While the Church has brought a suit against John Dehlin for his use of trademarks on his “Mormon Stories”, there is good reason to think the term “Mormon” is being sullied and slighted in many places. For instance, the “Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” cast were summed up this way in an article in “The Free Press.”
“Taylor Frankie Paul and the rest of #MomTok have never been more into therapy. They have also never been worse people.”
Whatever their affiliation with the Church or their having drifted far away, they were simply a bad lot to represent something as important and sacred as the name “Mormon.”
Now to top it off, the new Orange County spinoff includes many women who have slight or absolutely no affiliation with the Church. But it is their bad choices, high drama, and sleazy story lines that will appear as “Mormon” to the viewers, most of whom know so little about the Church, that they will take this group as representatives of the faith. What’s in a name? Why does it matter if, in the name of high dollars and the social media ecosystem, they use the word “Mormon”?
This question is analyzed in one of our news and views stories today.
One
BYU ranks among top schools with the most alumni on Shark Tank… who will be next?
In the picture, BYU Alumni Dan Barnes and Wesley LaPorte pitch an idea for phone soap.
While no one tracks which university has had the most alums on Shark Tank, BYU certainly has to be near the top with at least 20 alums/students who have appeared over the show’s 17 seasons. As we approach the new season, BYU’s Technology Transfer Office compiled a list of every BYU-connected entrepreneur who has appeared in front of the sharks. From liquid nitrogen ice cream to outdoor paddle games, BYU alums have run the gamut with their innovative business ideas.
Two
“The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives Orange County” and what do words even mean any more?
To be clear, I do not care what these women’s religious affiliations are. Honestly, I would prefer they didn’t discuss it on screen, ever, because I get very nervous and sweaty anytime that they do, scared for what misperception might spread through the internet. I’ve hit a point of “Mormon” representation on television that has me exhausted and longing for the days of my peoples’ relative obscurity. And also, it’s really none of my business whether any of these women go to church every Sunday, sometimes or never.
What I do care about is calling women who have never been a part of my church Mormon because it doesn’t make sense on a linguistic level. Words have meaning. Or at least, words are supposed to have meaning. And I fear this show’s title is a harbinger of a language that has a vocabulary without definitions.
I’ve actually had this gripe with “SLOMW” since the premiere of the original series. Not because I doubted the religious ties of any of the Mormon wives, but because the title claimed their lives were secret. HOW COULD THEIR LIVES BE SECRET WHEN THEY’RE ON TELEVISION? BEING ON TELEVISION IS THE OPPOSITE OF LIVING A SECRET LIFE! It was hard enough watching a show whose title had one misnomer, and now they expect me to watch a show with two?!
Three
The motivating power of marriage for young men
Latter-day Saint author, Jason S. Carroll, wrote this article for the Institute of Family Studies. The struggles and immaturity of young men have become a prevalent problem in our society, and people are scrambling to understand why. Here’s what research indicates could be a solution..
It seems like nearly every week we encounter a new headline about the struggles facing boys and the decline of men. As awareness has spread, it has led to increasing appeals for the development of programs and policies that will better support young men. Often these calls focus on educational programs, increased vocational training, access to mental health services, boundaries on harmful technologies, and other initiatives to better assist young men in transitioning into adult roles. These are all worthwhile efforts that deserve our collective attention and serious investment.
However, there is one part of the conversation about how to help young men thrive that needs more attention—and that is how the falling rates of dating and marriage are playing a significant role in undermining young men’s capacity to flourish in life. Currently, when the topic of marriage is discussed in relation to men’s life trajectories, the focus is typically on a lack of “marriageable men” in our society and how this trend is contributing to a retreat from marriage by women…
While there is certainly some truth to this observation, the reverse is also true. The retreat from marriage is contributing to the decline of men. The collective decline of marriage in our society is diminishing—and in some cases erasing—one of the primary motivational mechanisms of young men’s growth and development.
Four
The culture is full of demoralizing messages about men
This article from the Daily Wire suggests that men are being demoralized by the messages they get.
Under the influence of feminism, equality between the sexes long ago morphed into sameness between the sexes. It became an outright societal faux pas to assert any unique traits between men and women that might mean one sex is better than the other at doing some particular thing or exhibiting some particular trait.
Now, boys are told they are outright useless. As pop star Sabrina Carpenter sings in her hit song “Manchild,” “Baby, what do you call it?/ Stupid?/ Or is it slow?/ Maybe it’s useless?/ But there’s a cuter word for it/ I know/ Manchild!”
To our culture, men are second-rate women. It’s a complete reversal of the most cartoonish sexism of yesterday. Men are seen as less compassionate, less interesting, less emotionally intelligent, and less communicative women. Little time is spent engaging with the many ways in which men tend to possess uniquely strong character and personality traits. We ignore these traits at our own peril; they are absolutely essential for the building of a just society.
Men are anything but useless. They are the most likely to die in wars and the most likely to do dangerous jobs. Over 90% of the most dangerous occupations are filled by men. That includes jobs like logging and construction, some of the most important occupations in the economy. Despite the risk, men keep choosing these types of occupations, ones where they are continually asked to put themselves in danger, often for the sake of another’s life. We should applaud them for it.
