Gallup Survey on why People go to church

[bsjkki]

A new survey from Gallup had people rank why they went to church and also why they do not go to church. Do you think Mormon's would answer these questions differently? According to Gallup-

"Three in four worshippers noted sermons or talks that either teach about scripture or help people connect religion to their own lives as major factors spurring their attendance." It stated this about those who no longer attend but did at one time. "There is no overarching reason why former churchgoers no longer attend. Preferring to worship on one's own tops the list at 44%, and just over a third say not liking organized religion is a major factor. These suggest not an antipathy to religion per se so much as a dislike of the group format."

Here is the link for the full study. http://www.gallup.com/poll/208529/sermon-content-appeals-churchgoers.aspx?utm_source=alert&utm_medium=email&utm_content=morelink&utm_campaign=syndication

I personally don't know if I would put the value of the sermons as the top reason I attend. Today I found the talks particularly uplifting and they touched my soul. This doesn't always happen but when it does, it makes the more difficult Sunday's worth it. I go to church because it keeps me seeking God's will in my life even though sometimes, going to church has been really painful. 

Edited April 17, 2017 by bsjkki

[JAHS]

I go because as a member of God's church I am obligated to heed His command:
"It is expedient that the church meet together often to partake of bread and wine in the remembrance of the Lord Jesus;" (D&C 20: 75)

I also like associating with fellow members and feel their love and spirit which helps me regenerate my own spirit so I can get through the week.

 

[Robert F. Smith]

Anyone wanting to achieve more success for a denomination, or just for a single congregation somewhere, would do well to go over these Gallup results.  In fact there are books written about how to grow a church, and a number of preachers have had success in creating mega-churches.

In High Priest Group today we had lesson 8 from the Pres Hinckley manual, concluding that the proven recipe for developing faith is to (1) read Scripture, (2) pray, and (3) serve.  Simple rules for the acquisition of understanding and enthusiasm for the Lord.

[RevTestament]

3 hours ago, bsjkki said:

 Today I found the talks particularly uplifting and they touched my soul. This doesn't always happen but when it does, it makes the more difficult Sunday's worth it. I go to church because it keeps me seeking God's will in my life even though sometimes, going to church has been really painful. 

Would you care to share any? I know it sounds terrible but a few times in the last several years, it feels like I am going to church just to get my teeth kicked in. It's not like most of the people are not friendly... I just don't seem to get much out of it. I wish I could say it was like when I was young, and the Church was full of spirit and even wonder for me. It's just been mostly somewhat painful since I returned, so now I feel somewhat ambivalent about attending. The thing is I know the restored gospel is true, and I enjoy watching it grow in the lives of my children, but I feel somewhat outside the loop I guess. I think a lot of it is I feel frustrated - full of knowledge and understanding and nowhere to go with it. Oh well, maybe the day will come. I hope your pain is not caused by the Church. I have seen one or two people with a lot of pain/anger in their lives return to church, and live happier, more fulfilling lives.

[bsjkki]

7 hours ago, RevTestament said:

Would you care to share any? I know it sounds terrible but a few times in the last several years, it feels like I am going to church just to get my teeth kicked in. It's not like most of the people are not friendly... I just don't seem to get much out of it. I wish I could say it was like when I was young, and the Church was full of spirit and even wonder for me. It's just been mostly somewhat painful since I returned, so now I feel somewhat ambivalent about attending. The thing is I know the restored gospel is true, and I enjoy watching it grow in the lives of my children, but I feel somewhat outside the loop I guess. I think a lot of it is I feel frustrated - full of knowledge and understanding and nowhere to go with it. Oh well, maybe the day will come. I hope your pain is not caused by the Church. I have seen one or two people with a lot of pain/anger in their lives return to church, and live happier, more fulfilling lives.

