"I’ll defend the church and anybody who doesn’t like it doesn’t have to come."

[LiveCoug]

Just got back from our ward Halloween party. We had little girls dressed up as boy characters (phineas and ferb), we had lot's of masks and guy dressed up like a burly woman.

Nobody cared and it was a good time.

[Jeff Lebowski]

There is almost no anti-Halloween movement among LDS people. I have never met a single LDS person who is anti-Halloween. Evangelicals are another story.

No kidding. Poor SU hasn't a clue sometimes about LDS culture. Oops, I meant CULTure.

[Northwestcoug]

Liveblogging at our TOT. Some members made a spectacular spookhouse. Chainsaws, dentist chair, electrified fence, ATV (!). It's really good. What's more, they took different shifts through it, tailoring it to each age group. My 10 year old tried to act cool, but you could tell he was scared.

The standard has been set...

[Moliere]

I also love Halloween, but I love it even more so in the south. It's typically 70 degrees during trick or treating so the kids can wear their costumes without covering it up with a coat. Also, because it's warm more people are outside having fun. There are usually parents walking down the street, drinking and just having fun together while the kids run from door to door. Then it's typical to go to someone's house for gumbo or red beans and rice after ToTing is done.

Very cool holiday and even moreso in my neighborhood.

[YOhio]

This story has gone big. Even the DDN picked it up.

http://www.daytondailynews.com/lifes...s-1276319.html

[SeattleUte]

No kidding. Poor SU hasn't a clue sometimes about LDS culture. Oops, I meant CULTure.

Ban on cross-dressing and masks is totally anti-Halloween. Get real.

You guys may kiss this off as funny or strange or just a little vexing. But, very generally, it's this kind of micromanaging of what you think and do that makes the LDS church so maddening.

By the way, the first legitimately cross-dressed person I ever saw was maybe in fourth grade at my ward in Sandy, Utah. My friend Donald (my age) came to the ward Halloween Party wearing a floral print dress, girly shoes, lipstick, a wig, etc. He looked totally like a girl in a very understated way. He also was a very funny kid. We played along, asking her when she had moved into the ward, saying it was very nice to meet her, etc. She was shy (unlike Donald in real life, but a good act). He made a nice girl's imitation voice (pre-puberty). One of the more interesting moments of my Sandy youth.

Also, people here who have belittled cross-dressing as a boring Halloween costume have never seen the masters do it. We used to have a guy in our mail room who won the costume contest every year dressing up each time as a totally credible, very exotic woman.

[jay santos]

Ban on cross-dressing and masks is totally anti-Halloween. Get real.

You guys may kiss this off as funny or strange or just a little vexing. But, very generally, it's this kind of micromanaging of what you think and do that makes the LDS church so maddening.

By the way, the first legitimately cross-dressed person I ever saw was maybe in fourth grade at my ward in Sandy, Utah. My friend Donald (my age) came to the ward Halloween Party wearing a floral print dress, girly shoes, lipstick, a wig, etc. He looked totally like a girl in a very understated way. He also was a very funny kid. We played along, asking her when she had moved into the ward, saying it was very nice to meet her, etc. She was shy (unlike Donald in real life, but a good act). He made a nice girl's imitation voice (pre-puberty). One of the more interesting moments of my Sandy youth.

Also, people here who have belittled cross-dressing as a boring Halloween costume have never seen the masters do it. We used to have a guy in our mail room who won the costume contest every year dressing up each time as a totally credible, very exotic woman.

Oblivious.

[SeattleUte]

Oblivious.

Blissfully

[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

I also think that it is kind of funny that we teach our kids not to take candy from strangers, except for this one day per year where you can go to all the strangers houses you want and ask for candy.

Ha, I was just commenting on this to someone at work.

[jay santos]

Blissfully

Then, respectfully, maybe you shouldn't make posts about subjects where you are so blissfully oblivious. Especially long posts arguing a point that's completely opposite of the truth.

Halloween becomes a more increasingly prominent holiday every year here in Utah. The ward Halloween party is one of the highlights of the year. There is no church policy against crossdressing costumes. In fact, in my ward last night there were 4th graders having the exact same experience you had as a youth, which I said in a post earlier in this thread that you ignored. Last year a member of the bishopric came as Cher and his wife came as Sonny.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/10/29...nder-costumes/

LDS spokesperson, Scott Trotter, told Fox13 that the church dictates the no-mask policy for such events, but that the cross-dressing ban is not policy and event rules like that are up to the discretion of the bishop or church members. Trotter said that he does not know why such language was used, but assumes that it was a means to promote appropriate dress.

[marsupial]

Just got back from our ward Halloween party. We had little girls dressed up as boy characters (phineas and ferb), we had lot's of masks and guy dressed up like a burly woman.

Nobody cared and it was a good time.

