NOM

Our stake has decided they need to emphasize how important garments are. No surprise given the recent emphasis from Salt Lake on how important garments are. We had a lesson in elders quorum on the April 2024 General Conference talk from Anette Dennis about the importance of garments. And the stake president was attending elders quorum that day.

The discussion entirely took everything from the talk and recent temple recommend questions/paragraph change as if had come directly from God's mouth. No questioning. No recognition that things were different recently. Just "everything is awesome!" Especially annoying to me were two things:
(1) Not once was the actual language from the temple about wearing garments ("wear them throughout your life") stated. Those words were not spoken during the entire hour.
(2) Not once did anybody bring up that Joseph Smith (and others) did not wear their garments in Carthage Jail because it was hot. My ward is in the Southeastern United States; it is hotter and more humid here than in Illinois.

I was tempted to bring the two points above up, or ask if anybody thought the direction on garments from Salt Lake would change again in a few years. But I didn't because it would have made me feel awkward and painted me as having "issues" with garments (to be clear for 8 months out of the year they don't bother me a bit, I do get annoyed with them during summer).

I realize that the church does not like dissenting views and questions. They want to emphasize only things that are faith promoting, and act like everything else doesn't exist or is anti-mormon lies. I just found it particularly annoying in this lesson. I've been a NOM for more than 10 years now, perhaps I am starting to get worn down.

You attended an EQ lesson. There's your first mistake.

Lessons like the one you endured are indeed annoying. I try to let those go in one ear and out the other.

It's hot where I am too and I don't wear the garment top (nearly year-round). It doesn't matter what a person with lack of nuance, critical thinking skills, mercy, spine, common sense, or internal locus of control says; I'm going to do me.

If everyone else in the EQ wants to toe the line because the handbook says so or because someone told them to during general conference, more power to them, but I'm not about to wear an extra shirt in the summertime.

God: So... did you do lots of extra suffering to prove your loyalty to an earthly social group?
Me: Yeah. It sucked.
God: Great! Welcome to heaven. Wait ...one more thing... how much needless swamp-ass did you endure for my name's sake?
Me: I had to talc the jimmies every single day to avoid crotch rot, oh Lord.
God: That's all I ever asked of you. VIP heaven for you!

#notacult

Interesting fact about garments: wearing them inside out actually attracts bullets and magnifies the tissue damage caused by fire.

Oof, that sounds rough. Those 2 questions were in the wrong direction for that lesson unfortunately. Any lively discussion on the subject has to be about finding creative justification to wear them even more or a random coincidence that sounds deep like someone in a fire getting no burns under their garments. Otherwise you are considered a trouble maker.

Hang in there in EQ and in summertime garments Advocate!

This is not one of those situations where we can reasonably blame it on Canada. We must blame the Curse of the Garmies on the Masons!!!

Prior to 2005 changes
“THE GARMENT

[An officiator clothes the initiate in the garment. The officiator then pronounces the following words.]

Brother _________, having authority, I place this garment upon you [for and in behalf of _________, who is dead], which you must wear throughout your life. It represents the garment given to Adam when he was found naked in the garden of Eden and is called the garment of the holy priesthood.

Inasmuch as you do not defile it, but are true and faithful to your covenants, it will be a shield and a protection to you against the power of the destroyer until you have finished your work on the earth.”
http://www.ldsendowment.org/initiatory.html

I put up with garments (one piece) as a young farmer, and it was a pain. When I got an indoor gig as a teacher it wasn't so bad. When two piece garments were introduced it was like I had gone to heaven. Then I got a custodial job and started getting a rash in the summertime. Thankfully, I broke my shelf about that time and managed very well from then on without garments.

A little observation around garments…I have been to 4-5 festivals this summer in a few towns in Moridor as well as some rural locations. Couples/people who are 65+ have a high percentage of garment wearing. Garment wearing seems to decrease with each generation. For couples younger than 45, less than 10% wore garments.
I’ve also observed a trend in TikTok where young garment wearing women are showing all of their garment friendly clothes of which many outfits are not garment compliant.

From Muslim hijabs to Jewish star, to Christian crosses, our clothes are there to ensure groupthink, to label us. We're not individuals, we're sheeples, we're robot stereotypes. For tribalism sake, keep your labels on everyone, brand yourselves, show whose slaves you all are.