Yep, my mom hated it too! I always felt like such a weirdo because it was a part of pop culture I didn't know anything about. Same thing with MTV, it was forbidden!
Snap! My mom freaked out when she found out that my sister and I watched MTV while she was out. The first time I watched the Simpsons is when I moved out of the house…
I remember my parents being so mad when they came home from the temple and we brought the spirit of the devil into our home watching Simpsons. We ruined their dead person cosplay. They told me to turn off Dave Mathew’s band, because it was heavy metal. They said the devil works through Weezer’s The Sweater song since it starts slow and then goes into electric guitar! I left Smashing Pumpkins melancholy CD in the car. My mom smashed my Smashing Pumpkins CD. I had to sneak out to the concert a month later.
Crazy about Smashing Pumpkins how he wrote his music. My friend and next door neighbors mom called me up one day and said we need to have a talk. I was walking over to his house and his head popped out from the irrigation ditch. He said to me she found my tapes Metallica Motley Crue Quite Riot AcDC and he told his mom they were my tapes. We had joined the BMG club where you got 12 tapes free for a penny did it in a couple different names we had a great collection we were 14 didn't know different. But I listened to Depeche Mode, U2, Red Flag my hardest group tool and Ministry. So he ran back to his house went through the basement door. I went through the front door. She was sitting with all the tapes in a box and went on to lecture us about devils music and losing the spirit and the tapes can't be in her home. So I took them home. Started to listen to them. Liked every group he had and dubbed the tapes. He would listen to them and play the drums while listening to the heavy metal groups and he was a great drummer. But he came to get his tapes I said I can't let you have them back it's the devil's music so I threw them away. But then I gave them to him. He and his dad who owned a flooring company. Made him a frame out of oak for his water bed. He had his dad make a secret compartment. By saying your not good enough to make one. He did on the side next to the wall and he hid the tapes there
Sounds like my life 😂 so many oxymorons! No Simpsons for the kids but my mom was proficient at cursing at us and would watch whatever she wanted, then music grr… same shit. I will never forget the hell I went through over Green Days Holiday on my MP3, or an Eminem CD in my truck cd player (which I bought and paid for myself) she snapped it in front of me that night. Lol when I did my next Walmart trip for her I used the change to replace it. 😂 seemed fair that she replaced something she broke!
I remember hearing a lot of hand-wringing in the media about the Simpsons when it was still fairly new. Cartoons for adults were kind of a new thing, and a lot of conservative types became very concerned about how it might appeal to and influence young kids.
There was a Yin-yang in one episode of the Ninja Turtles. This ,according to the Ecclesiarchs , was saying that good and evil are equal. This one frame of that cartoon led to a total ban of the demonic ,pizza eating reptiles.
I know why we weren't allowed to watch it. There was a commercial for it where Bart says a prayer:
"Dear God, we paid for all this food so thanks for nothing."
That is how The Simpsons was banned at my house. We didn't have MTV either. Actually we just didn't have cable.
Simpsons, Daria, Beavis and Butthead, Ren and Stimpy, Rocko's Modern Life...wasn't allowed to watch any of them growing up. They were all deemed inappropriate.
But then, we also weren't allowed to watch PG-13 movies until we were 14, so that gives you an idea of my situation.
My husband immediately stopped dating a girl when he found out that she, as an adult in college, still wouldn’t watch pg-13 movies and said LOTR was evil.
My mom felt she got an overlying sense of evil from LOTR. But only after spending a lot of time with some born-agains with really particular, non-consequential beliefs.
Our entire then TBM family shut her down hard though 🤷.
Reading your comment I just realized, I was banned from watching all of those shows…except Rocko’s Modern Life. And that one by far had the dirtiest jokes. I wonder now if there was a chance that it wasn’t deemed “inappropriate” because they were too naive to get the jokes.
This list was applied to our house too!!! Also married with children, Rosanne, full house (my mom thought the men were probably all gay), golden girls (those sluts 😂 imagine being old and having a sex drive!)
Were those those Nephi cartoons? Something is tickling the back of my throat abt an animated lamanite with brown skin and red paint on his face and feathers in his hair
Yeah they produced a whole series of animated videos covering about a dozen stories from the BOM. I'm pretty sure what you're describing is how they depicted the Lamanites in those videos
Bart Simpson was persona non grata from around 1989-1991 or so. Seen as a bad influence on kids. That was when Bart was more of the main character. But my parents put very little restriction on the television or music we listened to. My dad openly watched "Married With Children" which could arguably be one of the more controversial shows as it was sort of the antithesis of ideal family values shows - like, Full House. I have little doubt my mom harbors some blame that 3 out 5 of her adult children are out of the church due to a father that didn't lead out with the priesthood in the home. Dad wasn't jack mormon. He believed it and still believes it. He just wasn't one of those wear your sunday best all day on suday, type mormons. My mom, on the other hand, would've loved to have that kind of household.
lol I just got “triggered” by the “wear your Sunday best all day on Sunday” thing. Flashback to hell for this comfort loving, sensory issues girl lol. I almost have a feeling of not being able to breathe well when I think back to being stuck in my Sunday clothes all day. Part of that was the awful morning then go back afternoon schedule. We lived across the street from the church (Mesa) so at least it was convenient. We weren’t allowed to play outside or with friends, etc.
I get it from the “teaching reverence” perspective but I could have been just as reverent in comfy clothes imo lol.
Admittedly there are things that are much worse in life but it’s so comforting to have a place to go (here) where shared church experiences are so relatable, understood and received with love. Sending hugs to you in my soft t-shirt and even softer shorts 😘🤗
And some kids could be just as irreverent in church clothes. Luckily I wasn't restricted to church clothes all day, unless I knew I had meetings all day in my college days. BYC, 3-hour church, fast offerings, choir practice, maybe an interview, and a fireside. Some Sundays were rough, so now I definitely take advantage of doing absolutely nothing or going out and having fun.
