New Church Policy on Cross-dressing Halloween Kids

[_Doctor CamNC4Me]

Perhaps the little youngin's can wear a niqab?

[_Themis]

This is interesting. I have never heard anything mentioned about the "cross-dressing" policy before. Maybe our ward just never had an issue with it?

It's ben around for a long time. I remember it with YSA.

Now, the "no masks" has been a policy for as long as I can remember. That is based on the fact that the mob wore masks when killing Joseph Smith. The "no mask" policy is out of respect for that incident.

Do you have a source for this?

Actually, many schools that allow costumes also have a "no mask" policy for safety reasons, so it is really not all that unusual. The "no weapons" policy would be for similar safety issues, I would think.

I have always understood it was because we tend to do things with masks on that we would not normally do.

[_quark]

This all comes down to a fear of exhibiting the shapes of the mammary glands. This is why a girl dressing up as captain Jack Sparrow would be fine and a boy dressing as Bella would not.

[_Blixa]

This is interesting. I have never heard anything mentioned about the "cross-dressing" policy before. Maybe our ward just never had an issue with it?

Now, the "no masks" has been a policy for as long as I can remember. That is based on the fact that the mob wore masks when killing Joseph Smith. The "no mask" policy is out of respect for that incident. Actually, many schools that allow costumes also have a "no mask" policy for safety reasons, so it is really not all that unusual. The "no weapons" policy would be for similar safety issues, I would think.

I think in this case it is one "rogue" Bishop's overreaction.

As for the no masks policy, I'd like to know when this became widespread. It certainly wasn't in force when I was of Halloween costume wearing age: I wore several costumes with masks to ward holiday events. I think that the "rule" and the explanation that liz cites must be of later vintage than the 1970's. And I have to say that "...the mob wore masks when killing Joseph Smith. The "no mask" policy is out of respect for that incident" is a really bizarre statement to my ears. That kind of discourse was entirely absent in the pre-correlation Mormonism of my youth.

[_LDSToronto]

I think in this case it is one "rogue" Bishop's overreaction.

As for the no masks policy, I'd like to know when this became widespread. It certainly wasn't in force when I was of Halloween costume wearing age: I wore several costumes with masks to ward holiday events. I think that the "rule" and the explanation that liz cites must be of later vintage than the 1970's. And I have to say that "...the mob wore masks when killing Joseph Smith. The "no mask" policy is out of respect for that incident" is a really bizarre statement to my ears. That kind of discourse was entirely absent in the pre-correlation Mormonism of my youth.

I don't think there is any mystical or historical reason for the 'no mask' policy. I think it's a safety precaution - first, you want to be able to recognize anyone who comes into a building full of little kids running around hyped up on sugar and not necessarily paying attention to 'stranger danger'; second, I think it's the same reason masks are banned at elementary schools - it's hard to see out the eye holes and kids can hurt themselves by tripping, running into doors (which I've seen happen), etc.

Same thing with candles - people think LDS chapels forbid candles because of the linkage with occultism when really it's simply because a candle can start a fire in a building, and people will do stupid things, like have candles in the same room as a hay bale.

H.

[_cinepro]

I don't think there is any mystical or historical reason for the 'no mask' policy. I think it's a safety precaution - first, you want to be able to recognize anyone who comes into a building full of little kids running around hyped up on sugar and not necessarily paying attention to 'stranger danger'; second, I think it's the same reason masks are banned at elementary schools - it's hard to see out the eye holes and kids can hurt themselves by tripping, running into doors (which I've seen happen), etc.

Same thing with candles - people think LDS chapels forbid candles because of the linkage with occultism when really it's simply because a candle can start a fire in a building, and people will do stupid things, like have candles in the same room as a hay bale.

H.

QFT

[_Blixa]

I think in this case it is one "rogue" Bishop's overreaction.

As for the no masks policy, I'd like to know when this became widespread. It certainly wasn't in force when I was of Halloween costume wearing age: I wore several costumes with masks to ward holiday events. I think that the "rule" and the explanation that liz cites must be of later vintage than the 1970's. And I have to say that "...the mob wore masks when killing Joseph Smith. The "no mask" policy is out of respect for that incident" is a really bizarre statement to my ears. That kind of discourse was entirely absent in the pre-correlation Mormonism of my youth.

I don't think there is any mystical or historical reason for the 'no mask' policy. I think it's a safety precaution - first, you want to be able to recognize anyone who comes into a building full of little kids running around hyped up on sugar and not necessarily paying attention to 'stranger danger'; second, I think it's the same reason masks are banned at elementary schools - it's hard to see out the eye holes and kids can hurt themselves by tripping, running into doors (which I've seen happen), etc.

Same thing with candles - people think LDS chapels forbid candles because of the linkage with occultism when really it's simply because a candle can start a fire in a building, and people will do stupid things, like have candles in the same room as a hay bale.

H.

I think you're right. I suspect the no mask policy came in about the same time it was instituted in schools.

[_DarkHelmet]

what if a guy dressed up as Chaz Bono? what's the official church stance on that?

[_brade]

what if a guy dressed up as Chaz Bono? what's the official church stance on that?

What if a woman dresses up as Brigham Morris Young dressing up as a woman?

[_Lucretia MacEvil]

I hate to pull the (old) age card, but I remember the "no-mask" rule going back into the 60s. The reason given was that people are more easily tempted by Satan to do evil when they feel that they are incognito.