Undergarment upgrades bring many Mormon women comfort and joy

[dalton99a]

https://apnews.com/article/latter-day-saints-mormon-church-women-garments-51c0980d9e2db5d3b4982875a169add6

Undergarment upgrades bring many Mormon women comfort and joy
By HANNAH SCHOENBAUM, DEEPA BHARATH and HOLLY MEYER
Updated 8:57 PM CDT, October 28, 2025

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Sleeveless versions of the sacred undergarments worn by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints flew off the shelves on their first day available in the U.S., marking a momentous occasion for many women in the faith who say they no longer need to trade comfort to feel close to God.

Social media was abuzz with pictures of long lines of mostly women waiting for their chance to get inside specialty stores to buy the new items Tuesday.

Enthusiasm for the new garments, worn under modest street clothes by members of what is widely known as the Mormon church, is not just about all the outfits they can more easily wear over a tank top. The introduction of more breathable fabrics and styles for the typically two-piece white garments is key, especially for those who struggle to wear them for medical reasons or live in warm climates.

“I think that it’s great that they are considering the needs of women,” said Amanda Shirley, a church member from Salt Lake City who was shopping for the garments Tuesday. She knows some women who struggle with the old cotton and polyester garments due to health problems, including gynecological issues.

While the symbolism of the garments is more important to Shirley than comfort, she’s excited for a more breathable alternative. She considers the church’s introduction of new garments “forward-thinking.”

...

[Irish_Dem]

1. I hate it when religious leaders force women to wear certain clothing.

[Ocelot II]

4. The LDS Church requires men to wear the special underwear too.

[Irish_Dem]

5. Most religions pick on women more than men about clothing.

[Ocelot II]

32. LDS is horrible to women in many different ways,

but the underwear thing applies to both genders.

[Conjuay]

71. As if "God" doesn't know what your junk looks like already.

[Skittles]

7. no one is forcing them

they choose to participate in this utter nonsense

[Irish_Dem]

10. Yes females are forced to wear certain clothing.

When I was a child there was a strict dress code for females attending mass.
I had no choice.

And if my mother wanted to attend Mass she had to adhere to the rules.

But yes at some point my mother stopped attending Mass.
When the pope came out against birth control she dumped the church.

[Skittles]

11. not much choice as a child

but as adults women can think for themselves, unless the grooming from religious bullshit is permanent

[Irish_Dem]

13. When your family has been Catholic for hundreds and hundreds of years it is hard to go against the grain.

It is more than a religion it is a culture and family.

[Skittles]

14. like I said

some grooming is permanent

[Happy Hoosier]

51. I get that, but BS is BS.

Last edited Thu Oct 30, 2025, 11:29 AM - Edit history (1)

And tradition isn’t a good reason to believe nonsense.

[Irish_Dem]

52. My mother finally got pissed off enough at the Catholic Church to never go to mass again.

She was done when the Pope came out against birth control.

[Happy Hoosier]

63. Good for her!

I probably stopped believing in my late teens, but didn’t really admit it until my mid-20’s. I still follow some cultural traditions… Christmas Carols… that sort of thing. I recognize the importance of religion to our culture and history, but I want to believe true things, not what makes me comfortable.

[Irish_Dem]

64. I was about 8 years old when I came home from school and told my mother I didn't believe

what the nuns were telling me in (Catholic) school.

My mother was so shocked she was speechless.
I learned to keep my mouth shut after that.

But what the nuns were telling me was nonsense and I knew it.
As a young child.

[viva la]

21. Remember wearing the little doily on your head?

At least it was better than a hat. I guess it's some weird Abrahamic suspicion about the evil of women's hair.

[electric_blue68]

33. Yup

[Irish_Dem]

36. Oh Yes. We carried them around in little packets in our purses. Then popped them on our heads

before mass with a bobby pin.

