cinepro Posted May 3, 2018 Author Posted May 3, 2018 (edited) 3 hours ago, Duncan said: is that the Wilshire building? Yes. Quote President Heber J. Grant declared that other than the temples and the Salt Lake Tabernacle, [the Hollywood Tabernacle] was the finest building in the Church. It remained California’s most imposing LDS structure for the next thirty years, until the construction of the Los Angeles Temple. The building was admired by non-Latterday Saints as well, being named the “finest cement building in America” by Architectural Concrete in 1933. [18] Today it remains a notable example of California’s art deco architecture and is a Los Angeles landmark. https://rsc.byu.edu/archived/california-saints-150-year-legacy-golden-state/chapter-15-california-kaleidoscope Edited May 3, 2018 by cinepro 2
MormonMason Posted May 3, 2018 Posted May 3, 2018 11 hours ago, hope_for_things said: How many people actually use the WiFi for their smart phones? I know I just use the data from my cellular plan. Do people actually use the church's WiFi these days? I do. But I also don't mess around with social media during church, either, so the change won't affect me.
6EQUJ5 Posted May 3, 2018 Posted May 3, 2018 11 hours ago, MiserereNobis said: The priest makes it very clear that phones should not be out. A very wise man. Our Bishop instituted a no electronic device policy a while back and it has been a great blessing to the Ward. Other Wards in the Stake have adopted the same policy. It is amazing how removing that simple distraction, folks are paying attention and seem to be much more engaged in the meeting.
Rain Posted May 3, 2018 Posted May 3, 2018 16 hours ago, hope_for_things said: How many people actually use the WiFi for their smart phones? I know I just use the data from my cellular plan. Do people actually use the church's WiFi these days? I use it (If I feel it is safe) every chance I get. It's important for us to be wise with our money so since more data is not needed we don't pay more for a plan that has it. If I needed more data because wifi wasn't available then I would cut out "fun" data before I increased my plan. ---------------- The church's decision to not allow some sites? Meh. Why should tithing money pay for people to surf those sites? 1
Storm Rider Posted May 3, 2018 Posted May 3, 2018 15 hours ago, HappyJackWagon said: It's very challenging trying to access the church wifi to access lesson material when the wifi is overloaded with FB users so I totally get why they would do this. It makes perfect sense to me. When I look around the congregation during Sacrament meeting I see an awful lot of people on their phones. I'm sure a few are for legitimate reasons but most aren't. In fact, if they are paying attention to the speakers there is little reason why someone should legitimately be on the phone during that time. Yet they are. Lots of them. Why is that? When I visit other churches and look around the congregation I almost never see anyone on their phones. They are singing, listening, engaged. They don't appear to be seeking any possible way to make it through the hour without dying of boredom. So yes, people slowing down wifi access for the legitimate uses is a problem. But the bigger problem revolves around why this problem exists in the first place. I teach Gospel Doctrine and my experience is the exact opposite of yours. It appears the vast majority in Sunday school use their phones for reading scriptures - when I call on someone to read a specific verse they don't appear to have a need to close/open apps to get to the scripture. In Sacrament I will occasionally have my phone open to read scripture. I haven't visited another church recently, but I suspect that they are just as inclined to read scripture as LDS are. I suspect the Church will find and block all social programs rather than limit blocking the current list. Humans are humans; I am not concerned when people actually are found to be human.
Stargazer Posted May 3, 2018 Posted May 3, 2018 5 hours ago, 6EQUJ5 said: A very wise man. Our Bishop instituted a no electronic device policy a while back and it has been a great blessing to the Ward. Other Wards in the Stake have adopted the same policy. It is amazing how removing that simple distraction, folks are paying attention and seem to be much more engaged in the meeting. In a recent Sacrament meeting one of the speakers referenced a general conference talk, and out of curiosity I looked it up in the Gospel Library app, following along where she was quoting from it, and then I got "distracted" by the GC talk itself and continued reading it while she burbled along with her topic, going in the direction she had committed to. By the time I looked up from the app she was close to being done, and I had missed much of what she had said. Now, I got a lot out of both her talk (the part that I had heard) and the GC talk, but I missed a good opportunity to hear what she said -- my wife tried to describe it later, and I wished I had simply taken note of the GC talk for later perusal. In fact, all three talks that day were excellent and well worth listening to. After my distraction caused me to miss some "good stuff", I paid closer attention to the remaining speaker. But there are times when the talk being given is doing nothing for me, and enhancing it with my own engagement with the subject at hand has been valuable. So I don't particularly care for the "no device" policy idea.. But I see the logic. 1
Bernard Gui Posted May 3, 2018 Posted May 3, 2018 (edited) 15 hours ago, bluebell said: Why not call 4 or 5 speakers each Sunday and give them 10 minute limits? It's a lot easier for an amateur to give a good 10 minute talk than 20 minute talk. I just had a novel idea! Instead of calling on boring speakers from the congregation, how about we send the bishops to some sort of school or college to get a degree in preaching, motivational speaking, grand oration, theology, scriptures, counseling, etc.? Maybe even comedy, singing, and guitar playing. With skills like that he could be qualified for full-time employment and audition for his position in front of a committee or a congregation. That would greatly increase the chances of getting a great sermon every week. If he underperforms, he could easily be replaced with someone better, or you could just shop for another ward with a more inspiring and entertaining bishop. His wife could get her degree and they could work as a team. I think I’m on to something promising here. Edited May 3, 2018 by Bernard Gui
Bernard Gui Posted May 3, 2018 Posted May 3, 2018 4 minutes ago, Stargazer said: a recent Sacrament meeting one of the speakers referenced a general conference talk, It is tempting sometimes to look it up on your device and then wander away from the speaker. I wish there were fewer assignments to just review or summarize General Conference talks. 1
Marginal Gains Posted May 3, 2018 Posted May 3, 2018 5 hours ago, 6EQUJ5 said: A very wise man. Our Bishop instituted a no electronic device policy a while back and it has been a great blessing to the Ward. Other Wards in the Stake have adopted the same policy. It is amazing how removing that simple distraction, folks are paying attention and seem to be much more engaged in the meeting. What do people do who have all their scriptures etc on their electronic device? Seperately, why can’t people simply switch to Airplane Mode?
