Ways to break into Chruch

[Guest]

You know when you are really bored at Church you can discover all sorts of interesting places and things about the building itself.

As teenagers, my member friends and I, were at the church building a lot when were not supposed to be. It drove the leadership crazy and they took measures to keep us out, or at least try and force us to get permission to use the building and arrange for adult supervision. We were too lazy to go to all that work and never really thought about in advance when we wanted to use the building. Mostly it was on a weekday afternoon or a Saturday when we wanted to play basketball in the cultural hall.

At first all we needed to get into the building was a hanger. Both the front and back main entry doors were double doors that had the horizontal bar on the inside of the door that you pushed on to open the door. It was a simple thing to slide the hanger, hook end first, in between the two doors and hook that handle. We could actually open the door faster that way than unlocking it with a key from the outside. Leadership figured that out and installed plates of the outside of the doors to prevent using a hanger to open them. At first the plates were short and we just used a longer hanger or piece of wire to get around them. Eventually the plate covered the gap between the doors the full vertical height of the doors.

On to plan B. Our building was a Spanish style building that had an outdoor patio that was enclosed by a ring of classrooms. The patio had a outdoor stage that was mirrored on the inside of the building by the indoor stage. The outdoor stage was a great place to stage props that were to be used in a road show because there were doors connecting the two stages at the common back wall. As most people know, beneath the inside stage is where all the cultural hall chairs and tables are stored. What most people didn't know, back then, was that there was a small door at the back of the inside stage crawlspace that connected to a similar crawlspace at the underside of the outside stage. We discovered that it was easy to climb up on the roof, walk over to the patio area, climb back down and enter through this door. Eventually someone spilled the beans and they locked this door.

Plan C. In climbing on the roof to cross over to the patio I noticed that there were skylights over the stage area that were open able. One of these opened up into an attic area above the stage which led to a ladder to the stage and we were back in business. Leadership never did figure this one out and as far as I know you could still get into that building that way today. Seems to me that they eventually just offered some of us keys and told us to be careful.

[_3sheets2thewind]

I have heard rumors of chapels jack.g tunnels from the chapel area into the gym area, I know someone who said he used to play in them as a kid. At my home ward there were also rumors of tunnels

[_honorentheos]

LOL fencesitter. Great story.

Being from a small town, if my Dad wasn't in the Bishopric, young mens, or my Mom in Relief Society or some other calling that included having keys then a friend's dad/mom was. We played ball all the time and never thought to do more than just grab the key and go. Since we never did anything to the church itself I don't know that it was ever a concern. The only time I remember it being an issue was when we'd play past midnight on Saturday nights. But I can understand the appeal of the challenges each attempt to keep you out represented. I could share stories but...maybe someday in real life.

[_Fence Sitter]

LOL fencesitter. Great story.

Being from a small town, if my Dad wasn't in the Bishopric, young mens, or my Mom in Relief Society or some other calling that included having keys then a friend's dad/mom was. We played ball all the time and never thought to do more than just grab the key and go. Since we never did anything to the church itself I don't know that it was ever a concern. The only time I remember it being an issue was when we'd play past midnight on Saturday nights. But I can understand the appeal of the challenges each attempt to keep you out represented. I could share stories but...maybe someday in real life.

Our leadership was fantastic. I have never seen a ward where so many adult males were so involved with the AP. They would have let us in any time we wanted to and would have volunteered to supervise. We were just to lazy to go ask. It would have meant waiting for that person to show up, when we knew we could just go over and get in. We were the same way as far as treating the building well. Usually we would grab the big wide floor sweeps and clean the floor, and or put away any chairs left out. It was, after all OUR gym.

[_Fence Sitter]

Plan D.

This building was also our early morning seminary building. Usually we made sure to leave a window slightly ajar when we left seminary in the morning, that we could crawl through later on in the day, if we decided to return.

[_honorentheos]

I'd forgotten that they instituted a rule about having an adult present at some point. I don't think we cared about it as we usually had a few 18-21 year olds who'd come play so they were our "adult". Funny how somethings like that kind of disappear from memory. I know we had to be breaking some rules as I clearly recall being in the church playing ball on a thanksgiving break with a CD player playing music that wasn't fit to listen to with our mothers present.

What's funny is how ingenius kids can be in those situations. I'd be curious if anyone recalled an arms race between adults and teens that ended with the adults succeeding?

[_zeezrom]

FS,

A benefit of paying tithing, I suppose.

It was, after all OUR gym.

[_LDSToronto]

The meetinghouse that my kids have grown up in usually has a door open. But the kids never really break in to use the gym. You are more apt to find them on the roof, which is easily accessed by climbing a tree or scaling the wall.

H.

[_Jersey Girl]

Hey Fence,

I need to offer my public thanks to you. I've been snowed in for two days and for nearly all of that time I have been obsessing, wondering, reflecting and supposing about how to break into the local Ward building.

No, really. I have.

I come on to this board and miracles of miracles, you've answered my dilemma in great detail! It's as if you have literally read my mind! How can I ever begin to thank you?

Headed to the garage to unearth the crow bar, ladder and a ski mask,

Jersey Girl

:-)