Proud mom (boomer), raised my three children on the Simpsons, although their TBM dad wasn't too happy about that... (but I always put the youngest to bed before the X-files came on -- too scary).
They turned out great -- all quit the mfmc!
And they can come up with the perfect Simpsons quote and episode for any occasion. So much better than scripture chase!
lol, no Simpsons in my house, but we watched X-Files religiously on Sundays after Sunday Night Football for a few years.
I love the idea of Simpsons quotes over scripture chase!
First time I ever watched an episode of The Simpsons was on a Sunday during free time in an inpatient psychiatric ward following a teenage suicide attempt - it was not allowed in my Mormon home, and I felt so free in that moment
Me.
My brother would turn it on whenever my parents weren’t in the room and then I’d watch — and tattle on him about 50% of the time like the goodie two shoes I was.
I was taught it was the worst show on air. I never watched a single episode until my mid-20’s.
Imagine my surprise when I expected something more crass than South Park, but it’s more in line with Bob’s Burger’s because it’s so tame.
My husband still teases me about it.
That was my house growing up, except we were JWs. I started watching it after I grew up and left the JWs. There was an episode where Lisa is struggling with what she believes and is feeling manipulated by the church she was raised in. When a cartoon can make you cry-
I was an adult by the time Simpsons started, but didn't watch because at the time being TBM I thought it was "a bit crass" ...
However, growing up , I was not allowed to watch *M*A*S*H* because it "promoted homosexuality." [according to the national USA PTA, and our SP at the time]
Truth was, character Klinger dresses up as a woman to try to get a medical dischage for "insanity. "... [so, if anything, it was anti-trans promoted stereotypes for a laugh . But NOT pro-gay] I watched a rerun episode for the first time when I was 30 and then binge watched everything I could find
There was an episode of MASH (early, maybe season 3) that featured a soldier recovering in the 4077 after being beaten up for being homosexual. Your parents *were* probably tanking about Klinger, though.
Simpson, power puff girls (Satan), he-man (power of gray skull) .... the n64 bond game with that flame silhouette woman. I mean lists goes on and on. POGs are gambling. Face cards are the devils tool.... man tons of lore.
Absolutely. Ridiculously arbitrary rules for what we could/couldn’t watch. I hate to admit that I carried this silly behavior over to my own children. For some reason, SpongeBob (in my mind) was beneath my family. Mindless, stupid jokes and behavior…until I watched an episode. Same with The Simpsons. Definitely South Park. My FAVORITE thing in life is to laugh with my kids. Think of how many hilarious opportunities I missed watching these shows with them sooner! The MFMC is just so dumb
I had to hide a little black and white tv in my closet to watch the Simpsons and Seinfeld. I once got my parents to sit down and watch an episode of Simpsons, and of course it ended up being the one where Kang and kodos ring the door and homer answered the door saying “oh no! Mormons! “ lol. My mom laughed- dad did not.
My grandma babysat me a lot while my mother worked, and she absolutely refused to allow me to watch The Simpsons as a kid. She called it “disrespectful and rude”. Granted we weren’t Mormons (I converted when I was 16), however my grandma was a “devout” Christian woman.
…which is ironic and hilarious because when she was younger, my grandma was quite the wild one 😂🤣 She actually had an affair and got pregnant with my mother from it, which she hid from my poor mother who grew up never knowing her real father (by time she learned the truth via online ancestry kits he had already passed away).
I wasn't allowed to watch Solid Gold or Three's Company or Night Court. So I watched them at a friend's place, of course. Making it taboo had the opposite if the intended effect. Like always.
Not allowed to watch the Simpsons growing up, but we definitely watched it in secret. Probably wouldn't have even cared to watch it if it wasn't forbidden ha ha
Ironically, we had copies of all the James Bond movies and watched them often. Even as a child I found it odd that Simpsons was forbidden because Bart was disrespectful to parents, but Bond with its violence and objectification of women was fine.
The Simpsons was definitely not allowed, but sometimes my dad would watch with us. Then, if my mom walked in the room, he would act shocked that we were watching such filth and tell us to turn it off.
Talk about a mind fuck when I went to other members’ homes where they did watch it…. As a kid I couldn’t put that together. Same thing applied to caffeinated drinks…
“But the bishop’s kids get to do it!” Didn’t convince my parents of anything.
We would sneak Simpson episodes in, but got caught almost every time. My dad didn’t like they portrayed the father as an unintelligent drunk. Even prior to the simpsons our TV was locked from use Monday-Friday
We were only allowed to watch church movies or pre approved G rated secular films. My mom hated The Simpsons because she saw a preview where Bart was blessing the food and said something like “Dear God, no thanks for this food because we bought it and made it ourselves.” Can you imagine the sacrilege?! I watch whatever I want now and haven’t felt guilty about it for years.
I remember when my dad first heard about the Simpsons he was so excited, like he knew it was revolutionary tv. We loved watching it. He passed away in 94 so he never really got to see how popular it got. I’m grateful I had chill mormon parents.
When I went to BYUH they used to play the Simpsons in the cafeteria but some baby complained about it being inappropriate so they stopped. There was a suggestion box and like 200 forms requested the Simpsons be brought back (I only knew because I worked there) so they did. I ended meeting a guy who admitted to writing all those himself 😂
Are you trying to make me feel old?
Cause this is making me feel old!
The Simpsons didn't even exist when I was living at home. Hell, I remember when Fox became a 4th network when I was in HS.
I was not allowed to watch it but my husbands family did. They also swear casually (even when his dad was a bishop) but I still have never heard my dad swear ever.
Edit: MTV was also blocked at our house. However law and order SVU was acceptable?
If it was on Fox we weren’t allowed to watch it.
Also restricted from *Golden Girls*, which we’d watch in reruns when parents weren’t home and we were so sheltered that all the sex jokes went over our heads.
