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So as I was meeting with the second counselor in the elders quorum presidency, I noticed that he had a bit of a faded tattoo of a skull on his right wrist. I asked him about it, and he felt a little embarrassed. He mentioned that he was thinking about having it removed. As you can imagine, my attitudes about tattoos and piercings have changed over the past few years. I told him that I didn’t think it was necessary to do so. Just then, one of our new elders walked by. He’s in his senior year of high school. I asked him to take a look at this brothers wrist, and about what his reaction would be. He didn’t think it was a big deal, and he comes from a pretty conservative family. I have a feeling that the kids in his generation are much more open-minded about this kind of stuff than previous generations. Obviously, this brother should follow the dictates of his conscience, and have the tattoo removed if he feels it will help him in getting closer to God. I wouldn’t get a tattoo myself, but that’s as much from an issue with needles as anything else. However, I have no problem with other people having them – except in cases where I just can’t stand the actual tattoo. I would tell him to do whatever he wants to do but not based on what others think.
I agree that the younger generation just don’t care that much. Though I am from Australia and the Mormon population is pretty small. My teens have all said they are not interested in getting one, perhaps that is from church teachings, but I think it is the needle issue as well
They also know that I have cosmetic tattooing done on my face(long story), and they showed no concern or interest either way. I was a very active member when I had it done and have no regrets at all. I did mention to the kids a few times how painful it was getting done and for days afterwards ….
If that member wanted it removed for his own reasons, fine, but I don’t think there should be pressure to have them removed from the church. It is expensive and painful and the results are not necessarily perfect anyway – so there will always be the reminder there.
conflicted testimony wrote:I agree that the younger generation just don’t care that much.
And eventually the younger generation will become the older generation. And then the younger generation probably won’t want tattoos because they’re an old person’s thing. Plus, they will have seen a lot of unlovely fifty-year old tattoos. But I don’t really have any problem with them. I just tend to think that most of them will be regretted.
turinturambar wrote:this brother should follow the dictates of his conscience, and have the tattoo removed if he feels it will help him in getting closer to God.
I like this a lot. IMO, the decision should be made between this brother and his Heavenly Father, without regard to handbook policy.
I think tattoos are cool except for when they’re not and wish I could get an ironman tattoo on my calf. Of course that would mean I have to finish an ironman triathlon first… I advise my children to not get a tattoo for practical reasons – it can make it could make it difficult to find a job if the tattoo is visible. My company – a company with fairly liberal social policies BTW – has a no visible tattoo policy mostly to maintain a fiscally conservative image. Although I suppose that’s not great counsel either since some jobs might be *more* available with visible tattoos.
I tattooed a mushroom on myself when I was 16. When I was 18, I showed my parents and they thought it was funny. The tattoo was only about 1×1 inch, so my doctor was able to cut it out and pull the skin together. I’m glad it’s gone. Anyway, I want to point this out:
Quote:Know you not that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. (1 Cor. 3:16-17)
Boom! All you people with tattoos are guilty! Just kidding. The thing about those verses is that Paul was referring to the church as a whole:
Quote:KJV:…while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal? Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase…
For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building. According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.ESV: For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not being merely human? What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth…
For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building. According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it.
“Ye” is plural. Paul is saying the people of the church together is God’s building. Each should be careful about how they contribute to the building. It should not be defiled by false teachings, contentions, etc.Good preachin’ Shawn. I really, truly don’t judge anyone who gets a tattoo. (I think I’m being honest.) But since they’re such a lightning rod in the church culture, I read a couple of Wikipedia entries on tattoo removal, etc. There’s something called the End of History Illusion. Apparently we can look backand recognize all the changes in ourselves, but we really don’t imagine we’ll be much different than we are nowgoing forward. It reminded me of the encouragement we get here to take things slow. I tend to see all the change in myself and my thinking in the past year and assume, “That’s it. Shelf has collapsed. I’m in a permanent new state of disillusionment and disbelief.” I’ll never go back, but I also resist the urge to get mental tattoos that I can’t change moving forward.
Ann wrote:I really, truly don’t judge anyone who gets a tattoo. (I think I’m being honest.) But since they’re such a lightning rod in the church culture, I read a couple of Wikipedia entries on tattoo removal, etc. There’s something called the End of History Illusion. Apparently we can look
backand recognize all the changes in ourselves, but we really don’t imagine we’ll be much different than we are nowgoing forward. It reminded me of the encouragement we get here to take things slow. I tend to see all the change in myself and my thinking in the past year and assume, “That’s it. Shelf has collapsed. I’m in a permanent new state of disillusionment and disbelief.” I’ll never go back, but I also resist the urge to get mental tattoos that I can’t change moving forward.
Great metaphore Ann. We can and do change, mostly in unpredictable ways. I’m glad I didn’t get that “New Kids on the Block” Tattoo.
Profound, Ann. Thank you! We have a few retired sea men about. It’s practically compulsory to be tattoed if you were on the boats. But seriously who cares? As long it’s not a swastika on the forehead or a spider web on the face, it doesn’t bother me. I need to follow-up on my post regarding 1 Cor. 3:16-17. Those verses do not refer to our physical bodies, but other scriptures do refer to bodies as temples (or something similar).
Quote:1 Cor. 6:13-16KJV: Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats: but God shall destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body. And God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power.
Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ?shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid. What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh. ESV: “Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food”—and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power.
Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! Or do you not know that he who is joinedd to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, “The two will become one flesh.” Mosiah 2:36-38And now, I say unto you, my brethren, that after ye have known and have been taught all these things, if ye should transgress and go contrary to that which has been spoken, that ye do withdraw yourselves from the Spirit of the Lord, that it may have no place in you to guide you in wisdom’s paths that ye may be blessed, prospered, and preserved—I say unto you, that the man that doeth this, the same cometh out in open rebellion against God; therefore he listeth to obey the evil spirit, and becometh an enemy to all righteousness; therefore, the Lord has no place in him,
for he dwelleth not in unholy temples. Therefore if that man repenteth not, and remaineth and dieth an enemy to God, the demands of divine justice do awaken his immortal soul to a lively sense of his own guilt… D&C 93:32-35And every man whose spirit receiveth not the light is under condemnation. For man is spirit. The elements are eternal, and spirit and element, inseparably connected, receive a fulness of joy; And when separated, man cannot receive a fulness of joy. The elements are the tabernacle of God; yea,
man is the tabernacle of God, even temples; and whatsoever temple is defiled, God shall destroy that temple.
I reckon the verses in 1 Cor. 3 are misapplied, but the verses in Mosiah 2 and D&C 93 indicate that our physical bodiesarelike temples. What does this all mean? You decide!
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