Tacenda Posted February 1, 2022 Posted February 1, 2022 7 hours ago, Hamba Tuhan said: I've seen guitars in sacrament meeting for as long as I can remember. We often have them with amplifiers. I haven't seen drumming in sacrament meeting yet, but we had it in a stake fireside right before Covid, and we've been talking about using it in stake conference. Well, this wouldn't fly in Utah.
rchorse Posted February 1, 2022 Posted February 1, 2022 46 minutes ago, Tacenda said: Well, this wouldn't fly in Utah. I think that's exactly the problem that the new handbook language is trying to correct. Utah culture (or the lack thereof) has dominated the worldwide church for too long. Rather than forcing everyone to adapt to the Utah way, I think the church is trying to get people in Utah, and to a lesser extent, the rest of the U.S. to be more flexible and adapt to other cultures. As an example, my wife was recently called as the ward music director. She sent a survey out to the ward members asking for feedback on what could be improved. The most common response by far has been that we should avoid singing new hymns and just stick with the familiar ones that everyone knows. I really wonder how these members are going to handle the new hymn book, especially if it includes "culturally diverse music styles." Utah and American members of the church are too stuck in our ways and we need to get over it. As another example, when we moved to Germany from Utah, I was shocked to hear everyone calling the branch president by his first name. I was even more shocked when we went to stake conference and everyone called the stake president by his first name. In Utah, that would be a big sign of disrespect, but that was how they did it there. Apparently, given the German propensity to almost idolize titles (Herr Doktor Professor Schmidt, for example), a visiting authority had at one point advised them to not be so rigid about it. They took the counsel, and that was the result. After getting over my initial culture shock, I found that I much preferred that way. I think we too often mistake stodginess and tradition for respect and reverence. 3
Hamba Tuhan Posted February 1, 2022 Posted February 1, 2022 8 hours ago, rchorse said: I think that's exactly the problem that the new handbook language is trying to correct. Utah culture (or the lack thereof) has dominated the worldwide church for too long. Rather than forcing everyone to adapt to the Utah way, I think the church is trying to get people in Utah, and to a lesser extent, the rest of the U.S. to be more flexible and adapt to other cultures. This is almost precisely what Elder Bednar told us during our priesthood leadership training meeting here about seven or eight years ago. Quote Utah and American members of the church are too stuck in our ways and we need to get over it. Amen and amen! 3
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