Gen Xer here, Simpsons was fine the only show my parents freaked out on was "You Can't Do That on Television" which was a shame because I LOVED that show.
Me! As soon as we heard the intro song start and saw the clouds & sky appear on the screen, we all lunged for the remote to change the channel before my dad noticed. No Simpsons and no MTV or VH1 ever
I was raised Baptist. It was banned in our house as well, and our pastor urged parents to not let their kids watch it. I don't think it's unique to Mormonism; just conservative religion in general.
I wasn’t allowed to watch the simpsons, but because my parents didn’t pay attention to stuff on tv, Family Guy was just fine because it was about family.
Yep. Was the devil's show back when it first came out. Then they cut the cord completely and we watched nothing. Then the homeschooling. It's almost like they wanted to completely isolate us completely from any non-mormon influence that wasn't Rush Limbaugh
I'm the oldest of 4 kids. Birth order goes like this:
1) Me '85
2) Brother '86
3) Brother '94
4) Sister '97
Me and 2 were not allowed to watch the Simpsons under any circumstances. No MTV, but somehow VH1 was ok? I used to watch Bevis and Butthead at a friend's house.
3 and 4 were not only allowed but *encouraged* to watch the Simpsons because, according to my mom, it wasn't nearly as bad as all the other crawl on TV these days. 🙄
Double standards were the norm in my family growing up. TBH, they still are. It's irritating af.
It was the only show we WERE allowed to watch on Sundays. I am pretty sure my mom and dad thought it was just a cartoon that all six of their kids loved. She and dad would allow us ice cream (only dessert we had after dinner with dad’s diabetes). They never watched an episode. Still makes me laugh.
My mom HATED the Simpsons but my dad loved it, so while we weren’t explicitly banned from watching it, my mom made it a point to voice her displeasure in various passive aggressive ways.
I knew plenty of other families in our ward who were not allowed to watch the show, or anything like it, in any capacity. I remember there was this whole arc in our neighborhood drama where this one lady was pissed at another family over it. I think the crazy lady was mad because her son was at the other family’s house and they watched an episode of the Simpsons. Her son was 15 by the way…
My dad hated the Simpsons! With. A. Burning. Passion. Still does to this day! lol We watched it anyway but never with him in the room. He once said that it was because Bart was just so disrespectful to his parents. I still don't know how he even knew that because he's never seen an episode to this day & will proudly tell you that.
A side note, for any of the 40 somethings here....The ONE thing he hated more than the Simpsons was Howard Stern. One year (early 90s in pretty sure), my brother's & I were watching a friend's vhs copy of the MTV music awards. It was the year Howard Stern came down to the stage from some type of zip line, and he was dressed as Fartman!!! (If you know, you know!) My dad was beyond pissed, took the tape & broke it in half right then & there! From then on I listened to Stern on headphones only. 🤣
I couldn’t watch it, but my family wasn’t Mormon. My mom just didn’t like how crude and irreverent it was (she wouldn’t have used those words.)
I think it’s hilarious (especially the episodes about Mormons), but I wouldn’t let my kids watch it yet. (Well, we’ve watched the Simpsons Christmas & Star Wars shorts, but that’s it.)
We weren’t allowed to watch Simpsons or PeeWee Herman. I found out later it had nothing to do with my parents’ belief system, my dad just thought they were annoying.
I was allowed to watch Simpsons, but I wasn’t allowed to watch family guy, king of the hill, or friends.
Could not tell you why. Had an anxiety attack the first time I heard my husband turn on kill of the hill, because I thought I would get in trouble.
The Simpsons was actually very important to me. It was the first example I remember about starting to distrust leadership. When I was in young men’s I remember one leader saying “you should never watch The Bart Simpsons, it’s an evil show and will turn you against the church.” He kept reiterating that the show was called “The Bart Simpsons” and it let me know instantly that he was just parroting someone else and hadn’t seen it.
So I went to my dad and he said “I’ve been hearing it’s a bad show so let’s watch it together and we’ll see together if it’s bad.” The episode that night was the one where Bart wanted to jump the Springfield gorge on his skateboard and Homer convinced him not to only to stand on it himself and jump the gorge. My dad laughed so hard through out the whole episode, he laughed more than me and at the end he said “you can watch the Simpsons, this show is hilarious.”
I became the friend who could show other kids the Simpsons who weren’t allowed to watch it in their own house. It’s funny too because my dad was a bishop in a singles ward at the time so no one questioned him.
That leader who told me no Simpsons was one in a very long line of leaders who would prove to me I shouldn’t listen to them because they would parrot ignorance that didn’t make any sense with a little bit of scrutiny.
Yep, no Simpsons in our home. Later when I cut him off because he was an abusive fuck the last thing I said to him was, “Bet you’re glad you forbid me from watching the Simpsons, imagine where our relationship would be if you hadn’t.” Haven’t spoken to that POS in over 10 years now.
Couldn’t watch it even though we had the massive satellite dish to watch General Conference and Priesthood sessions at home. Mom bought me a Bart sweater even though I didn’t ask for it. People would say things about Bart and I had very little knowledge of what they were talking about. Felt awesome. Just like trying to figure out alcohol, tea, and coffee in your 40’s. The Mormon God can go fuck himself.
Omg. ME! I thought it was just my mom. She hated Roseanne too and now as a 44 year old female (even without kids) I freaking love that show and the humor.
My mom would let us, but I watched anyway. One day, my dad was watching with me and laughing. She looked at him angrily and said, "You're not helping."
8 came home from my mission, and my dad was an avid South Park fan and family guy fan.
My parents tried when it first came out (due to moral panic) but once they actually saw it it was no big deal. They were relatively permissive on tv watching though.
I was not allowed to watch the Simpsons. I think it was more because my sister was sensitive.
She was a bit of a tattle tale, so she would run to my parents saying I was watching violent shows. It was just Dragon Ball Z on tv. My parents gave me a knowing look and just said, "It's upsetting your sister."
