear. Quite noticable and nobody said a thing.
Maybe the lust for conformity is an American thing, even in the Lord's church.
The Lord's church itself is an American thing. As a whole.
I don't know, why they (You?) don't leave us alone?
- Whenever a poet or preacher, chief or wizard spouts gibberish, the human race spends centuries deciphering the message. - Umberto Eco - To assert that the earth revolves around the sun is as erroneous as to claim that Jesus was not born of a virgin. - Cardinal Bellarmine at the trial of Galilei
just me wrote:Wait what?!?! I missed the hair color thing, I think.
I went purple for a bit my senior year, but my place of employment wasn't very happy with it.
Yeah, around the time of the whole earring talk, there was a thing in the Especially For Youth pamphlet about "extreme" hairstyles and a talk somewhere about avoiding unnatural colors. I don't remember exactly, it has been a while, plus there have been subtle changes in manuals and pamphlets all along. I figured the "extreme" was a matter of interpretation, but gave in when a friend/YW prez, told me she had to convince the bishop that it was safe to let me work in the YW program. To her credit, she was truly shocked when the bishop questioned whether I was an appropriate influence for the developing minds of the ward. Looking back, he was clearly on to something, but at the time I was deeply hurt to have my level of conviction doubted. I was very, very devout-- I just didn't think these petty things had spiritual implications.