Comical Stake Center Situation

[bjw]

I had my appointment with the stake president on sunday approx. 90 minutes before my ward sacrament meeting. The stake center is about a 5 minute drive from where my ward meets. When my grandmother and I got out of the stake president's office we decided to look around at the special events posted in the hallway when the service going on in the chapel caught our attention. There was a lady giving a very powerful talk on Alma 29:1 called "If I Could Be an Angel" or something like that and it was very touching. The speaker even cried at several points. I regretted that my grandmother and I did not have time to finish listening to her. I told my grandmother that we better leave so that we don't miss our own sacrament meeting, despite how much I wanted to hear the rest of the talk. It was very well delivered and I loved the message.

My grandmother and I drove over to the building where our ward meets and sat down and attended sacrament meeting as usual. We took the sacrament and then the youth did a special number. Then, the bishop took the podium and informed us that we were getting a special guest speaker assigned by the stake. The woman came up to the podium and it was the same woman my grandmother and I saw deliver the talk at the stake center. The talk she gave was not only the exact same topic, but was word for word verbatim. She even started crying in the same spots and reached for the kleenex exactly the same way. My grandmother's jaw dropped 10 feet and she almost busted out laughing. My grandmother then whispered to me, "Are they kidding?"

Actually, having worked in large protestant ministries before, it is not all that uncommon for them to rehearse sermons or even whole worship services because they want the whole thing to go off without a hitch, especially if the service may be taped or videotaped. However, this is the first time I've heard of it in LDS circles, though I always figured the conferences were rehearsed, since they had to be perfect for live tv. Anyway, I just thought this was kinda amusing.

[jadams_4040]

I had my appointment with the stake president on sunday approx. 90 minutes before my ward sacrament meeting. The stake center is about a 5 minute drive from where my ward meets. When my grandmother and I got out of the stake president's office we decided to look around at the special events posted in the hallway when the service going on in the chapel caught our attention. There was a lady giving a very powerful talk on Alma 29:1 called "If I Could Be an Angel" or something like that and it was very touching. The speaker even cried at several points. I regretted that my grandmother and I did not have time to finish listening to her. I told my grandmother that we better leave so that we don't miss our own sacrament meeting, despite how much I wanted to hear the rest of the talk. It was very well delivered and I loved the message.

My grandmother and I drove over to the building where our ward meets and sat down and attended sacrament meeting as usual. We took the sacrament and then the youth did a special number. Then, the bishop took the podium and informed us that we were getting a special guest speaker assigned by the stake. The woman came up to the podium and it was the same woman my grandmother and I saw deliver the talk at the stake center. The talk she gave was not only the exact same topic, but was word for word verbatim. She even started crying in the same spots and reached for the kleenex exactly the same way. My grandmother's jaw dropped 10 feet and she almost busted out laughing. My grandmother then whispered to me, "Are they kidding?"

Actually, having worked in large protestant ministries before, it is not all that uncommon for them to rehearse sermons or even whole worship services because they want the whole thing to go off without a hitch, especially if the service may be taped or videotaped. However, this is the first time I've heard of it in LDS circles, though I always figured the conferences were rehearsed, since they had to be perfect for live tv. Anyway, I just thought this was kinda amusing.

Most all talks that are given are rehearsed, evey one of us us does it. But some do not always go accordingly, I;E When the spirit takes over, thats when its really extra neat, and you can always tell when that happens, Besides the crying part i would suppose more than likely real? Its very possible because this woman was feeling the spirit from others around her. It would be sad if she was faking, but i would really want to not judge and take the talk for what it was intended to be.

[bjw]

Most all talks that are given are rehearsed, evey one of us us does it. But some do not always go accordingly, I;E When the spirit takes over, thats when its really extra neat, and you can always tell when that happens, Besides the crying part i would suppose more than likely real? Its very possible because this woman was feeling the spirit from others around her. It would be sad if she was faking, but i would really want to not judge and take the talk for what it was intended to be.

Ya, because it was a very touching message. It could definitely stand alone on its merit for being one of the best talks we've had this year. So, I agree, its good to take it at face value.

[MorningStar]

There are stories and poems my mom can't read without crying, so I wouldn't assume the lady was forcing her tears. I have seen people wipe away tears that aren't there though.

[Moksha]

There are stories and poems my mom can't read without crying, so I wouldn't assume the lady was forcing her tears. I have seen people wipe away tears that aren't there though.

Just be glad they do not go through the same elocutions as from the last century. We have lost our taste for the overly dramatic since that time.

I imagine rehearsals are good since most people cannot speak from the cuff. Personally, I sometimes feel so parched for a good motivational Sunday talk. I love it when they do occur. In the mean time, I feel satisfied if they at least mention the name Jesus somewhere in their talk.

[Guest AutumnBreez]

There are stories and poems my mom can't read without crying, so I wouldn't assume the lady was forcing her tears. I have seen people wipe away tears that aren't there though.

I also would not assume she was forcing neither. Some topics/talks/poems can be read over and over and still have the speaker/reader moved by them. Plus I feel need to add- Women find it easier to show emotions as well.

Wiping away tears that aren't there--hmmmm.....

purhaps they are in the heart but they are not good at showing it?

I would not want to think they are just putting on a show--

I would have to cry from that alone--how sad!

