NOM

I look forward to just a few meetings a year. Primary program. Christmas program. I love the songs and I love the feels.

I was excited this morning thinking we’d have a feel good to start off our holiday today/tomorrow. Regular Sacrament. Sinners repent. One musical number. High councilman lecture for over 40 min. We ran over almost 30 min which I might not have minded if we had been singing. And when I expressed my disappointment my spouse snapped at me. Because everything / anything I say now about the church however innocuous is me being negative and hostile and an apostate. And now he’s not speaking to me.

I have low expectations on church as it is and so it isn’t a big deal to drop this one too. I’m already planning for next year to make sure to find a concert before Christmas. I think what has me down is that I cannot express an alternate/not faith building comment about the church and yet feel forced to attend/pretend. I think next year will have to offer some
compromises for me. Right now it’s all in favor of my spouse’s view and I am starting to feel like this is untenable in the long run.

I hope that those of you that attended today had a better experience.

I’m sorry your service was bad and the attitude it led to from your husband was worse, Anon. That sucks. Internet hugs and positive vibrations your way, friend.

I’m attending for the first and only time in 2017 today! They are in the midst of THREE baby blessings right now. The first one was really long and really focused on how the world is evil and getting worse all the time.

Thanks be to my little toddler for his hyper attitude and insistence on running the halls before that one ended. I wasn’t sure how much more I could stomach. Maybe we’ll go back in when/if music starts.

Things that stood out from the five minutes I was in there:

1. The organist needs to speed up by 150%, a common problem in Mormonism. Some better phrasing would be splendid too, it’s all very staccato.
2. Dude conducting semi reprimands crowd for being in a good, talkative, dare I say JOYFUL mood, then plays it off like a joke: “it must be a special occasion or something.”
3. Says this will be the only meeting. No “Sunday school, primary, or priesthood meetings.” Forgetting anyone?

I think on a day when the tone of the meeting should be joyous, positive, and focused on welcoming the Christ child into the world, it is unconscionable to have a dour, stern, or lifeless tone to the meeting. Then they wonder why so many members are going inactive. Christmas Eve can be a busy day, as people are getting ready to entertain family and friends, and there is no need to run 30 minutes over. I think your point is well-taken, and you were right to speak up about it. Take care, and best wishes to you, from Wndr.

Hugs Anon!!

Anon70 wrote: ↑Sun Dec 24, 2017 1:22 pm <snip>
We ran over almost 30 min ..
<snip>

^^That alone completely sucks a$$!!!

Everyone in my ward was just so happy that we only had to stay for an hour.

We had a bad musical number followed by a sister talking about her relationship with Jesus because she goes to the temple every week, reads her scriptures, and keeps her covenants. That was then followed by a good musical number and then the concluding speaker, one of the full time missionaries. He talked about his relationship with Jesus which was cemented by his mission service which including helping someone move who later got baptized.

Then we made like Catholics by standing up and leaving. 1 hour and 12 extra long minutes.

The church is truly made up of burlap walls, bland carpet, and doctrine that focuses on Jesus through any way possible except Jesus!

We had seven songs altogether including the choir, men's choir, and soloists. One of the songs, Guard him, Joseph was set to the tune of Pachelbel's Canon, which wasn't as good as the Christmas song by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra which is also based on the Canon, but it was still a nice treat. When you go Pachelbel, you go for baroque!

At 5 PM on Christmas Eve, I can't decide whether to watch A Boy George Christmas on TV or play Fallout 4. Hard to decide which is more festive. Might fix me some Christmas burritos and listen to Boy George sing that song about Santa Chameleon. Sounds festive enough. Too bad Midnight Mass from the Vatican isn't playing right now.

Sorry to hear of your disappointing Christmas Eve church experience, sister Anon.

Like Brother Witty, I go for quality rather then quantity when it comes to attendance and this is my visit for the predictable future.

DW's ward actually did a nice job this year. No speakers, just musical numbers which were well done and the big bonus was it was just under 60 minutes. Then they even had hot apple cider and ginger cake in the gym afterwards. (possibly a missionary back ground program running somewhere but better then just a mass exodus.)

All in all a nice surprise. I was all set being the only man in the building in a blue shirt with my phone set to NOM. DW was sitting with the choir so I was all alone on the pew anyways. (must be the heretic haze around my head, or maybe the coffee on my breath )

I wasn't planning to return but I just might try to go to the Easter one too.

Our Christmas program was amazing. I wish all of you could have been there (especially you, Anon70). It was all music and the other meetings were cancelled. So many talented singers and musicians in our ward. We even had a performance of an original piece by Lex DeAzevedo, which he accompanied on the piano. I'm not quite the Lex fan that John Dehlin is, but it was very nice. His daughter is a ward member and is a fantastic singer. She also conducted and put the whole thing together.

Merry Christmas, everyone! I'm so grateful Donald Trump made it safe to say that again (face palm).

Our sac meeting was mostly the choir. They sounded ok. They were accompanied by visiting college kids playing violins, cello's, and piano. The kids did a wonderful job. We also had two speakers. A self righteous ex-stake presidency guy and his wife. He spent most of the meeting lauding the amazing inspirational song writing ability of one BRM and his " heart wrenching" (his words) "I Believe in Christ". *gag*. The fact that it went 30 minutes over certainly didn't help!

