When I was a YW, I was never asked in the LA temple about being on your period and I know there were some girls who went during their periods because we would talk about it. This was in the early 90s. I went back with the singles ward about '96 and when we women were in the dressing room being given our white jumpsuits the temple worker asked if any of us were on our periods. Well, I was and so was another women. We were told we could not do baptisms, but instead would do confirmations the whole time. I had never heard of this and the other woman said that she had gone to do baptisms while she was on her period as a YW and also had never been asked that before. It hadn't been that long since I had gone as a YW and this was not an issue. I was confused at the time as to why this would be the case. The awkard thing was, having the elders of the singles ward ask where the two of us were and how come we didn't do baptisms. We said, "oh they were behind on confirmations and needed us to do that."
So in my experience, the policy changed in the mid- 90s in the LA temple. I don't know, I guess there could be accidents, but I was wearing a tampon and so was the other woman. I swam in tampons and never had a problem. Yeah, I was a little offended. Being on your period does not make you unclean! But, on the other hand while talking to a roommate about this at BYU, she mentioned that maybe a 12 year old could have been wearing a pad one day instead of a tampon and blood got in the water and that changed the policy. That I can completely get and understand, but the idea that I am unclean...that just pisses me off. I've never heard an offical reason.
LochNessie Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > When I was a YW, I was never asked in the LA > temple about being on your period and I know there > were some girls who went during their periods > because we would talk about it. This was in the > early 90s. I went back with the singles ward about > '96 and when we women were in the dressing room > being given our white jumpsuits the temple worker > asked if any of us were on our periods. .... > So in my experience, the policy changed in the > mid- 90s in the LA temple.
It's called "line up on line, precept upon precept," or "Continuing revelation," or "inspiration of the leaders," or "
I don't know the biological or health reason,but they didn't want blood products in the water. Seemed reasonable to me. But the labels were just plain stupid.
but Mormons can be rather random on what they follow from the OT- regarding women unclean is in, slitting animals throats is out prohibiting gay sex is in, stoning people is out
Emma's Flaming Sword Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > stoning people is out
Sometimes it depends on what the cops will do. As for stoning people, I think Brigham Young's "Blood Atonement" doctrine called for slitting throats rather than stoning them.
But if they don't want blood products in the water, why not inspect everyone for open, bleeding wounds, or ban people with infectious diseases? They don't. And it's so silly. A tampon inserted right before entering the pool will be plug-tight. This is the 21st century. The period-fear is ridiculous.
Oh, and I remember having to remove all nail polish, unless it was a red or pink color. Because green toe nail polish negated the efficacy of the baptism, but f*ck-me red polish was acceptable? Whatever.
At that time, the confirmation was done immediately after the baptism, then the kid would slog back into the pool to be dunked again and again and confirmed each time.
They did all of the girls while the boys oogled and the one girl sat in humiliation.
Each girl went to a shower stall and stripped naked in front of an old lady who looked on disapprovingly for awhile before handing out a tiny thin towel. That skimpy towel was all the girl could hold in front of her nakedness as she slunk down along hallwaym into the dressing room, and while she retrieved her own clothes from a locker so she could finally dress.
The whole experience was embarrassing and degrading for girls with newly budding bodies who had always been taught to be modest even in front of mothers and sisters at home.
The temple workers said no one could wear any kind of underwear because it might have colored threads in the waistbands or labels. That would nullify the baptisms and the souls would never be able to move on for eternity.
Ouch! That sucks. I'm glad it was a little different when I went. The girls were a few hours early than the boys so no boys looked on. Just the older men performing the baptisms and acting as witnesses-the jumpsuits were lined, but with a thin bra, the old men were sure to see nipples. So now that grosses me out, but I never thought of that when I went, which means I probably never got oggled, but I was also always underdevolped- an A cup until I was in my mid 20s.
I got to wear underwear and in my memory, I was never counseled on the color of my underwear, and I know that some girls wore colored bras and panties. I've heard of the ladies watching and waiting, that certainly would have freaked me out. When I went there was a curtained area just before the shower where we took off our wet jumpsuits and put them in a big hamper, then we moved on to the curtained shower and then to another curtained dressing area where there stacks of towels. No temple workers were ever in the dressing room, just YW.