[3catwoman3]

61. Not Catholic, but I remember the thing about women needing to cover their heads...

...and it a hat/veil/doily was not available, a piece of Kleenex would do. Even as a kid, I thought that was pretty ridiculous.

[Rebl2]

62. Only

catholic services I have been to are weddings and funerals. Never saw any children wearing doilies on their heads. Was that a long ago tradition?

[musette_sf]

74. Women and girls had to wear a head covering.

Of course when milliners ruled the fashion world and everyone wore hats as a matter of course, it was a hat. (Men removed their hats in church of course.) When Jackie Kennedy was the big fashion icon, the pillbox hats came into style so Mom had one of those for church. It was a leopard skin pillbox hat, before BD put it into the lexicon. Jackie also popularized the mantilla for Mass, which came in lace in the long draped style. The lace chapel cap, aka The Doily, became popular at that time among girls and young women who wanted to ditch the hat, but weren’t up for a big long lace veil. The Doily fit in your purse and could easily be donned just before entering the church. Many of us needed a bobby pin or two for anchoring The Doily… so when you forgot your cap, a Kleenex and a bobby pin rendered you minimally acceptable in the eyes of the RCC.

[ananda]

23. When I was little, the dress code for girls and women..

was pretty strict.

I wore uniforms to school for 12 years, and we had
to cover our heads in church. Only dresses, not
pants.

When I was a junior or senior in college, the codes
finally started to loosen. Hippie clothes were
especially cool -- bell bottoms, halter tops, hot
pants, and cool hats.

I guess this is putting me into a bout of nostalgia
now.

[Irish_Dem]

37. They let you wear halter tops to Mass?

[ananda]

38. No.

I just meant in general.

[Irish_Dem]

42. Oh yes, indeed. The fashion was fabulous back then.

Bell bottoms, halter tops.
Granny dresses.

My grandfather didn't approve of the halter tops.
He thought his granddaughters were showing their "brassieres" as he called them.
He would say: Why do your mothers let you wear your BRASSIERES all around town.

We loved Grandpa to pieces, he was the best grandfather in the world.
We literally rolled on the floor laughing when he would say this to us.

I tried to explain to him about halter tops, but he just shook his head.

Then one of my aunts who was quite proper, dug up an old picture of GRANDMA
and her sister in the 1920's wearing shorts and halter tops. We showed the picture
to Grandpa of his wife wearing a halter top and he shook his head even more.

[musette_sf]

30. The head covering

Did you also do the Kleenex and bobby pin thing in a pinch?

[electric_blue68]

34. Ha, I think so.

[Irish_Dem]

39. Ha! I had forgotten about wearing kleenex and a bobby pin.

We must have looked like real dorks.

[Diamond_Dog]

54. I remember the Kleenex and Bobby pin thing, yes.

[Melon]

67. It's a choice. You can not enter the temple or leave the church. That's the choice.

[Irish_Dem]

69. It is not a choice for children.

They are forced to wear certain garments.
And then grow up believing the BS.

[Melon]

70. Children are under the direction of their parents. The parents make the choice for a minor. It's a choice.

[2naSalit]

12. Oh, these 'garments' are...

Really something, they wear them under their underwear. Going deeper into it is a bit TMI but it isn't pretty no matter how you wear them.

[Irish_Dem]

15. Seems to be highly sexual then?

Secret underwear?

[2naSalit]

22. You know...

I am not sure about most of it but I do know that it is a truly misogynist society that keeps a lot secret from outsiders. I have been told things from those who left the system and have shared rooms on tour with mostly women of the system and it really makes you wonder about a number of things regarding belief systems.

[Irish_Dem]

40. Maybe it is the Norman version of a chastity belt.

[2naSalit]

41. Kind of...

Except lds gurls are virgins until they actually give birth, the having sex part starts early in life for many of them, long before puberty. The child sex abuse incidence rate in lds dominant states is really high. It's a gawd sanctioned rape society as far as I can tell, but that's just my opinion.