I relate to much of your comment. The 'get my teeth kicked in' is very familiar. I go to church and have never been inactive but it is a Sunday to Sunday thing about whether I come home uplifted or upset. Every Sunday brings a tinge of anxiety that I fight down and try to suppress. We have had a string of unfortunate events living in my current location (a 6 year struggle) that makes my current ward very difficult for me but things are slowly getting a bit better. This comment, "The thing is I know the restored gospel is true" is why I have never quit going even when it was very difficult. I also understand your comment about feeling frustrated at church. I have a hard time sitting still and do much better teaching or being actively engaged at church. Sometimes...physically sitting through lessons is difficult and I feel frustrated when we don't seem to discussing the gospel in ways that actually help people in their lives. We either don't go deep enough or don't bring it into focus on how gospel principals can help and be applied to our day to day struggles. I have also been frustrated when none of my questions about church history or controversial topics can even be mentioned at church--that is when I found this board. I found it very helpful that active members of faith actually discuss and had some answers to controversial issues. When I was at my lowest I found church hard because I felt I was always being told to do more and more and more and I was barely hanging on. The pressure was overwhelming for me. I found myself doing less and less instead but weekly church attendance, even though difficult, is why I am not totally lost.

The talk on Sunday that I found inspirational was from a sister in my ward. A sister who I thought seemed like she would not have had the struggles she shared. She discussed how the spirit helped her in her life and through her struggles of being "mistreated" in her youth.She was very open about how this mistreatment led her to going through the motions but that even though she knew it wasn't her fault, deep down she didn't feel God could really love her and that she placed a wall between her and church internally and how that wall was broken down over time as she learned to know God loved her and the spirit touched her life.

A lot of my pain came from church and I had a huge sense of betrayal. That takes a lot of time to heal over.

[RevTestament]

23 minutes ago, bsjkki said:

I relate to much of your comment. The 'get my teeth kicked in' is very familiar. I go to church and have never been inactive but it is a Sunday to Sunday thing about whether I come home uplifted or upset. Every Sunday brings a tinge of anxiety that I fight down and try to suppress. We have had a string of unfortunate events living in my current location (a 6 year struggle) that makes my current ward very difficult for me but things are slowly getting a bit better. This comment, "The thing is I know the restored gospel is true" is why I have never quit going even when it was very difficult. I also understand your comment about feeling frustrated at church. I have a hard time sitting still and do much better teaching or being actively engaged at church. Sometimes...physically sitting through lessons is difficult and I feel frustrated when we don't seem to discussing the gospel in ways that actually help people in their lives. We either don't go deep enough or don't bring it into focus on how gospel principals can help and be applied to our day to day struggles. I have also been frustrated when none of my questions about church history or controversial topics can even be mentioned at church--that is when I found this board. I found it very helpful that active members of faith actually discuss and had some answers to controversial issues. When I was at my lowest I found church hard because I felt I was always being told to do more and more and more and I was barely hanging on. The pressure was overwhelming for me. I found myself doing less and less instead but weekly church attendance, even though difficult, is why I am not totally lost.

The talk on Sunday that I found inspirational was from a sister in my ward. A sister who I thought seemed like she would not have had the struggles she shared. She discussed how the spirit helped her in her life and through her struggles of being "mistreated" in her youth.She was very open about how this mistreatment led her to going through the motions but that even though she knew it wasn't her fault, deep down she didn't feel God could really love her and that she placed a wall between her and church internally and how that wall was broken down over time as she learned to know God loved her and the spirit touched her life.

A lot of my pain came from church and I had a huge sense of betrayal. That takes a lot of time to heal over.

Thanks for your response bsjkki. It seems to help to know that I'm not totally alone in some of my feelings . Sometimes I feel very alone and discouraged, although I have a very supportive wife. Lately, she is not around much, because she works so much. Just FYI, I have definitely come home upset so don't feel you are alone there. I once even switched to a different gospel doctrine class, because of the reaction I got to one of my comments - I was right by the way - but maybe I came across snotty or something. Sometimes it is hard to know exactly how to make comments that correct what a teacher is saying. I have to intentionally decide that teachers are human and some just don't take kindly to what they perceive as challenges, although in the last year or so that seems to have gotten somewhat better. There is a balance there that I don't know the Church has learned how to achieve. If a teacher considers anything outside of the correlated curriculum, there is inevitably someone who will have problems with it, so I try not to get teachers in trouble, but I still tend to make corrective comments, and I think that makes people impatient with me. I suppose it is inevitable that people who don't quite tow the official line will experience some kind of friction. So I guess I will just have to live with it or shut up.

