Today I completely shaved off my beard. I usually trim it to 3 mm but wanted a change. Then I had a recollection of the last time I shaved it completely off...

Two years ago, a letter from the Stake President was read in sacrament meeting. It stated that every priesthood holder was to no longer have any facial hair or come to church wearing a bow tie. Most everyone complied. Thankfully, I left the church a few months later.

Has anyone ever heard of such a direct order of compliance from a Stake President? Do you have any other stories of such a direct order?

Pharisaical bullshit.

We can’t have beards! Ya know, like that guy whose name is on our building and whose pictures are on our walls!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/15/2018 06:11PM by grudunza.

grudunza Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Pharisaical bullshit.


And totally made up by the SP.

Hebrews of umpty-ump B.C. would have looked at clean-shaven Nephi in those Friberg paintings and started looking around on the ground for stones to throw.

How could a man of the Chosen People turn himself into a man who looked like a heathen eunuch, by shaving off his God-given beard?

+1
The hypocrisy is so obvious. They should go further and denounce carpentry as a profession, and say that loving one another is a sin. How much BS can go on before people grow a backbone and free themselves.

Last Stake Conference I ever went to the SP gave a talk about how he wished we could all be more like the old Dick Van Dyke show where Van Dyke kept his white shirt and tie on until bedtime.
Not an order from the Stake President, but still dang weird don'tcha think?

Oy, and I just realized it said for every priesthood holder. It’s bad enough when they do that for just leadership. I hope at least some people proudly sported beards and bow ties.

I turned around and looked at the guy wearing the light baby blue suit and bow tie as the mandate was given. We shook our heads at each other. Then I leaned over, looked at the floor and laughed. I knew that the Stake President was specifically referring to him. I felt sorry for him being singled out. I was laughing because I was thinking that the Stake President probably considered banning baby blue suits as well!

What's wrong with bow ties? Bow ties are cool, according to Doctor Who (and I agree).

Bow ties are cool.

And so is a fez!

Fucking asshole dictator. Fuck him.

A stake president can moan and cry and order people to do whatever, but even in Mormonism, he's overstepping his so-called "authority." A stake president or bishop is only allowed to suggest what he'd rather see. It's good to be a little rebellious, I think. When our bishop said we could no longer wear anything but a white dress shirt, I never wore a white dress shirt again. Why? Because he's not allowed to
do that, and I wanted to make that point. The upshot is that he might not sign your recommend, but he's not allowed to withhold a signature, either, for what is a petty personal dislike. But it is something he can likely get away with. Not allowing you to attend the temple, however, is his loss, not the member's.

Weird. I wish all members would have showed up the next week and thereafter looking and dressing however in hell they wanted to dress.

I worked at the L.A. temple for awhile, as an exiting-farewell greater. The man on the other end of the counter was the greeter, and had a mustache. They told him to shave it off.

He was disgusted with taking so much of his time and gas to get to the temple, to work for free, and wasn't about to shave-off his mustache. So, he said to me something to the effect of "That's it--no more for me", and never came in again.
---

Notice also in this story, that I (a lowly female), couldn't be a 'greeter' at the counter. (Which is also true for sacrament services---females can't give the opening prayer, only the closing.) (Men, after all, have the priesthood, and thus have a privileged leadership status over women.)

Heh heh. Ha ha!! I mean what else is there to do but laugh?

My old boss, a bishop and a dream bishop, a model of kindness and caring, who ran the ward terrifically, wore a modest, neatly-trimmed beard.

When he was visited by the Regional Authority or whatever that personage is called, did he get praise and honor for being such a great bishop? No, the authority told him to shave the beard off immediately. Or lose his position forthwith.

His only revenge, such as it was, was keeping a framed page in his business office from an 1880s edition of Harper's magazine, with a full-page illustration of all of the then-current members of the Q12, each Apostle wearing a magnificent beard and all in different styles.

Very arrogant for an area authority to do. It is no simple task to find a good bishop and likewise one that does not get burned out before they tour of duty is up. I know several bishops who would have just thanked god and waited to get released. I knew of one bishop who sold his house as a way to move to another stake and likewise get released from his calling as bishop. Nuts.

My husband’s doctor only wears bow ties. He sees a few different doctors; he calls him “ Dr Bow tie”, so I’ll know which doctor is is seeing on a given date.
I love the military Mess Dress, the one they only wear for special events. It’s very fancy and sharp, and it always includes a bow tie.
I still think of Pee Wee Herman , when I see a bow tie. I used to love his big adventure movie when it came out,

a while ago there was a rumor going around that an un-named SP has banned Docker's slacks (as too casual for church)...

I repeated this to my best friend, a TBM; he doubted this un-documented, unsupported rumor, but Added:

"The SP has the authority to do that"


UGH!

So, I guess my beard, T-shirt, and blue jeans aren’t welcome in the Mormon Church. Okay, if they’re not welcome, neither am I.

