Some Mormon women write scary stories...
Some Mormon women have a lot of money and really great hair...
I know hundreds of Mormon women. They do all kinds of different things and live all different kinds of lives.
This woman served as a leader in the Mormon church. She recently spoke to teenage girls worldwide. She encouraged them to stand up to peer pressure, strengthen their families and serve others. (Click here for more.)
None of the Mormon women I know look like this...
None of them are marrying off their teenage daughters and-- although some may joke about wanting a sister-wife (preferably one who is really fat & ugly, does bathrooms and changes diapers)--none of them really want to share their husband with anyone.
Some Mormon guys yell at the ball...
Some Mormon guys make scary movies...
Some Mormon guys have a lot of money and really great hair...
I know hundreds of Mormon guys. They do all kinds of different things and live all kinds of different lives.
This is one of the leaders of the Mormon church. Last Sunday he spoke about honoring women, especially mothers, and gave advice to husbands and children about how to treat the women in their lives. (For the whole story, click here.)
None of the Mormon men I know look like this...
The Mormon men I know are honest and hard-working. They don't cheat, smoke, drink or gamble. And TRUST ME....the last thing any of them want is another wife.
102 comments:
LOVED this post... Maybe someone can turn it into a commercial or something!
Great post! Thank you for clarifying for those that don't know too many real live Mormon women or men!
Amen sister! Thank you, thank you. Can someone from CNN put a link to your blog on their website? That would be great.
Great post Gab! So funny and so true. And I wish everyone understood the difference!
Great post. Funny yet poignant! Shame that we are confused with cults. You put the record straight.
I bow down...you are always a "must read" but this was an excellent reminder of who we are.
Marie does really have great hair doesn't she? I look at that list of women and the women I have "met" blogging are equally as fantastic. I read about your lives, joys and challenges and thank my Heavenly Father for my 'sisters'.
AMEN!
AMEN.
Great. I said amen after someone else said it. sigh.
♫ Hallelujah ♫
Fantastic, funny, timely, and with celebrities! I'm linking this post. So good.
Well said! Bravo to you! Thanks for setting the record straight. Maybe someone will gooogle something and end up here. I hope they do!
Oh, my husband wants another one... preferrably in another state. Don't hold it against him. He wouldn't really do it. :)
Mitt Romney is a MORMON?!
So good, so true, thank you!
Gab, you are brilliant. Thank you for cutting out the crazy talk and getting right down to business. Oh, and I love the Famous Mormons. Steve Young for President.
You have a great way with words. You should be president.
Perfect Post. I wish we could make it national. It's crystal clear for people who don't have the patience to listen when you try to explain.
great post..that was fun to read...let everyone know we're not the wackos...
referred by Page, and LOVING this post. WELL DONE!
Good one, Gabi!
thanks for the information. my neighbours dress in those long skirts etc. I always thought they were mormons. now i know they must be jsut FLDS or amish or just old fashioned.
Link away.
You freakin' ROCK! Seriously, I think that was your best post ever!
OK you are awsome!!!
Thanks for the post I clicked on
the link from Paige's blog. I hope you don't mind me checking your blog out.
Great post. I love the way your posts are always written in such a clever way!
HALLELUJAH! AMEN! That was right on the money! There are still so many misconceptions out there about us Mo's. If you could see me right now, I'd be the Mormon with the scary hair and no money.
I came over from Paige's blog...LOVE this post! You did a great job. It should be a PSA to air on all major networks!
Perfect, absolutely perfect!
HILARIOUS! send it on to The King, and maybe shawn will make him post it on his program.
Outstanding!!! We have much to be proud of.
Oh, I LOVED Elder Ballard's talk. I cried. I love being a woman within our church. It is so empowering.
Very clever post.
This is an amazing post! Great job! And I love the link to the LDS leaders talks...YEA!!
Great post! I loved it!
good job, gabi! you're right. this is so true.. i just showed it to everyone at work, they loved it. way to make a stand!
Well Put! I am emailing this link to everyone I know! Loved it!
I too am linking this on my blog!! Now I have even more reason to be excited to meet you at blogapalooza!
I just finished reading Escape about the woman who left the cult and then all the stuff about the Texas stuff hit the news. Frightens me how many people STILL think the FLDS are Mormons. Really great post! I'll read on now...
I got to your Blog through Paige's. GREAT POST! Mitt does have nice hair, huh? Your post can now be an educational tool for all those that think we practice polygamy and always wear dresses.
Brilliant! We had our book club last night on "Escape" and I want to post about it today if I get the time.
Wow you really got that RIGHT! Thanks for speaking out for all of us Mormom women! Amen & Hallelujah!
I linked over from Paige's blog! I love this post!
THAT was one of the best posts I've read from anyone in a long time. If you don't mind I'm linking this post on my blog.
What a great post! Thanks for sending out such a positive message. I've been stopping by your blog for a little while now. It's always a satisfying treat!
