My Wife's Take on the New Mormon Media Blitz

[_just me]

This is the crux of the problem. This message that the church is now sending with its new PR campaign is very different from what Mrs. Consig and a lot of the rest of us were given in our many decades as members in the LDS church.

When you live your life and make your most important life decisions based on the teachings of the church it is a huge deal to have the church do an about-face with its message.

It's a huge deal to some. To me...it ain't no thing. I don't see it as a problem. its good in a way too. The Church is acknowledging that you can be and do things differently and still be a Mormon. By differently I mean normally of course, but you get my point.

When you respond like this you sound like you are invalidating the feelings and experiences of other members of the church. Is that your intent? You acknowledge here that it is a huge deal to some, but you have also said that Mrs. Consig over-reacted. If it is a big deal then she clearly did not over-react. You can't have it both ways.

I am glad to know that you have not made any life altering decisions based on counsel from the pulpit only to have that counsel reversed.

Gosh, I can only imagine what the Manifesto felt like. You would have been telling all them poly wives who now had to seperate from the family that "it ain't no thing." ;)

[_Rambo]

Are you from Utah County. Head to parts east and west and explore the world. Mormons are doing all sorts of things, including men wearing an ear ring. Nobody could care less if a guy has an ear ring. Also, a guy can wear an ear ring and still get a temple recommend. No problem. Counsel is counsel but it isn't a commandment.

Do you think a guy wearing an earing will ever be a bishop. They obviously do care.

I wonder if it would stop you from getting to the top level of the CK? Cause really don't you have to be valiant to make it? Wearing an earing against counsel does not sound like someone who is valiant.

It's also a really easy thing to stop as well. It's not like someone is addicted to wearing earings.

[_Buffalo]

No it wasn't. I guess you're as big an ignoramus as you are an asshole.

Read my link down below. You will see that it all started with mocking...and eventually escalated into more than mocking.

Put yourself back in missouri back in the 1830's. Would you be leaving the Mormons alone? Would MsJack? And that goes for many of the critics here. I have a feeling that many would be with the mobs. No problem. It is hard to separate ourselves from our social environment. And many of the instigators were exmormons. Nothing much as really changed, except the killing and the burning of Mormon homes.

Mormons and protestants mocked each other back and forth all the time. Had nothing to do with the violence in Missouri. Congrats on your availability to post a wiki link, though. Have a bikki, Corky.

[_Morley]

How is this (below) mocking temple marriage?

"I think the church should feature him in an "I'm a Mormon" commercial. He can show off the pictures of a Protestant minister performing his wedding, gush about how great it was to hold a wedding that all of our friends and families could be a part of, and talk about how he decided to surprise me for my birthday one year by coming home with an earring."

Her tone with the word, gush. It was mocking.

Wow. I missed that. You're right. That will inspire earring-wearing, Protestant mobs to rise up and kill Mormons.

[_stemelbow]

Sometimes I wonder if you guys even go to church. Why me I know doesn't and that's why he doesn't know what he is talking about.

You know full well that if a guy wears an earing to church that people will talk about him behind his back. Leaders will also encourage him to remove the earing and so will other members.

Over the years I've seen numerous fellas at Church with earrings. on the flip I don't recall any outlandish talking behind such a fellas back. On the flip, I was sitting there at church with 3 of my kids on Sunday. my wife is in the primary presidency and it was the primary program. My oldest boy is 12. he passed the sac and came and sat down by myself my 2 year old and my new born. the primary's music chorister had her family there. Her husband's not a member. They had a young couple sitting with them and they were all right behind us. One was wearing an earring and was covered in tats. I said hi, and what's up--that kind of thing. I guess during the program the younger couple who sat directly behind my 12 year old were making all sort of raucous and obnoxios comments--as he determined them. I heard them snickering and such but I tuned them out. Anyway, I guess the mocked gays and stuff suggesting pretty much any of the boys who got up were gay. They were cursing and all that. my son heard it all. I mean he's twelve and they were saying this about 11 yearold who my son likes. It wasn't the way the guy looked that was the problem for my son, it was how bigotted and hateful he was--moreso than to just Mormons (as it was he made fun of Mormons and God too).

Just like when women worked out of the home. If they didn't have to work out of the home the other Relief Society ladies will gossip about that lady and talk about how she is not followig the counsel of the brethern.