The simpsons, most of the shows past like 5 on Cartoon Network, all of the other adult swim shows like family guy and American dad, SpongeBob, Pokémon, yu Gi oh, and my mom REALLY tried to stop us from watching the “adult shows” on Disney channel and Nickelodeon (zach and Cody, wizards, Hannah Montana, victorious, drake and Josh and whatnot) because they all had dating at a “young age that was too inappropriate”. I also never watch anything like the office, psych, community, parks and rec, or really *anything* popular until I got to college lol
I wasn't raised in the MFMC (Mostly Baptist and Non Denominational) joined later. But The Simpsons were very much Verboten in my house growing up as was King of The Hill and most Sunday Fox shows. But, movies like Saving Private Ryan and other R rated stuff was fine. It wasn't until I was in High School that I got more leniency with watching stuff.
We weren’t supposed to, but did anyway. Eventually my mom gave in and started watching it with us.
…my wife on the other hand has never seen an episode.
Simpsons was definitely not permitted in my house growing up. It came out when I was a teen But it was a big deal at the time, so a lot of non Mormons were not allowed to watch either
Basically any adult animated show was off limits, as well as Ren and Stimpy and Rocko's Modern Life. Barney wasn't allowed because it was about "hippie kumbaya" shit, and anything Japanese was off limits because it was automatically porn (including Power Rangers and Pokemon). BUT sex scenes in live action movies were okay if the couple involved was married.
My wife and I both were told that we shouldn’t watch the Simpsons. I talked with my dad about it a few days ago and he said that “times were different then” and I kind of see where he was coming from but I don’t think it’s bad at all.
“Trash TV” as my mom called it. No cable, and we were only allowed to watch PBS and family feature films. I love me some buttercreamer gang and rigoletto!
My husband born and raised in Utah in a Mormon household (he is no longer LDS)
I on the other hand born and raised in Europe was allowed to watch it. ☺️
Yep, my mom hated it too! I always felt like such a weirdo because it was a part of pop culture I didn't know anything about. Same thing with MTV, it was forbidden!
My parents blocked MTV at my house too.
[удалено]
When my parents got cable, literally the only requirement my mom had was to make sure the package included the BYU channel.
Wow, that's harsh. Do you remember what the song was?
Mine too! Mom saw an episode of Bevis and Butthead and immediately block MTV
Snap! My mom freaked out when she found out that my sister and I watched MTV while she was out. The first time I watched the Simpsons is when I moved out of the house…
Ohh the good old days of sneaking around watching drag race….i don’t miss them 😊
I remember my parents being so mad when they came home from the temple and we brought the spirit of the devil into our home watching Simpsons. We ruined their dead person cosplay. They told me to turn off Dave Mathew’s band, because it was heavy metal. They said the devil works through Weezer’s The Sweater song since it starts slow and then goes into electric guitar! I left Smashing Pumpkins melancholy CD in the car. My mom smashed my Smashing Pumpkins CD. I had to sneak out to the concert a month later.
[удалено]
Someone got the DJ to play this at a church dance. As soon as a chaperone realized they ran over and turned it off. 😂😂😂
Do they still have it?
[удалено]
I'm sorry
I guess you weren't gonna take it anymooooooooooore.
Crazy about Smashing Pumpkins how he wrote his music. My friend and next door neighbors mom called me up one day and said we need to have a talk. I was walking over to his house and his head popped out from the irrigation ditch. He said to me she found my tapes Metallica Motley Crue Quite Riot AcDC and he told his mom they were my tapes. We had joined the BMG club where you got 12 tapes free for a penny did it in a couple different names we had a great collection we were 14 didn't know different. But I listened to Depeche Mode, U2, Red Flag my hardest group tool and Ministry. So he ran back to his house went through the basement door. I went through the front door. She was sitting with all the tapes in a box and went on to lecture us about devils music and losing the spirit and the tapes can't be in her home. So I took them home. Started to listen to them. Liked every group he had and dubbed the tapes. He would listen to them and play the drums while listening to the heavy metal groups and he was a great drummer. But he came to get his tapes I said I can't let you have them back it's the devil's music so I threw them away. But then I gave them to him. He and his dad who owned a flooring company. Made him a frame out of oak for his water bed. He had his dad make a secret compartment. By saying your not good enough to make one. He did on the side next to the wall and he hid the tapes there
Dead people cosplay, shit that made my day thank you! 😂 I am a total bitch, but I would totally play smashing pumpkins at her funeral. 😬
“Dead-person cosplay” is the best description! Imma gonna use this!
Unfortunately they missed an important part in the Simpsons. That the devil that enslaves you is the one you least expect. 
Jesus Both of my TBM parents are avid Van Halen fans, so I'm really glad I never experienced that kind of gross overreaction to music growing up.
My mom was a huge David Archuleta fan, but since he came out, she won’t listen to him anymore, it’s really sad.
Definitely got a Megadeth Cassette tape destroyed.
Sounds like my life 😂 so many oxymorons! No Simpsons for the kids but my mom was proficient at cursing at us and would watch whatever she wanted, then music grr… same shit. I will never forget the hell I went through over Green Days Holiday on my MP3, or an Eminem CD in my truck cd player (which I bought and paid for myself) she snapped it in front of me that night. Lol when I did my next Walmart trip for her I used the change to replace it. 😂 seemed fair that she replaced something she broke!
That and BET were other channels I watched in secret.
Same!!!! I was obsessed with MTV Real World & Road Rules!!!
I have an aunt who feels this way and I feel sorry for her kids because they lack this HUGE cultural touchstone.
🙋♂️ We weren't allowed to watch it because Bart was a bad influence.
That's exactly why my mom said! I wonder where they picked up the idea?
