You know the one I mean: "aw, shucks!"

Is it sincere or just an act?

What are your thoughts?

i think that went out of the way for elevators that bring up their cars.

It used to be that way, as these people were farmers. The last generation sold all the farms and put up subdivisions in the fields and that was the end of the folksy aw shucks.

These people and their church are all about business.

I think it's an act with the majority of people. If you stick to the act long enough then it becomes a part of you.
On the other hand I think there are a few that it's sincere, but that is rare in my opinion.

My husband has that kind of personality when he is with church members...I call it his "church face". It includes lots of laughing and jokes and ever so much kindness towards others!

However...he is 100% the opposite at home. These people would never believe what he is really like. But I know and his kids know. He does NOT give a crap about the "Golden rule" and he is the Center of the Universe.

I bet they are ALL like that at home.

How many people stepped into the waters of baptism convinced by the "church face," only to realize they had really leapt into a den of snakes!

How many MLMs have been launched by that "church face"!

When I was young I wondered how every last person in a cult leadership position acquired that face. I think even then I knew it was totally faked, because I knew for a fact those people were neither humble nor down-to-earth.

Remember the movie 'Brigham Young'? Joseph Smith gave one of the most "Aw shucks, we're jus' reguler folks" speeches ever in a movie.

Oh, and he was played by Vincent Price. I don't care who you are, that's funny.

How did I miss THAT?!?

Mormonism is a drug. So, no, they're not acting -- they're on drugs. Happy drugs.

It's a manipulation tactic. One that gives them undeserved trust with some people. It works for them, that's why they use it.

If it doesn't work with you, watch it go away. Instantly.

Yeah I've seen it go on and off like a light switch.

"One that gives them undeserved trust with some people."

That's a good way of putting it.

I seem to remember someone posting on here or somewhere else that they worked at the COB and had day-to-day casual association with Monson. They said when he doesn't have his "church face" on, he can be a grouchy, nasty old fart.

It reminds me of when I was in elementary school.. a magician performed at the school and delighted all of us. He was happy and witty and entertaining. Later, some of us approached him when he was packing up at his car. Shockingly, he told us to beat it and was frighteningly grouchy. I always remembered that first lesson in false faces and fakery.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/10/2012 01:42PM by rationalguy.

Most of the standup comics who traveled through every week were grouchy and dull in normal conversation, and didn't want to be bothered. But onstage they were witty and ebullient.

This also brings to mind the main character in Big Love. Bill had that homey, aw shucks thing going on when he wanted it. I thought the actor caught the mormon smarminess perfectly.

I think it is probably a combination of both. Mormons are taught that they need to act that way through social manipulation and by emulating a "worthy" leader of the group. So in a way it is definitely sincere because that is how they gain social standing.

In another way it is completely false because many of them are just putting it on as a show.

People in that situation are very confused as it is.

I think half of it is genuine friendliness and friendly curiosity and the other half is a sales gimmick and if the gimmick doesn't work, it's like watching Dr. Jekyll turn into Mr. Hyde.

Creepy stuff.

I acted like me at church. Maybe that is why no one really spoke to me at YSA. I didnt act stupid, giggly, and subservient to the boys, and I didnt pretend to like every single one of the girls. And I wont. I never will.

That was me too. I was known for my 'spitfire personality,' maybe that's why they never asked me to hold any youth callings... Lol

Probably shouldn't have been allowed to watch "She-Ra" as a little girl cause I had the crazy notion that females were equal to males. Can't let them uppity wimmins think and speak for themselves, right?

But I don't think people really liked that about me, either. It's hard to keep the bubble afloat when not everyone is participating in the fantasy.

Most of the young single adults I knew, whether active or inactive, whether walking the straight and narrow or sucking it, were mostly pretty decent that I came across. A lot were goofy, but had good hearts.

I can't say the same about the family ward I attended. Grown adults trying to ruin children's lives (and often OTHER people's children), endless power struggles, fights, crying, backstabbing, cheating (with other members), you name it.

There was one lady who was a teacher at my HS who was the center of it and HATED me from the minute I stepped in that building. I guess I wasn't so special because she had literally ruined other members' lives with her malicious gossip, but I was definitely unprepared. Openly tried to spread lies about me to the ward. Started a rumor once that the girl I was dating was pregnant. Always maintained a sweet, innocent face and definitely as folksy and Southern Hospitality as they came.

So my take? Definitely an act. As far as Americans go, most career-long Mormons are fairly bright and accomplished. That's the sales face they keep on.

Oh, and happy ending to the story--I got her back REAL good.

I'll bite. How did you get her back?

She had a daughter that hated her more than any child has ever hated their parents. And I'm a whore. Yep.

One summer after I came home from school, guess who was all grown up and sinning across the entire Mid-Atlantic region? We both used each other to hurt the same person, although we acted like we were into each other for a good two weeks. Haha oh well. Guess I've done worse.

Her mom went to the bishop almost having a nervous breakdown. We never even went past third base! It was a lovely summer.

Hahaha that's awesome.

They say revenge is a dish best served cold, but in this case I'd have to think serving it 'hot and wet' worked better.

Ha!

Gordon B.S. Hinckley decided to go with the homey folksy salt of the earth routine in his later years. It might have been his best move since he certainly could NOT pull off the suave highly polished intellectual act. He even got his official LDS biographer Sheri (bitch a roonee) Dew (nee) in on the act.

Wow, it looked totally pathetic. It just did not work. Kind of like putting a brick in a burlap bag and claiming it was a book made of gold pages/plates.

The problem for Hinckley is that his phoniness still came through like a chain saw going into dry wall, in spite of all the PR BS that was laid out. If a person was acquainted with any real Salt of the earth characters then Hinckley looked especially bad.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qzslp7c7ATc



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/10/2012 06:44PM by lucky.

that of all the GAs, he was the most media-savvy of them all. As you pointed out, even as knowledgeable as he was about the power of the media, he was still about as suave as a mad bull in a china shop. And his "church face" (love that term!) just couldn't pull it off, especially under the scrutiny of an experienced interviewer like Mike Wallace. The miracle of that incident was how Wallace was able to keep his "news face" without cracking up...

I have seen it as an act, and then there was Dad....he NEVER paraded his religion to anybody. Many of his closest friends were non-mo's and yet he served as EQP and on HC, but it never got in the way of being human. And he wasn't judgmental...although more than once he pointed out to me someone he considered an a$$hole....in those words..he was the genuine article...

Ahh the church face... Whether mormon, baptist or anything else, it's an act! I've had a bishops wife just really lay it on thick, then later I overheard her literally *plotting* with my mother in law about how to suck my husband back into the church. I realized right then that I could not allow us to attend another church sponsored function of any sort. It was unreal, like a movie or something. All that nicey nice is a ploy. Some of the most abusive behavior I have ever experienced at the hands of an older adult was straight from my mother in law. And boy what a church face she has, little girl voice and all.

I worked for some guys who were companions on their missions and they sort of branded themselves an these down to earth Mormon guys trying to help all employees out - believing and gentile. After a while the gentile employees began to see through the folksy personas and then saw the vile viciousness these guys were capable of. Then they started to advertise in the local Christian business listings. The moral of that story is never do business with anyone in the Christian business listings. In the end, I was screwed out of $6000 in vacation time. Oh well... Beware the "aw sucky-ness".