The LDS and Revival

[Navidad]

I am interested in having my LDS friends tell me more about the LDS, revival, and the movement of the Holy Ghost in specific events and times. I don't know how many of you have followed the revival-like atmosphere at Auburn University this past week? I was fascinated when I read that the head football, head basketball, and head baseball coaches were all involved. In all the years of BYU, Ricks, BYU-Hawaii, etc. has there ever been a student led spontaneous revival - or is a revival culture simply unknown among my LDS friends?

I am not sure I have ever seen a book on the LDS and Revival. In the same vein, I don't remember seeing, or reading about the LDS and Praise music/events. For a church with ongoing revelation as a focus I guess that surprises me. I often read about how the LDS are unique  (from LDS sources) in their belief in ongoing revelation - yet wouldn't/isn't revival/praise and spontaneity some form of ongoing revelation by the Spirit and therefore a  part of that? Something like Kirtland almost 200 years ago? I value all of your thinking and ideas about this? What would the LDS leadership think about something like what has been going on this week at Auburn and apparently at Texas AM, although I don't know anything about that? A general discussion about the LDS and revival would be very interesting to me.

There are plenty of YouTube videos on this event, but I am not sure about posting a link to a non-LDS religious movement, so I didn't. Thanks and best wishes to all.

Edited September 23, 2023 by Navidad

[mfbukowski]

You still don't get it.

Our church is RESTORED

There is no need for "revival" unless a church is moribund. We are not there.

No CPR required, thank you.

[Navidad]

32 minutes ago, mfbukowski said:

You still don't get it.

Our church is RESTORED

There is no need for "revival" unless a church is moribund. We are not there.

No CPR required, thank you.

I guess you are right about that.  I don't get it. Revival is for individuals, not churches! What happens in revivals, happens in individual lives one heart or life at at time, does it not? It has nothing to do with a/the or thee church. Have you never felt a desire to individually repent, be restored, get a fresh touch of the Spirit or the Savior? Isn't that what ongoing/continual revelation is all about? How do you individually practice the presence of Christ in a way that is uniquely Mark?

[mfbukowski]

19 minutes ago, Navidad said:

I guess you are right about that.  I don't get it. Revival is for individuals, not churches! What happens in revivals, happens in individual lives one heart or life at at time, does it not? It has nothing to do with a/the or thee church. Have you never felt a desire to individually repent, be restored, get a fresh touch of the Spirit or the Savior? Isn't that what ongoing/continual revelation is all about? How do you individually practice the presence of Christ in a way that is uniquely Mark?

Go to the temple 

Clearly what others do as well.

We certainly don't go because it is "fun" 

Conference helps too.

Edited September 23, 2023 by mfbukowski

[Navidad]

33 minutes ago, mfbukowski said:

Go to the temple 

Clearly what others do as well.

We certainly don't go because it is "fun" 

Conference helps too.

OK. So then going to the temple, and general conferences are a form of spiritual revival or renewal? That is very different than saying there is 'no need" for such a thing, is it not?

[mfbukowski]

1 hour ago, Navidad said:

OK. So then going to the temple, and general conferences are a form of spiritual revival or renewal? That is very different than saying there is 'no need" for such a thing, is it not?

Oh my gosh.

Semantics- we HAVE it so there is no need for revival meetings.

If you are not "getting enough" then fix your church or join ours.

[Navidad]

17 minutes ago, mfbukowski said:

meetings.

Meetings?     We HAVE it?     You keep putting words in my keyboard that just aren't there. Meetings?   We HAVE it?   You keep bringing the subject back to a church or apparently, to a church meeting. Revival and renewal isn't about church or meetings. It is about me continuing to want to grow in Christ as an individual because I don't HAVE enough of Him. Or perhaps, HE doesn't have enough of me! Any church that puts out a sign saying "Revival here on Friday night" is kidding itself. Just as is any church that puts out a sign saying "We don't need no revival here!"

[Calm]

3 hours ago, Navidad said:

Have you never felt a desire to individually repent, be restored, get a fresh touch of the Spirit or the Savior?

Thankfully partaking of the Sacrament gives each of us an opportunity to do that each week.

If one wants to set it apart some, the temple can provide spaces and moments for personal contemplation. 

I have heard of many going up into the mountains or other nature spot to recommit themselves, to search for what God wants of them similar to Enos in the Book of Mormon or Joseph in the Grove.

Revival is more about how you do something than what you do in our faith, I would say.

I believe Mark was saying there is no need to create a special event to promote revival in individuals because it is built into our system of faith already with the renewal of our covenants weekly or with attending the temple, which members often do to seek personal revelation, though some create new sacred spaces for themselves by going somewhat apart from others into nature or even a beautiful quiet place in the middle of a city where they will be alone so they can cry out to the Lord in their hearts.