Otherwise, I feel the best way to get useful ideas for applying the gospel is to get the students involved in the class. Inevitably, they have had experiences about this or that, which can be helpful to know how to approach the various challenges we all face. I believe my wife felt very betrayed by the church when she was young, and although she felt the gospel was true, she had the challenge of dealing with some church leaders including her father. I was very fortunate to have a good father and mother, but for some people the faults of Church members get mixed in with the Church itself, and it becomes difficult to process why Church seems to be causing them emotional pain. Sometimes a break from a particular ward can be helpful if there are members of that ward that bring up unpleasant feelings.

I am glad you are finding some inspiration in Church. I too tend to go to sleep when sitting - especially in sessions that go into the afternoon - and if I had a teaching calling that would help, but I realize such a calling would inevitably get me in trouble. So for now, I am just in kinda of an ambivalent mode I guess. I look forward to that changing some day. Is there any "controversial topic" currently troubling you, which you may want to discuss?

[bsjkki]

7 minutes ago, RevTestament said:

Is there any "controversial topic" currently troubling you, which you may want to discuss?

This board has been too helpful--the things can't find answers too--I've shelved for now. The others I've researched and found explanations I can live with. When researching, there is a point faith must take over and I say, "I don't know why that happened or have all the information but I can live with where we are now and wait for better answers." Some church policies and how we do things--non doctrinal things--there is a lot of room for improvement but many times, it's because local leaders are not following policy/doctrine to begin with. Some are because of policies from Salt Lake but those can possibly change--so I must be patient. Some are because of inherent biases of leaders. Some local church leaders are not good at their jobs and better training could help mitigate the carnage they cause.

This is my favorite conference talk from this past session. www.lds.org/general-conference/2017/04/our-good-shepherd?lang=eng

Since God uses disease as a metaphor for sin throughout the scriptures, it is reasonable to ask, “How does Jesus Christ react when faced with our metaphorical diseases—our sins?” After all, the Savior said that He “cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance”;⁶so how can He look at us, imperfect as we are, without recoiling in horror and disgust?

The answer is simple and clear. As the Good Shepherd,⁷ Jesus Christ views disease in His sheep as a condition that needs treatment, care, and compassion. This shepherd, our Good Shepherd, finds joy in seeing His diseased sheep progress toward healing.

The Savior foretold that He would “feed his flock like a shepherd,”⁸ “seek [out] that which [is] lost, … bring again that which [is] driven away, … bind up that which [is] broken, and … strengthen that which [is] sick.”⁹ Though apostate Israel was depicted as being consumed with sinful “wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores,”¹⁰ the Savior encouraged, exhorted, and promised healing.

I hope this talk is studied by Bishops throughout the church. 

I want to make a poster of this quote. "The message for us is clear: a repenting sinner draws closer to God than does the self-righteous person who condemns that sinner."

 

 

[RevTestament]

15 minutes ago, bsjkki said:

This board has been too helpful--the things can't find answers too--I've shelved for now. The others I've researched and found explanations I can live with. When researching, there is a point faith must take over and I say, "I don't know why that happened or have all the information but I can live with where we are now and wait for better answers." Some church policies and how we do things--non doctrinal things--there is a lot of room for improvement but many times, it's because local leaders are not following policy/doctrine to begin with. Some are because of policies from Salt Lake but those can possibly change--so I must be patient. Some are because of inherent biases of leaders. Some local church leaders are not good at their jobs and better training could help mitigate the carnage they cause.