Stargazer Posted May 3, 2018 Posted May 3, 2018 20 minutes ago, Bernard Gui said: It is tempting sometimes to look it up on your device and then wander away from the speaker. I wish there were fewer assignments to just review or summarize General Conference talks. We had our first elders quorum presidency meeting last night, and one of our agenda points was to lay out which GC talks from April would be the basis for our 2nd and 3rd week lessons. Personally, I'd rather "freestyle' it -- just come up with a topic that the brethren need, and go for that, rather than designate a GC talk. But, on the other hand, we still have a great deal of latitude, more than we did when we were using the teachings of the Presidents of the Church. But in the talk I mentioned, the speaker just used a GC talk as a source of quotation in support of what she was talking about. Or so it seemed to me.
stemelbow Posted May 3, 2018 Posted May 3, 2018 10 hours ago, MorningStar said: Or the message might be, "Use your own data if your phone is more important than the person speaking." Only if they are playing games while someone is speaking.
Amulek Posted May 3, 2018 Posted May 3, 2018 18 hours ago, hope_for_things said: How many people actually use the WiFi for their smart phones? I know I just use the data from my cellular plan. Do people actually use the church's WiFi these days? I do. My cell phone plan has unlimited data, but my phone gets very limited reception in the classroom I'm assigned to teach in, and I get zero reception in the clerk's office (where I spend time for my other calling). That wouldn't really be a big deal, but the two apps I use most often at church - the Gospel Library app and the LDS Tools app - both require regular data syncing, which makes them incredibly slow to open without a data connection, so having access to the church's wi-fi is a nice convenience.
Scott Lloyd Posted May 3, 2018 Posted May 3, 2018 15 hours ago, bluebell said: Good point. I worry that a lot of ward leaders are afraid to do anything different because 'tradition'. Our ward always has three speakers. One youth, and two adults. That means that the adults typically each have 20 minutes to use up. With a good speaker, that's not a problem, but with a bad speaker, having to deal with 20 minutes of it can be HARD. Why not call 4 or 5 speakers each Sunday and give them 10 minute limits? It's a lot easier for an amateur to give a good 10 minute talk than 20 minute talk. I've been in wards where that was the norm and it was so much better. I think some bishoprics don't ever consider that things can be done in different ways (plus, getting 2 speakers each sunday is probably a lot easier than getting 4). I've also been in a ward where people were often called up out of the congregation to bear their testimony in sacrament meeting on non-fast and testimony sundays. It was amazing. Not so much when it happened to you ( ) but still the spirit was always so strong. My observation about inexperienced speakers is that they tend to go too long, sometimes not leaving enough time for speakers who come afterward. They over-prepare, and then they are determined to deliver all they have prepared, lacking the skills or the awareness to condense or trim their material while at the pulpit in order to conform to time constants. 2
6EQUJ5 Posted May 3, 2018 Posted May 3, 2018 44 minutes ago, Marginal Gains said: What do people do who have all their scriptures etc on their electronic device? Shortly after the policy was announced, they started piping sacrament meeting into the RS room. So folks who must use a device are asked to use the RS room to keep the chapel reverent.
