Wishful Wednesday, January 27th, 2010

I've seen a few of these cute little Wishful Wednesday buttons here&there on blogs I like, & I've finally hung around here in the blogosphere long enough to pay attention to what's going on. Now I'm following the Seattle Smiths (too cute!), & I've read how this works. So I'm going to participate!

Whether it's a

celebrity,

friend,

politician,

or stranger...

Who intrigues you??

I wish...

I could spend three minutes in a sister wife's shoes!

At first I was thinking of the "obvious" choices -

Elisabeth Hasselbeck,

Lilly Pulitzer,

Rachel Zoe,

Sara Evans,

Trish Suhr

- you know, some of my favorite celebrity women that are beautiful&classy.

Then I thought, well, no, those are certainly women that I admire; or are at least women that have characteristics that I'd like to incorporate into my own self; but...

...maybe if this is just three minutes we're talking about...

...maybe I'd use such a short amount of time to really "walk a mile in" the shoes of a completely different lifestyle?

(Granted I'm a runner, but even at my best, I usually averaged about an eleven-minute-mile, so let's say "walk a quarter-mile in...") ;)

I suppose I should 'fess up to what you're all already thinking.

Yes, Big Love is pretty much my favorite television show ever.

But I do have an interest beyond that!

One of my best friends & closest sorority sisters, during my first two years of college, transferred to a college in Utah after our sophomore year. Having grown up in a small Southern town, I can't honestly say I'd ever had any real experiences or relationships with anybody of the Mormon faith, but I was very close to "Hope," & I have to admit that it was probably as influential for me to learn about her faith as it was to learn about all of those other subjects they covered in my freshman classes (more influential, really, than journalism, as I changed my major after that first semester).

& I was truly touched that she invited me to attend her baptism. She also gave me a copy of the Book of Mormon, with notes in the front from some of her favorite verses.

Yes, I know that writing about Big Love, & then writing about a member of the true Mormon church, is probably along the same lines of offensive as an assumption that I am

an ignorant redneck

who married my first cousin

at the local KKK headquarters.

So let me clarify.

I do not actually believe there is a real comparison between the two. I absolutely understand that sects that practice polygamy are not recognized by the Mormon church, & are not affiliated with the Mormon church.

However, I don't know that I would have ever had any real interest in such a different faith from my own, had it not been for Hope's influence. She was (& is) one of the

kindest,

most genuine,

sweetest, &

smartest

ladies I know. Her friendship did make me more aware of the stereotypes that members of this church have to bear, & of how wrong they are. & it has made me a little more vocal in defending members of the church when I hear arguments or jokes that are inaccurate. & I probably extend more friendliness to a Mormon missionary than I otherwise might have.

(This may or may not have had any more to do with my watching Big Love, than the fact that a friend at the Banana Republic I used to work at kept talking about what a great show it was - enough that I sat down & watched most of the first season in one big marathon.)

So already having a foundation of empathy for the undeserved stigma that so many of our Mormon friends are living with, I suppose it makes it easier for me to have empathy for the blatant discrimination that modern-day polygamists face.

(& I do not believe that polygamy is moral, by any means, but there's a different place for that discussion!)

Now, obviously I have no desire to actually convert to polygamy, & I reserve the right to give back my "three minutes in another's shoes" if it gets too intimate. ;) But I do think I'd like to know what that kind of life is really like, apart from the depictions in the newsmedia & pop culture.

Would a real sister wife be in love with her husband?

What would she really think about her sister wives?

Would she long for something different,

or would she be content in her world?

Does she doubt her beliefs,

any more so than any believer does at some point?

I'd be interested to know, & to really, truly gain an unbiased perspective of it all.

But only for three minutes.

Then I want to come right back to my house in suburbia, to my one adorable husband.