Mormon youngsters cannot put on Halloween masks to the trunk-or-treat . . . or can they?
It’s lengthy been a coverage of the Church of Jesus Christ that masks couldn’t be worn at ward and stake actions. For a few years, masks have been on the naughty checklist within the Handbook’s part 20.6.25, proper up there with debutante balls (oh, the horror) and train packages that appeared to offer a move to conceited costume or too-twerky music lyrics.
Take a look at what the Handbook appeared like as lately as June 11, 2021.
Nevertheless, considered one of my readers has observed that the Church’s anti-mask coverage is now gone.
Dan Miller, a contract author who based the bank card rewards web site Points With a Crew, identified that the coverage appears to have vanished when the Handbook was updated in July.
He’s proper! Here’s what the Handbook mentioned as of September 27. Part 20.6.5 is not any extra, however Part 20.5.11 is a barely abbreviated model of it.
So . . . that ban is gone, like a Halloween ghost. Poof!
No less than, it’s gone for the second. The phrase “masks” doesn’t seem wherever within the Handbook as of right this moment. However The Church has been rolling out changes to the Handbook incrementally, and I ponder if this specific loophole will final.
If I needed to speculate, I might think about that the Church eliminated the ban on Halloween or get together masks in these pandemic occasions as a result of some members have been utilizing the coverage as an excuse to not put on face masks to guard their fellow members from Covid-19. All through the pandemic, a section of the Latter-day Saint inhabitants has refused to put on masks within the title of “freedom,” whilst President Nelson, Elder Renlund and different leaders have made a point of wearing masks and actively encouraged members to do the same.
So there’s been lots of rigidity, with masks as a focus.
And persevering with on with my speculations, I might guess that as quickly because the pandemic is over and the Church is not actively encouraging folks to put on masks, this specific prohibition will quietly reappear within the Handbook and Halloween trunk-or-treats will should be maskless as soon as once more.
However till then, folks . . . go for it! Deliver on these Chewbacca costumes and kitty-kat whiskers! (Let’s maintain it non-scary, although. Even simply searching by the masked costume options at Spirit Halloween frightened the bejesus out of me. Chucky and Pennywise, actually? For youths?)
The one potential downside I see is that Halloween masks may intervene with what’s for Mormons the plain level of the vacation: the fast and extreme consumption of sugar. We’re all in regards to the sugar.
Let’s have some enjoyable with this. And whereas we’re at it, discover what else is gone from the previous coverage . . . debutante balls and coming-out events. Oh, the events we may have within the 5 minutes remaining earlier than they modify all of it again!
Comfortable Halloween, all people.
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Mormons and Halloween: Bring it on!
