"We--the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve--have taken the position, and I quote, that "the Church discourages tattoos. It also discourages the piercing of the body for other than medical purposes, although it takes no position on the minimal piercing of the ears by women for one pair of earrings." President Gordon B. Hinckley At the time my husband and I were very active, temple recommend holding members of the church and had been operating a tattoo studio without any prejudice for many years. We were never treated poorly or shunned by the members of our Ward or Stake. Our Stake President's wife more than once brought her children to our studio to get tattoos. It was such a non issue that one of the ways I billed myself in advertising was Kita Kazoo the Mormon Girl Tattoo Artist.
Since then we both have been subjected to many discussions and debates on the right or wrong of getting and doing tattoos and piercings. At first I would defend my choice of profession using the scriptures, but eventually I got tired of it and began asking those who questioned me to explain to me, what horrible thing would happen in our society if everyone had a tattoo? After all, sins are those things that violate the golden rule and keep us from loving one another, not things such as, what clothing we wear or how we do our hair.
Since then we both have been subjected to many discussions and debates on the right or wrong of getting and doing tattoos and piercings. At first I would defend my choice of profession using the scriptures, but eventually I got tired of it and began asking those who questioned me to explain to me, what horrible thing would happen in our society if everyone had a tattoo? After all, sins are those things that violate the golden rule and keep us from loving one another, not things such as, what clothing we wear or how we do our hair.