1975 Fairbanks, AK. L. Tom Perry had recently visited the Vancouver BC stake, and some leaders there supposedly persuaded him to make a podium announcement that he wished that all men should be shaved clean, with short hair and white shirt and long tie.

So the Fairbanks and Anchorage DP and SP decided to run with this, and made authoritative announcements on the topic, using Elder Perry's comments as support. We were told it was highly recommended, and would be observed.

I did not comply. So then I was attacked in SS leadership by the DP's wife, who had grown several pair, as well as an extra large ego and a head to house it, for not correlating my youth SS lessons well enough to please her SLC standards, so I handed in my stuff and walked.

in '93, at a stake conference in Carlsbad CA, we were early on regaled by some old dude who, in a typical authoritarian manner, loudly advised all present that the boys and men should all be groomed exactly like the Marine color guard they had assembled for the meeting. O and wear white shirts and ties of course. He said no real American, and no real LDS, would think to do differently.

This happened during the beginnings of the Bush Sr. Iraq invasion, so old WW11 vets were excited I suppose.

D&C 121

"39 We have learned by sad experience that it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority, as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion.

I'm reminded of Uchtdorf's words from General Conference a few years ago:

"To those who have separated themselves from the Church, I say, my dear friends, there is yet a place for you here. Come and add your talents, gifts, and energies to ours. We will all become better as a result. I say, my dear friends, there is yet a place for you here."

Sure, there's a place for everyone. Just don't wear a bow tie.

as long as I have pantyhose and closed-toe shoes with them??

(Not that I would even consider attending!)

When I lived in Florida we had a member of the bishopric who was a well liked, respected and very kind man. When he was a teenager he had very bad acne that left his face very scarred, so as an adult he grew a beard to cover the scars. One day our SP also decided that facial hair was a no-go and he was ordered to shave it off. Long story short, he left the church. In the long run it is good that he left the church, but I always felt bad about the way it happened. I was not in any leadership position, but I stopped shaving on Sundays for a few months after that.

Nothing like harping about little or non-existent things to distract the sheeple from questioning the underlying fairy-tale dogma

What a cult...WWJD?

If IF LDS leaders want to follow Christ instead of earthly guys, they'd focus on eternal values, goals, practices...

U know, Like Honesty, Kindness, etc.

About saving earyh's resources for future generations.

Empathy & Compassion.

My father was in the bishopric in the 1980s. He had an operation and was home for a few weeks and did not bother to shave . When he recovered and went back to work and church he shaved except kept a mustache. Some of the ward members said he looked great . Others whispered about him being some sort of rule breaker They did not actually say anything . The reason they did not say anything is they were afraid of his possible response . The reason the were afraid is on one occasion my folks had a lawn sign supporting Wayne Owens ( oh the horror! A democrat!) . Some ward guy came by and said " Are you really going to vote for that guy Bill?". My fathers response in exact words "I did not fight in f*ucking war for you to tell me how to vote" Pretty sure what dad said got around .

Spoken like a true patriot.

My BEARD and BOWTIE (or tieDYE BOWIEtie) would have appeared out of know where? The red, white and blue. How about you?

M@t

I've dabbled with beards most of my adult life. Toward the end of my time in the church, I was loitering in the lobby after ward conference. A member of the stake presidency (younger guy, maybe a few years older than me, but from Utah so immediately elevated up the food chain in Michigan) came up and made chit-chat with me. He kept giving my Zetterberg-esque beard pensive glances. Toward the end of our chat, he pointed at my chin and said:

Him: You know...when I left my mission, my mission president made me PROMISE I'd never grow a beard until I saw a GENERAL AUTHORITY with one.
Me: Yeah? Well I guess I better sell my Ford and buy a BMW Estate car, then.
Him: ....um, why do you say that?
Me: Because I doubt a GENERAL AUTHORITY would drive anything cheaper than that. Your mission president has too much time on his hands, friend.

His face turned blood red, but I just slapped his shoulder and walked away. Screw that guy and his bastard mission president.

You know he was wrong.
if he were truly inspired he would ban Polyester clothes and put people in Cotton, Silk and Merino Wool.

I can't imagine them trying to enforce such an edict in this post-internet age. Sure, they used to get away with this type of crap in the 80-90s when less people would openly criticize church leaders, but why try to drive away more members when google is enlightening so many TBMs?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/16/2018 12:18PM by messygoop.

Yes. These are perilous times for the LDS church but their heads are in the sand.

This anti-beard-bowtie edict occurred in the spring of 2016 in the Calgary Northwest Stake. I give you my word that I heard it with my own ears and witnessed the compliance.

My friend in the Elder's Quorum presidency told me that although the edict had been given, they would only enforce it with the leaders. His caveat was that priesthood leaders would be watching for obedience to these anti-hipster laws before issuing any new callings. Basically saying that if you want to climb the hierarchy of the church that you had better be in compliance.

