OAKS, CHILDREN , AND PETS: A MUSING ON SUCCESS IN LIFE

LDS church elder's dog comments spark response

Preserved from the Provo Utah Daily Herald
http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/305160/17/
Tuesday, 07 April 2009
Joe Pyrah - Daily Herald

It was a brief moment in the 10 hours of general conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. But a few words about kids and dogs drew all eyes in the room from the TV to Alison Faulkner.

Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the church's Quorum of the Twelve Apostles was giving an example of a young couple who chose a dog over having kids.

"Dogs are less trouble, they declared. Dogs don't talk back and we never have to ground them," Oaks said of the couple's reasoning. He went on to say that many LDS couples are among that "unselfish group who are willing to surrender their personal priorities and serve the Lord by bearing and rearing the children our Heavenly Father sends to their care."

But there are also plenty choosing the dog. The American Pet Products Association estimates that Americans in 2009 will spend $45 billion on their pets -- including health care, food and doggie clothes -- up from $17 billion 15 years ago.

Faulkner, who's been married a year with no kids, takes possession of "Pony" on Friday. To be fair, the miniature Australian shepherd is more a baby warm-up than a baby replacement, she says.

Pets or family?

The humanification of pets has been a long time coming, says Michael Schaffer, author of "One Nation Under Dog." In the Victorian era, pets were known as "loyal companion." By the 1950s, they had become "man's best friend." Today they're "mommy's little girl."

Names have also gone from Spot and Spike to Jack and Chloe, "which are actually the same names in my daughter's pre-school," Schaffer said.

The movement likely comes from modern society's increased divorce rates and families moving apart for work, he said. An APPA survey shows that the percentage of households with a pet has increased from 56 in 1988 to 63 in 2007. As people move away from traditional social support systems, Schaffer said, they seek different sources of comfort, including, as he calls them, "fur babies."

That mindset was evident in Faulkner's blog. After she announced she was getting a dog, comments ranged from "Yay! Congratulations. You will be a great puppy mom." to "Oh Pony is adorable!!! You are going to be the best little mom in town, how lucky could a dog be."

First step or only step?

Facebook and several blogging sites were abuzz Monday with discussion on Oaks's comments. Faulkner, a Brigham Young University grad who lives in Salt Lake City, said she didn't rush into marriage and doesn't want to rush a child into the world. She views Pony as a sort of practice run rather than a baby replacement.


RIGHT ASCENSION GETS DEFENSIVE

I am unmarried male. I have always been an unmarried male.

I have no children . . . Or grandchildren either. I do not have any particular biases or bigotries against children. In fact, some of my best friends have children.

I dislike most dogs with a white hot intensity. On their best days, they are four-legged incubators of parasites, viruses, and bacterias that can all make us sick. I keep no pets of any kind.

It occurs to me, after reading this news report of this particular general conference controversy, that I have managed to achieved complete failure both by the definition of Orthodox Mormonism, which defines a successful person in terms of reproduction, and by the definitions of the Humane Society as well, which defines a successful person in terms of animal devotion.

I will not debate the merits of Elder Oaks’ rhetorical style or how convincing prospective parents will find him when he emphasizes the long-term unmitigated sacrifices of parenthood.

I find it sobering that –

despite all the pro- family rhetoric we get in American culture in general and in the LDS Church in particular

despite the fact that we now live in the highly-advanced super-technological twenty-first century

child bearing and child rearing are still burdens and sacrifices.

Our culture basically poses a danger both physically and spiritually to children. It is not a support.

The cultural of corporate America regards children as a nuisance to the making of profits.


RIGHT ASCENSION CONGRATULATES

those who have decided to create children and make families in a time and place when the culture discourages both.

those who treat their animals like animals instead of four- legged humans