An excerpt from an address given by President Paternoster at a recent Stake Relief Society fireside:
.......and this is why we do not complain or murmur that we have no temple here inIreland whilst the members in America enjoy Church funded malls.
And now I will answer one last question that was submitted in preparation for my presence here today.
Sisters I must admit that it grieves my soul to have to address this issue. But, notwithstanding the greatness of the task, as the presiding High Priest in the Stake I cannot shy away from warning you concerning the lures of Satan that surround us in these latter days.
One of you asked why it was that sisters are counseled not to wear pants to church. It was mentioned that being the year 2012 surely equal rights ought to be given to the women of the Church in this matter.
Allow me to address this issue head on. As the women of the world increasingly leave their homes to follow their husbands into the workforce many have succumbed to the temptation to wear pants. This, they assume, helps them to look authoritative and has even been attributed in some cases to them being given dominion over the man in the workplace. I know of several companies that even pride themselves on their policy of paying women the same amount as men for doing similar work.
This trend of women wearing men’s clothing has even infiltrated the Lord’s Church where I have beheld on more than one occasion a sister dressed in pants. Make no mistake about it; this is displeasing unto the Lord.
In Deuteronomy 22:5 it clearly states that “The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man”.
Quite frankly I do not know how to say it any clearer than that. And just in case you are wondering, the same goes for men also where it states that “neither shall a man put on a woman’s garment”.
Sisters this practice of dressing up in the clothing of the opposite sex is commonly known as “Cross-dressing” and the scripture goes on to say (speaking of those who engage in such practices) that “all that do so are abomination unto the Lord thy God”.
Do you sweet sisters wish to be thought of by the Lord as an abomination? Do you think that God, even He who created the heavens and earth takes such things lightly? No. The Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance.
Some may argue that it is man who looketh on the outward appearance but that the Lord looketh on the heart, but ask yourself this; can a woman who wears men’s clothing in opposition to the Holy Scriptures and in open rebellion to the counsel of her priesthood leaders do so and still maintain the guidance of the Holy Spirit? I say unto you nay. For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to damnation.
And even worse than wearing pants to Church is the audacity that we occasionally see of sisters wearing them to the sacred and holy temples of the Lord. This gross error in judgment has caused the leaders of the Church, even our prophets, seers and revelators, to take the necessary steps to nip this in the bud by addressing it right in the temple preparation manual.
Under the section “Special Preparations for theFirst Temple
I am thankful for those sisters who meekly and obediently follow the inspired counsel of the priesthood brethren as they lovingly show us how to become more Christlike in our outward appearance. I testify that you will be blessed as you avoid the temptation to cross-dress and I leave these thoughts with you in the sacred and holy name of Jesus Christ, amen.
.......and this is why we do not complain or murmur that we have no temple here in
And now I will answer one last question that was submitted in preparation for my presence here today.
Sisters I must admit that it grieves my soul to have to address this issue. But, notwithstanding the greatness of the task, as the presiding High Priest in the Stake I cannot shy away from warning you concerning the lures of Satan that surround us in these latter days.
One of you asked why it was that sisters are counseled not to wear pants to church. It was mentioned that being the year 2012 surely equal rights ought to be given to the women of the Church in this matter.
Allow me to address this issue head on. As the women of the world increasingly leave their homes to follow their husbands into the workforce many have succumbed to the temptation to wear pants. This, they assume, helps them to look authoritative and has even been attributed in some cases to them being given dominion over the man in the workplace. I know of several companies that even pride themselves on their policy of paying women the same amount as men for doing similar work.
This trend of women wearing men’s clothing has even infiltrated the Lord’s Church where I have beheld on more than one occasion a sister dressed in pants. Make no mistake about it; this is displeasing unto the Lord.
In Deuteronomy 22:5 it clearly states that “The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man”.
Quite frankly I do not know how to say it any clearer than that. And just in case you are wondering, the same goes for men also where it states that “neither shall a man put on a woman’s garment”.
Sisters this practice of dressing up in the clothing of the opposite sex is commonly known as “Cross-dressing” and the scripture goes on to say (speaking of those who engage in such practices) that “all that do so are abomination unto the Lord thy God”.
Do you sweet sisters wish to be thought of by the Lord as an abomination? Do you think that God, even He who created the heavens and earth takes such things lightly? No. The Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance.
Some may argue that it is man who looketh on the outward appearance but that the Lord looketh on the heart, but ask yourself this; can a woman who wears men’s clothing in opposition to the Holy Scriptures and in open rebellion to the counsel of her priesthood leaders do so and still maintain the guidance of the Holy Spirit? I say unto you nay. For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to damnation.
And even worse than wearing pants to Church is the audacity that we occasionally see of sisters wearing them to the sacred and holy temples of the Lord. This gross error in judgment has caused the leaders of the Church, even our prophets, seers and revelators, to take the necessary steps to nip this in the bud by addressing it right in the temple preparation manual.
