Jim Houston's post "All is not well in Zion" reported that Salt Lake City is America's Leader in Plastic Surgery. This is the same state that will also ostracize a person for having an additional pair of earrings or a cute butterfly tattoo. I personally believe "To each his own". This topic isn't about plastic surgery or tattoos/piercings being "good" or "bad", just about the inconsistency.

Which is worse - Cosmetic plastic surgery or tattoos/piercings?
If you ask the church, the answer would be tatoos and piercings.

GBH said at October 2000 conference:
Teach your children self-respect. Teach them that their bodies are the creation of the Almighty. What a miraculous, wonderful, and beautiful thing is the human body.

As has been said here tonight, Paul, in writing to the Corinthians, declared: “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

“If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are” (1 Cor. 3:16–17).

Now comes the craze of tattooing one’s body. I cannot understand why any young man—or young woman, for that matter—would wish to undergo the painful process of disfiguring the skin with various multicolored representations of people, animals, and various symbols. With tattoos, the process is permanent, unless there is another painful and costly undertaking to remove it. Fathers, caution your sons against having their bodies tattooed. They may resist your talk now, but the time will come when they will thank you. A tattoo is graffiti on the temple of the body.

Likewise the piercing of the body for multiple rings in the ears, in the nose, even in the tongue. Can they possibly think that is beautiful? It is a passing fancy, but its effects can be permanent. Some have gone to such extremes that the ring had to be removed by surgery. The First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve have declared that we discourage tattoos and also “the piercing of the body for other than medical purposes.” We do not, however, take any position “on the minimal piercing of the ears by women for one pair of earrings”—one pair.



I don't understand how tatoos and piercings, things that are relatively superficial and reversible, are so vehemently preached against; but very serious and complicated surgeries with potentially life endangering complications are acceptable. It makes no sense, but I never thought about it. I just bowed my head and said, "Yes".

I tend to think it is the result of the generational gap. Old men and their old wives who run the church are primarily concerned with appearances and are more likely to understand the desire to have face lifts, tummy tucks, nose jobs, etc., and less likely to understand new "crazes" such as tattooing and piercing. GBH was what, 127 y.o. when he made the above prophetic declaration?

Just one of the many inconsistencies of TSCC

The Kolobians love their women with tight asses, firm tits and shapely thighs. They want the women folk to keep that hardbody look forever. Maybe this stems from ole Joe Smith and his lust for young girls.

Later.

As a 30 year old woman who has had her body destroyed by pregnancy, I consider plastic surgery more like reconstructive surgery. Just trying to get back what I lost. Not trying to get something I never had. I have not had it done, but I want it. I wanted it when I was TBM and apostate. My DH doesn't care, he loves me for who I am, although I'm sure there are guys who would prefer the fake look.

Someone brought up the evils of tattoos, multiple earrings, and plastic surgery in releif society recently and I stood up for those in the room who had tattoos. We had a recent convert who has tats all the way up and down both arms. I could tell she was self conscious, so I reminded everyone that although it may be frowned upon, God still loves you no matter what.

all the other (LDS) girls are getting boob jobs and Mom won't let her.

I have nothing against plastic surgery, I just agree that it is mind boggling to accept it when a double piercing rates condemnation in GC.

My son has six tattoos and my daughter now has two. Daughter's 2nd tat is a rose that is based on a needlepoint design that my dad created for a hand-made child's chair and seat cushion he made for her when she was a toddler--her middle name is Rose. Each of their tattoos means something to them and they waited at least six months for before getting each one done.

All that, I gotta admit, when son posted pictures of his first tattoo on facebook, I was dismayed. I come from a generation that has this idea that only thugs and navy guys have tattoos. I started looking around and had a good talk with a guy at the blood bank while giving plasma. He talked about his body art, tats, piercings and gauges, and how it fit with his lifestyle and his friends' and family. The one drawback for him is that he has to wait 12 months after a tattoo before he can give blood again, so he usually schedules a couple tattoos at a time instead of spreading them out.

It was a process of change for me to understand my kids and their tattoos, but I love them and I don't hate their art at all. I don't think it makes them lesser. They know that people judge them for it so they've kept them in places where they can be covered up (although son is pushing it with his forearm and back of his lower leg).

I think religious fundamentalists will always want to judge and condemn others for being different and not conforming. Body art is certainly an individual expression and that will always bother the narrowly oriented. Let them squirm in their artificially small world. Oh well!

