Oct 18, 2024
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints has just announced changes to LDS garment styles, including
options that don’t require shoulders to be covered, along with the
option to wear a garment “shift” that doesn’t require women to have
their legs covered but instead can wear the bottoms under a dress
or skirt. Several of the changes relate to women’s health issues
that often arise in garment wearers who live in tropical or
high-humidity areas of the world. It also noted that there were
going to be more choices for garment fabrics.
A Salt Lake Tribune article about the announcement raised
several other issues that are pertinent to the change. One is that
it “will make it harder for others to judge who is or is not
wearing garments.” It goes on to mention a 2023 survey that found
59 percent of women saying they felt judged about how they wear
them.
A broader issue that was raised is that these new styles still feel
“like church leaders are trying to control women’s clothing
choices.”
Another piece of the change is interesting for its timing. It was
only in April of this year that LDS leaders were emphasizing the
importance of wearing garments “as instructed in the temple” and it
is “not left to members’ individual inspiration and
interpretation.” That emphasis also added to worthiness to enter
the temple new wording about how individuals are keeping their
covenant to wear garments, along with a statement to be read by the
ecclesiastical leader conducting the temple recommend
interview.
Many ask what led up to this very quick turnaround of that emphasis. It now seems that the church is now emphasizing “the symbolism of the garment” as “more important than the style.” Was it activism by women, surveys that showed how Millennials and Generation Z wear their garments (or don't wear them), or something else?
Listen into the great discussion in this episode between LDS
podcast host Cynthia Winward, Latter-day Faith
board member and frequent guest Terri Petersen,
and LDF host Dan Wotherspoon. It’s
terrific!