Comments on: Sunday Services: Two Experiences

By: Misty

Misty — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 01:04:14 +0000

There is a scripture that states that the Holy Ghost carries the message of a lesson, talk, etc. “unto” the hearts of men, not “into.” This means that it is up to us to let it in. So not only does the teacher or speaker have to prepare with the Spirit, we do too as hearers of the word.

If we prepare ourselves to be open to the things that are taught by the Spirit, then I think we’re more likely to feel the Spirit. Of course, this assumes that the teacher has the Spirit with them, which in my experience has been a big part of the problem. How many lessons or talks have you given without even praying or studying about it, rather just preparing it and hope it goes well?

By: Nine Moons » Blog Archive : Any Practical Solutions or Just Complaints? » Any Practical Solutions or Just Complaints?

Wed, 20 Jun 2007 17:32:51 +0000

[...] in the bloggernacle love to talk about how much we like or dislike being at church. Bad speakers. Too long. Bad teachers. Boredom. Kids. etc. I have trouble reading [...]

By: jothegrill

jothegrill — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 17:32:45 +0000

What if we had Sunday school one week, and Priesthood/Relief Society the next?
Also I loved church when I was a teenager, but Sunday School was different for me than for most because our teachers often didn’t show up, so we all just talked about the scriptures, asked each other questions. Sometimes there was another adult from the ward there, but sometimes it was just us. It was wonderful.

By: adcama

adcama — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 15:57:53 +0000

I’ll take Pepsi, diet Pepsi or any other stimulant laced beverage ’bout two hours into a three hour bloc!

By: kevinf

kevinf — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 15:40:47 +0000

Steve, Pepsi. Definitely Pepsi. Cherry Coke Zero is a distant second.

By: Ray

Ray — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 15:06:36 +0000

adcama, I didn’t mean that my “strength” is liking the 3-hour block. I meant it to apply to attending church as much as I can, despite the fact that there are plenty of lessons and talks that aren’t exceptionally well prepared. If the Church re-instituted all-day gatherings and 8-hour testimony meetings, I’d be ecstatic. That just ain’t normal, so I called it a strength.

I don’t know if “gift” would be a better word than strength, but this is one area where I used to struggle and no longer do. In that regard, I have seen the fulfillment of Ether 12:27 – a former weak thing becoming strong. In fact, as I think more about it, I like “gift” instead of strength, because “gift” recognizes that it came from outside of me while “strength” implies it was my effort that did it. Perhaps Ether 12:27 should be read in terms of asking for and receiving a gift that allows us to make weak things strong, since He is the one who makes the change possible. Never thought of it in those terms; I’ll have to think about it some more.

By: CE

CE — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 13:59:15 +0000

Who on earth likes Pepsi more than Coke. Let them stand and be counted.

Not me.

By: Steve Evans

Steve Evans — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 13:45:56 +0000

Who on earth likes Pepsi more than Coke. Let them stand and be counted.

By: adcama

adcama — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 13:09:01 +0000

Ray – waaayy back to #67 – I appreciate where you’re coming from – but I feel a little weird about classifying someone prone to enjoy the 3 hour bloc as a “strength” -

“so I hope others will try to learn from me when we are discussing those issues where I am strong.”

I thought a lot about it….trying to understand why you may be right, that it is a strength to like the three hour bloc….I finally concluded that it’s simply a matter of opinion, not a matter of strong versus weak. Some people like Coke (or Vanilla Coke), some like Pepsi, but the discussion relative to Coke versus Pepsi has nothing to do with strong versus weak.

Additionally, there have been lots of policies, programs, etc that have been improved upon, strengthened, changed and modified to better meet the needs of members. Someone who supported old programs, methods, bloc schedules, etc., weren’t necessarily stronger than those who appreciated the changes.

Then I thought, well maybe Ray is strong in this area because he tends to agree with (and like) the current meeting program of the church – a 3 hour bloc – so he’s strong in sustaining the leaders of the church. I suppose that may well be, but sometimes sustaining means providing feedback, different ideas and sometimes even challenging our leaders. I don’t think it’s weak to take a stand or a position that is contrary to a program or policy that may be operating inefficiently. Of course, this takes us into a completely different topic.

By: Virginia

Virginia — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 06:48:25 +0000

RE: #99 @ Timeless Lessons:
Rob, I don’t know if the people are that different where you are, but where I’m from (KY, USA) I see exactly the opposite happenning. I’ve been to three wards/branches in my area (I’m a college student, so I move around a lot) and all of them have an emphasis on applying the principals we learn to our everyday life.
Dunno, it might just be because I see my awesome institute teacher at least once a week, and he loves to quote Elder Scott.

“Principles are concentrated truth, packaged for application to a wide variety of circumstances.”
GC, Oct. 1993

He often says that we only get anything out of talks people give if we narrow down the principles that are stated, and separate them from the circumstances, and then apply them to ourselves and our lives personally.
And I think the rest of the people in my area are picking up on that, even in the family wards… because lessons are always about taking the principles from the lessons and using them to change our daily lives. Individually, not just generally.