Improving Sacrament Meeting: Seeking Suggestions

[ksfisher]

I should also have mentioned that many sisters find it hard to rejuvenate spiritually when they have young children.   I was so excited when I learned that buildings were being equipped with wifi so presidencies could meet via skype.   But so far, bishops are not approving streaming the meetings to those in nursing homes, or home with sick children.   

 

Church policy prohibits streaming sacrament meetings.  "Meetings and other events that are held in the chapel may not be broadcast over the Internet or by any other means."  (Handbook 2 21.2.10)  The only exception to this policy is that stake conferences may be broadcast to other buildings in the stake.  Branches may be organized in nursing homes, my mother attends one.

[Duncan]

Church policy prohibits streaming sacrament meetings.  "Meetings and other events that are held in the chapel may not be broadcast over the Internet or by any other means."  (Handbook 2 21.2.10)  The only exception to this policy is that stake conferences may be broadcast to other buildings in the stake.  Branches may be organized in nursing homes, my mother attends one.

 

 

our ward broadcasts one sacrament mtg a month, when the High Councilor comes, to a small branch up north. I think they turn it on when after the sacrament is passed

[mormonnewb]

I wish High Councilors would get rid of parroting general conference talks, if my 12 yr son has to come up with his own material for a primary talk then certaintly high councilors should come up with their own stuff

Mobile rep point. If some members didn't care enough to watch the talk at GC (or on the web), then what makes anyone think that they want to hear the talk rehashed third hand?

[mormonnewb]

Your posts have certainly been beneficial to me, and I'm sure I'm not the only one...

Me too, bluebell. We don't always (or probably even usually agree), but I always find your posts thoughtful and well-reasoned.

[Duncan]

Mobile rep point. If some members didn't care enough to watch the talk at GC (or on the web), then what makes anyone think that they want to hear the talk rehashed third hand?

 

 

seriously, if I want to hear a GC talk then i'll watch GC!

[ksfisher]

Mobile rep point. If some members didn't care enough to watch the talk at GC (or on the web), then what makes anyone think that they want to hear the talk rehashed third hand?

Same could be said for the scriptures though. If someone doesn't care to read the scriptures at home what makes anyone think they'd want to hear them quoted in chuch? Perhaps it's only tolerable because the scriptures quotes are much shorter, to match our attention spans.

[Avatar4321]

Maybe instead of giving topics. Give assignments as to scriptures or conference talks and tell them to come up with their own topic with the help of the Spirit.

[Five Solas]

1)-  I need the intellectual stimulation and i love discussing religion.  I doubt my posts have converted anyone else, but they definitely helped to convert me.

 

2)- It's taken me 9 years to post 18,910 times (I joined in 2006).  That's roughly 5 posts a day (or by your calculations-30 minutes a day).  That's not really that huge of a time commitment.  

 

fair enough, bluebell.  appreciate the time you took to make reply.

:0)

 

--Erik

[mnn727]

 Branches may be organized in nursing homes, my mother attends one.

That's fine in Utah and parts of Idaho but the rest of the world may have 1 or 2 members in any one nursing home.

Edited June 20, 2015 by mnn727

[bluebell]

That's fine in Utah and parts of Idaho but the rest of the world may have 1 or 2 members in any one nursing home.

 

I agree with your point.  

 

Wyoming does have quite a few nursing home sacrament meetings though (the town i grew up in in Northern Wyoming is about 6,000 people and has five wards), as i'm guessing other states do as well, so there is that at least.  Typically in with the nursing homes i am family with, members are a part of a family ward, but they have their own meeting at the nursing home, with their own speakers, and if i remember correctly all the wards help provide the speakers as well as men to administer the sacrament each week.

[Storm Rider]

I agree with your point.  

 

Wyoming does have quite a few nursing home sacrament meetings though (the town i grew up in in Northern Wyoming is about 6,000 people and has five wards), as i'm guessing other states do as well, so there is that at least.  Typically in with the nursing homes i am family with, members are a part of a family ward, but they have their own meeting at the nursing home, with their own speakers, and if i remember correctly all the wards help provide the speakers as well as men to administer the sacrament each I think

 

I think different locations have different needs.  We should be flexible enough within the Church to follow the Spirit and do what is needed rather than what is recommended by Salt Lake.  I think the Brethren support this, but local authorities are overly committed to following recommendations rather than doing what they feel is right at the moment.  The scriptures tell us to follow the Spirit in our meetings; leaders need to be empowered to follow that direction at the expense of appearing superficially different from other LDS congregations. 

