And don't forget the silly competition of who has what, and who is pretty, or handsome, etc.
The competition for who is most righteous is the worst one though. It keeps the gossip and spy rings up and running all of the time. VT, and HT feed into all that crap as people use it to spy on people in their most private place.....their home.
....the roles are pretty much the same too, except 90% of my old relief society were the dumb blonde cheerleader types. I still was the goth/emo stereotype solely because I like metal. My eye is doing an involuntary twitch now.
I've always thought Mormonism isn't even as good as high school. It's more like junior high. To me, the social scene in junior high was infinitely worse than high school.
At least when you graduate from high school, you can decline invitations to class reunions or not forward your mailing address to the reunion committee when you move. If you don't show up for your reunions, nobody from your high school class shows up to find out why you weren't there.
Trying to get LDS, Inc to leave you alone is much more difficult as they have the network of spies, known as the HT's and VT's who show up if you miss church.
high school - gym class where you get naked = temple experience high school - a bully takes your lunch money and you go hungry for a day = fasting high school - the teacher has your scholastic fate in his/her hands = Bishop ie eternal salvation High School - A trip to the Principal's office is always a bad thing = Stake President high school - long boring classes that seem unproductive and repetitive = three hour block high school - classmates who will rat you out to the teacher = home teachers or visiting teachers high school - forced to attend = mormonism in general high school - your future depends on enduring to the end = plan of salvation high school - advertised as free but is very expensive = the morg, advertised as free but is extremely expensive
My grandson didn't wear the "right shoes" on his first day of middle school and was teased and bullied until I took him shopping for the accepted footwear.
Mormons would pull anyone aside if their clothes weren't regulation and treat them that same way.
I found it more like grade school. You had your club house where everyone dressed up in funny clothes and pretended to be someone else in some fantasy roll play. Girls were welcome but they had to be shown who was in charge of things.
Gossip as well, you tell one person something (you think that it's in confidence) and the whole f**king ward knows. Not just that...some from the ward in the same meetinghouse, and even some people in another stake!
That's why I'm an intensely private person these days...