Dear Readers,
When MMB was started, it was done with the hope of bringing people together. Not just the Mormons, not just the mommies, and not just the bloggers. At the time, there was a lot of scrutiny about Mormon mommy bloggers, there still is, and we wanted to show everyone that those Mormon mommy bloggers are REAL people. Real people who deal with the same things as everyone else. People that are striving to make their homes a heaven a earth, people that are in the trenches of toddlerdom, people that get fired up about politics, people that have a sharp sense of humor.... We wanted everyone to know that yes, we are Mormon mommy bloggers, but that does not define who we are.
We've come under fire recently because of the tone of this blog. The last two Discussion Wednesdays have hit a nerve with some of you. And for that, we apologize. As for the nature of those discussions, we would like to say a few things.
1. We do not choose the topics of discussion.
How it works is that YOU, the readers of this fabulous place, send us a topic. You ask us. And we in turn put the question up for discussion. I can promise you that we received multiple emails from readers who felt that they were being judged unfairly because of their political affiliations. I promise you that we received a number of private emails in regards to marital intimacy with one's spouse, within the everlasting bonds of marriage.
We don't expect everyone to be comfortable with every discussion. Yes, there are lines and boundaries when it comes to these things, lines that we have not come close to crossing.
2. We expect you to be respectful of others.
People are people. We realize that you're not all going to like each other. HOWEVER, you can respectfully agree to disagree. You can be civil. You can refrain from name calling, and belittling one another. You can be civil and courteous. We want you to be respectful of other people and their opinions. Life is not black and white, we wish it could be so easy, but it is not.
3. We expect feedback.
We cannot do this alone. If you do not like the questions that are being asked, for goodness sake, submit your own! We are not trying to stir the pot or incite controversy. Discussion Wednesdays are just that, a discussion board. There are always two sides to every story. Sometimes there are more. We are not encouraging you to break the commandments, we are not telling you to ignore the counsel of your priesthood leaders. We are asking you to help us learn how to incorporate the guidelines that the church has set forth, in our daily lives. Yes, sometimes the questions may seem silly, but they aren't.
We have women who are struggling in their marriages because in their formative years, they were told that sex is bad, that those desires are evil, and then they got married and they couldn't get past the "sex is bad" part, and their marriages are suffering because of it.
We have women who are having a hard time explaining to their 15 year old that "hanging out" and "dating" are basically one and the same.
We have righteous women who are being called baby killers because they belong to the Democratic party.
We have infertile women who are continuously judged for choosing to not have babies, when they would give everything they have to bring just one spirit into their homes.
We have women from every background asking for help. We are doing our best to help them to understand that despite their struggles, whatever they may be, that they are righteous women with righteous aims.
We cannot expect every member of Mormon Mommy Blogs to have the same opinions and outlooks as everyone else.
We are not trying to break you, or make you feel dirty.
We are not trying to start fights.
We are simply asking for help.
We are well aware that by having Mormon in our site address, people will come here expecting to learn a little bit about our wonderful religion. We don't feel as if we are an inaccurate representation of the LDS culture. On the contrary, we hope this shows that members of the LDS faith are normal, every day people, doing normal, everyday things. At times, we will discuss things that are sacred to us, without getting into specifics. We will discuss doctrine, which will incite very different views from each one of you. We will discuss our testimonies, and how by following these principles, our lives have been blessed and enriched.
But it comes down to you.
You have to help us.
Mormon Mommy Blogs was built with you in mind. We need your feedback. We need your suggestions. Please, please, tell us what you hope to see when you come to this site.
Thank you,
~Motherboard & MomBabe
