How can the church survive the tedium?

[1smartdodog]

I am visiting family this week. Won’t say where I am as to not offend but it is not Utah.

At church today it is a small branch. There is absolutely no vitality here. It may be an anomaly but the tedium of 3 hours is excruciating. Utah is not a bastion of vitality at church but at least you have enough people to get some variety. This is just agony. How this would attract new members is beyond me

[alas]

We live in rural southern Utah and it is very red politically, and what has struck me is that the very conservative people LIKE it. They feel secure in the idea that there are no new thoughts in the world. Somehow they find the same old same old boring to be comforting in a scary world.

To me the meetings were horrible and boring to the point of tedious before they changed to doing even more repeats of rerepeated conference talks, which were boring and pointless when first given in conference. But about the sixth time you study a conference talk... We'll have you ever laid in bed listening to a tap drip.

[moksha]

We live in rural southern Utah and it is very red politically, and what has struck me is that the very conservative people LIKE it. They feel secure in the idea that there are no new thoughts in the world. Somehow they find the same old same old boring to be comforting in a scary world.

Well, that is better than the United Nations moving in to occupy rural southern Utah and declaring it to be a New World Order and demanding the residents give to the Halloween UNICEF milk money drives.

[deacon blues]

One person's tedium is another person's thrill? purpose? obsession? Thank God we are not all the same.

[No Tof]

I think it's awesome.

If you only go to church once every quarter or so, you know what to expect and never have to feel you've missed anything.

[achilles]

When I last attended church a few years ago, maybe 70% of the people were staring at their phones. They're bored to death. This was in a large suburban ward outside Cincinnati.

[crossmyheart]

For years as a TBM I had weekly fights with my husband because he would inevitably fall asleep in sacrament meeting. I would get so angry at having to poke him awake. I was horrified that others would notice and even shamefully admit that I told him he would never be given a calling of any clout because of it. I felt like he wasn't being a worthy priesthood holder and I wanted him to climb the celestial ladder of success by becoming a Bishop. Harsh. I cant believe I judged him through those eyes when he is such an amazing person.

But the irony is now that I am the apostate and no longer care, he doesn't fall asleep anymore when we attend. He tries hard to pay attention and takes notes or reverts to playing on his phone.

My children however, are bored to death. My son hates it, but my daughter WANTS to be there- but complains regularly that it is all so boring.

We are already inactive.

Sunday fun day= 1
3 Hours of tedium=0

[redjay]

Boredom factor: high, validation factor: high enough to outweigh the boredom factor

[wtfluff]

I felt like he wasn't being a worthy priesthood holder and I wanted him to climb the celestial ladder of success by becoming a Bishop.

Off-Topic question: Do a high percentage of believing "sisters" expect their husbands to "climb the ladder" and become bishop, or even further up the ladder?