My mom worked out of the home. we never really had the problem.

It's pretty stupid to say that the Mormon church is ok with women working outside the house when they don't need to. When there are clear statements counseling women not to work outside the home.

I think you're confusing women in general with women who have kids.

Sometimes I really wish my TBM Mom was on here to set you guys straight. Oh how I wish.

no need. My mom is TBM too and I'm sure she'll disagree with you for the most part.

[_stemelbow]

When you respond like this you sound like you are invalidating the feelings and experiences of other members of the church. Is that your intent? You acknowledge here that it is a huge deal to some, but you have also said that Mrs. Consig over-reacted. If it is a big deal then she clearly did not over-react. You can't have it both ways.

I think you misunderstand the reason behind my saying she seemed to have over-reacted. But I won't go over it again. It appears I already, somehow, offended Consig over the issue.

I am glad to know that you have not made any life altering decisions based on counsel from the pulpit only to have that counsel reversed.

Thanks.

Gosh, I can only imagine what the Manifesto felt like. You would have been telling all them poly wives who now had to seperate from the family that "it ain't no thing." ;)

That's very sweet of you to take it there. I'm sure we all had this type of thing in mind.

[Guest]

no need. My mom is TBM too and I'm sure she'll disagree with you for the most part.

They are not going to listen stem. However, you should know one assumption that I have about many of the exmormons on this board: they were probably the most judgemental bunch of tbms imaginable. And they still are very judgemental. And that is the point behind many of their posts. They can not separate who they were as Mormons from people like us, who had less judgemental thoughts. It just carries over into their exmormon status.

[_Rambo]

My mom worked out of the home. we never really had the problem.

Good to hear. I don't think this is true with most cases. Did your mom have to work outside the home?

I think you're confusing women in general with women who have kids.

I meant women who have kids are counselled not to work outside the home if they don't need too.

no need. My mom is TBM too and I'm sure she'll disagree with you for the most part.

K then get your TBM mom on the bored and lets see what she has to say about this.

I know 100's of TBM mothers just like my mom. They would all call you and whyme out for what you are saying about how it's no big deal for a women with kids to work outside the home when they don't financially need too.

[Guest]

Many chose to continue that situation. No problem.

You keep saying "no problem" as if the fact that there are Mormon mothers who work outside the home is some evidence for the assertion that such a choice is acceptable and condoned by their church leaders. I notice that neither you nor Yahoo Bot (who made the call for GA quotes condemning working mothers and then ran away when presented with a veritable tsunami of said quotes) has produced even one quote from a General Authority that says "no problem" for a mother to choose to have a career while raising children in anything other than an "emergency" situation (such as when her husband is dead or disabled or something like that). That's why this ad campaign is so offensive: it is evidence that the Church wants to project a certain image and represent itself in a certain way to the "world" that is directly contrary to the counsel its highest leaders have repeatedly and consistently drilled into members' skulls through conference addresses, church manuals, magazines, and classes, and through a culture that pressures women into "choosing" the one path the church leaders have said is acceptable for them: stay-at-home mom. You are being deliberately (I give you the benefit of the doubt that it is in fact deliberate) obtuse here. I think it would be great if Mormon teachings and Mormon culture were really like what they are portraying in some of these ads. But we all know it's propaganda. And it's perfectly understandable (to anyone with even an iota of empathy) why consiglieri's wife reacted the way she did. Implied in the "I'm a Mormon" campaign is the idea that being a SAHM just isn't hip and cool enough to make the church look good, so they are going to feature working women, rock stars, people of color, rock climbers, and guys with beards who ride motorcycles. For decades the church drives home the point to its members that they are to be "in the world but not of the world," to eschew things that are "cool" and "trendy" and embrace being "a peculiar people." To not give into the peer pressure the "world" exerts but instead to come out of Babylon and build Zion. Then when members "follow the prophet" they are thrown under the bus by the PR department. And you really can't figure out why consiglieri's wife responded the way she did?

[_stemelbow]

They are not going to listen stem. However, you should know one assumption that I have about many of the exmormons on this board: they were probably the most judgemental bunch of tbms imaginable. And they still are very judgemental. And that is the point behind many of their posts. They can not separate who they were as Mormons from people like us, who had less judgemental thoughts. It just carries over into their exmormon status.

Either that or they actually view Mormons in general in such a light while ignoring the majority who aren't that way.