Edited September 23, 2023 by Calm

[manol]

5 hours ago, Navidad said:

Have you never felt a desire to individually repent, be restored, get a fresh touch of the Spirit or the Savior?

The impression I had when I was actively participating in LDS culture and religion is that what you are describing tends to be a personal, individual, and largely (but usually not entirely) private process and path. 

The impression I have is that partaking of the Sacrament each week is designed to be, among other things, a renewal of one's commitment to Christ.  Partaking of the bread is "witnessing" to God that the person is "willing to take upon them the name [of Christ], and always remember him, and keep his commandments which he has given them."  So this is the level where the person's willingness is supposed to be.  And partaking of the water is "witnessing" to God that the person "[does] always remember [Christ]".  So this is the level where what the person does is supposed to be.

Of course like anything else, one gets out of the Sacrament what one puts into it.  More often than I'd like to admit, it was just a chance for a quick rest with a really light snack. 

So I think one of the reasons there isn't a tradition of revivals in LDS culture is that formally renewing one's commitment to Christ is usually no more than a week away, until the next Sacrament meeting.

Edited September 23, 2023 by manol

[blackstrap]

IIRC it was local area revivals that spurred Joseph to inquire of the Lord in the first place. For me , stake and general conferences are an , admittedly , low key revival opportunity. 

[Tacenda]

This is the closest to a revival as I have seen in the church. But too bad old people like me weren't invited.

https://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2023/8/6/23821787/together-in-christ-the-unprecedented-onerepublic-concert-for-young-single-adults#:~:text=Concertgoers watch the “Together in,Area Young Single Adult Conference.&text=During the concert%2C the performers,spiritual sentiments while on stage.

[Leaf474]

This came to my mind while reading through the thread

"Saul went there to Naioth in Ramah. Then God’s Spirit came on him also, and he went on, and prophesied, until he came to Naioth in Ramah.  He also stripped off his clothes, and he also prophesied before Samuel, and lay down naked all that day and all that night. Therefore they say, “Is Saul also among the prophets?”

-1 Samuel 19

[Diamondhands69]

2 hours ago, mfbukowski said:

Oh my gosh.

Semantics- we HAVE it so there is no need for revival meetings.

If you are not "getting enough" then fix your church or join ours.

Reminds me of a joke I once heard:

st Peter giving the tour to some newly resurrected people and he is stopping by portions of heaven for different denominations so the resurrected can see what it is like for them. Stops by the section for Mormons and tells those in the tour to be very quiet so as to not alert the Mormons of their presence. One person on the tour asks why and St. Peter responded: because they think they are the only ones up here. 

Edited September 23, 2023 by Diamondhands69

[Diamondhands69]

2 hours ago, mfbukowski said:

Oh my gosh.

Semantics- we HAVE it so there is no need for revival meetings.

If you are not "getting enough" then fix your church or join ours.

Amen I agree… reminds me of the Brad Wilcox talks where he says all other religions are just “playing church.”

[Calm]

1 hour ago, Tacenda said:

This is the closest to a revival as I have seen in the church. But too bad old people like me weren't invited.

https://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2023/8/6/23821787/together-in-christ-the-unprecedented-onerepublic-concert-for-young-single-adults#:~:text=Concertgoers watch the “Together in,Area Young Single Adult Conference.&text=During the concert%2C the performers,spiritual sentiments while on stage.

I only attended one youth camp thingey and hated it.  Forced to go.  Prefer to push it out of my mind, so I had forgotten about this stuff.  My son went on Trek, but didn’t talk about it much…not a big talker about personal experiences, no EFY though so don’t know how those work.  EFY and Trek might be viewed as youth revivals I am guessing with the testimony meetings at the end of them?  Maybe?

Edited September 23, 2023 by Calm

[Diamondhands69]

23 minutes ago, Calm said:

I only attended one youth camp thingey and hated it.  Forced to go.  Prefer to push it out of my mind, so I had forgotten about this stuff.  My son went on Trek, but didn’t talk about it much…not a big talker about personal experiences, no EFY though so don’t know how those work.  EFY and Trek might be viewed as youth revivals I am guessing with the testimony meetings at the end of them?  Maybe?

This looks a lot like a revival!

https://www.utahysaconference.org/

[mfbukowski]

 

3 hours ago, Navidad said:

You keep putting words in my keyboard that just aren't there. Meetings?   We HAVE it?   You keep bringing the subject back to a church or apparently, to a church meeting. Revival and renewal isn't about church or meetings. It is about me continuing to want to grow in Christ as an individual because I don't HAVE enough of Him.

Odd for LDS, BUT :

https://decisionmagazine.com/revival-breaks-out-at-colleges-in-texas-and-alabama/

As long as we don't call these "meetings"... good for them!

The movement began in the spring of 2022, when the church started to see people preaching in their small groups, and small group members inviting their friends who don’t know the Lord to attend their meetings, Whitmore said. 