Oh! And my dad had an eye job, nose job and face life this year. Getting ready to have the final refining work done on his rhino. He HATES the tats but loves his facelift!

My sister, who hates the tats also hates my dad's facelift. She says he doesn't look "like Dad" anymore. I think he has the right to spend his own money and look however he wants. It's his face. It's not as if he made himself into Clark Gable or anything. He's just a big less saggy and his nose isn't bulbous anymore. He's a single guy and I'm sure that helps him with the girls.

I guess I'm ambivalent on all of this. But it does take an ability to move into a personal gray area of "Hey, tats aren't for me, but I guess they're okay."

Ah, the gray area. I forgot. Religious fundamentalist nuts don't go there.

I would far rather she had a piercing or tattoo than undergo plastic surgery, simply because they are safer. Not completely safe but not involving the dangers of an unnecessary surgery. Many years ago, when I lived in Salt Lake City, a woman I worked with died from a blood clot after a fairly safe, totally unnecessary plastic surgery. She was about a size 4 to begin with but after a couple of kids, her thighs and hips had little bags of fat she couldn't get rid of and a slight saggy tummy she couldn't flatten. But I would have sacrificed puppies to get her pre-surgery body. She was egged on by her TBM RM husband who would tease her about her "rolls of fat" so she underwent surgery to make him happy.

I wonder how happy it actually made him.

My college roomie died after having a minor plastic surgery, in her 30s.

A blood clot. It just wasn't worth it, and there's always a risk.

I despise cosmetic surgery (not talking "reconstructive" here, I don't have a problem with that as long as it's reasonable and not just an excuse to get the cosmetic stuff done.) I honestly don't understand why so many women in particular want to "fix" themselves when in almost every case, they come out worse looking afterwards. And from what I understand, once you have something like a "face lift" you have to KEEP having more surgery to keep it tightened up, which just makes you look worse and worse. I'm not a big fan of stuff like Botox or fillers either, and I don't see why wrinkles are seen as "bad" ... to me, they're the roadmap of a life well-lived (most wrinkles come from things like SMILING, what's so bad about smiling a lot?) I'm pushing 50 and there is no way I'd wanna go back to being 25 again, so why would I want to look 25?

As for tattoos and piercings, when I was LDS, I had a tattoo that I gave myself (while I was LDS) and I had THREE piercings in each ear ... no wonder I'm an apostate now. ;) (No one ever said anything to me about either, but this was back in the 1970s when maybe that kind of thing wasn't "evil" yet.)

This was while I was still active, but not really TBM.

He wanted my opinion of tattoos. I asked him what he thought was cool when he was 10. He guessed it was something like Teen Aged Mutant Ninja Turtles. I asked him if he wanted a TAMNT tattoo on him now. He obviously didnt want one. So I told him that if he did get a tattoo, to get one that would mean something to him for his life and not have regret later of the choice of the artwork done.

Also, my daughter at 17 wanted to get a belly button piercing. My only requirement was that she got it done by a professional and not her friend. I just wanted it to be done with sterile instruments and someone that knew what they were doing.

After she got the piercing she was berated by my wifes TBM cousin that has had a boob job and tummy tuck. Go figure.

I have had all three done, a tat, peircings, and a small cosmetic surgery. I was (and am) in my early 30's when I did the tat and surgery, I knew how "permanent" it was and knew the risks involved. I am so happy with the results.

I watched a documentary "Modify" (on Netflix play instant) and it really opened my eyes to see those who express themselves in ways that I never would and grow a different appreciation for them and their desire to be accepted.

I agree tho, that the church doesn't mind cosmetic surgery but shuns tats and peircings. Whether its changing hair color, whitening teeth or getting a boob job or sleeve tattoos, it's all modification. We are all guilty on some level...



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/20/2011 08:22PM by heather.

I have tattoos and piercings. I don't get what the big deal is, but I do have a question.

Why are ANY piercings okay? All piercings are desecrating the temple. It seems like it's based on some kind of cultural norm or something. Everyone else does it? Pierced ears are common, so why not?

Let's not let everyone forget that GBH was only speaking as a man. There wasn't any "thus saith the lord" or whatever qualifies it as a prophecy.

So, if you've got the Hinckster's design aesthetic go ahead and listen to him. Otherwise just wait a few prophets and see what comes down the line. They might have kids with tats and piercings so it will be okay so as not to be embarrassed by their wayward kids.

Well I've had all 3, so I guess that puts me in trouble. LOL

Worse? Neither... live and let live.