Most Sabbath days in Utah are filled with Jesus and Jell-O, but this past Sunday was different. And, although I can neither confirm nor deny the presence of jiggly green gelatin, the day was wobbly in content nonetheless.
What, you may ask, was the source of this sweet instability? Simply put: juxtaposition. Salt Lake’s Sunday schedule included both The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints General Conference and the Utah Undie Run — leaving Utahns in a fine position to bare both their testimonies and their backsides.
Besides the spiritually-charged and the scantily-clad being at completely different ends of the spectrum, the events were an opportunity for both sides to show mutual respect in the tight vicinity of Temple Square.
The church conducted its semi-annual spiritual business for broadcast in Temple Square from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. and then, an hour later, the skivvied striders took their turn on the stretch from 5 p.m. and onward.
Regardless of time, both sides should have used the opportunity to show mutual respect rather than condemnation.
Both the Utah Undie Run and LDS General Conference are gatherings with a similar intent — change. This year’s Undie Runners ran to donate their clothing to the homeless shelter and to protest Utah “being so uptight.” While the two opposing groups differ in method for bringing about change, they are similar in the goal of improvement. It doesn’t matter if that change differs in tone and enforcement (and basic definition); it matters that they share the want of betterment for society.
They would have fared better to focus on their similarities (however minute), rather than the differences of conflicting agendas. One change to focus on is the acceptance of others, including each other. It’s called respect.
It’s also important to remember that respect doesn’t mean having the same views. It means recognizing our differences as valid and treating them with kindness. It all goes back to the infamous third grade playground aphorism — treat others how you wish to be treated.
It’s obvious that the LDS Church and any undressed underwear union are going to be inherently at odds with each other. It’s inevitable. Such high tensions will doubtless result, for lack of a better phrase, in some skid marks.
Admittedly, it’s natural to have conflict. And it’s natural to disagree. But it’s also natural to get along, or at least try.
Perhaps the best lesson to learn from all of this tension is from the fluidity of Jell-O (which, of course, is the most natural of food-products). If both sides emulated this kind of jiggly looseness in attitude from the start, then the coincidence of both events on the same Sabbath day would have lacked any controversy.
After all, the proof is in the pudding (or, in this case, the gelatin).