2 hour church ? why so happy


estowife
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9 hours ago, NightSG said:

I must have missed the commandment not to gather outside of designated meetinghouses.  Maybe you should push your luck and risk heresy by visiting at each others homes. 

That was a little antagonist and assumptive.  It's not either/or.  

Edited by Grunt
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What I am excited about is the aligned at hone curriculum. I imagine going to church for two hours, coming home, having lunch, then having a home lesson, spending more time as a family on the Lord's day.

That sounds great. If you want more church, get with a like minded group at church and have an after church study! You could use the revamped at home discussion curriculum as your guide.

Edited by jerome1232
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On 10/7/2018 at 11:28 AM, NeuroTypical said:

I have encountered some young folks who are sad that there is less church.  But everyone else I've talked to is happy.

Something I haven't seen mentioned - this probably impacts the church's building planning and stake organization process.   Easier to house 3 wards in one building now with room to navigate around each other. 

Old: 9-12, 12-3, 3-6

New: 9-11, 12-2, 3-5

 

On 10/7/2018 at 11:36 AM, zil said:

Huh?

Old: 9-12, 11-2, 1-4

New: 9-11, 10:30-12:30, 12-2

 

4 hours ago, NightSG said:

More likely 7-9, 7:45-9:45, 8:30-10:30

AFAICT, meetinghouse scheduling is inspired by the spirit of mercury poisoning.

 

I enjoy speculation, snark, and debate as much as the next man (unless the next man is a person who actually enjoys speculation, snark, and debate), but we could just read the documentation the Church has put out.

Quote

Choose an overlapping schedule when multiple wards or branches share a meetinghouse and space allows for overlapping units. Ward or branch meetings may begin every 90 minutes. For example, when three wards or branches meet in the same building, meetings may begin at 9:00 a.m., 10:30 a.m., and 12:00 noon. Stake presidents may adapt schedules and starting times based on members’ travel time, security issues, or other local needs. If, for example, local leaders desire to hold sacrament meeting in the second hour rather than the first, bishops can counsel with their stake president about making that adjustment. 

Choose a nonoverlapping schedule when multiple wards or branches share a meetinghouse and space does not allow for overlapping units or when there is no need or desire to overlap. Ward or branch meetings may begin as soon as 30 minutes after the previous unit has completed its meetings. For example, when three wards or branches meet in the same building, meetings may begin at 8:30 a.m., 11:00 a.m., and 1:30 p.m. Stake presidents may adapt schedules and starting times based on members’ travel time, security issues, or other local needs. If, for example, local leaders desire to hold sacrament meeting in the second hour rather than the first, bishops can counsel with their stake president about making that  adjustment. 

 

Edited by mordorbund
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My building is safe from more egregious over-packing of saints, because we have an itty-bitty tiny parking lot.  About once every two years, the stake gets all excited asks me to urgently gather and report data on how many spaces we have, and how many are filled at various times through the day.  I do so, and they are mad at me for the answers I give them for a while, then they get someone else to do it, and get the same answers.  Then they are confused and befuddled, and wander away muttering to themselves trying to figure out how satan is giving them data they don't want.  1-3 months later, some new boundary change is announced, but we never have overlapping wards.

I think a little light-hearted friction between ward and stake is a good thing. 

Edited by NeuroTypical
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On 10/8/2018 at 2:29 AM, JamesZA said:

In a lot of cases you could be right, but I have seen some counter-examples as well. One brother in my ward struggled to do any home-teaching for whatever reason, he had his excuses. But since the start of the ministering programme (and by coincidence I was called as a quorum president at around the same time) I have encouraged him to reach out to his assigned families in other ways. He now frequently invites those individuals to have a meal with his family after church on a Sunday, which wouldn't have "counted" as home-teaching but is arguably just as valuable and is much easier for him to fit in his schedule.

Sure, there are those who take the lack of reported visits as an opportunity to be lazy, but there are also new opportunities now which, while they were there under the home-teaching programme (no one would have stopped him inviting home-teaching families to his house for a meal), they were not emphasised as much as a monthly visit and a first-presidency message. I love the new focus.

The new focus on ministering is indeed wonderful. In the cases I have mentioned, sadly I am correct, and some brethren sadly have not recognized the counsel to have a more genuine care and concern for their brethren.

Inviting families over for family dinner, games, etc... in every ward I have been in was counted and checked for home teaching. Home teaching never prevented anyone from having a genuine care and love for people. Sadly, again, the fault lies within the members for thinking such.

That is one of the main purposes of ministering interviews, to encourage the brethren to reach out with a more genuine care and love for the families they have been assigned to.

Not sure why a person would think their calling to EQP is by coincidence, or maybe you are meaning that while responding to my response it is by coincidence you are EQP also, but that doesn't make much sense either.

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  • 5 weeks later...
On 10/12/2018 at 4:53 PM, Anddenex said:

Not sure why a person would think their calling to EQP is by coincidence, or maybe you are meaning that while responding to my response it is by coincidence you are EQP also, but that doesn't make much sense either.

Been away for a while so I didn't notice your response.

