Letter to the Editor: Beware these signs of materialism

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    Dear Editor:

    I sometimes wonder if the founder of this university would roll over in his grave if he were to stroll around campus in between classes. Brigham Young once said the Saints would not be tried again with poverty but with prosperity. I have an idea what he meant by this: materialism. In The Book of Mormon, we are taught that a symptom of the pride which toppled the Nephite people was the “costliness of their apparel” (Jacob 2:13). Further, we learn at a time of great peace and prosperity among the Nephites, the people “did not wear costly apparel” (Alma 1:27-29).

    In 2 Nephi chapter 13, a vision of the great prophet Isaiah is quoted where he views the worldliness in the latter days. It says, “The daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet.” Could it be that in this vision Isaiah saw the BYU daughters of Zion in the ubiquitous-of-late platform shoes?

    Materialism is an infectious virus which, if left untreated, can develop into vanity, superficiality and pride. Sufferers of this illness are otherwise known as Barbies, Abercrombie Zombies (paying $30 for a T-shirt that allows them to broadcast their trendiness, while at the same time transforming themselves into walking billboards), and the infamous Chocolate Bunnies (you know, like the Easter candies that are sweet on the outside and hollow in the middle). Classic symptoms include, but are not limited to, the following:

    1. Puffy, life preserver, space mission, North Face parkas.

    2. Daddy-financed SUV (Which hasn’t yet seen a lick of dirt).

    3. Living in a condo, with their own room, and mandatory walk-in closet to fit their expansive wardrobe with a half-life of just over four months.

    4. Cookie-cutter bleached blond/highlighted hair (Who ever said white looks better, anyway?).

    5. Totally unnatural semi-orange glow in the dead of winter which screams, “Like, I totally keep the lights on at the tanning salon, not to mention pay for the owner kid’s orthodontics.”

    6. Cargo pants (Not just khakis, mind you, but anything they can get pockets on: denims, shorts, black bell-bottom stretch pants. Get real, what do you cargo in there anyway?).

    7. Too many carpenter pants, not nearly enough hammers.

    8. Sports the “I’m an urban mountain man/woman” backpack with matching fleece vest.

    9. Wears warm-ups at all times but when working out.

    10. “Work? What’s that?”

    My point is that materialism seems to be fairly prevalent in our Utah Valley Mormon Test Tube. Maybe we should learn from the modern-day prophets (have you ever seen one of the Brethren in a four-button suit?), as well as those in The Book of Mormon, and focus more on things that really matter.

    Seth Cardall

    Walnut Creek, Calif.

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