June 19, 2010

How Dare I


I love being a Mormon. I know the church is true, despite me wanting to be with a man. I am a ardent support of the church is every way. However, I have a bit of a rebel streak in me this weekend. I want to commit the unpardonable sin (in my family and quite honestly in my own belief).

I want to wear a colored button up shirt to church.

Shocking eh? I know most all of you are saying, "Ha, I do that every week and don't bat an eye." But for me wearing anything other than a white shirt and tie is a blatant rebellion of the my personal standards. Im not judging you for wearing a non-white shirt, I have just always personally believed it showed respect. But this Sunday, I am super tempted to wear a colored shirt.

Will I or wont I. What color will it be. What color tie should I match with it. Oh the questions haunt me.

8 comments:

  1. Ha! I can remember that being the big rebellion when I was a teenager. To come to church in other than a white shirt was considered quite audacious. Even in California. Looking back now, I think the adults were smarter than we gave them credit for. They made a big deal about the white shirt standard, and some of us rebelled against it. We were so pleased with ourselves that we didn't need to consider rebelling in other, significantly more problematic ways. Guess the adults in our lives had it figured out after all.

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  2. I also used to think wearing a non-white shirt was a big deal.

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  3. Yup, I second Bravone.

    Blue with a green tie. It's unofficial color for gay Mormon people who want to be noticed.

    Joned

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  4. OMG Quinn, lighten up. Even the individual GAs who've turned this personal preference of theirs into a quasi-policy have said it's not a requirement. So wear a blue shirt with a green tie and savor the sense of getting away with sinfulness when you're actually being no more wicked than if you gave a child a cookie.

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  5. Ha, I was a rebel as a teenager. I was one of the best-behaved kids in my ward, but I liked colored silk shirts and wore them to church. Later, I adapted to the white shirt policy for passing the sacrament out of respect for the bishopric's preferences and the (optional) symbolism of those passing the sacrament all being dressed in white. After my mission, I spoke about the value of wearing white as a show of willingness to put aside my own will. A few years after my mission, I decided I'd shown my willingness quite thoroughly and started wearing colored shirts again sometimes. :-) You can make anything into a matter of "dedication to God", but it doesn't mean you're slipping away if the act loses its significance, has become trite repetition, or was a nice gesture on your part which God acknowledged as a sign of your submission but was a cultural thing God never really cared about to begin with. :-)

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  6. @Joned - Where did the blue and green thing come about, cause I've heard others talk about it.

    @Rob - I never said I thought it was sinful. It was just something I was raised with and I personally believe.

    @OMoHo - You're right I have made it kind of my own gesture and have always felt more comfortable in wearing white.

    Update - I laid out a colored shirt for church today, but then thought, if the only purpose of wearing a colored shirt is to "rebel" in my own personal way, that is not what I want to do. So I decided to wear a white shirt, and was very glad I did.

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  7. THe blue shirt and green tie, I think it's coming from here:
    http://mormon-enigma.blogspot.com/2008/11/official-moho-uniform.html

    and here:
    http://originalmohomie.blogspot.com/2007/06/i-wore-my-blue-shirt-with-green-tie.html

    and here:
    http://mohointx.blogspot.com/2010/06/reluctant-to-speak-out-idea.html

    Joned

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