For two straight years, we were absent from the world of American Mormonism. In the western United States, when Mormons go to church, we are immersed in more than just the gospel of Jesus Christ. There is a Mormon culture that exists alongside the religion. Stuff like huge hair bows, and streaked-dyed blonde hair, and clothes from DownEast, and handouts in Relief Society class, and words/phrases like "had the opportunity to" and "refreshments," and the lady visiting in Sunday School introduces herself to the class as coming from a place called "Payson" and everyone just kind of knows that's in Utah. Not all of us subscribe to this culture, though, even if we all believe in the religion.
What kind of Mormon cultural oddities have you noticed that would make a Mexican/French/Japanese/whatever Mormon go, "huh?"
In Sharjah, of course, church is a very different experience. There is much more of the religion and far less of the culture - because really, whose culture would it be? The congregation is mostly Filipino with lots of Africans and other miscellaneous nationalities tossed in there for good measure. As a whole, we Mormons in Sharjah are blissfully free of the American brand of our church - can you tell I don't care for huge hair bows? I love that a version of Mormonism exists that is so entirely non-Utah-centric. If you introduced yourself at church in Sharjah and said you were from Payson, you'd have to add "Utah" and probably "the United States" for anyone to understand where you meant. One time I asked a visitor from Utah to help me teach the children's class at church, and it happened to be July, near the time of Pioneer Day. Bless her heart, that woman chose to give a lesson to the kids about that holiday, and it was a great lesson, but it was totally over their heads. They were most fascinated by the drawings of pioneers she showed them - bonnets and aprons and overalls and boots and wagons with billowy white covers. They'd never seen such a thing, because of course, they weren't raised in the shadow of American Manifest Destiny.
Anyway. When I arrived in Idaho Falls last month, my MIL handed me a few issues of LDS Living magazine and, with a smile, said she couldn't wait to hear what I thought of them. I'd been out of American Mormonism for so long that as I flipped through the pages of that magazine, I felt like I was looking in on someone else's religion. And it wasn't the articles themselves that gave me that feeling (they were actually fine, even if it was strange to read a magazine about cultural Mormonism) - it was the ads. OH, the ads. I took a few pictures of the ads in one of the issues, but unfortunately missed the one where you could pay to have a bracelet made of the name you were taking through the temple so you could wear it on your wrist during the session.
I'm posting the pictures of these ads not to make fun of them, but to make you think: if you were a Mormon in Russia, or Ghana, or Mexico, or the UAE, what would these products mean to you?
How many of us see the difference between the gospel of Jesus Christ and the culture of Mormonism? To what extent do American Mormons realize that "matching ties in every size" are a peculiarly "big family living in Utah/Idaho" thing and not an outward indicator of commitment to righteous living that is observed by Mormons the world over? Sometimes I wonder, and sometimes I question myself. I'm in charge of the children's class in Sharjah and I never do cutesy cut-outs or fabulous themed snacks or modesty lessons that depend on an understanding of American cultural norms. Am I still Mormon? I think yes.
What kind of Mormon cultural oddities have you noticed that would make a Mexican/French/Japanese/whatever Mormon go, "huh?"