Mike here again. Continuing with Cris' request of stories from our early church experience.
When we first began investigating the church, and later after Mom and Lisa were baptized, we attended the branch in Sunbury, PA. It was something like a 45 minute drive. Getting up early on Sunday, putting on nice clothes, and driving to a town I hadn't been to before seemed like a real novelty. Thankfully it was to become more than a novelty. Back then we did not have the modern block meeting schedule. Sacrament and Sunday School were both on Sunday with time in between for lunch. We had food we brought with us, and when the weather was nice we sat outside to eat it. Primary, like other youth programs, were held separately on a week night. We could not go that distance twice a week so the idea was foreign to me, something at first I hadn't even heard of.
Not long after we started attending, during one of the Sacrament meetings the person conducting the meeting announced that all the primary children would come forward and sing a song they had practiced. I remember looking at my mother and asking, "Mom, what's primary?" Her reply was a simple shoulder shrug. She didn't know either. When the time came, Lisa and I were encouraged to go forward with the others. I had no idea what the song was or what to do so I just stood there. As it turns out, this is not uncommon even for kids who did know the song and had practiced. To anyone who has ever witnessed a primary musical number at church the phenomenon will seem familiar.
I have referred back to this experience many times over the years as an example for members of the church to recognize the unique culture and vocabulary we use in the church. We can often use words with others who are visiting for the first time that leaves them puzzled about what they have heard or witnessed. The same can be true in conversations with friends, though in those cases it can lead to questions that open the door for a gospel conversation. My encouragement to long-time members of the church is not to assume that everyone around us has the same understanding as we do as we use jargon that seems so familiar to us.
When we first began investigating the church, and later after Mom and Lisa were baptized, we attended the branch in Sunbury, PA. It was something like a 45 minute drive. Getting up early on Sunday, putting on nice clothes, and driving to a town I hadn't been to before seemed like a real novelty. Thankfully it was to become more than a novelty. Back then we did not have the modern block meeting schedule. Sacrament and Sunday School were both on Sunday with time in between for lunch. We had food we brought with us, and when the weather was nice we sat outside to eat it. Primary, like other youth programs, were held separately on a week night. We could not go that distance twice a week so the idea was foreign to me, something at first I hadn't even heard of.
Not long after we started attending, during one of the Sacrament meetings the person conducting the meeting announced that all the primary children would come forward and sing a song they had practiced. I remember looking at my mother and asking, "Mom, what's primary?" Her reply was a simple shoulder shrug. She didn't know either. When the time came, Lisa and I were encouraged to go forward with the others. I had no idea what the song was or what to do so I just stood there. As it turns out, this is not uncommon even for kids who did know the song and had practiced. To anyone who has ever witnessed a primary musical number at church the phenomenon will seem familiar.
I have referred back to this experience many times over the years as an example for members of the church to recognize the unique culture and vocabulary we use in the church. We can often use words with others who are visiting for the first time that leaves them puzzled about what they have heard or witnessed. The same can be true in conversations with friends, though in those cases it can lead to questions that open the door for a gospel conversation. My encouragement to long-time members of the church is not to assume that everyone around us has the same understanding as we do as we use jargon that seems so familiar to us.
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