[ksfisher]

I think different locations have different needs.  We should be flexible enough within the Church to follow the Spirit and do what is needed rather than what is recommended by Salt Lake.  I think the Brethren support this, but local authorities are overly committed to following recommendations rather than doing what they feel is right at the moment.  The scriptures tell us to follow the Spirit in our meetings; leaders need to be empowered to follow that direction at the expense of appearing superficially different from other LDS congregations.

I'm not sure I understand your post. You're saying that the church should follow the Spirit and not Salt Lake. Who is Salt Lake? And you're saying that the Brethren support this. Seeing that the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve are headquartered in Salt Lake are you saying that the Brethren support not following the First Predisency and the Twelve?

[Nofear]

My parents recall music and/or speakers during the passing of the Sacrament in their youth. According to the historical article Nofear linked to in post #29, that was all stopped by the First Presidency in 1946--in favor of the complete silence we still have today.

Wait. Somebody actually read it?!

[BookofMormonLuvr]

My parents recall music and/or speakers during the passing of the Sacrament in their youth.  According to the historical article Nofear linked to in post #29, that was all stopped by the First Presidency in 1946--in favor of the complete silence we still have today.

McKay reversed a bunch of stuff that Grant did- perhaps it's time to revisit the idea of a nice musical number during the passing of the sacrament?

[Calm]

Sitting still in quiet contemplation is becoming a lost skill, IMO. One has music to help set the mood prior to the blessing. It seems to me appropriate to be alone with our thoughts inviting the Spirit once a week at least. It is an ideal not all achieve, but why not work towards it?

[mormonnewb]

Sitting still in quiet contemplation is becoming a lost skill, IMO. One has music to help set the mood prior to the blessing. It seems to me appropriate to be alone with our thoughts inviting the Spirit once a week at least. It is an ideal not all achieve, but why not work towards it?

I must confess that this is extraordinarily difficult for me. I find it so awkward to just sit there in silence and so hard to NOT turn to my iPad or iPhone that I usually arrive at sacrament meeting at about 20 minutes after the starting hour. I guess that will change next year when my Mormon son turns 12 and starts passing the sacrament (which should be quite interesting considering how few times he has seen it done).

That being said, how do the rest of you get yourselves to feel the Spirit from precisely 1:05-1:15 MDT (or whatever time you attend sacrament meeting)? And don't get me wrong. I have profound appreciation for the atonement of Christ. In fact, it makes up the bulk of my testimony (as I still lack many of the Mormon "add-ons" that round out our restored Gospel). In fact, I had an experience recently where I was struck dumb (Nehor, don't even think about it) with the enormity of that act of selfless love. It just doesn't come for me at prescribed times.

How do the rest of you do it? Do you feel the Spirit every time? Most times? Or does the act of just trying otherwise make you more open to receiving the Spirit at other times? I suspect that there is something that I'm missing in my conversion to Mormonism. Is it as simple as this?

[The Nehor]

That being said, how do the rest of you get yourselves to feel the Spirit from precisely 1:05-1:15 MDT (or whatever time you attend sacrament meeting)? And don't get me wrong. I have profound appreciation for the atonement of Christ. In fact, it makes up the bulk of my testimony (as I still lack many of the Mormon "add-ons" that round out our restored Gospel). In fact, I had an experience recently where I was struck dumb (Nehor, don't even think about it) with the enormity of that act of selfless love. It just doesn't come for me at prescribed times.

How do the rest of you do it? Do you feel the Spirit every time? Most times? Or does the act of just trying otherwise make you more open to receiving the Spirit at other times? I suspect that there is something that I'm missing in my conversion to Mormonism. Is it as simple as this?

I feel the Spirit pretty much every time. I do it by begging for forgiveness for all I have done wrong, usually on this board, in the past week.

[Calm]

There is nothing wrong with reading scriptures during that time if you need something to the point you are avoiding it altogether or even if you don't.  If you don't have them downloaded on your phone or feel awkward about using the tech, get some scriptures from your ward library and use that and then just return them after the meeting.

