Observations on Going Back for A Visit

[Just This Guy]

Today was my wards primary program. My kids normally get taken to church every other week or so by my parents. My oldest had been taking piano lessons for the last few months and his teacher is encouraging him to start doing public recitals so he got signed up to play a piece as part of the primary program.

So I ended up going to church today to watch my son perform. I'm not sure how long it has been, but it's been around 5 years since I last went to a full SM. So here are a few random observations.

I wanted to wear a peach/pink colored shift, but turns out it doesn't fit. Bummer. And I don't own a rainbow tie. I ended up in a green shirt and tie and khakis. I suggested that DW should wear pants and she considered it, but didn't have any that she liked clean.

Sitting in the building, it is just as boring as I remember. I have been working 2nd shift the last two weeks and tomorrow I go back to 1st shift. Maybe it's the schedule change, maybe it's the church, but as soon as the bishop got up and started the program, I wanted to fall asleep. I managed, unfortunately, to stay awake for the whole thing.

I had a large cup of coffee that I made up before we left the house. I left it in the car, but I wished I had taken it in. I needed it.

The program was based on the theme: "Choose the right." as you can figure, it was very heavy on the pray, pay, and obey them. The only good part is that tithing was only mentioned twice. buy prayer and following the current church leadership was mentions many, many times. When they sane Follow the prophet, now I want to listen to the IoT version.

One kid read a story that was really weird and rather morbid. It was about some girl getting baptized and a dress that was made from her mom's senior prom dress and mom getting killed in a car accident. It was very strange.

My son is actually quite good at the piano, despite only taking lessons for a few months. He played "Come Follow Me." He struggles with the concept of timing in music, but he play it very well. There were 2 or 3 pauses where he messed up, but where they were, you could almost argue they were there for dramatic effect. There were very few incorrect notes that I could hear.

A number of people came up and said "Hi." most were people I knew from when I was active. I still fine the irony rich how much they suck up in church, but they are the same people who won't even acknowledge my existence if we were to meet in public. The missionaries never swung by. If nothing else, there is one person that avoided us entirely. I would say that was good. I doubt I could have avoided a scene with him. (See some of my threads on the local legal issues the church is in.)

We only stayed for SM. Coffee in a thermal mug after church is a nice end to a meeting. I'm sure my kids will agree that McDonald's is better than primary.

[crossmyheart]

Glad your son did so well. My ward's primary program was yesterday also. We haven't attended church since May. I am sure one of my 2 kids would have enjoyed getting up and performing.

Right now I am struggling with a thought- speaking and performing in church as a youth gave me valuable experience to be a better public speaker with less nervousness and mistakes. I really do believe those experiences played a role in improving my college and career success. So the guilt is setting in, how do I provide those experiences for my kids? I don't have a lot of time and $$$ to send them to acting classes or anything else.

[MoPag]

My son is actually quite good at the piano, despite only taking lessons for a few months. He played "Come Follow Me." He struggles with the concept of timing in music, but he play it very well. There were 2 or 3 pauses where he messed up, but where they were, you could almost argue they were there for dramatic effect. There were very few incorrect notes that I could hear.

Way to go young JTG!

And way to go JTG for making it through SM!

[foolmeonce]

Glad your son did so well. My ward's primary program was yesterday also. We haven't attended church since May. I am sure one of my 2 kids would have enjoyed getting up and performing.

Right now I am struggling with a thought- speaking and performing in church as a youth gave me valuable experience to be a better public speaker with less nervousness and mistakes. I really do believe those experiences played a role in improving my college and career success. So the guilt is setting in, how do I provide those experiences for my kids? I don't have a lot of time and $$$ to send them to acting classes or anything else.

In my more recent college experiences, I had to do one or two of class presentations in most classes. There's also Toastmasters which can help you not only speak in public, but also how to be engaging. High schools require lots of presentations as well.

Don't worry about this one, they'll have plenty of chances to learn how to speak in public.

[Emower]

The primary program is really hard. On the one hand the kids are excited to sit on the stage and do something different for a change, and they are excited to be the star of the show. It is fun to see them being excited. On the other hand the brainwashing is front and center in an unavoidable display.
I remember the first primary program on my mission in Norway. They sang follow the prophet like they always do, every. single. time. The way it is translated in Norwegian is especially weird. Instead of "Follow the prophet, follow the prophet, follow the prophet, dont go astray" it is "Follow the prophet, follow the prophet, follow the prophet, don't say no." It was pretty jarring to hear that little bit of difference.