Very good observations bsjkki. I believe realizing this is more than half the "battle." A good number of Church leaders are just as human and fallible as we - which is why I believe D&C gives members the right to object to their calling. However, obviously leadership faults may not be observable until someone is called and in office for a while. My dad is a wonderful man, but I once scolded him for running his family like a business. I told him his constructive criticism was backfiring, and that in order to have any hope of seeing any changes in my mom, he needed to praise those things he liked - that would encourage her to do more of those things. After that, I would look at him from time to time when I caught him making a criticism, and I actually think he began to come around.

For church issues, bad leadership can compound problems real fast, so I believe if we see something going on, it is incumbent on us to make some noise even if it does cause personal backlash for us. If we don't get satisfaction at the ward level, we need to keep going up the chain. Of course that doesn't mean that other leaders will agree with us, but it is a basis for change, and maybe someone's prayer will bring about change.

Quote

This is my favorite conference talk from this past session. www.lds.org/general-conference/2017/04/our-good-shepherd?lang=eng

Since God uses disease as a metaphor for sin throughout the scriptures, it is reasonable to ask, “How does Jesus Christ react when faced with our metaphorical diseases—our sins?” After all, the Savior said that He “cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance”;⁶so how can He look at us, imperfect as we are, without recoiling in horror and disgust?

The answer is simple and clear. As the Good Shepherd,⁷ Jesus Christ views disease in His sheep as a condition that needs treatment, care, and compassion. This shepherd, our Good Shepherd, finds joy in seeing His diseased sheep progress toward healing.

The Savior foretold that He would “feed his flock like a shepherd,”⁸ “seek [out] that which [is] lost, … bring again that which [is] driven away, … bind up that which [is] broken, and … strengthen that which [is] sick.”⁹ Though apostate Israel was depicted as being consumed with sinful “wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores,”¹⁰ the Savior encouraged, exhorted, and promised healing.

I hope this talk is studied by Bishops throughout the church. 

I want to make a poster of this quote. "The message for us is clear: a repenting sinner draws closer to God than does the self-righteous person who condemns that sinner."

Nail on the head bsjkki. What more is there to add? God bless.

[HappyJackWagon]

13 hours ago, JAHS said:

I go because as a member of God's church I am obligated to heed His command:
"It is expedient that the church meet together often to partake of bread and wine in the remembrance of the Lord Jesus;" (D&C 20: 75)

I also like associating with fellow members and feel their love and spirit which helps me regenerate my own spirit so I can get through the week.

 

I think a lot of people attend out of obligation or duty. It's refreshing when I attend a different denomination and see people there excited to worship. They are there because they enjoy it. I seldom get that sense at my ward on Sunday.

Perhaps having more worship services and fewer "meetings" would help

 

Edited April 17, 2017 by HappyJackWagon

[thesometimesaint]

If I don't go I'm the only one that looses. So I go for no one but myself.

[JAHS]

10 minutes ago, HappyJackWagon said:

I think a lot of people attend out of obligation or duty. It's refreshing when I attend a different denomination and see people there excited to worship. They are there because they enjoy it. I seldom get that sense at my ward on Sunday.

Perhaps having more worship services and fewer "meetings" would help

 

Out of obligation is not the only reason I go. I also enjoy it very much. I think all three of the main meetings could be called worship services. There are only a few ward leaders who might have several other administrative type meetings to attend. 

[JLHPROF]

8 minutes ago, HappyJackWagon said:

I think a lot of people attend out of obligation or duty. It's refreshing when I attend a different denomination and see people there excited to worship. They are there because they enjoy it. I seldom get that sense at my ward on Sunday.

Perhaps having more worship services and fewer "meetings" would help

 

Worship doesn't breed progression.
If overemphasized it can actually lead to stagnation.

We go to Church to learn of God and his ways, and we truly worship him by putting them into practice in our lives.
Worship the way other denominations tend to mean it (shouting and singing praises, etc) isn't bad, but if overemphasized nothing will come of it that will change the heart of the worshipper.
Drawing near with lips but leaving the hearts far from God.

To be clear, I am not saying other denominations don't love God and have his spirit or have hearts turned to God.  But worship doesn't increase understanding of God and without that, life eternal is limited.

[cinepro]

Mormons can't really go to Church for the talks, because you never know what you're going to get.