AMEN!!!! Thank Weni for sending me here to read your post. It was wonderful!
Seriously, does anyone have any CNN connections??!?! That was fabulous. And true. And funny. And clever.
Very clever, very true. Thanks for sharing your great thoughts!
GR-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-REAT POST, GABI!
I'll take Marie's hair over polygamist hair anyday.
I know this may get lost in a sea of comments, but I have something I want to say about your post---
BRAVA! (I hope that is the feminine version of Bravo, 'cause that is what I mean!)
That is just fantastic!
this post made me come out of lurking to say. amen to all you said. i think i must link to this.
I have no idea how I got here, but I'm glad I made it.
Fantastic!
Amen Gab! What a great post...I may have to link my blogger friends as well! No one could say it better!
53 comments already and it's not even a contest! Very well done. So many Mormon woman impress me everyday with love, intelligence, service to others and courage to stand for something. I want to start reading your posts more often. I'm private let me know it you want a invite.
I'm going to start dressing like that just to confuse everybody.
Mitt is dreamy.
There is a REASON you have, now, 56 comments!
How can we get this AWESOME post out nationally?
Excellent post and campaign for the 'Mo tribe. I am strangely fascinated by the polygamists, but in a horrified, car-crash kinda way. (I linked to you thru Paige's blog.)
: )
Thanks for the blog. . .and thanks to your mom also. She raised terrific kids!
LOVED this! Thanks a bunch for showing it the way it is! Great Post!
Very funny. I was referred to your blog and glad I listened. Cute.
I was referred to this post by Ilene, my sister-in-law. Great post, I'd like to direct others to it.
Thank you for the wonderful post. I will link to it on my blog.
So well put! (and funny)
So eloquent! Loved it! Thank you for clearing up the misconceptions so simply and perfectly!
Congratulations! I can think of a few hundred more too.
Too funny! I loved the ending. And both of those conference talks were excellent :)
P.S. I linked to you from Dancing Queen
Oh. My. Gosh. You amaze me! What an amazing post - you are sooooo clever!!
Awesome post. And clever way to depict the mormons that are out there in the media.
You Rock! (Lauren sent me!)
Well done! Mind if I link? I came from Lauren.
Thank you for this!
Whit
http://MormonMomCast.com
found your blog through ilene's.
a very CLEVER post. good one.
I read this again and it was so good that I had to link you!
Hi...I'm a friend of Lauren and got the link to this post from her blog. It's awesome, and I wanted to thank you! I put the link up on my blog too, because I think everyone in the world should see it. =) Thanks again!
Thank you! Thank you! Coming from a small town in Wyoming, I heard some of the craziest things about us Mormons! Well I better finish curling my hair... my horns are showing. Thank you Hollyween for puting this link on your blog!
LOVE IT!!!!!! Absolutely right on! I hate that the public is associating us with the FLDS.
Thank you! I loved this post. Clever, completely true, and perfectly concise. I'm a friend of Denae's, and admirer's of Celia's blog, love Holly & Page's blogs, so I've seen you around and enjoy your blog, too. Hope you don't mind me leaving a comment.
Yea! Amen. Woo-hoo! Great post. Thanks!
yea!!! thank you!
You are offically the blog rock star. Buy yourself a tiara for BPA. You will need it!
You deserve every one of your now 80 comments, way to go!
Bridget sent me over to check out your post. It's awesome. I love it and you did a fantastic job.
What an awesome post!!! I hoped over here from Wendi's blog.(dancin' queen) Thanks for making that so abundantly clear for all. Very clever girl you are!
Awesome, fabulous, perfect!
I hate hate hate that the the FLDS have LDS in their title still. WHY!!?? They are so far from the LDS faith and it sucks that we have to take the wrath for it.
Anyways...thanks. Great post!
I came over from Holly's blog... Very well put! (And WOW! 83 comments?!)
Brilliant!
THis is AWESOME! Well put. Now can we have THIS air on CNN? Seriously, I live in Europe and it's on the front cover of all the free newspapers. The fact that the FLDS church had LDS in it is a disgrace to mormons.
Hi there! Aren't you clever!! One thing I do need to question though is the comments on Marie's hair.......it is so truely outdated and screams for moisture! She looks so painfully plastic with tragic straw locks. Oh dear.......
I love how what you say is simple and to the point! Well done!
from Australian Mormon.
Great post! Straight to the point.
I am not a LDS, but I read so many wonderful blogs from great ladies who are...I really loved this post.
Add my name to the list of fans - this is so wonderfully told, THANKYOU!!!!
THANK YOU! You don't know how many people I've had to explain this simple concept to over the last week or so. Gee whiz! FLDS, LDS, NOT THE SAME! So beautifully written! Appreciate your insight!
Inspired! Genius! Bravo!
