Interesting comment about facial hair

Policies like these are clearly pragmatic, temporary, and responsive to cultural conditions. I call them Levitical markers as they identify the tribe to which we belong and set us apart from the world.

The question becomes, is facial hair (tattoos, multiple piercings, casual dress for worship or formal occasions) linked to any particular subculture at present which does not reflect LDS values?

Rap stars have popularized the mustache and goatee look and you’ve got metrosexual actors sporting the scruffy version of the same look with the accompanying scraggly bed head or faux hawk. I’m not sure either of those groups are so explicitly associated with facial hair that anyone would presume a man with a goatee was a gang banger or Mannhattan socialite but I could be wrong.

When you see the fellow in the mall with a goatee, who dresses like he got everything at Abercrombie and Fitch and his wife is beside him with a cute tattoo on her ankle and a couple of earrings in each ear, you may get the distinct impression that fashion trends matter a lot to them. How much we value such worldly things is a question each individual must answer for him/herself but if I’m correct in seeing these outward behaviors as tribal affiliations, then it’s worth considering which tribes we aspire to blend in with and why.

We do, too. We have a number of young moms in our ward who as active LDS went and got tattoos on their ankles, calves, wrists, etc. It seems to be quite the fashion statement here locally.

I have to wonder if long haired beared men aren’t allowed in the temple….

They are. The husband in the witness couple one of the last times I went had a full, well-trimmed beard and a long, braided pony tail. He looked awesome.

It’s a cultural marker, but it’s not part of the temple recommend interview.

I have to wonder if long haired beared men aren’t allowed in the temple….er…where does Christ go? Add to that he has several piercings (albeit none in his ears)

This ‘rule’ drives me insane. And my biggest arguement isn’t the old chruch polymagous issues..but if Christ can wear long hair and beard and it’s ok..why different rules.

ok yes this is a hang up of mine.

and I have two tats…and I’ve been a member all my life. I’d get more if it weren’t such a big cultural issue.

I’ve given thought to tattoos but my dad has one and he hates it. He got it as a young soldier and in his later years became very embarrassed by it. I never got a tattoo out of respect for him.

Once while I was in Primary, a 7 year old girl started sharing a story about some older girls she met at a friend’s house. Her description, clearly intended to convey what kind of people they were, included vivid descriptions of their tattoos and piercings. The other teacher, one of those young moms I mentioned above, nervously crossed her ankles in an obvious but futile attempt to hide her own tattoo. She was quite embarrassed and so I made a quick some comment about how we don’t judge people based on how they look and then changed the subject.

It was an uncomfortable moment for the adults in the room but it illustrated to me that I needed to be meticulous in separating what we do as LDS from who we are as childen of God when teaching my own children at home.

I’m not against the facial hair rules we have in the Church, however, someone posted this quote on Facebook from Dallin H. Oakes:

The rule against beards and long hair for men stands on a different footing. I am weary of having young people tell me how most of our Church leaders in earlier times wore beards and long hair, which shows that these are not inherently evil. Others argue that beards cannot be evil because they see bearded men enjoying the privileges of the temple. To me, this proposition seems so obvious that it is hardly worth mentioning. Unlike modesty, which is an eternal value in the sense of rightness or wrongness in the eyes of God, our rules against beards and long hair are contemporary and pragmatic. They are responsive to conditions and attitudes in our own society at this particular point in time. Historical precedents are worthless in this area. The rules are subject to change, and I would be surprised if they were not changed at some time in the future. But the rules are with us now, and it is therefore important to understand the reasoning behind them.

.

And then DHO goes into how facial hair is the badge of the hippie and drug culture (this quote was from the early 70’s when DHO was President of BYU). The 70’s have long since come and gone….so, do you think this rule has relevance in our society today? I pose this more as an interesting question, and not a concern of any kind since someone once mentioned that our white shirt and tie protocol is also something from the 50’s that has just never been updated.

My husband has worn a full beard for all but a few months of the last 35 or so years. There is no topic that gets me riled quite like this one does. I don’t know how much time is going to have to pass before the General Authorities realize that beards are no longer part of the hippie and drug culture. My own guess is that it’s probably going to be another fifty years.

I’ve always loved this one. Don’t know if this is common or not but in my area most of the major drug dealers, if you put a suit on them would look much more like mormon missionaries than like 1960’s hippies. Our newspaper routinely prints photos of wanted criminals. I have kept a tally, and about 30% of these people have long hair, the other 70% again, would look like mormon missionaries if they had a suit on. If Dallin Oaks really believed what he said here the church should have rules against short hair in my area at least.

Also, check the Feb 1993 Ensign article, “I have a question”, the question being “Is there a grooming and dress standard for the temple?”

Some quotes in the answer to that question are,

Church leaders, recognizing that fashions go in cycles, are sensitive to the rich cultural diversity within the Church. For example, they have recently held that clean, neatly trimmed and managed beards and long hair for men—as well as certain other fashions that to some might seem “trendy”—are acceptable for the temple, provided they are not inherently offensive or vulgar

and

Our sincere desire to respect the sanctity of the temple will lead us to appear acceptable before the Lord—both in our grooming and in our attitudes toward others whose tastes may differ from ours.

So, in my case, If I am evil for being a man with long hair I would sure rather explain that to the Lord than have to be in the position of those who complain about my hair having to explain to the Lord why I am not respecting the sanctity of the temple with my attitude toward people whose taste differed from mine!!

Thanks, Thoreau. I deleted the comment and the link, just in case.

I also added a post in the policies section about including links – the relevant one now being that anyone who provides a link needs to write something explaining why they are providing it. With a personal comment about it, we can know it’s not from a hacker / spammer.