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Just me answering some NaNoWriMo questions again.
[quote=LulaAndTheUnicorn]It turns out my MC is a Mormon and so is all of her family. The problem is, i’m an atheist and don’t have a clue when it comes to religion.
Please can anyone offer any basic info – my character is an 18 year old girl in the mid ’50′s – how would this religion affect her day to day life?
emple? If so would they wear traditional
How often would the family go to church?
Also, her sister (age 21) is getting married to a boy of the same religion – would she get married in the
t wedding clothes or would it be religion specific.
Would a mormon girl of a very religious family be allowed to marry someone of another faith?
I think that’s about it…
Any information would be grately appreciated! Thanks, Lula. ———-
[/quote]
The LDS church teaches that women who work outside of the home will be condemned, along with women who commit the sin of cutting their hair, or send their children to public school.
Okay, since Orthodox LDS/Mormons are a minority even within the Church, I guess, I should explain what it is I mean, by the fact that “I was not allowed to work”.
I should note here that members are unofficially divided into 3 groups:
Orthodox LDS: long standing families, usually 4th and 5th generation members whose families followed either J Smith or B Young since the 1800′s). These are the uber strict strictest of the strict LDS. Often referred to by gentiles (non LDS) as zealots and fanatics. Orthodox LDs abstain from coffee, soda, hot chocolate, tea, cigarettes, meat, sex, make up, jewelry, TV, rock music, movies rated PG13+, short sleeve shirts, pants on women, short hair on women, bathing suits, shorts, anything that shows the knee, the list of things orthodox LDS avoid as sinful goes on and on. I know this list because I grew up in an orthodox LDS family. Orthodox LDS also believe in total self sufficiency or else: in other words, you farm the land, grow you own food, home school you kids, and stock pile a 3 year supply of everything (food, cloths, water, etc) just in case of the third world war which will follow Jesus’ second coming. (100 years of war followed by 1000 years of peace, than Judgment Day after that.) Orthodox LDS, call themselves “The Saints” and take a great offence at being called a Mormon – they may take you to court for slander if you call them a Mormon
“I Grew Up In The Church” Mormons: These are members who are usually 2nd and 3rd generation members. Rarely have their families been in the church longer than the 1960′s; These members tend to be strict, but not nearly as strict as the Orthodox LDs members. For example, they may allow female members of the family to get jobs, wear makeup, or cut their hair. These are generally accepted by Orthodox members, though they are likely to be thought of as *weak in the teachings*.
The Converts: Members who joined the church or whose parents joined the church within the last 20 or 30 years These are the most common, as well as the least strict. They often allow such activities as swimming, and are not offend by drinking soda or hot chocolate. They are very likely to own a tv, go to movies, and allow their children to go to public schools. Rarely are these members looked on with a good eye, by the Orthodox members, who are likely to call the new converts *gentiles*. (Calling an LDS member a gentile is as bad as calling a black man a nigar… it’s about the worst thing you could call an LDS member).
People outside the Mormon Church, really have no idea the strict, rigid standards God expects the Saints to live up to. We are supposed to live our lives, here today, on earth, exactly as we would live them in the next life after we die, in the celestial Kingdom. If we do not live the laws of the Celestial Kingdom in this lifetime, than we will not be worthy to live them in the next lifetime. Things like telling lies, doing drugs, drinking, sex, women wearing pants, women cutting their hair, women getting jobs, these thing will all bar you from entering the kingdom of heaven. You cannot do those things in the next life, so must rise above them in this life, or pay the price by not being allowed into God’s kingdom in the next life. If you cannot live without those things now, how do you think God would expect you to live without them in Heaven?
Now, for those of you used to the “New Convert” style Mormons, there is a big difference between new members and Orthodox members. New members, gentiles who converted to Saints, rarely ever leave behind the old ways of the word. I don’t know why they think they can be baptized. You must repent of your sins and give up the ways of your past life, before being baptized. Yet they go right on ahead and lie to their bishop and say they’ve repented and stopped living of the world, so the bishop let’s them get baptized and than they go right back to living the way they always did, without any attempt to give up their old ways at all!
Most new convert females do not quit their jobs, as the church teaches, nor do they grow out their hair as the church teaches, nor do they remove their children from public schools, as the church teaches. Though they were baptized, they continue to live as one who is of the world, and they continue to commit the sin of working a job, having short hair, and allowing their children to associate with the gentiles at public school. Personally, I wish the church leaders would excommunicate all the short hair working women, because they have no right being baptized members of the church if they are not going to live the teaches of the church. They blatantly refuse to live God’s laws; they see nothing wrong with disobeying his teachings. If they cannot be bothered to obey his teachings in this life, they will not enter the kingdom. If they are not even going to make an attempt to try to live the Gospel, than they should not be allowed to be baptized at all. I really hate the Church’s new movement of getting as many members as possible, so now they will just baptize anyone. It’s sickening really.
