The Bro Code at Church

The Bro Code.

It's a very specific code for us males, and when I say specific, I mean, not really that specific, as in it's not written down somewhere but rather sort of just understood. Because we tend not to worry about stuff like this and then agonize over it and talk it over with our best friends to find out what she really, really meant by that until we realize it's 3 a.m. and we have to get up for work in a few hours. No, we use that time to either play video games and talk about comic book plots.

There are a few absolutes in the Bro Code:

If it's just you and a male friend at a movie, there must be at least one seat in between the two of you.

The same principle applies to using the stalls in a public bathroom. You gotta have that one-toilet buffer zone between you.

Be a good wingman. Help a guy out.

You also don't date someone a good friend of yours has dated, at least not recently. Or something.

Anything else would be frowned upon and might lead to a Lifetime movie exposing the horrors of breaking the Bro Code.

Fortunately, there's also a sort of Bro Code at work at church. In my previous ward, an elder gentleman often politely went out of his way to help me out with my collar and tie whenever I came down with a case of Deacon's Collar, which happened all-too frequently for someone such as myself who had served a mission and who worked at the Church Office Building for years and who has tied literally thousands of ties over the years.

Note: Deacon's Collar in the LDS faith is not the same thing as Deacon's Collar in, say, the Catholic faith. It refers to looking like you tied your tie in the dark, or with one arm tied behind your back. (Deacon's Collar is a real, Google-able term you can search for.)

Then, there are those times when you are running late for church, and earlier you've put on the new sweater that your mom gave you for Christmas a few weeks ago, except you wanted to try it on first to make sure it fit before you removed the tags and stickers, and you forgot all about the tags and stickers that were still attached to it, and you walked hurriedly into the chapel with these items on full display to the public to try to find a seat. In this instance, the Bro Code clearly dictates that someone must step up and either make you aware of these tags and stickers and/or remove them himself.

So, thank goodness for that.