Hagoth wrote: ↑Sun Dec 24, 2017 10:10 pm I'm so grateful Donald Trump made it safe to say that again (face palm).

All he needed was the forces of the Kremlin and a zombie uprising to back him in his quest to save Christmas.

Thanks for all the thoughtful replies. I did my best to make today a happy day by ignoring my spouse and he me. I don’t know how much longer our mixed faith marriage will last. But when I read back through my posting history I’ve been saying that for a while. So who knows. It’s sad that even a small comment about being disappointed can ruin a day. Appreciated the support today from you all!

I went to the midnight service at the stake center last night but nobody showed so I just did donuts in the parking lot.

moksha wrote: ↑Sun Dec 24, 2017 5:25 pm I can't decide whether to watch A Boy George Christmas on TV or play Fallout 4. Hard to decide which is more festive. Might fix me some Christmas burritos and listen to Boy George sing that song about Santa Chameleon.

That show was better than expected. I really liked the special guest appearance of Sir Elton John. That was a stunning musical tribute he gave to Rudolf, "Hello North Pole's rose... it seems to me you lived your life with Santa in the wind, always shining your light when the night set in...." However, the real show stopper for the evening was the MoTab Choir's tribute, "Praise to the reindeer who helped guide the Sleigh, Santa appointed for all to see and hear. Blessed are the children whose toys are delivered, stopping at Moe's Bar for libations and cheer."

Here’s my full report: I went back in once the music started. It was *horrendous*. Every piece was worse than the last. Very shaky pianists throughout. One guy sang a solo and wasn’t particularly good, but his heart was in it and his effort was sincere, so it was a relative highlight. The rest was the various youth and adult groups, and it just reminded me how awful music is when people are uninterested and forced to do it. But it made my family happy, I think, so I guess it was worth it. Just this once.

I went, for once. The music was pretty dreadful, but there was a little boy behind me who belted out the chorus of every hymn (even when it was a choir or special musical piece). I enjoyed his unselfconscious joy. At the end the Bishop gave a lovely talk about the Christmas spirit and how it motivates us to be kinder, more forbearing and understanding of other's burdens. He quoted Dickens, and never said a word about prophets or anything guilt-inducing. I felt quite uplifted and very glad to have spent that time with my family. If church were like that every week, I'd be tempted to go more often.

We planned to attend an episcopal service, but bad weather and a head cold made that impractical so we attended our ward. It was mostly congregational hymn singing with one speaker who wasn't too bad and lasted 70 minutes. My parent's ward had a Joseph Smith sacrament meeting, so it really could have been worse.

Anon70 wrote: ↑Sun Dec 24, 2017 1:22 pm I think what has me down is that I cannot express an alternate/not faith building comment about the church and yet feel forced to attend/pretend. I think next year will have to offer some
compromises for me. Right now it’s all in favor of my spouse’s view and I am starting to feel like this is untenable in the long run.

I guess this is why after all these years I still haven't come 100% clean to my husband. I don't want want him to be circumspect about every single thing I say. I still want credibility. It's really tough when the TBMs in our lives seem to think any criticism is an attack on them personally. Something really interesting that come out in a argument we had a while back about this, was his objection to my criticisms because he saw me as being critical of people and not the institution. Since then, I've tried to be supportive of the people around me, even if I think they're off their rockers, and I criticize the institution or those who lead it. Not to say that goes over well, but I'm glad he said that. I've come to the place where I really do believe the people of the church are mostly good, but the church is so, so wrong. I want my words and critiques to reflect that.

Enoch Witty wrote: ↑Sun Dec 24, 2017 2:22 pm 1. The organist needs to speed up by 150%, a common problem in Mormonism. Some better phrasing would be splendid too, it’s all very staccato.

Our new ward sings everything so slow! Mormon music is way too slow generally, but this takes it to a new level. I have to be somewhat sympathetic however, as the ward organist is a youth and probably isn't very proficient. I'm sure he's doing the best he can.

MoPag wrote: ↑Sun Dec 24, 2017 2:30 pm

Anon70 wrote: ↑Sun Dec 24, 2017 1:22 pm <snip>
We ran over almost 30 min ..
<snip>

^^That alone completely sucks a$$!!!

Running over should never happen, on a holiday absolutely not!

Anon70 wrote: ↑Sun Dec 24, 2017 1:22 pm And when I expressed my disappointment my spouse snapped at me. Because everything / anything I say now about the church however innocuous is me being negative and hostile and an apostate.

Been there.

I imagine HQ told every ward worldwide to only hold SM on Christmas Eve. Somehow we managed to screw up that mandate.

The kids are more excited that church is only one hour as opposed to the normal three than they are about it being Christmas the next day... and then our sacrament meeting goes for two hours.

2 HOURS!!1!1!1111eleventy!!!1!

We got to sing lots of Christmas songs but there were still three speakers and the middle speaker did their best to recap the 6000 year history of the earth.

No Tof wrote: ↑Sun Dec 24, 2017 10:04 pm
I wasn't planning to return but I just might try to go to the Easter one too.

Here is the bad news- this year/2018 Easter lands on the first weekend of April. So with Bishopric Roulette you MAY get a nice Easter program the Sunday before Easter. Or you may get what we got the last time Easter was on Conference weekend: a lovely F&T meeting the Sunday before Easter.