Sexy Healthy Wealthy

One thing that Mormon girls grow up with is the fun activities planned to help groom you towards that beautiful fantastic dream of a temple marriage, where you are sealed together for time and all eternity.  If your family is temple-worthy, they can even be there for the ceremony. 

In the church, Young women are organized according to their age.  Between 12-13 you are a “Beehive” and your purpose statement (repeated every Sunday in class) is: “A Beehive becomes a Young Woman of Truth as she follows the promptings of the Holy Ghost, seeks truth, and strives to live and share it.”   (So weird how I remember that).

Between 14-15 you are a “Mia Maid” (pronounced MY-uh) and your statement is:  “A Mia Maid becomes a Young Woman of Promise as she honours her baptismal covenant to keep God’s commandments, to receive His blessings, and to have His spirit to be with her as she builds a loving relationship with her Heavenly Father and those around her.”

“Laurels” are between 16-17 and this is what you memorize:  “A Laurel becomes a Young Woman of Faith as she more fully experiences the Savior’s love and prepares to receive the ordinances of the temple by living, teaching, and sharing the gospel.”

And all Young Women, when they meet every Sunday, recite the following in unison:

“We are daughters of our Heavenly Father, who loves us, and we love Him.  We will stand as witnesses of God at all times, and in all things, and in all places, as we strive to live the Young Woman values, which are:  Faith, Divine Nature, Individual Worth, Knowledge, Choice and Accountability, Good Works, and Integrity.  We believe as we come to accept and act upon these values, we will be prepared to make and keep sacred convenants, receive the ordinances of the temple, and enjoy the blessings of exaltation.  Stand for truth and righteousness.”

When you are 18 you are no longer a “Young Woman” –you are a grown and marriage and family-ready adult, and you join the “Relief Society” which is women ages 18 to 100. 

I actually met a girl at Bob and Barbara’s in Philadelphia, which is a FABULOUS dive bar that has a drag queen show every Thursday night and drink special of a can of PBR and a shot of Jim Beam for only three bucks.   It’s something you really need to experience…anyway there’s this Mormon girl there with all her friends (when you meet a Mormon at a dive bar with a drag queen show, either they are there as the DD for their friends and their eyes are WIDE OPEN THE WHOLE TIME or they are not an active Mormon anymore…please buy that said Mormon a drink because, trust me: they need it.)  So this girl wants me to “prove” that I’m a Mormon and I busted out my Young Woman values and we were instant friends-in-recovery.  Only I lost her # so if this sounds like you- we need to hang out again!

Okay, so back to this photo…this is one of our weekly activities and it must be a combined Mia Maid and Laurel activity because both I and my little sister are in it.  I was 17 and she is 15.  It’s important to build excitement in young women so they want to get married right away, and boy does this do it.  Keep in mind…it is the 90’s…but look at the modesty!  When you go through the temple you get your “garments,” which is underwear you have for the rest of your life that covers your body from over your shoulders to your knees.  Say goodbye to tank tops forever.  One perk of never going through the temple is getting bags of “immodest” clothing from friends and family who can no longer wear their cute stuff.  Yay for me!

Another funny thing about this picture is the generic warehouse ambiance in the bridal store.  Fluorescent lighting?  Ugh.  I think it helps to cover the yellowness of the rented gowns.  This is also reflected in the assembly-line-ness of your “special day”…..if you ever visit Salt Lake city just sit in Temple Square and watch the bride-go-round (especially in the summer) as bride and grooms are rotated through at a rapid rate.  The pictures in front of the Salt Lake Temple–or any of them, really (looks like a Disney castle) are beautiful–you don’t see the waiting line of all the brides behind waiting their turn.  A typical wedding reception is in the church gymnasium, with basketball hoops overhead and kids running everywhere, echoing on the hardwood floor.  Church members are in the kitchen churning out punch and keeping tables stocked with sheetcake and little sandwiches.  If you’re lucky, you can get the crowd to dance… but there’s no alcohol and that doesn’t last too long.  But where other people spend thousands and thousands of dollars on a wedding, Mormons know how to bust one out for less than two. 

My little sister loved this activity so much, she got married three times.