If there is one thing that will always keep me "less active" it is how boring, dull, uninspired and all other boring words the LDS Sacrament meetings are. Is it possible there is any religious service that is more boring than the LDS Sacrament Meeting?

This is probably the thing that most influenced me in leaving the church. Every sunday I would look around and say "really, this is it, this is the one true church? God really expects us to put up with 3 hours of this crap every sunday?" So I started doing some research on what God really wanted.

I can't think of any. Sacrament meeting should really be cut down to 40 minutes or so imo... It got easier as I grew older (since time seems to go by faster), but as a child it was so difficult. You have so much energy in you, and you're expected to sit still AND be silent for over an hour. It seemed like it would never end each week.

However, on Fast Sunday it can be entertaining. There was always a bit of drama at some sort in my ward at testimony meetings. Usually Relief Society sisters passive-aggressively insulting other Relief Society members lol.

When I worked for the Air Force there was a phrase... "A twenty minute meeting crammed into three hours."

...sorta' like a really long funeral with a real skimpy snack.

The only interesting times to go were fast ant testimony meetings. The crazy people always have the weirdest and funniest stories. It made me able to not be totally bored. And the crazy people would go up and talk every month.

I've been to religious services for over 50 denominations and religions, and I would say that LDS is definitely in the top 3 for most boring. Other ones that make it include Christian Science and Worldwide Church of God offshoots.

No.

I don't know. I found Sacrament meeting to be unintentionally funny sometimes. Especially when someone would say something that revealed their cultural & artistic ignorance. Like the first counselor pronouncing Chopin as "Chop-in".

No..well I have heard the JW's are similar. I went to a Catholic mass that almost rivaled morons SM, but not quite. I was in a ward where theonly thing the Bishop pricks allowed to be taught in SM was to basically read or summarize articles from the new ensign. That was boring on steroids.

Sooooo boring... I have a phobia about meetings because of all the time I wasted in those boring meetings in my life

Menno services I attended:

skits

singing hymns in Rounds, vocal parts.

coffee hour afterwards, a monthly pot-luck.

discussion of decisions.

a skillful pastor.


with Sunday School (hiatus in summer), about 2 - 2 1/2 hours, but including coffee.

people were often networking in open areas about community projects (there was after-school remedial tutoring for disadvantaged students who were bussed Directly to church)

people were Actively involved BECAUSE THEY WANTED TO BE, NOT BY ASSIGNMENT!

180 Degrees different from MoChurch, IMHO.

I agree with this. I've never seen so many people who look so happy to be at church than at our local Mennonite church. And their 2 services on Sunday are packed. Lots of kids, but they know how to shut up.

where R U?

I hooked with Mennos in Toledo, OH.

I'm in Calgary, Alberta. Not sure about yours in Ohio, ours here are not the ones everyone thinks of (Amish like). They are the more liberal branch and lead lives like everyone else in modern society. Nice pastor who doesn't have a mean bone in his body and actually has some training to be the spiritual guide for people...shocking, I know.

Technology and the internet have salvaged what one can do to get through Sac. Mtg. Now even strong TBM families I know allow their kids to play on tablets or phones or color/play games so they will not get bored out of their mind. I doubt they have any idea what is going on except they are told to fold their arms and close their eyes during the prayers. When they go to Primary they finally get worn out from all the games and go to sleep in sharing time.

When I first resigned from the Mormon cult, I spent more than a year investigating other churches. Every service I went to was more interesting than the Mormon meetings! Every one! They had professional speakers, for starters. The Christian and the secular churches had more meaningful messages, that could be applied to my present, daily life. Essentially, the messages were of love, family, kindness to others, charity, serving in the community. Whatever the sermon, I would be UPLIFTED afterwards. Mormon speeches were depressing to me.

Some of these churches joined together in group service programs. There was a feeling of togetherness and friendliness, instead of the Mormon teachings of separateness (Mormons are a "peculiar people") and elitism (other churches don't have the REAL gospel) and snobbery (Mormons are the ONLY TRUE church).

When I first resigned, I really needed to connect, to feel unconditional love, to hear "The Word", to experience groups who seemed truly "nice."

Mormon meetings are worse than simply boring--they are PUNITIVE! The message is that Mormons must serve MORE, pay MORE tithing, bring in MORE new members, every member a missionary, go to the temple, beware of porn, prepare for disasters. Members are threatened with outer darkness, not being together forever, "losing" their children to "The World" if the children start missing meetings. "The World" is to be feared, according to Mormonism. I discovered that the world is filled with love, and truly good people. The Mormons were just pretending to be god and loving. That falseness, the lies, the threats, the lack of love, the quest for perfection, the constant criticism--would give me a headache and spiral me down into my recurring "Sunday Depression."

My children and I weren't just bored--we hated church.

+ a JILLION!

I hear there is a lost Tibetan civilization that used to have monks sit in a cell, and concentrate in complete silence until they wasted away, at which point they believed they found Nirvana. That may actually be more boring. Probably not by much though.

I know you won't believe this but when I was a child in the 60s and 70s the services were infinitely more interesting than they are today. We had the old blue hymn book with the old Lutheran songs and people used to sing loud and proud.

I went to a sacrament service about ten years ago with my brother and sister-in-law and I was astounded at how dull, boring, and sad the meetings had become. Haven't been to another one since.

Yes, the old blue hymn book was a zillion times better. I'm a bit younger than you, so I was still in Primary when they were replaced. I was all excited because they were new, but then I realized it sucked because they had actually put Primary songs in it, & I could tell that the arraignments were simpler. (I was taking piano lessons at the time, but with a serious professional nevermo.) Plus, the elimination of verses was pretty bad too.

Incidentally, my mom even still has a copy of the old red hymn book from decades back.

I'm sure their are some that are more boring, but not as pointless.

Boring? What about Scientologists. Staring contests, purpetuaally shouting at ashtrays for hours on end, endless 'auditing' sessions to exersise out your space alien cooties. Oh, and pay exorbanant 'donations'for the privledge to do so.

I think many ex-scientlolgist would describe many of their experiences as downright painful. Can you imagine being ordered to...'look at that wall...walk over to that wall...touch that wall...turn around' over and over again for hours on end? And thats super mild, right at the begining of the scientology indoctorination.

Every Wednesday we had Meeting. <-- sitting in concentric circles in silence unless you were moved to speak. (Just like other religions, not all Friends worship the same.)

When I was 12, it was boring hell. When I was 14, it was a nice meditation. Some meeting were total silence, but sometimes someone would stand up and say something, moved not by some supernatural force IMO but just moved to share, and that one thought would set off a change reaction of other people being insightful and interesting and open.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/06/2013 01:50AM by Beth.

I can think of several meetings more boring than a LDS Sacrament Meeting:

1. LDS Fast & Testimony Meeting
2. LDS Stake Conference
3. LDS General Conference

Interestingly at a Stake Conference this year, one of the Stake Presidency stood up and chastised the members because attendance at that conference was at an all time low. That's right, it's the audiences fault that people don't want to come listen....

I wonder about a JW church meeting. I cannot imagine that it could be any better than an LDS one. I'm morbidly curious, but too afraid to tangle with them and get on any of their lists. Don't need to be harassed by yet another group of psychos.