[Irish_Dem]

43. Jebus God. Yes sounds like a child rape ring.

[marble falls]

26. If it's any comfort, men wear the same sort of "underwear". No one is forced to do anyrthing, LDS are ...

... are very big on Fee Will.

[Irish_Dem]

44. If you have to wear religious underwear, it is not normal.

They are coerced to be weird.
And it sounds sexually motivated.

[marble falls]

47. That's because you don't understand it. Some say Joseph Smith took the idea of these garments from ...

... the Masons. Do you think the Masons weird and sexually motivated?



Man wearing arm- and head-tefillin at the Western Wall in 2009

Most religions require some sort garment or accessories outsiders "don't get". I'm Lutheran and I don't get the wearing of crosses, since Christ was about life.


WIKI

According to the LDS Church, the temple garments serve a number of purposes. First, the garment provides the member "a constant reminder" of the covenants they made in the temple. Second, the garment "when properly worn ... provides protection against temptation and evil." Wearing the garment is also "an outward expression of an inward commitment" to follow Jesus Christ.[12] General authority Carlos E. Asay adds that the garment "strengthens the wearer to resist temptation, fend off evil influences, and stand firmly for the right."[2]

The nature of the protection believed to be afforded by temple garments is ambiguous and varies between adherents.[1]: 49  Researchers who interviewed a sample of Latter-day Saints who wear the temple garment reported that virtually all wearers expressed a belief that wearing the garment provided "spiritual protection" and encouraged them to keep their covenants.[1]: 49  Some of those interviewed "asserted that the garment also provided physical protection, while others seemed less certain of any physical aspect to protection."[1]: 49  In Mormon folklore, tales are told of Latter-day Saints who credit their temple garments with helping them survive car wrecks, fires, and natural disasters.[5]

In 2014, the LDS Church released an explanatory video online that showed photographs of both temple garments and the outer clothing used in temple worship. The video states that there "is nothing magical or mystical about temple garments."[13]

[Irish_Dem]

48. Anyone who wears secret religious underwear is weird and sexually inappropriate.

[marble falls]

49. Everyone without exception?

[Irish_Dem]

50. OK Marble you get an exemption. Just don't give me the details. :(

[GiqueCee]

76. Ummm...

... I don't think Freemasonry is a religion, but some of their sartorial choices. are... shall we say, curious. Yeah, let's go with curious.

[Melon]

66. What about the Hajib? Yamaka( although not sexual)

[Irish_Dem]

68. At least Hajib is not secret but there is a sexual component to it.

I have read that they whole point of wrapping women up in garbage bag like clothing
is to prevent men from being sexually tempted by women's beauty.

So it is blaming, shaming, and punishing women because men cannot control
their own sexual urges.

Yamaka (worn by males) is not sexually motivated and is a way to show respect to God.
It is not about men controlling women.

[marble falls]

77. People should be allowed to dress however they want.

[Melon]

78. I agree

I was anti all this stuff, until I worked extensively in the Middle East. Remove the requirement and most will still wear it because that is their belief. The prefer to wear religious articles.

[UpInArms]

2. Forward thinking

ETA

So glad they aren’t having to wear burkas

[dem4decades]

3. Isn't it their version of a burka?

[UpInArms]

27. But they get more than a slit for their eyes

And, yet, they are too blind to see

[marble falls]

28. No. The "underwear" is not meant to be seen by anyone else. These are called Temple Garments, and those ...

... who are qualified to go into a Mormon Temple wear them, men and women. One might point out that Utah was a first state to give women the vote and the right to own property.

Brigham Young was asked if he had to chose between educating a son or daughter, he said he would have the daughter educated because men have an easier time make a living without it than women could.

In any LDS ward, there's a Bishop (not paid by the church, he pays for all his expenses), the second power is the woman in charge of the Relief Society.

[Irish_Dem]

45. Yes but they are sneaky and hide it.

[Bok_Tukalo]

6. Mormonism has begun its death spiral

It has embraced modernity.

