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The LDS church is interesting in that it has a missionary program that extends throughout the world. There are many races, cultures, nationalities, political beliefs and moral teachings.
Once you are baptised there is pressure to conform. It is subtle & undefined until you are baptised. As an adult, you are expected
to dress in a standard way. There is the word of wisdom that dictates or teaches a common health code. You are taught how to donate on
a regular basis to be accepted by the church & God. Everyone is expected to observe. It even extents to our political views.
Even though not directly taught, I would guess most have a conservative view especially as you get closer to SLC. Then, once you
go to the Temple, there are further dress codes & very specific promises that you make & observe.
The whole point seems to be that we must conform to be accepted by the church, the membership & by God. I joined the church as
an adult. If I were raised in the church, this would be less noticeable. I’m guessing. It is not easy for me to conform. But, personally,
I want to be accepted. I like to challenge the normal belief systems. (In & outside the church.) It seemed to be harder to do.
I was wondering, is this true for members in foreign countries too?
Or, am I making too much of this whole thing?
I know there are other members that have a nonconformance “bend”. They seem to be more underground though.
It is more pronounced in a religious community than in many other organizations, and it more pronounced in quite a few other religious communities (and tightly knit groups like the military) than in the LDS Church, but fitting in is a major part of most organizations. Working for a serious Catholic university, for example, showed me that in no uncertain terms. It always is more noticeable for those who join later than for those those who join earlier, but, for some people, it is a positive thing. If life lacks structure and/or purpose, those things can far outweigh what seems constraining to others. I know many members who joined as adults who love and are extremely grateful for the general cohesion they see and experi nce at church.
In short, one person’s confining demand for conformity is another person’s freeing comfort and strength.
I agree with Curt that conformity is expected in all organizations. Some call it “organizational culture”, and it exists in small groups, bands, departments, families and everywhere. I find that it’s more visible in our church, partly due to the fact that 80% of our activities seem to involve teaching and training; some of this time is devoted to reinforcing the values of the organization. Also, our General Handbook of Instructions tends to make things uniform as leaders and members look at it pretty hard when making decisions. Does it bother me? Not really — it’s part of the whole deal of belonging to any organization. I think the further you get from pure gospel principles, the more likely I am to disagree with it though — for example, the white shirt and tie thing every Sunday — dressing like we are out of the 50’s. But I just ignore that and no one cares…
The old Unwritten Order of Things — from Boyd K Packer bothers me at times — you know — “never say NO to a calling” and the way we tend to treat our volunteers like employees the higher up you go, can also be bothersome. But I just don’t contribute like I used to and no one calls me on it to speak of…so you can adapt the church experience to your own druthers…for a price
I can remember when we got married, my wife started to get the BYU Alumni magazine. They had some very interesting articles. The next month you could read in the letters to the editor, where a member would disagree or make contrary comments
about what was presented. I like reading or hearing other viewpoints or opinions. It doesn’t mean that I automatically accept another
view point. Just compare & contrast. After about a year or so, the magazine eliminated the letters to the editor. I haven’t read
much of the magazine since. I don’t believe that opposing viewpoints are wrong or even disruptive or disrespectful.
Now with the new schedule, there is less opportunity to discuss things. At least when you had the High Priests in a small group,
you had a chance to discuss more controversial topics or express your opinions openly. Now I sit back, say nothing & listen to the show.
I do have a tendency to sit next to members who have similar views & opinions & carry on our own conversation. But, that seems
disrespectful to the teacher at the front of the room.
I do appreciate members of this site who can teach a gospel topic & add your own spin to the lesson without offending.
This is a gift. We need more teachers like that, instead of reading Conference talks & asking “canned” questions with obvious
answers.
Yes, our culture is top down and we are discouraged from questioning or making changes on our own initiative. This is cultural as well as doctrinal. The assumption tends to be that God likes it the way it is and if He didn’t then He would reveal it through his prophet.
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