I wondered why they announced the edict in sacrament meeting instead of priesthood meeting. It was done in order to shame the priesthood in front of the LDS women and children.

Sounds like a great way to avoid a pretty time consuming calling. Just let it grow and you can keep teaching primary or better yet, eating snacks in the nursery.

I had a friend (a big guy) with red hair and a big full red beard. Looked good on him. He was called to be elder's quorum president. During the calling process the stake president insisted that he shave the beard to set the example for his quorum.

He wasn't happy about it but did it anyway.

He looked wrong after that. He didn't like it. His wife didn't like it. Honestly, none of us liked it.

Although it sounds silly, it was almost like something was taken from him. It was a piece of his individuality.

The LDS church is good at killing individuality.

So much for free agency.

Why was it ok for Brigham Young to have facial hair, but not anyone else? Hypocritical much?

The same reason it was OK for Joe and Briggy to drink wine, beer and whiskey. When you get to make the rules, you also get to decide which ones you want to follow. All else, not so much.

StillAnon said:

"The same reason it was OK for Joe and Briggy to drink wine, beer and whiskey. When you get to make the rules, you also get to decide which ones you want to follow. All else, not so much."

It's very much like executive orders of previous POTUS.

Law says to deport people that violate our immigration laws, but EO says it's okay to stay.

Law say marijuana is a control substance and illegal, EO just ignore enforcement. All the governors that are raking in millions of tax dollars say the voters want it legal. Too bad their elected officials in congress can't change the law, only complain that the law is being enforced.

Sounds like that David Koresh guy - rules for thee but not for he...

Coincidence, I'm sure...

I'm a-betting that the C.S. SP won't put this in writing...


any takers?

Is he nuts!?? I'd rather have stubble or a goatee etc on mu face than look like a clean shaven drone!! Besides Christ and early morg leaders had facial hair as well!!

Is he not aware that having facial hair is now in today's world!??? It's in fashion!!

And I can't wait for the stupid beard fad to die.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/17/2018 12:09AM by Dave the Atheist.

Strain at a gnat, swallow a camel comes to mind;

not just me you say?

Dress code over behavior as a person. I have never heard anything so shallow in my life. How very petty and controlling.

Search "Brigham Young" and within seconds you have many pictures of him, both bearded and bow tied.

https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?p=Brigham+Young&fr=yset_chr_syc_hp&imgurl=http%3A%2F%2F4.bp.blogspot.com%2F_M9JRlA_879c%2FTBBxewFSwtI%2FAAAAAAAACME%2FaDj1owmlBt4%2Fs1600%2FBrighamYoung1.jpg#id=3&iurl=http%3A%2F%2Fskepticism-images.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fimages%2Fjreviews%2FBrigham-Young-3.jpg&action=click

Of course it's the same rationale you get when you remind a Southern Baptist that Christ's first miracle was to turn water into wine:

"Times were different then..."

My response would have been to wear a bow tie with my full beard, mustache, and sideburns. True, I have only a half dozen bow ties and only one bolo tie compared to the many cool neckties I have (few being LDS types) but if the bow tie would especially irk the SP, I would have worn a real bright one.

In some post ages ago, I wrote about how the women of the ward went wild in praising a tie I wore with a lighthouse on it. After I had left I went to the wedding reception of the son of our former bishop and member of the SP, who praised both my tie and beard!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/19/2018 10:10AM by rhgc.

How about this? After the SP finishes laying down his new laws in Sacrament meeting you stand up and say loudly "Excuse me President. You can kiss my ass. And don't even think of excommunicating me, because at this very moment, I hearby resign my membership from the church. I am a non member now. Everybody here is a witness. I'll sue your ass and the church if you hold a church court or excommunicate me. And now that I am a non-member, I'll be leaving your god-damned building".... as you turn and walk out, leaving the SP humiliated publicly for what he said. Maybe others will leave with you.

Everyone here on RfM should get together and make a comedy. We'll have to congregate on an LDS meetinghouse on activity night and all gather in the chapel. Then chain the doors shut. Azsteve, you can write the script! We can record anything that we want to. If they try to press charges we'll claim it was a therapy session. Any good actors out there that can get back into character after years away from the church? It may be impossible to play realistically because we'd all be smiling too much!

I don't understand why a directive instructing no facial hair for GROWN men, and why no BOW ties allowed.

Just micromanaging other adults. What a turn-off.

I've worked for Ivy League lawyers who on occasion wore bow ties to the office, and sometimes to court. The occasional beard or mustache can also be a sign of a well-groomed man - if they are properly maintained without looking scruffy.

Where's the harm?

Stupid is as stupid does. And you can't fix stupid.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/19/2018 11:39PM by Amyjo.

Odd as it may seem, in my graduation yearbook from MIT, I was the only one wearing a bow tie for the picture.