For decades, besides swapping their Coke for a Coors or a sucker for a cig, Latter-day Saints departing their faith sometimes would trade their temple credentials for a tattoo.
In short, a way to wear their rebellion on their sleeve.
Sure, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints could have tattoos, but sporting an inked image of a Dodgers logo, a ferocious dragon or a favorite rock lyric on a forearm had become frowned upon.
Not so much anymore.
A big reason: The global faith’s updated “For the Strength of Youth” guidelines removed the explicit condemnation of such skin art in 2022.
(Ethan Gregory Dodge) Ethan Gregory Dodge is a writer and an occasional contributor to The Salt Lake Tribune.
Ethan Gregory Dodge, writer, photographer and self-identified “secular Mormon,” explored the cultural evolution — perhaps revolution — of tattoos in Mormonism at Friday’s Sunstone Symposium at the University of Utah.
Dodge, who occasionally freelances for The Salt Lake Tribune, pointed out that early “For the Strength of Youth” pamphlets made no mention of tattoos. Then a church president stepped up to the pulpit in a worldwide General Conference.
‘Graffiti on the temple of the body’
“Now comes the craze of tattooing one’s body,” Gordon B. Hinckley said in October 2000. “I cannot understand why any young man — or young woman, for that matter — would wish to undergo the painful process of disfiguring the skin with various multicolored representations of people, animals and various symbols. … A tattoo is graffiti on the temple of the body.”
The following year, Dodge said, the youth pamphlet contained multiple changes, especially in regards to dress and appearance.
“Do not disfigure yourself with tattoos or body piercings,” the 2001 version advised. “If girls or women desire to have their ears pierced, they are encouraged to wear only one pair of modest earrings.”
At that point, Dodge said, tattoos became indelible markers in some quarters of disaffection if not outright disaffiliation in Mormon culture.
Such was the case for symposium attendee Adrienne Johnson, who opted for a tattoo after she left the church. She described tattooing as a sacred and empowering experience for her.
“I was laying there, not crying, but (with) tears rolling down my face,” Johnson said. “I was like, ‘This is so much more symbolic and meaningful than anything I ever experienced in the temple.’”
Tattoos, deeply rooted in a number of cultures around the world, are starting to be viewed differently among Latter-day Saints after the release of the 2022 “For the Strength of Youth” guidelines, which emphasize choice and principles above prohibitions.
LDS symbols as tattoos
“The Lord’s standard is for you to honor the sacredness of your body, even when that means being different from the world,” the new language states. “Let this truth and the Spirit be your guide as you make decisions — especially decisions that have lasting effects on your body.”
This shift sparked a new wave of Latter-day Saints joining the tattoo revolution, Dodge said, with some members choosing beehives, baptismal fonts or other religious symbols for their body art. One man even tattooed the faces of Latter-day Saint prophet-presidents on his back.
(Ethan Gregory Dodge) Ethan Gregory Dodge, a writer and an occasional contributor to The Salt Lake Tribune, showcases his tattoo honoring his Latter-day Saint pioneer foremothers.
Dodge himself is a tattoo enthusiast. He writes about them, photographs them and is even working on his own collection. He still remembers when he saw his first one.
“It was actually on my uncle,” Dodge recalled. “We were at [the former] Seven Peaks [water park] down in Provo, and we were sitting in line to get a tube. I looked over at his arm, and he’s got a tribal armband. I was like ‘that is so cool.’”
Dodge now has dozens of tattoos covering most of his arms and legs, but he said one stands out.
On his right arm, Dodge’s pioneer ancestor is depicted along with the Seal of Melchizedek, an eight-pointed star with two overlapping or interlocking squares. He said this artwork honors the women who were overlooked in the past.
Now he carries her inked image with him everywhere he goes.