[Skittles]

9. hard to fathom how utterly fucking ridiculous this all is

just....pathetic

[muriel_volestrangler]

16. Surely this started before polyester was around?

I'd have thought the original garments that were demanded would have been breathable. How could an official get away with demanding the new polyester when it was introduced?

[2naSalit]

24. They can't take them off...

Even in the operating room, ER, or when giving birth! What happens is they are removed except for having them wrapped around an ankle or arm. Seriously, I kind of audited a medical ethics class for three semesters and that's how the nurses to be were instructed to deal with 'the garment' in crisis events.

They also discussed Native American family concerns and other ethical things, was interesting.

[Srkdqltr]

17. Can you imagine when Jesus comes back and these people tell him

How holy they are because of what they ate or wore and he puts them in hell because they were mean, intolerant and just plane nasty.
Assuming that's true.

[JoseBalow]

31. Where to begin?

[leftyladyfrommo]

18. Those are the Temple Mormons who wear those protective garments.

Winter wasn't bad but summers are hot and those sleeves looked ugly sticking out on their arms. We called them angelchaps. It was like wearing long Johns .

[Blue Owl]

19. Jesus Fucking Christ

What are we, back in the 1800's?

[leftyladyfrommo]

20. Pretty much. If I remember right they were sold in department stores and

were a really soft cotton. But maybe they had lighter weight ones for summer.

They protect against unwanted sex because Mormons were big on sex and big families but they were protection from something - like a St. Christopher medal.

[2naSalit]

25. "They"...

Rather than we, are still trying to hang on to the 1800s.

[QueerDuck]

46. Prairie garb.

I always wondered how realistic the tv series "Big Love" was. How much of the soft underbelly did the show expose?

[CanonRay]

57. Its pretty realistic

I worked a lot all over Utah. I can still spot a polygamous household on the back roads.

[Wonder Why]

29. Definition: Forward Tinking - moving from the 7th century to the 8th. Now 100 years ahed of the Taliban.

[Melon]

35. Weird back story for a religion and weird stuff....but....nice people overall

My neighbor is a Mormon and I was raised near them. They don’t party next door, kids are respectful, bring me cookies at Christmas. I’ve never really had a bad interaction. They don’t drink and teach their kids respect.

[Scrivener7]

56. Women are second-class citizens within the religion, though. And that's ingrained

even more strongly than most other religions. It explains the addiction among Mormon women to plastic surgery. A lot of their value is in their appeal to men rather than in their own intrinsic humanity.

[Melon]

65. Ahhhh....Mormons value strong families

The male is head of the family but that’s about every religion and every society. I don’t agree with the appeal to men part. Addiction to plastic surgery? Is this an actual statistic or an observation? I’ve worked in Latin America and every other female colleague has plastic surgery. Also popular here, and I know a lot of Mormons. There are beautiful woman in the communities, I went to school with the “double mint” twins back in the day. They went big as models and were Mormon. The men are respectful of the woman. I think you are crossing that with the strong sense of family and community.


I don’t agree with the backstory of the religion and would never consider it, but I’ve known a lot of Mormon. I’ve never known one to get arrested for domestic violence, nor heard their kids curse, nor seen them drunk on the lawn. Sometimes society boundaries are good even if from religion.

[Scrivener7]

72. It's a statistic. Also one of the states with the highest antidepressant use.

[NoRethugFriends]

53. Easier to just refer to it as magic underwear

[Scrivener7]

55. So damn weird.

[mdbl]

58. This should be a story in the Onion

I laughed through the whole thing.

[Ritabert]

59. Another reason to avoid religion.

[PCIntern]

60. "She's got HUGE...

tracts of land” -Monty Python and the Holy Grail

[Oneironaut]

73. Weird cult behavior.

Hopefully we can get past religious cults forcing women to dress a certain way one day.

[Vinca]

75. Very, very strange. I would think being nude would put you "closer to God."