Posted by:
otherlives
(
)
Date: September 29, 2012 09:58PM
I'm a crier. I've been known to cry at Disney movies (and weep while watching more serious films), I cry when I hear a piece of beautiful music, I cry very easily in many aspects of my relationship...it's to the point that my nevermo SO has wondered about it. So I began thinking about why the waterworks are so easily turned on.
My parents and most of my siblings (the more-so TBM ones) are hearty criers...especially at the pulpit. When I think about it, crying has always been used in my family and the mormon community (at least the one I was raised in) to signify 'true' and 'significant' spiritual experiences. It's tacitly admired, especially when men in power do it. (My father is a bish and cries every Sunday at the head of the congregation.) It probably is also a natural inclination, but I think I've been socialized to cry more easily--it has become basically a natural response for me when I experience great emotion, happy or sad. I even googled it and came up with this NY Times piece about Glenn Beck's frequent breakdowns with an interesting quote from sociologist David Knowlton:
"Mormonism praises the man who is able to shed tears as a manifestation of spirituality."
The article goes on to say that "Crying and choking up are understood by Mormons as manifestations of the Holy Spirit. For men at every rank of Mormon culture and visibility, appropriately timed displays of tender emotion are displays of power."
So, RfM, do you think you cry (cried) more easily because of Mormon conditioning? (Also, I apologize if this topic has been raised before. I did a search but didn't find any mentions.)
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/29/2012 10:02PM by otherlives.