Credits: Social Media
Former Mormon explains what garments are as Secret Lives of Mormon Wives sheds light on trend
Ex-Mormon Alyssa Grenfell has unpacked her former religion’s tradition of undergarments after fans noticed their importance in the new reality TV show, The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.
Thanks to social media and the emergence of Reality TV shows centered around the religion, there is more interest in the Mormon Church than ever before. They have their own unique slang, and though Mormons are not without their controversies and scandals, Google Trends reports a clear uptick in online interest.
Mormon garments are worn for a number of reasons
Alyssa Grenfell (@alyssadgrenfell) is no longer a Mormon, but she is putting her knowledge about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to work on her flourishing TikTok account.
Addressing her 259k followers, Alyssa said that the women of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives are “constantly” talking about garments. Having worn the garments herself, she unpacked their meaning, motives, and the cheeky loophole that some Mormon women exploit.
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“Most worthy Mormon adults go to a temple to do special ceremonies called the washing and anointing and the endowment,” she explained. “As part of this, you make promises to God, and to the Church. One of those promises is that you commit to wear special religious underwear 24/7 for the rest of your life.”
Because the garments are said to shield you, the only exceptions for taking them off are swimming, making babies, showering, and sometimes for workouts.
As a former Mormon herself, Alyssa said that “most” women don’t like wearing them because they make you look frumpy and can cause urinary tract infections. It’s essentially like wearing an entirely different outfit beneath your normal clothes.
Alyssa revealed: “A common joke about Mormon women is they are always in athletic clothing because they are planning to do a workout later in the day, or they’ve just finished a workout. It’s kind of a loophole to get out of wearing your garments.”
“Personally, I think Mormon garments are a great example of how the Mormon church invades some of the most intimate aspects of your life,” she added.
The garments have changed over the years
Alyssa, who earlier this month revealed the signs that Twilight was written by a Mormon, answered further questions in the comments as followers became invested in the mysterious practice.
“So if you choose to not wear them are you seen as less faithful or something??” one person questioned, to which the content creator replied, “I think the MASSIVE judgment these women have received is evidence on how most people say youre not really Mormon if you dont wear them correctly.”
“When I first started wearing them in the early 70s, the womens garment was one-piece. You can imagine how awful that was. Luckily they changed to two-piece and now Im completely free of them,” another person said.
As per the church’s official website, there have been countless changes to Mormon garments over the years. Not only have fabrics been updated for the modern world, now 60% cotton and 40% polyester, but changes have been made to sleeves and necklines to fit better beneath normal clothing.