Alan Posted May 3, 2018 Posted May 3, 2018 I think the church should block Facebook too. The missionaries here seem to spend an inordinate amount of time hanging around in the chapel "messaging investigators".
bluebell Posted May 3, 2018 Posted May 3, 2018 1 hour ago, Scott Lloyd said: My observation about inexperienced speakers is that they tend to go too long, sometimes not leaving enough time for speakers who come afterward. They over-prepare, and then they are determined to deliver all they have prepared, lacking the skills or the awareness to condense or trim their material while at the pulpit in order to conform to time constants. This is true. A lot of speakers seem to really struggle to leave anything out of their talks.
bluebell Posted May 3, 2018 Posted May 3, 2018 2 hours ago, Bernard Gui said: I just had a novel idea! Instead of calling on boring speakers from the congregation, how about we send the bishops to some sort of school or college to get a degree in preaching, motivational speaking, grand oration, theology, scriptures, counseling, etc.? Maybe even comedy, singing, and guitar playing. With skills like that he could be qualified for full-time employment and audition for his position in front of a committee or a congregation. That would greatly increase the chances of getting a great sermon every week. If he underperforms, he could easily be replaced with someone better, or you could just shop for another ward with a more inspiring and entertaining bishop. His wife could get her degree and they could work as a team. I think I’m on to something promising here. I don't think that would work. 1
ALarson Posted May 3, 2018 Posted May 3, 2018 2 hours ago, Bernard Gui said: I just had a novel idea! Instead of calling on boring speakers from the congregation, how about we send the bishops to some sort of school or college to get a degree in preaching, motivational speaking, grand oration, theology, scriptures, counseling, etc.? Maybe even comedy, singing, and guitar playing. With skills like that he could be qualified for full-time employment and audition for his position in front of a committee or a congregation. That would greatly increase the chances of getting a great sermon every week. If he underperforms, he could easily be replaced with someone better, or you could just shop for another ward with a more inspiring and entertaining bishop. His wife could get her degree and they could work as a team. I think I’m on to something promising here. That's funny. I agree with Scott's comments regarding a problem we have (speakers going on too long and not ending on time). Much of the time, they've already made their point and could just close to leave time for another speaker or so we could end sacrament meeting on time. I always really try to find at least one thing I can take from any speaker that I can work on or that I have learned. I've found there is always something, no matter how entertaining or interesting their talk is. 1
Duncan Posted May 3, 2018 Posted May 3, 2018 9 hours ago, cinepro said: Yes. is it still in operation by the church? my bro served in the LA mission and was wondering
MiserereNobis Posted May 3, 2018 Posted May 3, 2018 9 hours ago, cinepro said: Yes. I read a little of the article and it said it was a tabernacle and is now a stake center. What is a tabernacle used for? The wikipedia article said for conferences, meetings, and a community center. Is that different than a stake center? I didn't realize there were more tabernacles than the one the choir sings in.
bluebell Posted May 3, 2018 Posted May 3, 2018 26 minutes ago, MiserereNobis said: I read a little of the article and it said it was a tabernacle and is now a stake center. What is a tabernacle used for? The wikipedia article said for conferences, meetings, and a community center. Is that different than a stake center? I didn't realize there were more tabernacles than the one the choir sings in. Typically they are used for special meetings that include members of multiple stakes. 1
Scott Lloyd Posted May 3, 2018 Posted May 3, 2018 (edited) 35 minutes ago, MiserereNobis said: I read a little of the article and it said it was a tabernacle and is now a stake center. What is a tabernacle used for? The wikipedia article said for conferences, meetings, and a community center. Is that different than a stake center? I didn't realize there were more tabernacles than the one the choir sings in. There are quite a number of them still in existence, actually. Tabernacles are the stake centers of yesteryear. From the time the Mormon Pioneers settled the Salt Lake Valley in Utah, it was common for Mormon settlements in the Intermountain West to construct tabernacles. And yes, they served a function comparable -- though not identical -- to the stake centers of today. Here is an interesting factoid you might not be aware of. The tabernacle in Provo, Utah, completed in 1898, lasted until December 2010, when an early-morning fire destroyed the interior, leaving only the exterior walls standing. Rather than just knock down and haul off the ruins, the Church authorities decided to convert it into a temple. Long story short, it is now the Provo City Center Temple with an exterior appearance almost identical to the old tabernacle. Edited to add: The Vernal Utah Temple is also a converted tabernacle. Edited May 3, 2018 by Scott Lloyd 2
Scott Lloyd Posted May 3, 2018 Posted May 3, 2018 2 hours ago, bluebell said: This is true. A lot of speakers seem to really struggle to leave anything out of their talks. I still sometimes struggle with that in speaking and writing, though not to the point that it is readily apparent, I hope. 1
Scott Lloyd Posted May 3, 2018 Posted May 3, 2018 3 hours ago, Alan said: I think the church should block Facebook too. The missionaries here seem to spend an inordinate amount of time hanging around in the chapel "messaging investigators". Why the scare quotes around "messaging investigators"? Do you doubt that's what they're really doing? I'm told that Facebook is a useful if not essential tool for fellowship and outreach in some areas of the Church.
ksfisher Posted May 3, 2018 Posted May 3, 2018 3 minutes ago, Scott Lloyd said: Why the scare quotes around "messaging investigators"? Do you doubt that's what they're really doing? I'm told that Facebook is a useful if not essential tool for fellowship and outreach in some areas of the Church. In my stake the mission president had all the missionaries turn in their building keys. He felt that the missionaries were spending too much time on things like Facebook messaging, syncing their tablets, etc. I don't doubt that, in some cases, what started out as a legitimate use of time and resources became something else.
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