Happy Valley Photo Essay

[_xolotl]

You think "daily life" includes slathering your legs with barbecue sauce from the knees down, or that there isn't anything particularly bizarre about doing such a thing?

lol Shades, those are tan lines. Tan lines caused by garments.

[_Runtu]

You think "daily life" includes slathering your legs with barbecue sauce from the knees down, or that there isn't anything particularly bizarre about doing such a thing?

What the hell are you talking about?

[_Dr. Shades]

You think "daily life" includes slathering your legs with barbecue sauce from the knees down, or that there isn't anything particularly bizarre about doing such a thing?

What the hell are you talking about?

Take a look at Photo #17, the one with the naked brother-in-law.

[_Runtu]

Take a look at Photo #17, the one with the naked brother-in-law.

What about it? His lower legs are the same color as his neck and arm. They're called tan lines.

The nudity didn't bother me. Slightly awkward, that's all.

[_Radex]

I am sorry, zeezrom. I think some dialectal oddities must have remained with me even though I crossed the pond many years ago.

The author was trying to give his readers a taste of Mormon culture.

Undoubtedly.

I’m curious if there could have been any photos that Shumway could have presented that you wouldn’t have found mildly offensive to accompany the statements you quoted:

This sounds like an entertaining game: instead of describing photos with captions, I'll describe captions with photos (or descriptions thereof)!

The LDS church strictly forbids premarital sex and many forms of physical contact between the sexes.

A sultry looking, scantily clad couple lying on a heart-shaped mattress with passion in their eyes.

Mormon authorities still prescribe traditional gender roles for their members.

The same photo above, but the couple are of the same sex.

Newlyweds often hold the reception in the gymnasium of LDS churches because it’s free.

A wedding reception held at a local sports arena, with hundreds of thousands of raving fans and a mascot jumping through flaming hoops.

Mormons are commanded to wear garments, which are a sacred underclothing, for life after going through the Endowment Ceremony.

It was not so much this quote that was the issue, it was the sentence before it. It implied that Chris felt he needed to clean up rather quickly for fear of being without his garments for too long.

On the Sabbath, all "worldly" activities, such as buying things, watching TV, playing video games, or even visiting friends, must cease.

A photograph of a family window shopping on a busy street with hundreds of shoppers (L) side by side with a photograph of Christmas morning and loads of presents (R).

Was it the photos or the (admittedly imperfect) revelations about Mormons that bothered you?

The photos were fine, some even well-done. The descriptions were inaccurate.

[_Doctor Scratch]

I see that a number of TBMs have shown up in order to boot the Mopologists out of the "Comments" section. DCP was personally booed off the site by 3-4 different TBMs. Yes: I said TBMs; not critics or anti-Mormons. This is the sort of reputation the guy has crafted for himself, and it just shows you how warped the Internet Mormons on the ironically named Mormon Dialogue board actually are insofar as they are actually fans of this sort of thing. They're the folks who've been lapping up this brand of nastiness for over a decade now. The bulk of believing Latter-day Saints are sick of this sort of crap, and they realize that it just works to alienate people both within and outside the Church. "Mormon Scholars Testify" ain't gonna help solve any of this, either.

At least they've got Mike "Tuffy" Parker doing his best to put up a stout defense, and yet even he is trying desperately to disavow his association with the Maxwell Institute. Lol! Yeah, Mike: ask them to take your name off the Web site. Have them say that "Alan Smithee" wrote your article.

The foundation of the Ziggurat continues to crumble...

[_Kishkumen]

The "gymnasium," usually called the cultural hall, is a very functional part of the meeting house which is used for many purposes. Calling it a gymnasium makes LDS people seem they're only willing to pay peanuts for their weddings. I think this is a bit misleading, don't you?

I don't see the big issue here. The cultural hall is every bit as attractive as a gymnasium. It has basketball standards and markings on the carpet. You're nitpicking on this one.

[_Kishkumen]

I see that a number of TBMs have shown up in order to boot the Mopologists out of the "Comments" section. DCP was personally booed off the site by 3-4 different TBMs. Yes: I said TBMs; not critics or anti-Mormons. This is the sort of reputation the guy has crafted for himself, and it just shows you how warped the Internet Mormons on the ironically named Mormon Dialogue board actually are insofar as they are actually fans of this sort of thing. They're the folks who've been lapping up this brand of nastiness for over a decade now. The bulk of believing Latter-day Saints are sick of this sort of crap, and they realize that it just works to alienate people both within and outside the Church.

Interesting, Doctor. Perhaps the great day of apologetic power is waning as more LDS folk see what has been hiding in the corner all these years. Most Mormons I know simply want to live and let live; they aren't as defensive as the apologists who protect the Church as their self-appointed mission. A brighter day may be dawning. Sometime soon there may even be a viable Mormon presidential candidate who isn't a bizarrely defensive weasel.

[_Morley]

I am sorry, zeezrom. I think some dialectal oddities must have remained with me even though I crossed the pond many years ago.

The author was trying to give his readers a taste of Mormon culture.

Undoubtedly.

I’m curious if there could have been any photos that Shumway could have presented that you wouldn’t have found mildly offensive to accompany the statements you quoted:

This sounds like an entertaining game: instead of describing photos with captions, I'll describe captions with photos (or descriptions thereof)!

The LDS church strictly forbids premarital sex and many forms of physical contact between the sexes.

A sultry looking, scantily clad couple lying on a heart-shaped mattress with passion in their eyes.

Mormon authorities still prescribe traditional gender roles for their members.

The same photo above, but the couple are of the same sex.

Newlyweds often hold the reception in the gymnasium of LDS churches because it’s free.

A wedding reception held at a local sports arena, with hundreds of thousands of raving fans and a mascot jumping through flaming hoops.

Mormons are commanded to wear garments, which are a sacred underclothing, for life after going through the Endowment Ceremony.

It was not so much this quote that was the issue, it was the sentence before it. It implied that Chris felt he needed to clean up rather quickly for fear of being without his garments for too long.

On the Sabbath, all "worldly" activities, such as buying things, watching TV, playing video games, or even visiting friends, must cease.

A photograph of a family window shopping on a busy street with hundreds of shoppers (L) side by side with a photograph of Christmas morning and loads of presents (R).

Was it the photos or the (admittedly imperfect) revelations about Mormons that bothered you?

The photos were fine, some even well-done. The descriptions were inaccurate.

Thank you for your good humored reply, Radex.

[_Dr. Shades]

Take a look at Photo #17, the one with the naked brother-in-law.

What about it? His lower legs are the same color as his neck and arm. They're called tan lines.

Huh, well I'll be damned.

But I can't figure out why his tan lines go all the way down to the bottoms of his feet. Does he wear neither socks nor shoes? Or does he perhaps wear nothing but garments?

Either way, those are pretty horrific tan lines. It's like he spends 24/7 outside except for the occasional times he goes inside for a nude photograph.

I'm tempted to stick with the barbecue sauce theory.