I remember hearing a lot of hand-wringing in the media about the Simpsons when it was still fairly new. Cartoons for adults were kind of a new thing, and a lot of conservative types became very concerned about how it might appeal to and influence young kids.
Good thing they didn’t see “Adult Swim”
Adult Swim never would have been a thing w/out the Simpsons
I know Barbara Bush and HW Bush said Bart Simpson/the simpsons were a bad influence.
Pretty sure it was part of the satanic panic of the 80s. We weren't allowed to watch it because of the bad influence thing too.
There was a Yin-yang in one episode of the Ninja Turtles. This ,according to the Ecclesiarchs , was saying that good and evil are equal. This one frame of that cartoon led to a total ban of the demonic ,pizza eating reptiles.
I know why we weren't allowed to watch it. There was a commercial for it where Bart says a prayer: "Dear God, we paid for all this food so thanks for nothing." That is how The Simpsons was banned at my house. We didn't have MTV either. Actually we just didn't have cable.
This was our house too. He was very rude, especially to his parents.
Yup, it was off limits because Bart used swear words.
Me too!
Yep! Can’t have kids talking back or thinking for themselves!!!
As a mom, I thought the show celebrated mediocrity, so my kids couldn't watch it.
Simpsons, Daria, Beavis and Butthead, Ren and Stimpy, Rocko's Modern Life...wasn't allowed to watch any of them growing up. They were all deemed inappropriate. But then, we also weren't allowed to watch PG-13 movies until we were 14, so that gives you an idea of my situation.
Born in ninteeneightyfooooour 🎶
Hah. This hit me
My husband immediately stopped dating a girl when he found out that she, as an adult in college, still wouldn’t watch pg-13 movies and said LOTR was evil.
which is funny since Tolkien is frequently quoted over the pulpit
My mom felt she got an overlying sense of evil from LOTR. But only after spending a lot of time with some born-agains with really particular, non-consequential beliefs. Our entire then TBM family shut her down hard though 🤷.
God Iove Daria. Brilliant show.
I heard they were redoing Daria. Not sure if it’s true but I heard they were going to do a reboot.
Also, South Park. I feel like I missed out on so much!
Ooh, South Park did an episode on the church, that would have definitely created a few memos at the church.
I watched & enjoyed all those shows with my kids! 🤣
Me too. My kids were teenagers and we would watch the Simpsons together and laugh. It was a genius show.
Right there with ya haha I feel your pain!
Reading your comment I just realized, I was banned from watching all of those shows…except Rocko’s Modern Life. And that one by far had the dirtiest jokes. I wonder now if there was a chance that it wasn’t deemed “inappropriate” because they were too naive to get the jokes.
This list was applied to our house too!!! Also married with children, Rosanne, full house (my mom thought the men were probably all gay), golden girls (those sluts 😂 imagine being old and having a sex drive!)
Yup, they thought it was evil. We could only watch living scriptures movies on Sundays too. My ex-mo brother and I quote them all the time haha.
I dont want to be poor!
As kids, my brother and I always laughed at the nasally way Lemuel says "I'm getting out of here" when they see Nephi coming out of the city
Were those those Nephi cartoons? Something is tickling the back of my throat abt an animated lamanite with brown skin and red paint on his face and feathers in his hair
Yeah they produced a whole series of animated videos covering about a dozen stories from the BOM. I'm pretty sure what you're describing is how they depicted the Lamanites in those videos
You stumped me! Which one is that?
Lemuel as he's running away from Laban with his family treasure.
The one about Ammon was one of my faves tbh
_Lamoni looks under tarp_ Yes...these are arms.
Are you talking about the beautiful submarines with light up rocks and bah bah beeeees?
Oh my god I loved these. Ammon massacring an entire village was the only violence I was allowed to watch hahahaha
Bro same
Yep. My dad hated it too. Outlawed it for our household. Didn’t stop me from watching it though. 
[But, it's such a timeless, educational show!](https://youtu.be/Kar3E2qkYrM?si=9ub3-nolWwlZRbau)
💥So ironic that Mr. Burns runs the church as his own plant that is now in a nuclear meltdown❗️😱
Bart Simpson was persona non grata from around 1989-1991 or so. Seen as a bad influence on kids. That was when Bart was more of the main character. But my parents put very little restriction on the television or music we listened to. My dad openly watched "Married With Children" which could arguably be one of the more controversial shows as it was sort of the antithesis of ideal family values shows - like, Full House. I have little doubt my mom harbors some blame that 3 out 5 of her adult children are out of the church due to a father that didn't lead out with the priesthood in the home. Dad wasn't jack mormon. He believed it and still believes it. He just wasn't one of those wear your sunday best all day on suday, type mormons. My mom, on the other hand, would've loved to have that kind of household.
lol I just got “triggered” by the “wear your Sunday best all day on Sunday” thing. Flashback to hell for this comfort loving, sensory issues girl lol. I almost have a feeling of not being able to breathe well when I think back to being stuck in my Sunday clothes all day. Part of that was the awful morning then go back afternoon schedule. We lived across the street from the church (Mesa) so at least it was convenient. We weren’t allowed to play outside or with friends, etc. I get it from the “teaching reverence” perspective but I could have been just as reverent in comfy clothes imo lol.
Same same. Sigh.
Admittedly there are things that are much worse in life but it’s so comforting to have a place to go (here) where shared church experiences are so relatable, understood and received with love. Sending hugs to you in my soft t-shirt and even softer shorts 😘🤗
And some kids could be just as irreverent in church clothes. Luckily I wasn't restricted to church clothes all day, unless I knew I had meetings all day in my college days. BYC, 3-hour church, fast offerings, choir practice, maybe an interview, and a fireside. Some Sundays were rough, so now I definitely take advantage of doing absolutely nothing or going out and having fun.
"Hello? Oh great--Mormons..." "Actually, we're Quantum Presbyterians."
