If "plain" means ugly, then surely "sweet spirit" means deaf, dumb, blind, obese, drooling, chronically ill, fugly cow with an undesirable family, no education, and no future prospects--in summary, a complete zero, if not a negative number!

You know. The exact type about whom Heber Chase Kimball wrote, "I think no more of taking another wife than I do of buying a cow."

Please comment.

Steve

yes. sweet spirit is the mormon way of saying, "you will never EVER get married."

So what you're saying is she's a one-cow wife?

yes, well, a sweet spirit is not a one cow wife, that would be a sickly calf wife....

We called any especially ugly girls a Mohanna. "Mohanna, you ugly."

Gay Philosopher Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> If "plain" means ugly, then surely "sweet spirit"
> means deaf,

> Please comment.


As someone who is hard of hearing (ie, I wear hearing aids and in certain situations my life is greatly affected by my disability) and who is involved with the HoH and Deaf organizations and communities, I'm curious as to why deafness is part of the mathematical equation to zero-ness?

I bet people (or their loved ones) who are blind, have chronic illnesses and other items in your equation might be wondering the same thing.

My mother was hard of hearing and also wore hearing aids.

Both of her parents were deaf--one from genetics, the other from whooping cough.

At the same time, no one can "help" their looks. There is a lot wrong with the OP's question.

I don't really think he meant to offend anyone...but it's a generalization that TBM's make when they talk about someone else having a "sweet spirit" Anyone that doesn't fit into the cookie cutter mormon mold suddenly becomes a sweet spirit. I'm sure people said I was one back in the day because I was single for like 2 years after graduating from high school!!!!! oh the horror!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/01/2013 12:50PM by darksided.

I wear hearing aids too. I can't see a thing without my glasses, I'm obese, I'm most-definitely plain and I've been told I have a sweet spirit. Now I know exactly what they thought of me.

(By the way, I'm just being sarcastic. I'm not upset. I really don't care. I just know that sarcasm doesn't always work well in print.)

I'm not really upset either. But I am curious: do Mormons generally see disability that negatively?

While I think the OP was just listing out every impediment to a relationship in one big list, I will say that Mormons in general tend to shun those that are different, and disability is one way a person can be different.

+1 the OP is actually very nice and would never say something mean like that

darksided Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> +1 the OP is actually very nice and would never
> say something mean like that

No, no. It's fine. I don't think anyone thought they were being mean, from what I'm reading.

Yes, that's what I was wondering about.

I'm also wondering, do Mormons generally see disabilities as 'punishments from God', 'life trials/tests' or some such notions (as opposed to genetic/scientific reasons)?

Nah, just opportunities for Jesus to show off:

2 And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?

3 Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him

https://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/john/9.2-3?lang=eng

this is coming from a former TBM that was raised BIC. People with disabilities were always said to be messengers from God. So let's say you treated a person bad who had disabilities, hey, that person may have been Jesus and then wow, you really messed up just now. And they were touted to have special spirits that knew of the lord. I actually do believe that mentally retarded people are good people and that they have an inner knowing I will never be a part of. But the way the church touts explain it is rididulous because I have seen many TBM's treat the disabled like trash

A family I'm aware of has several children with Down Syndrome. They said they were compelled to keep having children so that the warrior spirits in heaven could have physical bodies. They wept at the idea that they may not be able to have enough children who had been warrior spirits.

Truth.

Why don't we have a corresponding set of descriptors for ugly or hopelessly clueless men?

I actually was in a singles ward for a long time--and most of the girls were not fugly or homely. They were educated and smart--and nice looking. There were plenty of loser guys in that ward. Actually, my boyfriend's realtor is the bishop of the local singles' ward and he said they have a lot of boys who just don't have a clue and the girls can't find husbands because of the problems the boys have.

It is just getting worse.

Actually, when my gay husband married me, all his gay friends asked him HOW DID YOU GET HER??????? Then when I found out he was cheating, I gained some weight. Have lost a lot now--but now I know people think, "Oh, that is why she married him." He was d*mn lucky to get me.

I also have a 27-year-old daughter who attends singles wards. Should I post her picture. A tall, thin, runner--with long blonde hair. Need I say more?

Wow. I hate to think that just because I have a Chronic illness, I become a "plain, sweet spirit." Here, I thought I was attractive.

My father who at was at one time a first counselor to the bishop, claimed that I was his "public sin," because I was born with birth defects.

From the time I was about four, he began to arrange "fatal accidents" for me, so his "sin" could be erased. Several times he would build a bon fire, place me next to it, and then throw gasoline on it. The flames would shoot 100 feet in the air. I learned to run very quickly. He did other things as well, but that was the worst.

When a child was born with spina bifida in the ward, I often heard members say that it would be better if he were dead. The mother was shunned, also.

This all happened fifty odd years ago, and I had hoped this attitude was no longer expressed. Sweet spirit...indeed.

Good lord, pioneerrose. You really are a survivor. Your father is loony tunes.