- Correlation is literally sucking the life out of the Church
- The LDS Church is true so who cares if if it is boring?
- Everyone in the Church is a volunteer, so don't be critical of the bad teachers, right?
- Mormons don't expect and demand that things improve
Interestingly, both Terryl Givens and David Bednar have recently talked about the sad state of affairs at church.
Terryl Givens believes, I think it is fair to say, that the current state of things is that it is bad and that we are likely boring people right out the front door of the Church (emphasis mine):
TERRYL: I’ll answer that a couple of ways. First of all I’ll ask you a question. As a bishop who do you think, to what position is the bishop supposed to appoint the most talented spiritually powerful individual in the ward? What would you say?
Elder Bednar, on the other hand, decides to defend the poor state of affairs of our Gospel Doctrine classes by blaming the victims (those that expect a little more). Of course, I'm not surprised by this (emphasis mine):LLDS: That the bishop is supposed to be that person?TERRYL: No, after the bishop or even [00.46.00] in view of the Bishop what calling should that person have in the ward?LLDS: Right, now this is a great question. Which I’ve talked about on leading LDS before but I would say in my opinion this is, I remember early on in the church in the 50s and 60s the Sunday school superintendent as I used to call it was this calling they held up. That like ah you’re the Sunday school superintendent. Which is now a Sunday school president, in my mind if you can get the Sunday school president right, then it solves a lot of problems in that Sunday experience.TERRYL: I would say it and I think typically you’d say well the Elders Quorum president, or your [00.46.30] counselor, or the Relief Society President if it’s a woman. And I say no, it’s the Sunday school teacher, the Gospel Doctrine teacher. Because here’s here’s the point. No other person is a constant in the weekly Sabbath experience of the majority of adults. Relief Society President may or may not be, Elders Quorum President may or may not be. But if you go to Sunday school that is the staple that’s that’s the constant. And so I don’t think any calling in the ward is more important than the Sunday school teacher. [00.47.00] And I think that’s where we’re falling down because we think of some school teaching. Oh well you know she needs to grow or he needs to experience it. And it’s no, you’ve got to call the most talented individual and then the second thing is that you’ve got to inculcate in the Sunday School Teacher. I think the fact we’ve got to ask genuine questions and that’s what’s wrong with Sunday School teacher. You know a lot of people leave the church over polygamy, a lot leave over the priesthood ban, or LGBT issues. But you know it’s entirely possible that the majority people leaving are falling into inactivity or leaving because boredom. [00.47.30] It’s boredom because the Sunday School has become a ritual. Yeah. “What is tithing?”, somebody raised their hand “Ten percent of earnings.” “That’s right.” “Why do we pay tithing?” “Well because we’re blessed.” “Yeah right.”LLDS: So superficialTERRYL: Right, ask real questions. It isn’t that hard.
[00:28:50] Can you tell where I am going with this? How many of you have ever been in a Sunday School class? "Oh, not again?" When are me moving on from the Plan of Happiness. "Okay, I can draw the pictures. I got this." No, you don't have it if you think you have it. I want to emphasize that. If you think you get it, by definition you don't get it. If you are in sacrament meeting and you aren't dazzled by an entertaining speaking, "Oh, this is boring," excuse me but it says nothing about the speaker and it says everything about you. The objective of somebody in sacrament meeting is not to dazzle you and entertain you. It is not to have a well-crafted message. It is to preach the gospel by the power of the Spirit and that invites you to get connected to the Holy Ghost so that the Holy Ghost is teaching you what you need that has nothing to do with what the speaker is saying.It's no wonder our Sunday School classes are so boring since our apostles choose to deny reality.
Yes, Bednar's statements reflect the way I was taught all my life: There are no boring meetings, as long as we are humble and in tune with the spirit. It's our job not to be bored.
ReplyDeleteIt was refreshing to read Givens' frank and honest words.
I agree. Givens' comments were refreshing. I hope they are heard far and wide.
DeleteAmen to what Givens' said. I'm not a fan of the "it's your fault for not being entertained..." message because it's not going to work for the long haul. Some people just aren't good at teaching and engaging people by asking the "real" questions that draw people in. When there aren't "real" experiences, people see right through it and won't engage and will walk the other way where there is fulfillment.
ReplyDeleteALL LDS classes are guilty of rhetorical questions, like “Who is Christ? How do we follow Christ?” Blah. But I suppose these bland “discussions” are useful in not generating any opinions from the class members.
ReplyDelete