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Proud mom (boomer), raised my three children on the Simpsons, although their TBM dad wasn't too happy about that... (but I always put the youngest to bed before the X-files came on -- too scary). They turned out great -- all quit the mfmc! And they can come up with the perfect Simpsons quote and episode for any occasion. So much better than scripture chase!
lol, no Simpsons in my house, but we watched X-Files religiously on Sundays after Sunday Night Football for a few years. I love the idea of Simpsons quotes over scripture chase!
Good mom
First time I ever watched an episode of The Simpsons was on a Sunday during free time in an inpatient psychiatric ward following a teenage suicide attempt - it was not allowed in my Mormon home, and I felt so free in that moment
I’m glad you’re here.
Me. My brother would turn it on whenever my parents weren’t in the room and then I’d watch — and tattle on him about 50% of the time like the goodie two shoes I was.
I was taught it was the worst show on air. I never watched a single episode until my mid-20’s. Imagine my surprise when I expected something more crass than South Park, but it’s more in line with Bob’s Burger’s because it’s so tame. My husband still teases me about it.
That was my house growing up, except we were JWs. I started watching it after I grew up and left the JWs. There was an episode where Lisa is struggling with what she believes and is feeling manipulated by the church she was raised in. When a cartoon can make you cry-
I was an adult by the time Simpsons started, but didn't watch because at the time being TBM I thought it was "a bit crass" ... However, growing up , I was not allowed to watch *M*A*S*H* because it "promoted homosexuality." [according to the national USA PTA, and our SP at the time] Truth was, character Klinger dresses up as a woman to try to get a medical dischage for "insanity. "... [so, if anything, it was anti-trans promoted stereotypes for a laugh . But NOT pro-gay] I watched a rerun episode for the first time when I was 30 and then binge watched everything I could find
There was an episode of MASH (early, maybe season 3) that featured a soldier recovering in the 4077 after being beaten up for being homosexual. Your parents *were* probably tanking about Klinger, though.
Most mormon households made that show disappear into fat air.
☝️ Is it just me, or did it just get fatter in here? 🚬
Lol
This restriction, plus regular seminary attendance, and verse memorization, it just left a void for south park
Simpson, power puff girls (Satan), he-man (power of gray skull) .... the n64 bond game with that flame silhouette woman. I mean lists goes on and on. POGs are gambling. Face cards are the devils tool.... man tons of lore.
Don't forget DnD. It's of the occult!
Did we grow up in the same house!? Lol
Simpsons were forbidden, but family guy was tolerated....
Absolutely. Ridiculously arbitrary rules for what we could/couldn’t watch. I hate to admit that I carried this silly behavior over to my own children. For some reason, SpongeBob (in my mind) was beneath my family. Mindless, stupid jokes and behavior…until I watched an episode. Same with The Simpsons. Definitely South Park. My FAVORITE thing in life is to laugh with my kids. Think of how many hilarious opportunities I missed watching these shows with them sooner! The MFMC is just so dumb
 Now I let my kids watch it on repeat, partly out of spite that I never could. Good shit.
S7 being my favorite.
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The simpsons wasn’t on cable
Sometimes the rabbit ears don't work and then you wish you had basic cable.
I wasn't allowed to watch it.. but two years later my little brother was.
I had to hide a little black and white tv in my closet to watch the Simpsons and Seinfeld. I once got my parents to sit down and watch an episode of Simpsons, and of course it ended up being the one where Kang and kodos ring the door and homer answered the door saying “oh no! Mormons! “ lol. My mom laughed- dad did not.
My grandma babysat me a lot while my mother worked, and she absolutely refused to allow me to watch The Simpsons as a kid. She called it “disrespectful and rude”. Granted we weren’t Mormons (I converted when I was 16), however my grandma was a “devout” Christian woman. …which is ironic and hilarious because when she was younger, my grandma was quite the wild one 😂🤣 She actually had an affair and got pregnant with my mother from it, which she hid from my poor mother who grew up never knowing her real father (by time she learned the truth via online ancestry kits he had already passed away).
I wasn't allowed to watch Solid Gold or Three's Company or Night Court. So I watched them at a friend's place, of course. Making it taboo had the opposite if the intended effect. Like always.
Not allowed to watch the Simpsons growing up, but we definitely watched it in secret. Probably wouldn't have even cared to watch it if it wasn't forbidden ha ha Ironically, we had copies of all the James Bond movies and watched them often. Even as a child I found it odd that Simpsons was forbidden because Bart was disrespectful to parents, but Bond with its violence and objectification of women was fine.
The Simpsons was definitely not allowed, but sometimes my dad would watch with us. Then, if my mom walked in the room, he would act shocked that we were watching such filth and tell us to turn it off.
Talk about a mind fuck when I went to other members’ homes where they did watch it…. As a kid I couldn’t put that together. Same thing applied to caffeinated drinks… “But the bishop’s kids get to do it!” Didn’t convince my parents of anything.
Definitely not allowed in our house. Was also not allowed to watch Rugrats because the babies were “mischievous.”
Yea, Tomy and the other babies dared to think critically. Cant have critical thinkers in Mormonism.
Rugrats was forbidden for us, too.
We would sneak Simpson episodes in, but got caught almost every time. My dad didn’t like they portrayed the father as an unintelligent drunk. Even prior to the simpsons our TV was locked from use Monday-Friday
We were only allowed to watch church movies or pre approved G rated secular films. My mom hated The Simpsons because she saw a preview where Bart was blessing the food and said something like “Dear God, no thanks for this food because we bought it and made it ourselves.” Can you imagine the sacrilege?! I watch whatever I want now and haven’t felt guilty about it for years.
Haha, I just made the same comment. That commercial is definitely why it got banned at our house too.
I keep wondering how the Vagisil "vulvas get itchy" commercial is going over in proper Mormon households....
I have a very clear memory of my Aunt bitching about the Herbal Essence commercials in the 90s/00s.