Do you remember the hullabaloo last year or maybe the year before over the mom who let her son dress as Daphne from Scooby Doo? No one would have thought twice about a girl going as Scooby Doo. The thing is, it is more socially acceptable for females to dress as males than for males to dress as females. If you are a girl and you dress like a boy it is probably because you are trying to be able to do something that only boys are allowed to do. (Like in the movie Yentil.) But if you are a boy, dressing like a girl, well, the only conceivable reason for that is because you are "queer."

[Jeff Lebowski]

Ban on cross-dressing and masks is totally anti-Halloween. Get real.

You guys may kiss this off as funny or strange or just a little vexing. But, very generally, it's this kind of micromanaging of what you think and do that makes the LDS church so maddening.

By the way, the first legitimately cross-dressed person I ever saw was maybe in fourth grade at my ward in Sandy, Utah. My friend Donald (my age) came to the ward Halloween Party wearing a floral print dress, girly shoes, lipstick, a wig, etc. He looked totally like a girl in a very understated way. He also was a very funny kid. We played along, asking her when she had moved into the ward, saying it was very nice to meet her, etc. She was shy (unlike Donald in real life, but a good act). He made a nice girl's imitation voice (pre-puberty). One of the more interesting moments of my Sandy youth.

Also, people here who have belittled cross-dressing as a boring Halloween costume have never seen the masters do it. We used to have a guy in our mail room who won the costume contest every year dressing up each time as a totally credible, very exotic woman.

Wow. Thanks for so convincingly proving my point.

The no-mask thing is a liability issue and a lot of organizations (schools, etc.) do the same thing. At an event like this (especially one involving kids and adults), you want to be able to identify everyone who attends. The anti-cross dressing thing is anti-gay (and stupid), not anti-halloween. You may as well claim that Mormons are anti-Christmas due to the no-beard policy at BYU. Your point would be equally absurd.

Halloween is huge in our mostly-LDS neighborhood. The only exception I recall is the pastor of the Assembly of God church who used to live in our neighborhood. He would turn his lights off and not answer the door each year on Halloween.

[TripletDaddy]

Do you remember the hullabaloo last year or maybe the year before over the mom who let her son dress as Daphne from Scooby Doo? No one would have thought twice about a girl going as Scooby Doo. The thing is, it is more socially acceptable for females to dress as males than for males to dress as females. If you are a girl and you dress like a boy it is probably because you are trying to be able to do something that only boys are allowed to do. (Like in the movie Yentil.) But if you are a boy, dressing like a girl, well, the only conceivable reason for that is because you are "queer."

That is what I was saying. This is simply a No Homosexuality thing at its core, perpetuated by members (like the feisty Bishop in the article) brought up in a No Homosexuality era.

This thread is confusing. People chime in to say that this is a non story (perhaps in an effort to defend the Church?), they say that for their whole lives their wards had a No Gay dress code for Halloween (perhaps to illustrate why this non story is such a non story) then they report that this weekend, there were cross dressers in their ward and nobody cared (which see,s to undermine their previous statements). Anyway, just an observation.

I'm playing it safe this week and steering clear of any appearance of homosexuality. I'm going as a wolf.

[TripletDaddy]

Wow. Thanks for so convincingly proving my point.

The no-mask thing is a liability issue and a lot of organizations (schools, etc.) do the same thing. At an event like this (especially one involving kids and adults), you want to be able to identify everyone who attends. The anti-cross dressing thing is anti-gay (and stupid), not anti-halloween. You may as well claim that Mormons are anti-Christmas due to the no-beard policy at BYU. Your point would be equally absurd.

Halloween is huge in our mostly-LDS neighborhood. The only exception I recall is the pastor of the Assembly of God church who used to live in our neighborhood. He would turn his lights off and not answer the door each year on Halloween.

No Masks is definitely a safety/liability issue. And a pretty good policy, IMO. One summer day we were eating a burger at I/O when several teens walked in. They must have been on a group scavenger hunt because they were all wearing wild outfits and masks. They were laughing and being noisy like HS kids often do. My friend and i noticed them immediately and commented to each other about the masks....not a bright thing to do in a fast food place. They waited in line and woe waiting, the manager came out and told them to take off the masks. They complied, of course, and I was glad the manager did that. I doubt very highly that the manager at Five Guys would have had the guts to do that, which is why I think I/O is better.

[jay santos]

That is what I was saying. This is simply a No Homosexuality thing at its core, perpetuated by members (like the feisty Bishop in the article) brought up in a No Homosexuality era.

This thread is confusing. People chime in to say that this is a non story (perhaps in an effort to defend the Church?), they say that for their whole lives their wards had a No Gay dress code for Halloween (perhaps to illustrate why this non story is such a non story) then they report that this weekend, there were cross dressers in their ward and nobody cared (which see,s to undermine their previous statements). Anyway, just an observation.

I'm playing it safe this week and steering clear of any appearance of homosexuality. I'm going as a wolf.

I don't know if it was a church policy in the past. The church just came out and officially said it's not a current church policy. That should have some authority. It sounds like it's somewhat common for local bishops or stake prez's to put out a local policy like this, but I don't ever recall hearing it before, and I've seen crossdressing costumes at ward parties multiple years.