 

I have chosen to read the prayers themselves at times or the story of Christ's crucifixion, his resurrection or the visitation to the Nephites/Lamanites.  I use them in print because the tech is distracting to me.

 

Or does the act of just trying otherwise make you more open to receiving the Spirit at other times?

 

Definitely

Edited June 20, 2015 by calmoriah

[mormonnewb]

There is nothing wrong with reading scriptures during that time if you need something to the point you are avoiding it altogether or even if you don't. If you don't have them downloaded on your phone or feel awkward about using the tech, get some scriptures from your ward library and use that and then just return them after the meeting.

I have chosen to read the prayers themselves at times or the story of Christ's crucifixion, his resurrection or the visitation to the Nephites/Lamanites. I use them in print because the tech is distracting to me.

Definitely

Thanks!

[bluebell]

I must confess that this is extraordinarily difficult for me. I find it so awkward to just sit there in silence and so hard to NOT turn to my iPad or iPhone that I usually arrive at sacrament meeting at about 20 minutes after the starting hour. I guess that will change next year when my Mormon son turns 12 and starts passing the sacrament (which should be quite interesting considering how few times he has seen it done).

That being said, how do the rest of you get yourselves to feel the Spirit from precisely 1:05-1:15 MDT (or whatever time you attend sacrament meeting)? And don't get me wrong. I have profound appreciation for the atonement of Christ. In fact, it makes up the bulk of my testimony (as I still lack many of the Mormon "add-ons" that round out our restored Gospel). In fact, I had an experience recently where I was struck dumb (Nehor, don't even think about it) with the enormity of that act of selfless love. It just doesn't come for me at prescribed times.

How do the rest of you do it? Do you feel the Spirit every time? Most times? Or does the act of just trying otherwise make you more open to receiving the Spirit at other times? I suspect that there is something that I'm missing in my conversion to Mormonism. Is it as simple as this?

I try to listen to church music before church (I sometimes dvr the motab choir so I can turn it on and have the singing in the background as everyone is getting ready.

I also try to read a conference talk or an article in the ensign before church.

Once there, I have sometimes in the past looked at artwork if Christ on my phone. This does not work right now because the babies will just scream wanting to play with the phone. I have an app on my iPhone that has gospel art.

[Duncan]

I must confess that this is extraordinarily difficult for me. I find it so awkward to just sit there in silence and so hard to NOT turn to my iPad or iPhone that I usually arrive at sacrament meeting at about 20 minutes after the starting hour. I guess that will change next year when my Mormon son turns 12 and starts passing the sacrament (which should be quite interesting considering how few times he has seen it done).

That being said, how do the rest of you get yourselves to feel the Spirit from precisely 1:05-1:15 MDT (or whatever time you attend sacrament meeting)? And don't get me wrong. I have profound appreciation for the atonement of Christ. In fact, it makes up the bulk of my testimony (as I still lack many of the Mormon "add-ons" that round out our restored Gospel). In fact, I had an experience recently where I was struck dumb (Nehor, don't even think about it) with the enormity of that act of selfless love. It just doesn't come for me at prescribed times.

How do the rest of you do it? Do you feel the Spirit every time? Most times? Or does the act of just trying otherwise make you more open to receiving the Spirit at other times? I suspect that there is something that I'm missing in my conversion to Mormonism. Is it as simple as this?

 

as that LDS singer once said, "You're Not Alone" I try to imagine Christ when I am partaking or sitting during the sacrament. I got that from a suggestion Pres. Joseph Fielding Smith gave in a talk a million years ago so that's what I do. When it comes to the talks If it's people I know or youths I try to pay attention for support, you know

[Okrahomer]

Wait. Somebody actually read it?!

I did and also found it quite interesting. Thank you for providing the link!

[Rain]

I've done a variety of things during the sacrament, including things mentioned. Another thing I do is read the hymn we just sang and ponder over what the lines mean to me. There are a number of things written about what people do in the Ensign.

It isn't always easy. It's actually harder to me now than it was 10 years ago. My mind tends to wander and I'm constantly pulling it back in. But when I do focus and try to focus I get such a peace that goes through me.

[Bernard Gui]

Does your bishop stand up before the closing hymn to summarize all the talks and give a short sermon?

[Duncan]

Does your bishop stand up before the closing hymn to summarize all the talks and give a short sermon?

 

our previous stake president did that but our Bishop recaps who spoke and he cries a lot