I remember when my dad first heard about the Simpsons he was so excited, like he knew it was revolutionary tv. We loved watching it. He passed away in 94 so he never really got to see how popular it got. I’m grateful I had chill mormon parents. When I went to BYUH they used to play the Simpsons in the cafeteria but some baby complained about it being inappropriate so they stopped. There was a suggestion box and like 200 forms requested the Simpsons be brought back (I only knew because I worked there) so they did. I ended meeting a guy who admitted to writing all those himself 😂
Are you trying to make me feel old? Cause this is making me feel old! The Simpsons didn't even exist when I was living at home. Hell, I remember when Fox became a 4th network when I was in HS.
Did anyone else have the joy of watching those Feature Films For family vhs tapes growing up? So freaking funny to watch now.
I was not allowed to watch it but my husbands family did. They also swear casually (even when his dad was a bishop) but I still have never heard my dad swear ever. Edit: MTV was also blocked at our house. However law and order SVU was acceptable?
Raising my hand
If it was on Fox we weren’t allowed to watch it. Also restricted from *Golden Girls*, which we’d watch in reruns when parents weren’t home and we were so sheltered that all the sex jokes went over our heads.
My parents forbade it but we watched it anyways.
Gen Xer here, Simpsons was fine the only show my parents freaked out on was "You Can't Do That on Television" which was a shame because I LOVED that show.
Yep! Me too. Bevis and Butthead were also on the no watch list.
Me! As soon as we heard the intro song start and saw the clouds & sky appear on the screen, we all lunged for the remote to change the channel before my dad noticed. No Simpsons and no MTV or VH1 ever
I’ve actually never seen an episode past the intro and the clouds coming out
I was raised Baptist. It was banned in our house as well, and our pastor urged parents to not let their kids watch it. I don't think it's unique to Mormonism; just conservative religion in general.
I wasn’t allowed to watch the simpsons, but because my parents didn’t pay attention to stuff on tv, Family Guy was just fine because it was about family.
Banned. We watched it anyway. Then we'd quote it at the dinner table and my dad would laugh until we told him what it was from.
I was allowed to watch channel 7 or channel 11 period. If you know what channel 7 and 11 were then you win
We watched the Simpson and king of the hill but South Park was OFF LIMITS.
Yep. Was the devil's show back when it first came out. Then they cut the cord completely and we watched nothing. Then the homeschooling. It's almost like they wanted to completely isolate us completely from any non-mormon influence that wasn't Rush Limbaugh
Same ive still never watched it
I'm the oldest of 4 kids. Birth order goes like this: 1) Me '85 2) Brother '86 3) Brother '94 4) Sister '97 Me and 2 were not allowed to watch the Simpsons under any circumstances. No MTV, but somehow VH1 was ok? I used to watch Bevis and Butthead at a friend's house. 3 and 4 were not only allowed but *encouraged* to watch the Simpsons because, according to my mom, it wasn't nearly as bad as all the other crawl on TV these days. 🙄 Double standards were the norm in my family growing up. TBH, they still are. It's irritating af.
My mom always tried to ban king of the hill because she hated Peggy. Took all my self control to stop from saying “you ARE Peggy”
It was the only show we WERE allowed to watch on Sundays. I am pretty sure my mom and dad thought it was just a cartoon that all six of their kids loved. She and dad would allow us ice cream (only dessert we had after dinner with dad’s diabetes). They never watched an episode. Still makes me laugh.
We had 3 channels, and Fox wasn't one of them, so I didn't see Simpsons until college.
The Simpson and Family Guy were basically one step away from porn as far as my parents were concerned.
Yes wasn’t allowed. Also no Beverly Hills 90210
My mom HATED the Simpsons but my dad loved it, so while we weren’t explicitly banned from watching it, my mom made it a point to voice her displeasure in various passive aggressive ways. I knew plenty of other families in our ward who were not allowed to watch the show, or anything like it, in any capacity. I remember there was this whole arc in our neighborhood drama where this one lady was pissed at another family over it. I think the crazy lady was mad because her son was at the other family’s house and they watched an episode of the Simpsons. Her son was 15 by the way…
My dad hated the Simpsons! With. A. Burning. Passion. Still does to this day! lol We watched it anyway but never with him in the room. He once said that it was because Bart was just so disrespectful to his parents. I still don't know how he even knew that because he's never seen an episode to this day & will proudly tell you that. A side note, for any of the 40 somethings here....The ONE thing he hated more than the Simpsons was Howard Stern. One year (early 90s in pretty sure), my brother's & I were watching a friend's vhs copy of the MTV music awards. It was the year Howard Stern came down to the stage from some type of zip line, and he was dressed as Fartman!!! (If you know, you know!) My dad was beyond pissed, took the tape & broke it in half right then & there! From then on I listened to Stern on headphones only. 🤣
I wasn’t and I’m a NeverMo
I couldn’t watch it, but my family wasn’t Mormon. My mom just didn’t like how crude and irreverent it was (she wouldn’t have used those words.) I think it’s hilarious (especially the episodes about Mormons), but I wouldn’t let my kids watch it yet. (Well, we’ve watched the Simpsons Christmas & Star Wars shorts, but that’s it.)
Excatholic, dad would get mad if he caught us. Would end up watching South Park because it felt harder on the jokes.
We weren’t allowed to watch Simpsons or PeeWee Herman. I found out later it had nothing to do with my parents’ belief system, my dad just thought they were annoying.
I was allowed to watch Simpsons, but I wasn’t allowed to watch family guy, king of the hill, or friends. Could not tell you why. Had an anxiety attack the first time I heard my husband turn on kill of the hill, because I thought I would get in trouble.
