I watched conference this weekend. It's when all the Mormon sit home and "watch" church on TV. The talks are amazing and inspirational. Here's what I remember:DON'T wear flip flops to church!!!
Women: STOP whining so much and be better moms!
Porn is BAD.
I might not have been listening very closely.
Jesus wore sandals all the time. Except when he was barefoot. Isn't it more important to go to church than what kind of footwear you bring?
Sure, sure, I get that we should dress in our "Sunday Best" to show respect. But, dangit, girl shoes frikken hurt MOST of the time!!!!
I'm just saying .. .if I had a teenager, for example, who made a fuss about going to church and shoes was an issue ... I'd be happy with flip flops. Sorry. Shoes are not a big deal ... how about real commandments?
(lovely, now I'm gonna burn for criticizing an apostle ... sorry ...)
11 Brilliant Bits of Inspiration:
Oh, were you criticizing an apostle? I don't remember that talk, but I had company all weekend.
I think it really is more about where your heart it, honestly. Without having heard the talk I can't give you my spin, but I can say that we pick our battles carefully with teenagers, and a good example from parents goes a long way.
In other words, if you're back biting, intolerant, mean spirited, or petty, you'll be lucky if the biggest battle you face with your kids when they become teenagers is what shoes they're wearing.
However, choosing your clothing as a reflection of your love and respect for the Lord and His house is completely appropriate.
I have no opinions on flip flops. Guess I lived too many years in the Caribbean!
I remember when Dave and I were first married and I was investigating the church to see if I could embrace the LDS faith... and a ton of people made a point of very nicely, compassionately even, telling me that since I was not a member it was ok that I wore slacks to church and not to feel uncomfortable about it. The message I recieved- "Don't wear slacks in our church!" At the time I had psoriasis all over the bottoms of my feet and up one ankle. I couldn't wear nylons- only cotton socks. And I couldn't wear anything other than clogs, because everything else hurt too much. It was one of the pivotal points where I realized I really couldn't attend that church on a regular basis. It was my belief that it was more respectful to dress nicely in slacks and good dressy open backed shoes than it was to wear a skirt with cotton socks and birkenstocks. I really don't think God cares what I wear as long as my heart is full of praise :-)
Often it's just about being obedient.
My wife and I decided to attend a Lutheran church one week and we really digged the casual vibe. I would call it a business casual dress standard (polo shirts, sweaters) contrasted with our church which prefers a business CIA agent standard.
The dress at this church did not seem at all inappropriate and it didn't seem to cheapen the sermon in the slightest. Even the band was actually a refreshing change to the stale quality of our meetings.
Basically I think it comes down to the fact that people feel more obedient when they have more rules to follow (cough cough Pharisees). Now that most women have got the one earring thing down they need something else to worry about. You don't ever want to feel like you have actually caught up.
I also went to conference and heard a talk on loving those that are different from us and that don't worship exactly in the same manner as other members.
I ditto everything DeNae said. Without trying to be snarky, I just don't have the energy I used to to get worked up over things like anti flip flop injunctions.
Okay, so here I go tossing my two cents into the hat.
I did hear that conference talk. It was about the relationship between mothers and daughters. Flip-flops were mentioned as an example of showing respect for mothers' counsel to wear your best to church and not scoff at her advice on showing reverence for sacred things.
Having 4 daughters, who do not suffer a skin rash/ailment, who have more than enough proper footwear, and who are not currently struggling with their testimonies in the Gospel--we have a hard fast rule: No flipflops to church.
Flipflops are for the beach, for the mall, for the school hallways.
Following your rationale, would you draw the line at flipflops and pajamas to Church or would that be okay?
Church is a place of worship. Worshipping our Creator. When we approach Him, we are humble and reverent and loving--we bring to Him our earnest heart and clean hands. We bring to Him, our best. And if flipflops are your best, then so be it. But if you're like most Americans, you probably have more appropriate shoes in your closet.
The point of the talk was to tell young women that they can trust their mother's values and wisdom to lead them where they want to be, eternally.
At least, that's what I got out of it.
I loved the talk!
One very big concern I have with this approach that most people don't pay attention to is what is really being communicated between the lines that they are unaware of.
I totally understand where you are coming from Momza. It is a very respectful attitude to have to want to show as much respect as you can for your savior by dressing appropriately. I actually agree with you personally.
But you don't want the message to be confused that you somehow love the savior more than all those people who just don't believe God is that opinionated on that particular subject (For example the casual Lutheran standard that I mentioned earlier). Christ certainly never mentioned anything about appropriate dress in the Gospels.
When you teach this message to a child half of it sinks in as "I need to dress this way to show respect" and half of it sinks in as "People who don't dress this way are not respectful."
I agree with you, Chris. When I drive by other people going to church and I see them in shorts and flip flops, I have the automatic reaction to look down on them.
Lolee, lolee, lolee. I almost feel like I know you. Maybe you are the kind of person who brings Cosmic Brownies to your Primary class, you and have been known to wear flip flops a time or two yourself to church. Somehow, just gleaning your personality from your quick comment, I doubt you really look down on anyone, except maybe self righteous older sisters.
P.S. I wore flip flops once to show off my blue for Divine Nature painted toenails. I waited for people to look down upon me, but no one seemed to even notice.
Yay a new post!
I think flip-flops were just mentioned as an aside in that talk. Even our little primary children learn that it is better to wear what you have and come to church. Everyone in the church is volunteering. Sometimes someone's comments come off awkwardly and end up making us feel worse. I had this experience lately. But, I know this sister loves me and she was just trying. We all say silly things sometimes and even make improper judgments. I think if I let this good sister's mistep keep me away from church, I am probably being more judgmental of her and of the organization she represents than she was to me. I think we're all too hard on each other. Part of the beauty of a lay clergy is creating something beautiful from something imperfect. We make mistakes and learn from them and experience the sometimes undeserved forgivess from our fellow men. I'm not sure I've ever experienced anything sweeter than the pure forgivenss from a friend for saying something that I shouldn't have said.
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