Images from Gemma Comas series I See Beauty In (Almost) Everything.
This post is a little off the usual faire you’ll find here, I hope you’ll indulge me.
Have you noticed that tons of design blogs are written by Mormons/former Mormons? What’s the deal with that? It’s sort of a hush-hush topic I hear whispered about at blogging conferences.
As a Mormon myself, I think about this from time to time and I get asked about it a lot. There are a few theories I’ve heard. Emily of Design Star wrote about it here. She thinks her creativity came from having limited resources in a big family. From having to shop at thrift stores and ingeniously remake the purchases, not because it was cool, but because that’s what they could afford. So featuring clever DIYs on a design blog is second nature for Mormons. No doubt there’s something to this idea.
My sister has her own theory. She feels like there are a lot of talented, educated Mormon women who grew up assuming motherhood would be the end all be all of their existence. Then they found, once they became mothers, that they had capacity for projects and ideas in addition to and beyond motherhood. And design blogs are an easy outlet for all the creative energy. I’m sure there’s something to this theory too.
Personally, I feel like the graphic design program at BYU (a Mormon university) has something to do with it. It’s an excellent program and places graduates at all the best firms, where they’re in contact with the most creative people in the field. This ensures that Mormons are thoroughly connected in the professional design community. And graphic design is one of those careers that you can step in and out of as a mother, and translates easily to a design blog.
The other day, I thought of another connection. Mormons have 13 articles of faith (short statements that describe our beliefs). The 13th one says: “…If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.” Which, umm, seems like exactly what a design/lifestyle blog is. In the case of Design Mom, I never had the 13th Article of Faith in mind, but I have tried to create a space where I could share every lovely and praiseworthy thing I come across. I wonder if everyone raised as a Mormon has this admonition to seek-out-pretty stamped on our brains.
An admonishment to keep an eye out for beauty is a lovely sentiment to be raised with, and easily adopted by anyone — religious or not. I hope I’m raising my own kids with the same sentiment. My religion is far from perfect — there are aspects of it that drive me bonkers. But I particularly love this part of it.
What’s your take? Have you noticed the Mormon Design Blogs? Or been curious about them? Have any related theories? I wonder if anyone has attempted to compile a list…
P.S. — Religion-related topics, even ones as silly as this one, can be quite sensitive, so please play nice if you decide to comment.
Thank you so much for writing on this topic. I had never personally known anyone who is Mormon in my 28 years of life, but found what seemed like every blog I visit was created by a Mormon Woman. I was so confused, wondering: is the whole world Mormon and I’ve been oblivious? Is it a sign? Am I crazy? lol. So glad you shed some light!
Thank you!
:)
I’m glad that you wrote a post about this. I was wondering about it. As an a-theist (in the true sense of the word), I was initially unhappy to learn that you are a Mormon – I have always been disheartened by the discovery of bloggers’ religious beliefs, and so many blogging women are religious – but then I took a breath and exercised a bit of patience. Lo and behold, I was led to a larger perspective on this reality, which caused me to pause and consider something that I hadn’t before. I’m glad for the thought-provoking experience.
I’ve kind of been afraid that all of you Christians are trying to take over the world… only kidding… sort of! : ) The sharing of different perspectives is one of the truly great things about the internet and can lead to remarkable discoveries. Thank you for your perspective and for helping some of us feel a little less afraid of religious people in general.
It is refreshing to see the resurgence of traditional skills in a modern, hip setting. Thanks for the inspiration.
I think it’s a thinly veiled attempt by the Church to get people interested in the Mormon faith. In other words, it’s good PR for those women who are interested in religion/being housewives. I find it quite irritating that every blog I click on lately has some link to religion, which I don’t like. Don’t take it personally, Mormons. I don’t like ANY religion, not just yours. Hence, I am not going to Pinterest anymore. I have enough cleaning recipes already. I never thought I’d see a crusade via the internet, but that is exactly what this blog/Mormon thing is.
THE GREAT GOD OF GOOD DESIGN: I am nearing 70. I have a degree in design. I have worked in the field in the top markets of the US. I have also worked in graphics with the top agencies. So here goes… First of all there is a huge difference in interior design and interior decorating (applied ornamentation often without regard for the elements of interior design). Both of the terms and application of decorating and design can lead a person to be out of balance and embrace “the Great God of Good Design.” It’s a trap and it’s clever and it ensnares and enslaves and trains one’s mind to evaluate worldly things over and over to make them a priority—“pull focus” as they say in the theatre world. The Lord was the greatest and ultimate designer but he has restraint and wants us to have restraint: Spend more on others and less on ourselves, have homes of order but not fixate on “good design” or being “clever” at the expense of larger principles, and certainly not to go into debt over it. I recently went to a “Pinterest wedding.” The ideas were clever, but I spent my night wondering why the bride was trying to impress us. None of what I saw reflected this young lady, but I knew she had bitten into the “expression trap.” Spent money on it. Probably in debt. Why do people seek decor, clever design ideas, and ambience anyway? An internal dialogue is often very revealing in the eternal scheme of things. Instead of keeping things simple and balanced, the Great God of Good Design can perhaps redefine us and shape us into something that can on a subtle level lead us from our eternal goals. Can we take some of the rules and elements of design and overdo them, fixate on them a little too much? What defines you and why do you want this definition?
My theory is that Mormom women have been told by elders that the way they can help support their family and still fall within the definition of “the good wifey” is to have a blog. The peoblem is, most Mormons, being pushed into it, pretty much suck at it. They don’t what they’re doing, the don’t learn HTML or WordPress or SEO or whatever, and they have no real skills in design, or cooking or whatever. I feel really, really sorry for these women who are pushed into someone’s else’s definition of what a real woman is. It’s sad, really. The best bloggers, the most successful on, are about 90% non-Mormon. Very, very few really have what it takes, and even those often quit hater awhile (I.e., House of Smiths).
Sorry for all my typos, lol. My cats are crawling all over for attention, so I can’t see the screen much. Lol. It’s fun, though.
Wow, really interesting. Here in the USA is normal being Mormon and all that, but back home (Spain) nobody even knows what it is… I have never think of it, I’ve been reading comments and the post, I didn’t know Mormom were so creative and all that. However, I think your sister has a point if all women in that religion have grown up with strong values of motherhood and all that is natural to create nice blogs giving clever ideas. Super interesting entry thanks for sharing.
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