48 pages • 1 hour read
Heather GayBad Mormon
Nonfiction | Autobiography / Memoir | Adult | Published in 2023A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Index of Terms
Singles Ward
In the Mormon Church, a singles ward is a congregation specifically organized for single adults, typically between the ages of 18-30. Unlike traditional wards, which are based on geographic boundaries and include members of all ages, singles wards focus on serving the spiritual and social needs of young, unmarried members of the Mormon church. In addition to regular worship services and Sunday school classes, singles wards also host social events designed to encourage dating with the explicit goal of marriage, which holds a central place in Mormon theology. Members of the church believe that those who are not married in a temple ceremony cannot achieve the Celestial Kingdom, the region of heaven closest to God. As a result, there is significant pressure for young Mormon singles to marry.
In Bad Mormon, Gay explicitly describes the Huntington Beach singles ward as a marriage market, “a target-rich environment” where she could find “someone to tie [her] down” (141). Her future husband Billy came from a singles ward where “the ratio of single men to single women was fairly even,” resulting in stricter competition. As a result, Billy was used to “taking the lead right out of the gate” (146). These passages underscore Gay’s critique of Expectation Versus Reality in Mormon Marriage, suggesting that the structure of the singles ward facilitated speedy marriages like Billy and Gay’s.
Endowment Ceremony
The endowment ceremony is a sacred religious rite performed in Mormon temples. All church members serving as missionaries or participating in temple marriages must first complete the endowment ceremony. It is considered a vital step in a member’s spiritual progression, and is necessary for entrance into the Celestial Kingdom. The ceremony consists of four parts: a period of washing and anointing, a lecture, an exchange of oaths, and a test of knowledge. Despite its importance in Mormon theology, details of the endowment ceremony are kept a secret from the non-members and members who have not experienced the ceremony. Official church doctrine holds that the only place temple ceremonies can be discussed, even among the faithful, is in the temple. During the ceremony, participants explicitly agree to a covenant of non-disclosure intended to keep the sacred signs and phrases confidential.
Gay describes her endowment ceremony as the first moment she began to actively question the church. Prior to the ceremony, she knew “absolutely nothing about what actually happened inside the temple” (85-86). Although she is moved by the washing and anointing ceremony, she finds the rest of the ceremony “fucking weird” and “absolutely absurd” (101-102). The fact that her family does not feel the same way convinces Gay that she “wasn’t spiritual enough” to understand, filling her with shame.
Mission
Missionary work is a central aspect of the faith and practice of the Mormon Church. Young men, typically beginning at age 18, and young women, starting at age 19, are encouraged to dedicate 18 to 24 months to full-time missionary service. Missionary work is grounded in the church’s belief in the Great Commission, Jesus Christ’s call for his followers to “go into all the world and preach the Gospel” (Matthew 28: 19). A significant part of this work involves the Standard of Truth, a declaration made by Joseph Smith in 1842 that asserts that “the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished” (130). As this statement suggests, missionary work is central to the Mormon church’s sense of purpose.
Gay suggests that she decided to undertake a mission because she “felt immense pressure” to serve the church after college, despite her successful business (79). Up until the moment she opened the letter identifying her mission location, Gay was “not positive this [was] the right calling for me” (81). Although she was a successful missionary, converting 16 people during her mission, she ultimately saw it as an adventure, rather than an opportunity for spiritual growth.
Relief Society
The Relief Society is the women’s organization of the Mormon Church, founded in 1842 by Sarah Granger Kimball and Joseph Smith. It is one of the oldest women’s organizations in the world, and continues today as the premiere educational and philanthropic organization for Mormon women. The goal of the Relief Society is to strengthen both the individual faith of members and the well-being of Mormon families. Although Gay criticizes The Strictly Prescribed Roles for Women and Girls Within the Mormon Faith, she identifies the Relief Society as a place where women “find companionship and community in the structure of the church” (176). For Gay, serving as president her ward’s Relief Society was “a chance to pull out from my inward struggles and focus on serving others” (175).