Now granted shorthaired working women outside of the LDS church do not know any better, and they have not been baptized, so it is not entirely their fault, but once they have joined the Church, there is no excuse for them continuing to live in sin like that. If they could not give up their jobs, and they could not grow out their hair, than they should never have gotten baptized, because now they know better, now they have promised to live God’s laws, and now because they are not obeying the laws of God after being baptized, now it will be that much worse for them in Hell.
This is one of the things several people at Church did not like about me as well. You see, I rarely speak, but when I do, watch out, because I will tell you exactly what I think about you. I do not believe in lies on any level, so I am not going to say something nice just to sound friendly or to avoid hurting your feelings. The truth hurts, get used to it. I see a woman in Church who has a job, and has no reason to have a job, because she has a father or husband with a job, I will give her hell, and than I will give them hell. If there is a woman in Church with short hair, she is going to get an earful.
Moreover, for those who like to say that the Mormon Church stopped teaching those in the 1970′s, I suggest you get yourself a copy of the Relief Society Manual. It is a two Volume set, the latest edition was updated in 2005. In it, you will find an entire chapter on the evils of women who work outside of the home. It details a list of jobs women are allowed to do, providing they do them at home, and it does not take away from time spent with their children.
The church does say, that if the male head of the house hold is unable or unwilling to provide for his family, than the women of the family are allowed to work, within the limits (the church has of list of jobs women can and can not work) in order to buy food, providing that the job does not require her to cut her hair or send her children to public school.
As I said, I was raised in an Orthodox LDS family, where you obey the teaches of the church to the letter, with out question.
Wow! That got a bit preachy, didn’t it. Sorry about that.
Anyways – in the 1950′s pretty much all Mormons fell under the Orthodox LDS category. The *loosey-goosey, I don’t have to obey the Church rules* type members didn’t really exist before 1978. So, what I just said here – is pretty much the same thing your female MC would be saying too. Prior to 1978, LDS/Mormons were not very different from the Amish.
There was a change in leadership in 1978, which also resulted in a movement of getting as many new members baptized as possible – which also resulted in the missionary movement – note that in the 1950′s missionaries were not a big part of the LDS Church. So you wouldn’t want to be putting a lot of emphasis on missionaries in the 1950′s era. They were there, just not common, and usually were elderly couples, not a pair of young men.
The LDS Church is a very male oriented Church – women have no rights. period. Most female Saints are not even allowed to vote without their husband’s say so, and if they do vote it is for whom ever their husband decried was worthy of being a godly leader. Women and children do not speak unless spoken to, and require their husband’s/father’s permission to speak – they will raise their hand and wait for him to tell them they can talk.
Know too, that many of the stereotypes about “Mormons” are not true – polygamy for example is grounds for excommunication and is not allowed. Polygamy is practiced by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which is a different denomination entirely, and is in no way affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Magic Underwear is another myth. The Saint wear long johns (called temple garments) to cover their nakedness, in case any article of their clothen should be too short and show some skin. Nothing magical or mystical about it.
The wedding would most likely have been in the temple if both people were members. However – they both MUST be living the “orthodox” standards in oder to get a temple recommend – keeping in mind here that less than 9% of all members are ever allowed to get a temple recommend! Both of your characters will have to be really super strict to get a temple recommend, in order to have a temple marriage. Likewise only family members able to also get a temple recommend would be allowed to attend the wedding. It is rare for more than 3 or 4 members of a family to be eligible to get a recommend, so temple marriages are usually just the couple and 3 or 4 family members.
She would wear a plain white cotton dress, with a high collar, long sleeves, and no decorations, no jewelry, and no make up. Over which she would wear a green fig leaf shaped apron and a white veil of ancient Hebrew design (similar to the head covering worn by Muslim women) . The groom would wear a similar outfit, except instead of a veil he would wear a turban.
The ceremony takes place in “The Sealing Room” which is the only non-white room in the temple – it is white with gold trim. The couple spend the ceremony kneeling before a white and gold fabric covered alter.
Marriage to non members is allowed in some families, and strictly forbidden in other families. Pretty much it depends on how the patriarch (the father/husband/head of household – is called the patriarch) feels on the matter.
Find Out More About My 2008 NaNoWriMo Book Which the LDS/Mormon Church is up in arms about. (NOTE – this link goes to the unedited proof of the book and not to the actual listing.)
Find Out More About My 2009 NaNoWriMo Project
What’s your take on this? I’d love to hear what you have to say about this post. Leave a comment and share your views!
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