After reading posts on baptisms, I think I got off real lucky. I loved going as a YW, and never run into the bullsh*t a lot of members seemed to and was never even asked about my period until I was a YSA. Guess I went at a lucky time to the right temple. After baptisms our YW group would go eat in Westwood and then walk around the shops. It was a fun night out. We also got to leave shool early because the time for girls was three in the afternoon and due to LA traffic we usually left our city two hours early. If traffic was good and we got there early we would go watch a movie in the visitor's center. I voluteered to go all the way until I left YW at 17- we got to leave when we graduated HS and I had a summer birthday, so I left YW at 17.
-->"The temple workers said no one could wear any kind of underwear because it might have colored threads in the waistbands or labels. That would nullify the baptisms and the souls would never be able to move on for eternity."<--
She was from another ward and school. I didn't know her, but I felt sorry for her sitting in the observation area and turning colors from white to red because she knew everyone saw her as a freak for having a period on that particular day.
The girls in the dressing room and on the way home commented that she should have known she'd be exculded. They all knew girls shouldn't go for dead baptisms when there was a chance their period whould start, so it was her own fault she found herself in that situation.
I wasn't having reguar periods and didn't have a clue when one would start at that early age and was profoundly impacted by the whole situation. It felt at that point that periods were a sign of unworthyness to the mormon church and that girls were expected to be ashamed if a period happened on dead dunking day.
> The girls in the dressing room and on the way home > commented that she should have known she'd be > exculded. They all knew girls shouldn't go for > dead baptisms when there was a chance their period > whould start, so it was her own fault she found > herself in that situation.
I would wager a month's salary that the majority of the girls in the dressing room who said she should have known and it was her own fault had no clue themselves that it was a rule at all. They were just lucky that it wasn't them.
Part of the Church is the herd mentality. When any member of the herd is not doing what the rest of the herd is doing then something must be wrong with them.
baptisms--and your explanation above was exactly what happened to me.
And, stupid me, I didn't think about seeing through the wet clothing--and I was so brainwashed and so naive, I'd never think it might be a big turnon for the men doing the baptisms, LET ALONE the boys there. And, no, we were not allowed to wear any underwear including bras back when I first went.
Every time I went to the temple at any time in my life--my own personal boundaries were crossed in some HUGE fashion.
AND (for Susie at least)--they never cleaned out the pool after I had a bloody nose and they waited until it stopped to do more. If they were that concerned about blood--they would have escorted me out and then drained the pool.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/13/2012 12:10PM by cl2.
I don't remember there being a rule about it, but I may have forgotten. Most of us used pads in our early teens so we wouldn't have gone regardless.Getting in the water during your period with no tampon would be grossand unsanitary and it was just understood that you didn't do that anymore than you went swimming while menstruating. I don't recall going after I started using tampons so I don't know if anything was said about that.. I remember we didn't wear undies and the jump suits were revealing. I remember looking at the boys butts and feeling a little guilty. I wasn't embarrassed about changing and don't remember towels being rationed or being inspected. That didn't happen and it wasn't any more embarrassing than showering in PE which I was already used to.
It makes perfect sense, all this dunking is clearly a perversion of the Mikvah from Judaism. The monthly routine in judaism for a married lass, is "Bleed, Bath, Bedding", definitely not bleed and bath at the same time. So it all makes sense.
We are not talking about using everyday water from the pump or the tap to get less dirty, that's fine, we are talking about bathing in special water, God's water as a ritual.
I distinctly remember about 2 years ago, my friend and I were getting a ride from one of our young women's leaders. She said to my friend; "M*****, you do know you can't do baptisms if you're on your period?"
Very embarrassing, but I don't know why anyone would want to do baptisms on their period anyway.
My dad made us go on temple trips whether we wanted to or not (always not). I could never have told him I couldn't go because I was on my period. That was a taboo subject growing up. Even subtly mentioning it would cause such a look of disgust on his face that it hurts me to think about when now. It would not have been an excuse in any case.
It happened to me once. My 1st temple trip as a yw. They gave me the job of helping out the ones that were coming out of the water. I would stand near the showers and they would give me their jumpsuit once they had removed it, and I would give them their towels and I would put the jumpuit in the hampers, etc. So, see, they found a way to make me "participate" and I had a jumpsuit too, so I was part of the group...yeah, right, as if no one knew why... (end of sarcasm)