The "coincidence" that I was referring to was, a couple of weeks before the general conference my previous quorum president had moved away. I find out after the fact that the leaders wanted to call me to replace him, but I was travelling for work for several weeks and only got back after the general conference, had I been called then I would have immediately been released (as all the quorum presidents and high priests group leaders were). I may well have been re-called, but in my mind the fact that my calling came around the same time as the change was the coincidence that I was referring to.

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On 10/10/2018 at 9:10 AM, NeuroTypical said:

I do so, and they are mad at me for the answers I give them for a while,

...

Then they are confused and befuddled, and wander away muttering to themselves trying to figure out how satan is giving them data

Do they think you're Satan?  I mean, you sure look the part.  But...

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On 10/10/2018 at 10:10 AM, NeuroTypical said:

My building is safe from more egregious over-packing of saints, because we have an itty-bitty tiny parking lot.  About once every two years, the stake gets all excited asks me to urgently gather and report data on how many spaces we have, and how many are filled at various times through the day.  I do so, and they are mad at me for the answers I give them for a while, then they get someone else to do it, and get the same answers.  Then they are confused and befuddled, and wander away muttering to themselves trying to figure out how satan is giving them data they don't want.  1-3 months later, some new boundary change is announced, but we never have overlapping wards.

I think a little light-hearted friction between ward and stake is a good thing. 

I should suggest blocking off the parking lot to the Saints in Cardston, Alberta! I was talking to a member from Cardston and he was grumbling about ‘all those new people at church’. I was intriqued picturing hippies who were swarming the pews (if so, how could we perform that magic trick in our chapel!). No, he was not complaining about converts but about generations old members moving to his tiny town. Such an unusual attitude to newcomers! Although, I have to admit that Ottawa was not always a welcoming place for walkins.

Still next time, I see the former Cardston saint, I will suggest blocking off part of the parking lot! I have to smile because most of Canadian literature involves a budding writer who feels rejected by their small town before the in vitro-writer moves off to the bright lights of Montreal or Toronto. I was pleased to have met one of these famously unfriendly small town people, as every small town person that I have met has been a gem sparkling with kindness and warmth! 

Edited by Sunday21
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On 10/7/2018 at 8:40 AM, Jersey Boy said:

I don’t know know if I’m correct in my assessment, but when I learned of the many members who seem to be thrilled Sunday Church services will soon occupy on less hour, the first though that came to my mind is most of these people are likely the type who will not take seriously the prophetic call to implement consistent, quality Church activities in the home.

I'm in that category!  I'm thrilled and I've already added "devotional" time to our daily schedule.  I try to make sure it is a discussion not a lecture and it has been very successful.  I'm loving it!  

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3 hours ago, Carborendum said:

Do they think you're Satan?  I mean, you sure look the part.  But...

I pride myself at my lightheartedly low opinion of stake people.  So although this is in jest, I say it earnestly:

Stake people believe the stake is the most correct of any organization in the church, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by doing what the stake wants, than by listening to any other priesthood holder.

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27 minutes ago, NeuroTypical said:

Stake people believe the stake is the most correct of any organization in the church, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by doing what the stake wants, than by listening to any other priesthood holder.

So true! They come to talk and immediately assume that we are wild pagans! They are so sniffy, we should issue white gloves!

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2 hours ago, NeuroTypical said:

I pride myself at my lightheartedly low opinion of stake people.  So although this is in jest, I say it earnestly:

Stake people believe the stake is the most correct of any organization in the church, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by doing what the stake wants, than by listening to any other priesthood holder.

2 hours ago, Sunday21 said:

So true! They come to talk and immediately assume that we are wild pagans! They are so sniffy, we should issue white gloves!

Well, I thought it was pretty funny.  But I get the impression that you really do mean it.

I've never had that experience in any ward conference.

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2 minutes ago, Carborendum said:

Well, I thought it was pretty funny.  But I get the impression that you really do mean it.

I've never had that experience in any ward conference.

Same here.

But then a lot of the Stake people come from our ward or was once in our ward, etc.  First, there was one ward - our ward.  Then it got split to 2 wards... then the new ward got split to 3 wards, etc. etc. until we became one Stake.

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2 hours ago, NeuroTypical said:

I pride myself at my lightheartedly low opinion of stake people.  So although this is in jest, I say it earnestly:

Stake people believe the stake is the most correct of any organization in the church, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by doing what the stake wants, than by listening to any other priesthood holder.

The stake is the basic organizational unit of the Restored Church. Wards are convenient divisions that form congregations, but the stake is the level at which the programs of the Church are implemented. A stake president is, in a very real sense, a prophet for his stake. My opinion is that many or even most Latter-day Saints don't understand the importance of the stake as the gathering place for the Saints. Until last April, all the high priests in a stake formed a single quorum. I really liked that symbolism.

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1 hour ago, Carborendum said:

Well, I thought it was pretty funny.  But I get the impression that you really do mean it.

I've never had that experience in any ward conference.

Sigh. The experience of being the low performing ward in the low performing stake has some sad moments. We, for years, had a troupe of stake people coming to ball us out in stake conferences. Once very memorably the stake president let loose on us because so few of us turned up for the Sat evening session of stake conference. I did feel like pointing out that the recipients of the blast, us in the pews, HAD shown up for stake conference. I think however that it might have been more than my life was worth!

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