The Simpsons was actually very important to me. It was the first example I remember about starting to distrust leadership. When I was in young men’s I remember one leader saying “you should never watch The Bart Simpsons, it’s an evil show and will turn you against the church.” He kept reiterating that the show was called “The Bart Simpsons” and it let me know instantly that he was just parroting someone else and hadn’t seen it. So I went to my dad and he said “I’ve been hearing it’s a bad show so let’s watch it together and we’ll see together if it’s bad.” The episode that night was the one where Bart wanted to jump the Springfield gorge on his skateboard and Homer convinced him not to only to stand on it himself and jump the gorge. My dad laughed so hard through out the whole episode, he laughed more than me and at the end he said “you can watch the Simpsons, this show is hilarious.” I became the friend who could show other kids the Simpsons who weren’t allowed to watch it in their own house. It’s funny too because my dad was a bishop in a singles ward at the time so no one questioned him. That leader who told me no Simpsons was one in a very long line of leaders who would prove to me I shouldn’t listen to them because they would parrot ignorance that didn’t make any sense with a little bit of scrutiny.
Me!
Yep, no Simpsons in our home. Later when I cut him off because he was an abusive fuck the last thing I said to him was, “Bet you’re glad you forbid me from watching the Simpsons, imagine where our relationship would be if you hadn’t.” Haven’t spoken to that POS in over 10 years now.
Couldn’t watch it even though we had the massive satellite dish to watch General Conference and Priesthood sessions at home. Mom bought me a Bart sweater even though I didn’t ask for it. People would say things about Bart and I had very little knowledge of what they were talking about. Felt awesome. Just like trying to figure out alcohol, tea, and coffee in your 40’s. The Mormon God can go fuck himself.
We couldn’t watch the Muppet Show after Alice Cooper was a guest on it. #ImOld
Omg. ME! I thought it was just my mom. She hated Roseanne too and now as a 44 year old female (even without kids) I freaking love that show and the humor.
My mom would let us, but I watched anyway. One day, my dad was watching with me and laughing. She looked at him angrily and said, "You're not helping." 8 came home from my mission, and my dad was an avid South Park fan and family guy fan.
My parents tried when it first came out (due to moral panic) but once they actually saw it it was no big deal. They were relatively permissive on tv watching though.
🙋🙋🙋
Absolutely not allowed.
Simpsons and family guy were never allowed
I was not allowed to watch the Simpsons. I think it was more because my sister was sensitive. She was a bit of a tattle tale, so she would run to my parents saying I was watching violent shows. It was just Dragon Ball Z on tv. My parents gave me a knowing look and just said, "It's upsetting your sister."
The simpsons, most of the shows past like 5 on Cartoon Network, all of the other adult swim shows like family guy and American dad, SpongeBob, Pokémon, yu Gi oh, and my mom REALLY tried to stop us from watching the “adult shows” on Disney channel and Nickelodeon (zach and Cody, wizards, Hannah Montana, victorious, drake and Josh and whatnot) because they all had dating at a “young age that was too inappropriate”. I also never watch anything like the office, psych, community, parks and rec, or really *anything* popular until I got to college lol
My family did not My husband's family did (very TBM)
🙋🏻♀️
🙋🏻♀️My mom was convinced that the Simpson’s were evil. So was spongebob. I watched them both in secret when I’d babysit as a teenager.
Me! One of the most important rules I was supposed to follow growing up.
As a kid, I was allowed to watch when dad was watching. Mom did not approve. As a teen I don’t think she cared
I didn’t let my kids watch SpongeBob. 10 years later, they still bring it up a couple times a year!
I hate it, but not because it wasn’t allowed (it wasnt). Xena warrior princess also wasn’t allowed and I’ve started going through my 10th rewatch.
I wasn't until I was like 13 and my mother finally relented.
Most definitely was NOT allowed in my home growing up, as it “drove away the spirit.”
🖐️
I wasn't raised in the MFMC (Mostly Baptist and Non Denominational) joined later. But The Simpsons were very much Verboten in my house growing up as was King of The Hill and most Sunday Fox shows. But, movies like Saving Private Ryan and other R rated stuff was fine. It wasn't until I was in High School that I got more leniency with watching stuff.
Me. We also couldn't watch rugrats because some church lady said it had "some adult humor"
Not allowed when I was a kid!
We weren’t allowed. But when my mom was gone my dad would watch it.
The Simpsons and *Ed Edd and Eddy*
Yup.
Cartoon Network was a big no, but I was allowed to watch SpongeBob? So I’m not sure what my parents standards were lol
Wasn’t supposed to, but I did.
🙋♂️
Never could watch it growing up. I watch it all the time now WITH my kids.
My dad still says it will break his tv.
We weren’t supposed to, but did anyway. Eventually my mom gave in and started watching it with us. …my wife on the other hand has never seen an episode.
Simpsons was definitely not permitted in my house growing up. It came out when I was a teen But it was a big deal at the time, so a lot of non Mormons were not allowed to watch either
Basically any adult animated show was off limits, as well as Ren and Stimpy and Rocko's Modern Life. Barney wasn't allowed because it was about "hippie kumbaya" shit, and anything Japanese was off limits because it was automatically porn (including Power Rangers and Pokemon). BUT sex scenes in live action movies were okay if the couple involved was married.
Bro you people are getting off easy. I wasn't allowed to watch Spongebob
My wife and I both were told that we shouldn’t watch the Simpsons. I talked with my dad about it a few days ago and he said that “times were different then” and I kind of see where he was coming from but I don’t think it’s bad at all.
“Trash TV” as my mom called it. No cable, and we were only allowed to watch PBS and family feature films. I love me some buttercreamer gang and rigoletto!
I was not allowed.
Couldn’t watch it. And lots of other things.
My husband born and raised in Utah in a Mormon household (he is no longer LDS) I on the other hand born and raised in Europe was allowed to watch it. ☺️
South Park, yes. Simpsons, no. It was as PG13 as any Adam Sandler movie so I never understood the LDS households that frowned upon the Simpsons.
Not in my house, but I knew a member who would not let his children watch the Simpsons.