LDS or LSD?

Well I finally ventured out of my home and met my Mormon friends on their turf. Bring... It... ON!

Let me clarify something real quick. There are those of you who may be concerned about my relationship with "another faith." You may feel that I am getting pulled into what they believe. I surely hope that happens in some ways. I hope that the good things they have rub off on me, but I certainly am not at the place of declaring myself a Mormon, or Joseph Smith a prophet. This is something I hope to do with many faiths. Mormons are just first. Jewish, Muslim, Jehovah's Witness, Buddhist, Hindu, and whatever other kind of faith offers itself to me; I would like to observe it and see what it is about. I certainly hold my faith in God and His love and grace through Jesus very dear, but I don't think God is completely absent from all other belief systems; thus they can possibly teach me another side of God and myself that I hadn't realized previously.

I attended "my" church today. I think I will go for one or two more weeks before I venture off elsewhere. When I got home I grabbed a quick bite, since the LDS church doesn't start until 1... awesome and crazy all at the same time. It also lasts three hours... also awesome and crazy at the same time. I changed my shirt to a button down with a tie, since that's how they do. I realized my shirt was cream colored and not white, and therefore was not too far off the shade of my pants. I switched to a blue shirt from working at Radioshack, but it just wasn't right for at tie. I found old pinstripe dress pants, just barely fit into those... but my belt didn't. My belt haloed around my waste about a quarter inch out, since it was too big and the pants were too thin. I ended up going back to the original, figuring it wasn't that close and no one would really care/notice.

I sped off to the LDS church and got there just in time, but they run late I guess. I met up with Kyle and he showed me around the facility. I met a few other people. And was reintroduced to a girl I went to high school with, Morgan. She didn't really remember me, but I had a class with her and hung out with some of her good friends (she's a year older than me). Morgan was super nice and very smiley/talkative. I remember she was always very nice.

Kyle and I found a seat and sat behind Morgan and her family.


The bishop got up and started speaking, mostly giving announcements. Now let me tell you something. Apparently Mormons love having kids, and for this part of the service the kids stay with the parents. There was noise the entire time up there, while the not-to-inspiring bishop muddled through the church happenings. The thing that I really wasn't expecting from such considerate Mormons is this; they loved to talk while this bishop dude was speaking. I think it was the kids created a blanket of noise, where their whispers could hide. Looking around the room, it appeared a quarter of them were whispering something at any moment. This did get better during the service, but definitely did not cease.

Two of the elders (missionaries like Kyle and Steve) got up to speak, since they were being moved to another location. They gave a few words and a testimony of the experience in the area. I thought this was really neat. It gave them an opportunity to tell what God was speaking to them, what their ministry looked like, and how people in the church had affected/inspired them in their journey.

Now it was time for hymns. I didn't expect this time to be invigorating, but it was little more than a murmur. The Catholics stand when they sing hymns don't they? LDS does not stand apparently. It just seemed like that time had very little merit to deserve the breath it took. Surely singing praises/hymns to God can be awesome, but only if there is depth to it. But yeah, I felt like t here was no point in even doing it.

We then had Communion. I forget what term they used for it. They pass around plates with the bread and water, not so different from my church, but I just didn't quite know the gist of how they did it. It was a rather fast thing. Grab a piece of bread, throw it in your mouth, pass the plate. Wait a while, grade a thing of water, down it, throw the empty container into a hole in the plate, then pass the plate. It was just kind of... rushed.

I think we sang another hymn after Communion, then it was time to be taught. Now this is cool, and one of my favorite things about the church. I think it's quite possible that they have no paid church staff. I don't know for sure, but that seems to be the case. The bishop is appointed for a short term (not sure, maybe a year or two) and the people who speak are chosen weekly from the congregation I believe. The was a woman of probably almost 60 and a man who was maybe five years older than her. The topic was atonement. Neither of them were professional speakers obviously. They didn't have the polish that my pastor has, but he does it every week.

The first woman had clearly done a lot of study on the matter, and looked for thoughts from many sources. She was almost a little boring, but you could tell she was thrilled to be up there, despite her composure. It was all very important, very real, and in some ways a recent exploration to learn more about the topic. Definitely very raw and organic. At one point she even started to tear up as she was talking about the state of things in the world like packed halfway houses, abortion, and the need for love. It was very neat.

The next guy was more used to speaking. He had lead a decent bit of group studies in the church and used to be a biology teacher. I was just thinking to myself, as he stated stuff about nourishment and biology, that getting different perspectives is so beneficial. As someone who is very knowledgeable about biology, he probably looks at scripture much differently in processing its significance. I couldn't help but wish other churches practiced this more often.

Afterwards, Kyle told me some speakers are better and some are worse, some boring some exciting, and everywhere in between. Honestly though, it's a tough gig. You're conveying something very important, and something you have lots of notes on, while little kids are squawking the whole time. It must be very distracting. I was proud of them.

After that we sang another 20 second hymn (only two lines) and it was over. Morgan's mom told me not to judge them on their singing. It was funny because I sort have had a little. Then I chatted with Kyle a bit. He introduced me to the bishop. The bishop asked me if I was single... I don't know if he was hitting on me. It was strange, but pretty funny. Morgan told me about their young adults ministry (although she didn't call it that). I told her she could call me about stuff, since they have a lot of game nights and stuff, and I like games.

I expected to be completely smothered by Mormons saying hi and trying to get to know me, but that wasn't the case. They were nice, but not really more than anyone at my church would be. I guess their reputation just made me expect more. It was really just like a Methodist or Presbyterian church without a pastor. So I guess in some ways I was expecting more, just because they're the ONE true church. Thought it would be a little less ordinary.

I know Kyle will probably be leaving in a few weeks or month, but Morgan will be around. I think I'll be talking to her more, since she is someone who knows her stuff, but also is probably good at discussion. My friend from high school, Adam, is one of her best friends. He's studying theology at school and gives her some good questions I guess. I think we'll have some good talks. Definitely reminds me of my friend Kelly... super nice, positive, knowledgeable, and good for a debate. This is mostly speculative, but I can tell.

So I expect this is the start of a good friendship between the LDS and myself. Hopefully you got something out of my first LDS church analysis. Next week I may stay for all three hours (only one hours this week). I'll make a "LDS or LSD? (part two)" post if I do.

Now it's time to make friends with some other faiths.