Lately I've taken a little interest in Jef Holm.
Not that kind of interest. Come on people, this girl is happily married to the finest redhead on the block.
But still. This Jef dude is a fascinating guy to me. Why is he so nice? How did he and that crazy hairdo make it all the way to the finale with Miss Proper Emily? What is a nice boy from a nice state (MY STATE, BOOYAH!) doing on a show like The Bachelorette?
I am also fascinated with Jef because he is/was Mormon. I'm Mormon and if you know anything about Mormons it's that Mormons are obsessed with other Mormons. (Still following here?) We're especially obsessed with Mormons that are somewhat famous. Mitt Romney. Jimmer Ferdette. Steve Young. We love these people. I'm not exactly sure why Mormons love other Mormons so much, but I think it has to do with that we feel the rest of the world doesn't like us. Therefore when a likeable Mormon hits it big, we cheer him on. Good job! You are proving to the rest of the world that us Mormons ain't so bad!
Also, Mormons tend to feel misunderstood. You know, like the world doesn't care to understand our beliefs and instead thinks we're a bunch of weirdos procreating like bunnies out here in Utah. Therefore, when someone super normal is famously Mormon, we feel good about it. Good job Jimmer, send some understanding out into the world!
Yesterday I was reading up on the internet on Jef Holm. A lot of curious little Bachelorette fans were wondering why Jef's parents weren't at the hometown dates. (ANSWER: Jef's parents are mission presidents in South Carolina. This means they are overseering anywhere from 80-180 young missionaries in their missionary efforts. Jef himself served a mission to Minneapolis, Minnesota. If this has still got you all kinds of confused, go ahead and read up on Mormon missions or click here to get the full coverage on Mormon beliefs. ALSO, yours truly served her own little mishky in Argentina; for posts about it go here.) One person, after hearing that Jef's parents were mission presidents had asked for more information on Mormons. This was the response I saw on a little Yahoo! Answers forum:
Both of Jef's parents are Mormon which is a religion close to Christianity except some practice "plural marriage" (more than one spouse) and believe in dedicating long amounts of time to church. Going around from different locations to try and persuade others into believing in Jesus Christ, and what they practice. Also, Mormons don't use anything addictive such as coffee, tea, alcohol, tobacco, etc. And they strongly believe in abstinence.
Now what Jef's parents are doing is what's called a "mission" which is dedicating their time traveling to persuade others into believing in their religion and finding God.
I guess you could say stuff like this gets a good old fashioned Mormon like me a bit riled up. The information is inaccurate, but I think what bothers me the most is the authority with which it is said. As if this person is the world's greatest source for information on Mormons. Excuse me, brother, for being rude, but you don't know diddly squat about us Mormons! I believe in education in all forms, and that includes educating yourselves on other people and other religions. So here we go. Clear up time.
Both of Jef's parents are Mormon which is a religion close to Christianity. Wrong. Mormons ARE Christian. This is like saying "French are a people similar to Europeans." Nope. French ARE Europeans. Mormons ARE Christian. The full name of the Mormon church is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Now, I have no problem being referred to as Mormons because it's a heck of a lot easier to say, but you should know there is a much longer "official" name.
some practice "plural marriage" (more than one spouse) Wrong. No Mormons practice plural marriage. If they do, they are not of the main Mormon religion. For example, the people on Sister Wives are not Mormons. They are people who broke away from the Mormon church primarily because Mormons were NOT practicing polygamy. There was a period of time where Mormons practiced polygamy but that ended 122 years ago. ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY TWO YEARS AGO! And really, if we can't keep up with something that happened 122 years ago, we ain't got much of a fighting chance, do we?
and believe in dedicating long amounts of time to church. Our church service is three hours long once a week on Sunday. I understand that three hours might be longer than most church services, but I wouldn't exactly say it qualifies as "dedicating long amounts of time to church." Mormons work full time, hold regular jobs during the week, and spend time with family and friends just like everybody else. Church is in no way the main filler of our time. That being said, Mormons DO serve full time missions (Like Jef's parents), DO accept work in the church for which they are not paid (I teach a lesson once a month on Sundays for free as can be) and DO participate in church activities like camps and youth conferences. Joseph Smith, who restored the church, said this: A religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things never has power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and salvation. So yah, our religion might require a little more than some, but since when was religion a matter of convenience?
Also, Mormons don't use anything addictive such as coffee, tea, alcohol, tobacco, etc. You got that one right, my friend. We stay away from these bad boys and instead most of us dedicate our lives to Diet Coke. Oops.
And they strongly believe in abstinence. This one was the real kicker for me. We believe in abstinence? So wouldn't that mean all Mormons would eventually die off if no Mormons were procreating? Hmmmm.... doesn't sound like the smartest plan for us sexless Mormons. Please unknown person on the internet, you've got to get your Mormon facts straight, I'm begging you! We totally believe in sex! We believe that sex is intimate and special and emotional and that it is so intimate and special and emotional that it should be done only within marriage. No sleeping around before marriage and no sleeping around after marriage. Got it?
There's a lot more I could say about the church; I could get passionate and go on for hours if you let me, but I think this is a good stopping point. The absolute basics of the Mormon church are this: We believe the church that Christ established when he lived on the Earth was lost. We believe Christ restored it through a prophet, Joseph Smith, and that is the (Mormon) church that we have today. We also believe in kindness, understanding, education, hard work, tolerance, love, etc. For the most part, we are good people trying to live good lives. We respect other people and their beliefs. We ask the same.
Oh, and also, we eat raw dog liver covered in poisonous mushrooms on the third Friday of every month that ends in the letter y.
Did I get ya?
