'tis the season to be jolly...

[_Drifting]

In other words - Why is Church so damn boring?
I mean, just where is the interest and the fun?

Sacrament meeting - occasionally you will get a good or entertaining orator. Someone good with stories, confident tone and a decent sense of humour. But mostly it's the likes of you and I, Mr & Mrs unprofessional speaker who bumbles around a non destinct subject that we have actually heard two hundred times before. Or it's the guy trying to be a General Authority, using long words that he really hasn't fully understood the meaning of. OOr it's the woman who relates, tearfully, her testimony consolidating miracle of the lost car keys.

When the embolism comes for his monthly visit (High Councillors = wandering clots) we know what he is going to say.

We have heard it all before - which isn't necessarily the problem.

In short, Church is boring.
Not because the members are boring, the curriculum is mind numbingly dull in the way that it is prescribed to be taught. The way it functions and is organised, the drills the routines the prescriptive nature, the follow the bretheren mantra, only use approved materials, control control control.

It didn't use to be. Wards were close knit families who did fun things together because they chose to. The Church has crushed that spirit with it's centralised domination of every aspect of a Mormon's life.

'They' killed it - they destroyed the pioneering spirit that wards had and with it they consigned it to a backwater religion. They discovered the truth but were determined to keep it away from the members. The General Auhtorities are supposed to be facilitators of the Gospel. Instead they are the Oligarchs demanding compliance, regimentation and complete obedience. Challenge and debate is seen as unhealthy and apostate.

They have removed all of the things that engaged me.

I want off the ride and my money back. It's no fun anymore.

[_Yoda]

Improvements that would make Sacrament Meeting and Church as a whole more enjoyable:

1. Cut meetings to 1 1/2 hours. For example:

9-9:30 AM--Sacrament Meeting
9:30-10 AM--Sunday School/Primary
10-10:30 AM--Priesthood, Relief Society, YW/YM

That would leave plenty of open time for Choir Practice, PEC meeting, etc.

2. Incorporate more music into Sacrament Meeting. Nothing makes a meeting go faster than to have instrumentalists, vocalists, etc. Encourage non-traditional musical instruments. For example, next week, my friend is going to sing and accompany herself on the guitar.

3. Have a little treat and social time set up for after Church...something simple, like donuts and hot chocolate, etc.

4. Bring back activities that are missed like Road Shows, Relief Society bazaars, etc.

[_aranyborju]

They need to cut the talks out of sacrament meeting altogether. Why do we have to hear Joe Blow's version of the gospel, and some lame story about how he was in the hospital and had a revelation that jello is against the word of wisdom.

Just show up, have the water and bread, and then go to sunday school.

No need for sunday school AND priesthood/Relief Society YM/YW. Just alternate...

1st and 3rd sunday: Sunday School

2nd and 4th sunday: Split Up.

Rare 5th Sunday: Combined Testimony meeting.

[_Buffalo]

Improvements that would make Sacrament Meeting and Church as a whole more enjoyable:

1. Cut meetings to 1 1/2 hours. For example:

9-9:30 AM--Sacrament Meeting
9:30-10 AM--Sunday School/Primary
10-10:30 AM--Priesthood, Relief Society, YW/YM

That would leave plenty of open time for Choir Practice, PEC meeting, etc.

2. Incorporate more music into Sacrament Meeting. Nothing makes a meeting go faster than to have instrumentalists, vocalists, etc. Encourage non-traditional musical instruments. For example, next week, my friend is going to sing and accompany herself on the guitar.

3. Have a little treat and social time set up for after Church...something simple, like donuts and hot chocolate, etc.

4. Bring back activities that are missed like Road Shows, Relief Society bazaars, etc.

I wholeheartedly endorse all these ideas.

[_Blixa]

One word: correlation.

This time of year we used to be gearing up for the Relief Society Christmas Bazaar: lots of handmade goods (quilts, knitted items, crocheted rugs and such, hand sewn baby blankets and clothes) and home baked cooking (cakes, cookies, fudge, lots of preserves). You could do a lot of Christmas shopping right there and get great quality while building neighborliness.

There was also good food to eat at the bazaar while you watched the kids play different kinds of games (everyone winning a five-and-dime prize): ring and bean bag tosses, and the ubiquitous fishing pond.

There was a tree with decorations the primary classes had made, and sometimes a Santa handing out little token gifts to the kids. And of course the usual jokes when some adult sat on Santa's lap and wished for a new riding lawnmower or a dish washing machine.

I think it was at the Halloween Relief Society Bazaar that we would always have a fortune teller (the Bishop's wife in gypsy disguise!). Imagine how that would go down today!

[_Runtu]

I hate to disagree with Blixa, but it's two words: correlation and budget.

Blixa explained why Correlation has turned all Mormon activities into sacrament meeting, but it's also that the budget constraints don't allow for the more social and fun activities, even if they do have to have a "gospel purpose." There isn't money for superactivities, road shows, dance festivals, and such. But for some reason, there's plenty of money for pioneer trek re-enactments.

I've said it before, but it almost seems as if someone is intentionally trying to destroy the church by making it boring and irrelevant to its members' lives.

[_Blixa]

I hate to disagree with Blixa, but it's two words: correlation and budget.

Blixa explained why Correlation has turned all Mormon activities into sacrament meeting, but it's also that the budget constraints don't allow for the more social and fun activities, even if they do have to have a "gospel purpose." There isn't money for superactivities, road shows, dance festivals, and such. But for some reason, there's plenty of money for pioneer trek re-enactments.

I've said it before, but it almost seems as if someone is intentionally trying to destroy the church by making it boring and irrelevant to its members' lives.

Ah, but is not this kind of Budget itself a product of Correlation?

[_Runtu]

Ah, but is not this kind of Budget itself a product of Correlation?

Not really, no. I worked on some of the documentation for the new FIS system, which back then completely changed how finances were recorded and distributed. Everything went directly into an account and then was electronically transferred to Salt Lake. Local budgets were then determined by quarterly sacrament meeting attendance.

As I recall, the rationale wasn't correlation but just the disparity between rich wards and poor wards. In developing countries, particularly, there was not enough money being generated to pay for the local wards' and branches' needs, so the new budget process formalized the centralization and distribution of funds. But I never heard correlation mentioned at all as a factor.

If anything, I think the budget consolidation has affected correlation, not the other way around, because activities now must be within doctrinal and budgetary constraints.

[_Blixa]

Ah, but is not this kind of Budget itself a product of Correlation?

Not really, no. I worked on some of the documentation for the new FIS system, which back then completely changed how finances were recorded and distributed. Everything went directly into an account and then was electronically transferred to Salt Lake. Local budgets were then determined by quarterly sacrament meeting attendance.

As I recall, the rationale wasn't correlation but just the disparity between rich wards and poor wards. In developing countries, particularly, there was not enough money being generated to pay for the local wards' and branches' needs, so the new budget process formalized the centralization and distribution of funds. But I never heard correlation mentioned at all as a factor.

If anything, I think the budget consolidation has affected correlation, not the other way around, because activities now must be within doctrinal and budgetary constraints.

Oh wow. Thanks for explaining that in detail, runtu. That's some real food for thought.

[_Fence Sitter]

Runtu,

Is this shifting of money from rich wards to poor ones global? Would it be fair to say that we gave up many of the organized activities we used to do here in the United States (road shows, dance festivals, area and Church wide sports competitions etc) because we are paying for ward houses & temples in Central and South America?