“Instead of the small group being a Bible study, they would have someone get up and preach, and every time it would happen, one or two kids would give their lives to the Lord,” he told CBN.

Edited September 24, 2023 by mfbukowski

[Tacenda]

1 hour ago, Calm said:

I only attended one youth camp thingey and hated it.  Forced to go.  Prefer to push it out of my mind, so I had forgotten about this stuff.  My son went on Trek, but didn’t talk about it much…not a big talker about personal experiences, no EFY though so don’t know how those work.  EFY and Trek might be viewed as youth revivals I am guessing with the testimony meetings at the end of them?  Maybe?

Calm, did you click on the link? This is something I don't think the church has ever done before, in fact when people first heard about it they didn't believe it. But it really happened. It's great though, but older members aren't going to get that, which is fine. 

[Smiley McGee]

8 hours ago, Navidad said:

In all the years of BYU, Ricks, BYU-Hawaii, etc. has there ever been a student led spontaneous revival - or is a revival culture simply unknown among my LDS friends?

To the extent that revivals are local, grass roots phenomena, you likely won’t see this in the LDS church. The church isn’t really fond of significant events that aren’t initiated at the top. If a group of BYU students attempted an Asbury style revival, admin would probably call BYU police and have them removed from the building. 
 

All that aside, I’m not even sure what LDS revival would look like. 

[Okrahomer]

6 minutes ago, Smiley McGee said:

All that aside, I’m not even sure what LDS revival would look like. 

Perhaps something like this.

[Navidad]

5 minutes ago, Smiley McGee said:

To the extent that revivals are local, grass roots phenomena, you likely won’t see this in the LDS church. The church isn’t really fond of significant events that aren’t initiated at the top. If a group of BYU students attempted an Asbury style revival, admin would probably call BYU police and have them removed from the building. 
 

All that aside, I’m not even sure what LDS revival would look like. 

Interesting. It seems to me that most of these revival type spontaneous gatherings are indeed local, grass roots phenomena that may indeed stem from small group studies that may or may not be involved with any church. Some small groups are related to a church and some exist in lieu of a church. My wife and I have often thought over the past months of starting a small group Bible study here in our home for folks who have an interest.

I think this situation at Auburn began with a couple of students meeting to pray and then grew to a bunch gathering in a gymnasium. There apparently are varieties of modern revelation that people experience. It seems like renewal, revival, and yes, restoration are all manifestations of ongoing revelation to individuals that continue on a regular basis among all Christians of varying and of no formalized faith at all. I find this a very interesting concept to discuss.

[mfbukowski]

2 minutes ago, Navidad said:

...meeting...

Uh oh, that pesky word again....

[Navidad]

8 minutes ago, Okrahomer said:

Perhaps something like this.

I have read a lot about the 1850s reformation. The preaching was hot and heavy! Interesting stuff.

[mfbukowski]

5 hours ago, Navidad said:

Meetings?     We HAVE it?     You keep putting words in my keyboard that just aren't there. Meetings?   We HAVE it?   You keep bringing the subject back to a church or apparently, to a church meeting. Revival and renewal isn't about church or meetings. It is about me continuing to want to grow in Christ as an individual because I don't HAVE enough of Him. Or perhaps, HE doesn't have enough of me! Any church that puts out a sign saying "Revival here on Friday night" is kidding itself. Just as is any church that puts out a sign saying "We don't need no revival here!"

We call it "testimony MEETING"

I shall now bow out....

Edited September 24, 2023 by mfbukowski

[Navidad]

3 minutes ago, mfbukowski said:

Uh oh, that pesky word again....

Well, you see its all about how you define your words! 😄 Isn't it? Someone on this forum keeps posting about that!

The Sunday morning Sacrament service is a meeting, right? The Empty Nesters gathering each month is a meeting, right? The Ward Council is a meeting, right? The organizational committee for the academy fall fund raiser is a meeting right? Thursday night baseball practice is a meeting, right? General conference is a series of meetings, right? Last Friday's gathering at the Scout Lodge to talk about security issues in Colonia Juarez was a meeting right? Wherever two or three are gathered together in His name, that is a meeting, right? Oh, and lets not forget Saturday mornings meetings to clean the chapel and play pickle ball.

Then there was last Monday's meeting at the academy for the big shot who came down here from SLC to hear the parents concerns about the academy. Monday night?????? Oh my! How dare he schedule a "meeting" on a Monday evening? The folks were pretty upset about that. There was quite a discussion about whether a meeting to discuss family issues and concerns about the academy qualified for an appropriate exception to the Handbook's rules . . . . err. . . . guidelines about Monday evening meetings. Oh well, they had the meeting anyway. I wonder if a meeting that was an exception to the Monday evening rule was really a meeting???? And I guess three people meeting together around a picnic table for a Bible study is a meeting too. We do tend to define them all in different ways, don't we? Now when are you and I going going to have a meeting  . . . of our minds? That would be nice. Take care my friend.