Under the section “Special Preparations for the
I am thankful for those sisters who meekly and obediently follow the inspired counsel of the priesthood brethren as they lovingly show us how to become more Christlike in our outward appearance. I testify that you will be blessed as you avoid the temptation to cross-dress and I leave these thoughts with you in the sacred and holy name of Jesus Christ, amen.
22 comments:
*** NOTE TO THE READER OF THIS BLOG ***
This is VERILY a website sanctioned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Our beloved "President Paternoster" is a stake president of excellent standing within the Church. However some of the comments are farce, and [usually] not good farce, at that.
Some of the comments here are written by quasi-apostates who mock those who are sincerely striving, albeit imperfectly, to follow Jesus.
Caveat utilitor.
I do not question the wisdom of our leaders as they give us guidance on these matters.
It is important for the sisters to know their place. Enforcing a dress code is important to the Lord for many reasons, not the least being that of keeping the sexes in their God decreed roles. Enforcing dress codes which have been given to us by God since the beginning of Earth history helps women understand that God does not approve of any which attempt to stray from the sacred mold.
If anyone doubts that women should be subordinate to men in all things they need only contemplate the structure that the Lord has established for his latter day kingdom on Earth. I challenge any of you doubters to name a single instance in the Church where a woman is given authority over a man. Not even in callings that do not involve priesthood offices such as Sunday School President, is a woman ever allowed to direct or supervise men.
The Lord has made his will known on this matter. This is an eternal principle and can not change. I know by the promptings of the Spirit, that women should not wear mens clothing. It has been made known to me that very soon our leadership will speak out against the young women wearing "boy shorts". This is something that has been bothering me for some time. I am pleased to have learned from the Lord that this issue will soon be addressed.
Your brother in the Lord, even Mahonri Kimball
Dear Stake President,
I'm all of a fluster and very bothered. My husband, who is a lot more intelligent than I am, he being a man, assures me that you are using the American term for trousers when you write "pants". I'm all of a dither , worrying about not being able to wear my , ahem, pants to church. Our meeting house gets very cold and I have been known to feel a draught from time to time. Please clarify for me, do you mean I'm not allowed to wear trousers or am I not allowed to wear my pants ?
@ May 2 (9:02am) Fake Anonymous: Not too shabby!
*** NOTE TO THE READER OF THIS BLOG ***
This is NOT a website sanctioned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Nor is "President Paternoster" a stake president within the Church. Rather, this site is farce, and [usually] not good farce, at that.
Most of the posts here are written by quasi-apostates who mock those who are sincerely striving, albeit imperfectly, to follow Jesus.
Caveat utilitor.
By the way, I COMPLETELY agree with BROTHER Paternoster in this regard, that it is ridiculous that we still see a social norm against women wearing pantsuits.
Just sayin.
The lord should also give us more guidance about what sorts of fashion are acceptable. For example, can't he inspire the prophet to do something about 80's style giant hoop earnings and Madonna belts?
How about an official memo discussing color schemes. A sort of divine garanimals system so to speak.
Just saying.
Please understand, though, that I only wear women's underwear for comfort.
I'm glad they don't come out with more injunctions against bikinis and have kept their focus on pants (trousers).
I love to go to the pool here in Central Utah and watch the Mormon women in their bikinis. I get a burning in my bosom, which I know is from the Holy Spirit, because Joseph Smith said so. But when a Mormon woman wears shorts (which are just short pants and therefore are the clothing of men) over her bikini bottom I just want to cry, "Thou evil woman, get thee behind me." I don't say anything out loud though, because I know Satan already has her in his grasps. I always feel a bit of hope for her eternal salvation, accompanied by that wonderfully familiar burning in my bosom when I see her take those shorts off.
And like Joseph, I raise my eyes to the heavens and thank the Lord.
Anonymous Gideon said...
By the way, I COMPLETELY agree with BROTHER Paternoster in this regard
Brother A. Gideon;
The implication in what you have written concerns me. You agree in this case. Do you mean to imply that you do not agree with some of the messages by President Paternoster?
That would mean that you do not agree with the messages of our modern day prophets and scriptures. Unless you can show that what our dear President has written is not in harmony with the words of out leaders, what right do you have to disagree with any of it?
Are you secretly disaffected from the Church because of some grievous sin you have committed?
Are you trying to subtly implant the idea in the minds of the true believers who follow this blog that not everything that God tells us through our leaders and modern scriptures is true?
Have you not taken to heart the admonition that "When the prophit speaks,the thinking has been done"..?
Do not rely on your own human understanding to attempt to separate out true principles from idiotic statements.
Do not attempt to lead the followers of Christ who follow this blog away from the straight and narrow with your subtle implications that parts of the gospel are untrue.
The Lord says, "what I the Lord have spoken I have spoken, and I excuse not myself, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants it is the same"
I know in my heart that the Lord's teachings about cross-dressing are true! That's why as a transgendered person, it pains my heart every time I have to dress as the gender I was inaccurately assigned at birth.