Speeches that have serious lessons or heart felt messages will bring on tears if the Speaker knows its truths in the story- has a testimony within that brings tears, or past situation which brings in emotion. Word for word purhaps, but I find that it must be a message that needed to be sent out for it to be repeated only 5 miles apart. Someone appointed her/him to read-recite message/event. That appointment surely came from someone who had authority and a Spiritual whispering in ear. A suprise speaker?? they were asked to spread it- and not wanting to miss a single word in an important genuine message would require one to be prepared. If you change things up, you stand risk of leaving out something- you would not want to take a chance when it has a special message within. -All and same words needed to be delivered perfectly!

Besides being kinda amused --Did you hear the message in the talk the second time-full talk??

How did your talk with the Stake President go??

[HiJolly]

Just be glad they do not go through the same elocutions as from the last century. We have lost our taste for the overly dramatic since that time.

I imagine rehearsals are good since most people cannot speak from the cuff. Personally, I sometimes feel so parched for a good motivational Sunday talk. I love it when they do occur. In the mean time, I feel satisfied if they at least mention the name Jesus somewhere in their talk.

Last year I spoke but followed my family, and ended up with only 5 minutes or less to speak. I felt kinda bad. Then this year, I spoke and only 2 members of my family spoke, so I ended up with 20 minutes for my talk.

I had prepared with about 20 or 25 minutes worth of notes (as I usually do), but when I saw that I *really* had 20 minutes, I just cut loose and delivered off-the-cuff comments for the whole time, not looking at my notes at all. I did use one quote from my notes, but gave it from memory "We are all just about as happy as we make up our minds to be". That's a quote from Abraham Lincoln, but I couldn't remember his name at the time, and didn't want to shuffle through my notes, so I just said I couldn't remember who it was.

Anyway, it was fun. I rarely get to do it.

HiJolly

[NeuroTypical]

I always figured the conferences were rehearsed, since they had to be perfect for live tv. Anyway, I just thought this was kinda amusing.

I remember one General Conference, Pres. Hinckley stood up and was introducing the next speaker - a very elderly apostle who died not too long after. President Hinckley said something like "I haven't given this good brother a topic to speak on, and he is mostly blind and can't see the teleprompter, so we aren't sure what he's going to say, or how long he'll take to say it."

I personally am on a multi-year campaign to rid myself of tears as I deliver talks and lessons and whatnot. I've had a certain amount of success so far, but if I don't watch myself closely, there are a few stories I'll relate that still get to me. I've never delivered the same talk more than once a month, so I have no idea how that would be.

LM

[avatar4321]

Ive never rehearsed a talk. im just dumb.:)

[bjw]

MorningStar,

I notice sometimes when I read something to a relative that I'm sharing the gospel with, even when I've read it a hundred times, I still somehow choke up when I think about how I was at one time where they were and had not yet heard the restored gospel. It must be the Spirit's influence.

Moksha,

I agree. I think that the focus should always somehow be on the Savior. That not only makes a good talk but shows that we are Christians. Jesus Christ is central to our day-to-day activities and lives. The focus on this talk was the idea of wishing you could become an angel so you could preach repentance to the world. She said that we should use every opportunity we have in our lives to proclaim Christ. Definitely a good topic.

AutumnBreeze,

Good points. She did use a lot of real world application in the talk, so that could be part of the reason they wanted her to deliver it to 2 wards. Its kinda like how we have all heard the "Preach My Gospel" lessons hundreds of times but when we share it with a family member that has not heard the restored gospel we still get choked up because we remember how we felt the first time we heard it and that we were at one time in their position, hearing it for the first time. I think remembering the special Spirit that we feel at these times can influence our emotions, and it probably did with the woman that delivered the talk.

The meeting with the president went pretty well. I made a post about it in the "petition to switch wards" thread. Thanks for the encouragement and prayers!

HiJolly,

Ya, this has happened to me before too when I am teaching EQ lessons. Once they had long announcements and then had the choir leader teach us a hymn to sing during sacrament meeting. It left me 10 minutes to do a lesson that I thought would be 40 minutes. Then there have also been times that I didn't have much feedback and got through with a "40 minute" lesson in 15 or so minutes. I guess that part of being a good speaker is being able to plan for any situation that may arise, especially the unpredictable human element of any speaking situation. I hope that I get to give a talk in a sacrament meeting one of these days, that sounds like a great experience.

LoudmouthMormon,

President Hinckley always has a good sense of humour. That's interesting that they use a teleprompter. I imagine that the speakers all write their topics beforehand and give them to the teleprompter operator. I can imagine that the older speakers, some in their 90s, can't see it very well and are speaking mostly from memory. Its remarkable how well they do for their age. Wasn't it Joseph Wirthlin that started having a nervous attack on stage this last conference, but was somehow sustained by the Spirit to be able to finish his talk. It is just amazing the power that the Spirit gives these men. They must be in good shape and have good memories.

Avatar4321,

Don't be too hard on yourself.

[Traveler]

Perhaps we should laugh at Jesus. Not only did he give the same talk to the people of the Americas but much of it was given by the "Teacher of Righteousness" in the Dead Sea Scrolls hundreds of years before he was born.

The Traveler

[bjw]

Perhaps we should laugh at Jesus. Not only did he give the same talk to the people of the Americas but much of it was given by the "Teacher of Righteousness" in the Dead Sea Scrolls hundreds of years before he was born.

The Traveler

There's a huge difference here, Jesus did not have to rehearse his talks or mannerisms, he was perfect. He probably knew the teachings by memory.