Most other Churches are like going to a concert or performance for a band or comedian that you know and like.  You are going because you know you like the performer and will usually enjoy it. (I'm not denigrating the spiritual experience of other Churches with a regular preacher, just bear with the analogy).

Mormon services are like going to a club where they have a different band or comedian every week.  You go because you like to be with your friends, or you like what the club serves, or whatever, but you just don't know if that week the band or comedian is going to be any good.  Some weeks it's fantastic.  Other weeks it's dreadful.  But for whatever reason, your experience and commitment to going to that club every week isn't connected to the quality of the show. 

[juliann]

2 hours ago, bsjkki said:

 

I want to make a poster of this quote. "The message for us is clear: a repenting sinner draws closer to God than does the self-righteous person who condemns that sinner."

 

 

This talk elevated Elder Renlund to one of my all time favorite apostles. I love that quote.  

[juliann]

3 hours ago, bsjkki said:

 

The talk on Sunday that I found inspirational was from a sister in my ward. A sister who I thought seemed like she would not have had the struggles she shared. She discussed how the spirit helped her in her life and through her struggles of being "mistreated" in her youth.She was very open about how this mistreatment led her to going through the motions but that even though she knew it wasn't her fault, deep down she didn't feel God could really love her and that she placed a wall between her and church internally and how that wall was broken down over time as she learned to know God loved her and the spirit touched her life.

A lot of my pain came from church and I had a huge sense of betrayal. That takes a lot of time to heal over.

There is the good news and bad news about our geographical arrangement. It creates a core of committed and supportive people...that you can't get away from. 

[HappyJackWagon]

1 hour ago, JAHS said:

Out of obligation is not the only reason I go. I also enjoy it very much. I think all three of the main meetings could be called worship services. There are only a few ward leaders who might have several other administrative type meetings to attend. 

I think about when there is a snow day and church is cancelled. It seems no one is disappointed to miss church that week.

When I sit on the stand and look at the congregation I rarely see people smiling with enthusiasm and joy to be in Sacrament Meeting.

The mere fact that we call it a "meeting" is not terribly inspiring. Inviting friends to attend a meeting is hardly as welcoming as inviting them to attend a worship service, IMO.

 

[RevTestament]

3 hours ago, HappyJackWagon said:

I think about when there is a snow day and church is cancelled. It seems no one is disappointed to miss church that week.

When I sit on the stand and look at the congregation I rarely see people smiling with enthusiasm and joy to be in Sacrament Meeting.

The mere fact that we call it a "meeting" is not terribly inspiring. Inviting friends to attend a meeting is hardly as welcoming as inviting them to attend a worship service, IMO.

Good point. I'll try to remember to say Sacrament Service.

[JAHS]

4 hours ago, HappyJackWagon said:

I think about when there is a snow day and church is cancelled. It seems no one is disappointed to miss church that week.

When I sit on the stand and look at the congregation I rarely see people smiling with enthusiasm and joy to be in Sacrament Meeting.

The mere fact that we call it a "meeting" is not terribly inspiring. Inviting friends to attend a meeting is hardly as welcoming as inviting them to attend a worship service, IMO.

 

I am quite certain that when I am feeling the spirit in Sacrament meeting there is no expression on my face. But that's just me; I am feeling it inside.

 

[cinepro]

10 hours ago, HappyJackWagon said:

I think about when there is a snow day and church is cancelled. It seems no one is disappointed to miss church that week.

When I sit on the stand and look at the congregation I rarely see people smiling with enthusiasm and joy to be in Sacrament Meeting.

The mere fact that we call it a "meeting" is not terribly inspiring. Inviting friends to attend a meeting is hardly as welcoming as inviting them to attend a worship service, IMO.

 

One thing the Church could easily do to help improve the quality of Sacrament Meeting would be to simply turn off the fluorescent lights.  They don't bathe the congregation at General Conference with such lighting.  But for some reason we've gotten into the habit of lighting a Church service like it's a Costco warehouse.