Truly, the Lord does not want me to wear pants D:
@Mahonri Kimball: In all seriousness, my agreement with Brother Paternoster demonstrates that I acknowledge, with all sincerity, that the Church, as an institution, is far from perfect.
Again, it bears repeating, I do not disagree with the commentary offered by this website. My concern lies with the misrepresentation that the commentary issues from the mouth of a stake president. Indeed, the commentary itself is useful, but the deceit in the utterance is fruitless.
@ Anonymous Gideon.
Nice way to make a satire out of it. ha. This is absolutely a site aanctioned by the church of jesus christ of Latter-day saints.
So, Anonymous Gideon,
When a man stands at the pulpit and denounces multiple earrings, his belief that what he is saying is the will of God makes everything okay, whether or not it's true? Right?
So, the difference here is that one man knows he isn't what he says he is, and the other man...wait...there may be no difference. What I can see is, one of the men, inspite of knowing he may not be what he says he is, is at least able to identify ridiculousness when he sees it.
These words of wisdom indeed bear the spirit of God. Yet again we can see that we latter-day Saints are a peculiar people who live "in" the world while not being "of" the world. I have personally noticed the popularity of so-called "boyfriend sweaters" here in the states. I don't care how loose-fitting the sweaters are, how long they are, how bulky the pockets are, or how drab in color they are. They are still BOYFRIEND SWEATERS. That says it all to me. (Not to mention the fact that we shouldn't even be having boyfriends. We should go straight from early dating stages into engagement. Too long a courtship is a mere pretense of "getting to know each other" so that inappropriate touching ends up happening before you know it. It makes me sick just to think about all that. . . inappropriate. . . touching. . . )
Thank you all for your most excellent feedback. Emma the Younger I will keep a watch out for these so-called "Boyfriend Sweaters" - nothing good can come from such trends.
Dear Beloved Stake President,
I eagerly await the reinstitution of polygamy as I am sure you do but in the meantime I have been visited by a holy messenger who told me I must take up additional wife's now or I will be made impotent. That is worse than what Joseph Smith was threatened with, death, which made him do what he had to do for the lord.
I ask you for you heavenly counsel on this very timely matter as I have my eye on a few co-ed's here in Provo that may be going home for the summer!
Sincerely,
Brother Dick Hard
Very interesting post and comments. I had a great time reading your post.
President,
As impudent as it might seem, we must ask you to repent. Your missives have not been presented as regularly as once they were. We could at one time count on them being made available each and every Monday. You have, dare I say, been slacking.
We build our entire Family Home Evening around your message. Imagine the boredom in the eyes of our adolescent youth as we have been forced on more than one occasion to repeat the lesson from the previous week.
PLEASE REPENT. PLEASE PUBLISH AGAIN WEEKLY. (But not weakly.)
@ Anonymous on May 9th, I have experienced the same disappointment as I repeatedly come back to the site looking for new posts.. I do always refer back to previous posts, lest i not fall into temptation to seek guidance in other websites that may not edify me but lead me astray. I especially refer back time and time again to the post titled "Adultery - and the Stake Disciplinary Council". That one is one of my favorites.
Christ wore a cross. Isn't that cross dressing?
I served my mission in Manchester and I am familiar with the way those who live in the UK teach the doctrines of the church. At times it's a little more straight forward and it's great to hear it straight from some people rather than dancing around an issue. Many people in the UK also have very different opinions about the church and it's doctrines than those in Canada I find. I think the church has one way of teaching a principle but somehow it often gets shredded apart and interpreted in ways that are ugly, depending on the subject. We don't have the answer for every single thing but I think we have enough revealed to us to save us from spiritual death and that is what we are all hoping for!
However, I must say this article is quite bold and I'm unsure of it's truthfulness. Weather conditions are different across the world. I am from Canada and it can be freezing in the winter and if my wife wore trousers or pants to church it wouldn't be looked down upon or even considered wrong. This blog seems to be one dimensional and states that it is more or less apostate for a women wearing pants?
I think this opinion is going way beyond the mark and really needs to be re-thought and written a bit differently. I think the world certainly places women in the workplace in a high regard. This isn't a bad thing as many women are more intelligent than a lot of men I know. I think that many people who live without standards look at the typical mormon family with the wife at home and think it is somehow demeaning or a waste. I think it's wonderful that my wife can be at home with our kids. It's a tough job and certainly more respectable than any other job any women does in the workplace.
I have no doubt you are a great stake president but I just think this article, if read by various types of people, would come across as making our church look like a bit of a joke. Probably better to just erase it and start from scratch again.
I love cross dressing to church and baring my testimony. Finding out which religious communities are welcoming and which are not bares great social utility for those seeking a community that practices the tolerance of Christ.
http://redd.it/1bvi29
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