mod·est
ˈmädəst/
adjective
adjective: modest
(of a woman) dressing or behaving so as to avoid impropriety or indecency, especially to avoid attracting sexual attention.
(of clothing) not revealing or emphasizing the figure.
"modest dress means that hemlines must be below the knee"
| synonyms: | decorous, decent, seemly, demure, proper
|
First read this. (The following will have no contextual meaning otherwise....)
It
was my experience as a young newlywed moving to Utah a decade or so
ago that the main conflict here with actual doctrine vs practical (or impractical) practice is brought about if not mostly by then in part by the rampantly contradictory LDS culture in the
region.
Predominantly LDS regions have a social culture which is horribly broken
without much hope for repair so far as I can tell.(If you can
maintain complete separation from all things relating to LDS church
members should you happen to live in Utah, you probably wouldn't
notice, unless you enjoy alcohol.)
I am ever grateful that I was
mature enough to know when the time came to expect our first child that it
would be wise to raise them in a more socially diverse environment. So
after two years in the "lovely deseret" we packed up, sold
our house and left before our firstborn would take their first
breath.
I will never regret leaving, and still occasionally
visit the beehive state and witness how the loathsome traits of the
collective LDS culture has furthered its decline.
A couple random thoughts:
Could a link be drawn to the rampant
prescribing of medication to treat depression and anxiety in the
region be linked to this person conflict creating phenomenon? Very
possibly. I'll refrain from elaborating on that sensitive idea.
For
the record there should be some equalization with this statement:
"Boys
will be boys, and that sometimes they will think inappropriate
thoughts."
Girls and women, as equally sexual beings will and
do have "inappropriate thoughts."
These phenomenal thought processes are part of being human and not exclusively a bad thing. I hold some
minor disdain for all sexual thought being generally categorized as
inappropriate. Without these thought patterns you and I would
certainly not be here.
I
enjoy my membership in the church. I certainly hope to never feel otherwise. I know my beliefs and knowledge are deeply rooted enough to help me separate the actions and thoughts of LDS people from ACTUAL church doctrines. There are some ways of thinking that creep in among it's membership
that seem and sometimes are extreme and/or unfounded.
This note shared alludes well to
how some LDS groups have created their own baseless standards:
"Do
I have a problem with the cultural implications? Yes, I do. The
specific clothing items mentioned in this official declaration are
“short shorts and skirts, tight clothing, and shirts that don’t
cover the stomach.” That’s it. No flagrant scolding messages
about bare shoulders,
knees, and toes (knees
and toes). No finger-pointing about blouses that actually elude to
the fact that women have breasts."
I think this is very
well put. The same idea exists with the predominant myth that Mormons
cannot consume caffeine. This idea was born from the Word of Wisdom
doctrine advising that a member should not drink coffee or other "hot
drinks."
There is no official or doctrinal declaration
forbidding the use of caffeine.
That is not to say it is healthy to replace water with Diet Coke.... (another seeming rampant issue
among the LDS in the mountain west and elsewhere...)
Amen.