Way back in the day, Modern Family would have been a show I would have kept my children from watching.
I was very serious about the teachings of the church. I wasn't sure I believed them, but I believed the people who told me that if I lived the commandments, I would come to gain a testimony and all would be right and good.

So I kept trying.

My siblings, however, would have watched this show and gotten a kick out of it. They enjoyed life---vacationed on Sunday and skipped church, went to R rated movies if they were good ones, didn't do much pondering in their "Search, ponder and pray." In fact, I think they mostly tried to read their required page in the scriptures each night before bed, and that was it.

They are all Utah mormons. They like their communities and the church activities, and fit in and are quite happy.

I'm mentioning this because of the previous thread about Modern Family and people who don't watch it. I believe that the people who don't watch it, might just be the ones who are most apt to leave the church. Those who are trying to fit their square sides into the round space and can't seem to make it work no matter how hard they try.

It's the ones who don't really take the church or its teaching too seriously who remain active and smilying members. They are the best missionaries--the gung ho, cheerful ones. They are the happy members who don't really think much about the doctrine, but enjoy their interactions with other members and don't want to damage that.

I could probably have continued trying except for my concern for my children and their getting caught up in the same ratrace.

Interesting. It sounds pretty accurate for the most part. At least, having been out for 7 years, I'm out of the loop. It seems that even though my neighbors are down-to-earth, they are very TBM.

There was news about Eric Stonestreet not taking a picture with Rick Santorum. http://www.addictinginfo.org/2014/07/24/modern-family-star-refuses-to-have-picture-taken-with-homophobe-rick-santorum/

Basically it shows the modern family and a lot of Mormons have gays in their family, or find it funny although they don't agree with Cam and Mitch?... Regarding Gays and TV, the NBC Utah affiliate KSL actually stopped airing the soap opera Days of Our Lives, (reportedly) due to the gay story line. :( [Still pissed off about that!!!]

dimmesdale Wrote:
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> It's the ones who don't really take the church or
> its teaching too seriously who remain active and
> smilying members. They are the best
> missionaries--the gung ho, cheerful ones. They are
> the happy members who don't really think much
> about the doctrine, but enjoy their interactions
> with other members and don't want to damage that.

These were the kinds of mormons that got under my skin. The doctrine & commandments & duties & sitting still for three hours every Sunday are such sombering things. How can people go through all that and none of it sinks in? How can they keep living their pop music bubblegum lives? I took the gospel so seriously. Glad that's in the past.