This seems a little bit intolerant to me. Poking fun at people manner of dress, when they were raised that way and have had no reason to question their parents seems childish. I'm saddened by the general attitude of the comments that suggests those who wrote them feel superior to the victimized women and children in another church (who worship how, where, and what they may, according to the dictates of their own conscience).
These people, our brothers and sisters, have had a different experience that we have, and they are not evil. They are trying to do what they think God wants them to, in exactly the same way the early Mormons did, also with young girls. The church didn't stop polygamy because they thought it was yucky. They stopped it to become a state.
We need to be the first ones to extend our hands and hearts and give love to people who have done things we don't agree with.
In response to Sarah K., there is no "poking fun" here - there is a pointing out of differences. We don't encourage marrying our girls out at 14 to relatives, we don't have beds in our temples, we don't have multiple wives. PERIOD.
Many of the activities these people engage in are illegal. They cannot hide under a freedom of religion for there are illegal activities occuring here - including child abuse. I want to separate myself from them as far as possible.
As far as whether my religion stopped polygamy because they wanted to become a state - my belief is that it ceased because of modern revelation. I think the D&C backs me up on that.
love it. i got your link from Ilene's blog. do you mind if I give you a shout out on my family website? I think this post is awesome.
Hi, I am sorry I came across as so antagonistic. I have wept over this post for a couple of hours now. I came back and looked at the photo of the man with the handcuffs, and he appears so bewildered and scared. I'm sure he also didn't participate in gambling, drinking and smoking, etc. He also believed Joseph Smith was a prophet.
As to some of your points, Zoo Keeper, the LDS church surely did participate in polygamy while it was illegal. Polygamous marriages were performed even 10 years after the proclamation. It was not unusual for a woman (girl) to marry as young as 14 or 15.
The D&C may explain to you the process of deciding to end the practice of polygamy, but the reason for the end was statehood. The Republicans hated the Mormons and held polygamy as the proof they were so evil and didn't deserve to be a state. It's not hard to read up on the history there. There were court cases that are transcribed, that you can access at such reputable places as the BYU library.
And there used to be beds in the temples. This is not something that needs to be inflammatory. Some of the temples had a sort of bed and breakfast thing going on. The fact of a bed in the temple doesn't prove any crime.
Also, it does appear to me that many people thought this post was funny, not just a pointing out of differences. Even so, intolerance is all about pointing out differences. And all these differences are things our people have been associated with in the past.
Our church teaches us to love our neighbor, and I believe these people are our neighbors.
I am sorry to hijack this, but I don't feel like we can leave the misconception that our Church will be affiliated with these practices or that these statements are true.
From President Hinckley in 1998:
“I wish to state categorically that this Church has nothing whatever to do with those practicing polygamy. They are not members of this Church. Most of them have never been members. They are in violation of the civil law. They know they are in violation of the law. They are subject to its penalties. The Church, of course, has no jurisdiction whatever in this matter.
"If any of our members are found to be practicing plural marriage, they are excommunicated, the most serious penalty the Church can impose. Not only are those so involved in direct violation of the civil law, they are in violation of the law of this Church. An article of our faith is binding upon us. It states, 'We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law' (Articles of Faith 1:12). One cannot obey the law and disobey the law at the same time.
"There is no such thing as a 'Mormon Fundamentalist.' It is a contradiction to use the two words together."
On the issue of statehood and anything else relating to the previous practices of polygamy, you are relating apples to oranges and some of your statements are misguided. See the following websites and focus on the links to "discontinuation of polygamy"
http://www.mormon-polygamy.org/
I'll love the sinner, but I will not love the sin.
I don't suggest in ANY way that the church is currently associated with polygamy, that it condones it, or that I, myself do condone it. I'm fully agreed with you there. I just believe that since our church WAS ONCE associated with it, did indeed practice it, and claimed it as a revelation from God, we should not be pointing fingers. We don't do it now, and for that I'm glad.
But there's more to the story than their practice of polygamy. Their families have been torn apart, they have been taken from their homes. Some of them have been put in jail. They are suffering as human beings. Many of our ancestors faced this same situation.
WOW! I just happened upon your blog and I loved your post! You are very good with words and I appreciate you setting the record straight. I linked my blog to you, hope you don't mind. I just love the things you say and the way you express them. They uplift me!
Wow! Thanks for saying all of that! It's nice to hear someone finally say it in a way others will understand!
Thank you, thank you, thank you ... sarah k. I was sitting here shaking my head reading the comments until I came to yours. Well said. I'm just wondering ... would folks here be poking fun at how their LDS ancestors dressed? You can criticize the FLDS all you want, but their religious beliefs go back to the "man who communed with Jehovah."
Wow, thanks everyone. Interesting discussion. Hope no one is too offended by the post. It has the approval of my family, my parents and my bishop...so I feel ok about it.
I just hoped in a gently humorous way to point out that common media links between modern Mormon and Fundamentalist lifestyles are erroneous.
Thanks for all your comments...but now that I've topped 100, I'm closing shop.
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