ATI Wisdom Booklets: Bright and Shining Countenance

If you've ever wondered how people can pick out the Duggars - or the Bates Family or the Mally Family - as members of the ATI/ATIA/IBLP Gothardite cult from glancing at a picture of their daughters,  Wisdom Booklet 15's medicinal resource on "Ways to Direct the Eyes of Others to Your Countenance" will give you an overview of the basics.

And I did type that correctly - this is in the medical resource section.  My doctors have never given me clothing or hair tips so they must be heathen scumbags.

Here we go!  We have 10 tips overall.



Yup - if you are not smiling, you are failing as an ambassador to Christ!  People are going to hell now because you were too lazy to smile!  HOW CAN YOU SLEEP AT NIGHT!

Look, I'm a natural smiley person.  Having someone smile at me when I'm feeling down makes me feel a bit better.  I hope that making eye contact and smiling at people makes them feel seen if nothing else.

Having gotten that out of the way, this is so ham-handed it makes me want to glower at people for a week.

God so loved the world that he created a cheat sheet of colors based on the northern hemisphere temperate seasons. 

I refrained from screen-shoting the mangled history of how the seasonal skin tone was created.

There is an example of a season-color wheel to use.  There are two problems.  First, there's no real explanation of how to determine which season you are personally.  Second, the "right" colors are not explained well...and some are just plain wrong.  I'm a "winter" color palette - blue/pink undertone, blue eyes, blonde hair, can sunburn year-round pale skin.  The winter color section wants me to wear grey and "shocking" pink....no.

This section is true enough factually - but wearing the wrong colors is now implied to be a moral failure.   

I don't buy the premise that the wrong colors make your face disappear, either.  You might look like a wreck - but people aren't going to be staring at your clothes instead.

The editors probably had to work overtime on this section.  The real goal of female hair styles is to imitate the style that Bill Gothard finds sexy - below the shoulder and in loose curls that are clearly done by human styling.  If hair is naturally curly, straighten it - then curl it into orange juice can curls. 

Obs, everyone in this cult is of Northern European or Western European descent.  If not, get working on getting rid of any hair features that aren't NW European.

Men, you all get one hair cut.  As described in "The Big Bang Theory", it is number 7 on that chart from the 1950's.

Long hair on men is a sign of rebellion, pure and simple.  Keep it short or else.

Reminder: this is in the medical resource section!

This is the reason the Duggar Daughters often wear infinity scarfs - but wear them so high they look like a cowl that is trying to suffocate the wearer rather than a scarf.

For women, there is an even easier way to determine if an accessory is appropriate: You should look like a airline stewardess from the early 1980's before you leave the house.

Guys - never dress casually.  That's how Satan gets people.  Beards are the Mark of Cain.

Number Five is that men should wear clothing that fits properly - including diagrams that show proper fitting suits as being too tight.

Plus, the "too short" trouser is only too short by a millimeter or two - if at all.  

The person who wrote the first two tips must not have much of a sense of humor - how else could you follow a section on how evil sundresses are because they show shoulders with a section on how a clinging fabric is worse than being naked? 

Really, at this point, the author is making a decent case for running around buck naked.  We can all stare at each other's genitalia for a minute or two then move on.

Fishnet stocking can be sexy; sheer hose with a lacy pattern....not so much.

Geez - people read the messages on shirts?  Will the wonders never cease?   I'm sure that I've tempted plenty of men today in my heavy cotton t-shirt that has two moose exchanging a maple leaf with the slogan "I love Canada!" located on my chest.  It's soooooo sexy!

Asymmetrical hemlines are evil.  So are any color combinations that Gothard doesn't like.  Mmm'K.

The "Lines of Accessories" thing is a hoot.  First, that's not what people's eyes do.  Vertical lines tend to cause us to assume the shape is more elongated.  We don't follow the line to the end and stare blankly just below it.  Second, under those rules, men's ties point right at their crotch and women's neck scarves point at their breasts. 

The line about how shoes can draw attention to the ankles kills me - Gothard preferred the teenage girls he was grooming to wear pumps so he could play footsie on car trips.

I love how the last section is all about how women need to wear make-up.  Having flawed skin is now a moral failing along with wearing makeup in a way that Gothard doesn't like. 

Does anyone remember a section of the Gospel devoted to details on how to keep people looking at your face?  I certainly don't.....

Number Seven is be neat, clean, don't be overweight and exercise.  Of the three short paragraphs written on this topic, the longest is on the importance of keeping clothing washed and pressed.  There is a single sentence on the importance of hygiene and weight control so that the flaws in your appearance don't detract from the Gospel message.  That sounds like the worst weight loss plan ever....

Yes, ladies.  Despite being continuously pregnant, lactating and chasing after a house full of preschoolers, you still need to look like Donna Reed when she's at her lowest body weight.  Good luck!

Telling women to keep their abdominal muscles toned is especially cruel since repeated, closely-spaced pregnancies is a risk factor for diastasis recti or a permanent separation of the abdominal muscles.  This causes the stomach to have a pouch-like shape - and most abdominal exercises tend to make the problem worse rather than better.

The feet bit is insane.  Most people are slightly pointed out at rest while standing - but obsessing about having your feet pointed exactly straight may cause gait problems over time.

First - no shit.  I've yet to run into a woman who doesn't know that a woman in a skirt should keep her legs together while sitting.

Second - Have a section on how men sit.  Some women slouch - but there are a whole lot more men who look like sacks of pudding on a chair.  Guys can keep their legs together, too.

Nothing says timeless elegance like a cable-knit sweater over pleated chinos.  That'll never go out of style.  

I get where the author is trying to go with setting a good example in clothing - but people will stare at you if everyone else decided the correct outfit is a t-shirt with a message and patched jeans while you are wearing a collared shirt, tie, dress sweater and business khakis

OMG!  It's a true cable-knit sweater with pleated khakis!  That is a perfect example of a classic look that NEVER went out of style!

Um.... two paragraphs back the author claimed that the important part was dressing appropriately - and damn what others think.  Now, dressing differently from others is bad.  Which is it?

Also - the second paragraph is word-salad.  How is someone supposed to pull off being separated from the world while blending in enough to interact with others? 

The author is implying that people completely lose control of their eyes and the eyes are sending all sorts of messages without the consent of the person.  That's not how that works.

Plus, QF/CP teenagers are already nervous about interacting with the opposite gender so telling them that looking too long and winking are major problems is just mean.

So....the only eyes that are showing insincerity, dishonesty and/or treachery in the practice section is the only African-American in the whole booklet.  That's disturbing.

The workbook comes with a section that you can use to practice finding eye traps!  

What kills me about these outfits is that none of them are immodest a long stretch.  Number six manages to look fairly dowdy even by mid-eighties standards - and yet it has TWO eye traps!  The bib is pointing down towards the chest...and I think she's wearing nylons with patterns woven in them. 
(Medical tip: if your legs look like that without figured hose on - seek medical attention.  Something bad is going on.....)