[Calm]

14 hours ago, bsjkki said:

I relate to much of your comment. The 'get my teeth kicked in' is very familiar. I go to church and have never been inactive but it is a Sunday to Sunday thing about whether I come home uplifted or upset. Every Sunday brings a tinge of anxiety that I fight down and try to suppress. We have had a string of unfortunate events living in my current location (a 6 year struggle) that makes my current ward very difficult for me but things are slowly getting a bit better. This comment, "The thing is I know the restored gospel is true" is why I have never quit going even when it was very difficult. I also understand your comment about feeling frustrated at church. I have a hard time sitting still and do much better teaching or being actively engaged at church. Sometimes...physically sitting through lessons is difficult and I feel frustrated when we don't seem to discussing the gospel in ways that actually help people in their lives. We either don't go deep enough or don't bring it into focus on how gospel principals can help and be applied to our day to day struggles. I have also been frustrated when none of my questions about church history or controversial topics can even be mentioned at church--that is when I found this board. I found it very helpful that active members of faith actually discuss and had some answers to controversial issues. When I was at my lowest I found church hard because I felt I was always being told to do more and more and more and I was barely hanging on. The pressure was overwhelming for me. I found myself doing less and less instead but weekly church attendance, even though difficult, is why I am not totally lost.

The talk on Sunday that I found inspirational was from a sister in my ward. A sister who I thought seemed like she would not have had the struggles she shared. She discussed how the spirit helped her in her life and through her struggles of being "mistreated" in her youth.She was very open about how this mistreatment led her to going through the motions but that even though she knew it wasn't her fault, deep down she didn't feel God could really love her and that she placed a wall between her and church internally and how that wall was broken down over time as she learned to know God loved her and the spirit touched her life.

A lot of my pain came from church and I had a huge sense of betrayal. That takes a lot of time to heal over.

I have a movement disorder, I go into the bishop and volunteer for Primary and Librarian and even teaching 14 year olds once when I heard they had not had a consistent teacher for one year (lasted a year and a half until they moved to 9).  If you can think of a calling that would for you on Sunday, do be shy, what can they say but "no".  Unless you think they might then ask you do do something you don't want...

[Calm]

10 hours ago, juliann said:

There is the good news and bad news about our geographical arrangement. It creates a core of committed and supportive people...that you can't get away from. 

It also creates interaction between groups of people who normally would never interact.  I believe this was one of the reasons given for Utah 's high social mobility, kids hang out with other kids from higher income brackets and thus are more open to such a life being available to them, see more opportunities, etc.

[bsjkki]

3 minutes ago, Calm said:

I have a movement disorder, I go into the bishop and volunteer for Primary and Librarian and even teaching 14 year olds once when I heard they had not had a consistent teacher for one year (lasted a year and a half until they moved to 9).  If you can think of a calling that would for you on Sunday, do be shy, what can they say but "no".  Unless you think they might then ask you do do something you don't want...

...those are my coping mechanisms too. I'm the emergency sub for youth sunday school and help in the library whenever it is needed. I also find I like the smaller, gospel principles class and hanging out with the new members and investigators. It's a little more lively and I get a padded chair that way.

[Calm]

I bring my own pad these days.  I find church pews to be advanced torture devices.  Busted tail bone that took a year to heal got me in the habit last year.

[RevTestament]

8 hours ago, Calm said:

I bring my own pad these days.  I find church pews to be advanced torture devices.  Busted tail bone that took a year to heal got me in the habit last year.

My ward has padded pews - it's those darn metal chairs that I can't take anymore. I think I damaged my cocyx on a chair I used to have, so that is an idea - bring my pad in case...

[HappyJackWagon]

9 hours ago, cinepro said:

One thing the Church could easily do to help improve the quality of Sacrament Meeting would be to simply turn off the fluorescent lights.  They don't bathe the congregation at General Conference with such lighting.  But for some reason we've gotten into the habit of lighting a Church service like it's a Costco warehouse.

That's so the parents don't lose all of their kids. The fluorescent lights help to prevent escape...kind of like flood lights at a prison