Does anybody here remember (yes, it's been a while) when they used to give out flower arrangements and the like as fertility prizes? You know- the woman in the congregation with the most kids, grandkids, and so on. I understand that his used to be a church-wide phenomenon until some people got them to back off a bit.

Yes, I remember this. My Mom didn't like this one bit but it happened every Mother's Day. The older women with tons of kids didn't like it. I don't know why it ended, but I do remember it clearly.

It depends on which ward you were in. In the ‘80s our California ward treated all the mothers equally. When we moved to Utah in the mid ‘80s, they did give a special award to the mother with the most children. The same obnoxious, egotistical woman got it every year. She had 13 children. Her husband was some kind of criminal (manslaughter) that got off on a technicality. He was one of the thugs who broke into my house and into my sons’ bedrooms to bully them and force them to go to church (while I was away at church early to rehearse the music). I think that horrible couple was the reason the ward stopped rewarding fertility. Some of their offspring are still haunting our neighborhood, as obnoxious as their parents

The ward also awarded the newest mother, who would be there with a baby who IMO was way too tiny to be dragged out in public, and the oldest mother, who would jokingly deny being the oldest.

I swear to God that we single mothers would be handed the little plastic pots with no blooms at all, and the bishop’s wife would get the pot with the most blooms. Every year, I would bring home what looked like a weed, and it would never bloom...it was a sign.

Yes, I remember.

It was glory day for the breeder moms especially.

It seems appropriate that the gift to them was severed plant genitals.

no I don't remember, can we have a date range? My memory goes back to the 80s and all I remember were the "singing mothers" and they all got a little flower on mothers day.

62 years ago, or so...

"Will all the mothers please stand... Thank you! Where would any of us be without our mothers! Please be seated and thank you for your service!"

Thank you for your service ?

For your service ?

Wow. Just wow.

Kathleen, I may have taken liberties ...

I hope mormons everywhere will forgive me.

Forgive you for what? Telling it like it is in mormonism? (Even with some liberties, it’s pretty much the truth.)

But, we apostates are a tough bunch to forgive. Ain’t it just hell being us?

:D



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/11/2020 02:30AM by kathleen.

"Thank you for your service," meaning, thank you for being such good brood mares.

I came home yesterday to a geranium on my porch. I know where it came from.

I hate mother's day. I think if my kids love me every other day of the year, then I don't need a day they have to worship me.

In my neck of the woods all mothers received a potted geranium.

Yes. They did that all the years I was growing up and I remember it being done in our BYU married student ward. I hated mormon Mother's Day services. "We honor you, we put you up on a pedestal, we give you a flower. After today go back to shutting your traps and spreading your legs."

Reduced ward budgets encouraged some bishops to act miserly and even chintzy with the giving out of flowers.

One year, the bishop only honored/recognized women who looked pregnant or had just popped out a baby. Yes, I think he rightfully heard an earful from his "chosen" RS and Primary Prez.

Another year, they handed out some wax tulips. That also went over like a lead balloon.

And another time, they were given packs of seeds. They weren't even flowers, but some herbs and even weeds. I was a teacher helping clean up after sacrament and remember seeing packs left all over every pew.

There are a number of complicated holidays. I'd put Fathers Day at the bottom of the complicated list, Thanksgiving and Christmas are of varying complexity deoending on family dynamics and demographics. Valentines Day and Mothers Day are the ones that are most often fraught. I am pretty sure Mothers Day is the one that most often rises to the top of the "it's complicated" heap.

Yes. I remember. The Mom with thirteen on the dairy farm always won because the one with 15 on the sheep farm was inactive, or maybe just too tired to come.

Then all the mother's got a plant or flower or something. Women who couldn't have children always looked like they were covering pain so they started to give them one too. Seemed like a good idea but was just awkward. This was the fifties.

Now these kinds of special days all seem like forced hero worship to me. I like things spontaneous and unexpected. I purposely give when it's not a holiday so whoever knows I just damn well like them. Hate duty. Still I did send a gift this year.

My mother ALWAYS won the prize for "mother with the most children." She had nine.

Then they changed it "mother with the most children AT CHURCH."

She stopped winning.

Lois

They CUT the flowers!

Circumcision.
Circumspect.
SiR respect.

No humans
Humanity
To PICK
Flowers