A recent post of mine, Over instructed and under converted, addressed some issues of extensive instruction in the church. Sacrament meetings, many would agree, are a little on the slow side…
Not always…
A number of years ago, a visitor came into our sacrament meeting and sat up the back. He had arrived about 10 minutes after the meeting had begun. He was dishevelled in his appearance. After being seated for a few minutes he started to respond to some of the things that were being said from the pulpit – something far more common in other churches….certainly not ours. His voice started to increase in volume and his comments became more and more inappropriate. One of the members, a large Tongan brother, spoke to him and nicely suggested that they walk out into the foyer and have a chat so that the meeting could continue. The man refused and pushed the brother in the chest. Needless to say they both ended up in the foyer for a chat.
That was probably the most memorable Sacrament meeting I had ever seen. Don’t remember what was taught, but remember the wrestle!!!!
Recently, one of the more eccentric members in our Ward has taken to wear industrial strength ear muffs from when he arrives to the beginning of the sacrament meeting (see above picture for exact example).
What have been the oddest things that have occurred during a sacrament meeting in your neck of the woods?
Wheat & Tares 
I blogged about a gas leak at church that cause us to leave early.
We had a Pentacostal convert in my home ward who also was supposed to be on some sort of medication. She had manic episodes where she couldn’t control her exuberance. I do recall that when I would give talks it was very validating to have her rap her fan on the pew in front of her and shout “Amen!” or “Hallelujah!” One day, she was really off with her meds, and she couldn’t stop laughing. She actually started running up and down the aisles between the pews, laughing. She was helped out, and they called an ambulance. Obviously, that was too bad, but I always thought we needed more people from other faiths to liven up our dull congregations.
Last winter during a cold snap, the water in one of the overhead sprinklers froze. On Sunday morning when the building warmed up, the inevitable occurred. Halfway through sacrament meeting, the entire congregation could hear the roar of the water rushing out of the broken sprinkler in the foyer. After about 10 minutes, someone eventually got it shut off. Several brothers propped open the double doors to the outside and were using snow shovels to shove the water–which was about a 1/2 inch deep over most of the foyer–outside, where it promptly froze into an ice sheet.
The high councilman speaking at the time never even looked up from reading his talk. I’m not sure he noticed.
One Sunday, a mouse ran through the chapel and up a woman’s skirt. Another Sunday, one of the teachers who prepared the sacrament spiked the water with soap, which caused immediate vomiting in some.
Well, I’ve seen people pass out at the stand a couple of times.
One week the organist who hadn’t slept all night finally had her sleeping tablets kick in, and had to lie down and sleep.
And copied over from my comment on your previous post:
a few months ago a young man who attends our ward with carers was enthusiastically clapping and dancing throughout the Battle Hymn of the Republic (all those Glory, glory, alleluias) which brought a spirit of happiness and joy to the meeting that I really wish we could experience every week.
One week during primary a light fitting in the corridor caught fire – the primary children were all evacuated from the building, but elsewhere lessons carried on as normal (the fire extinguished once the light was turned off, but still – what’s a fire alarm for?) the rest of us oblivious.
And one week we had a fire drill during the last 10 minutes of lessons – a legal requirement, but something I’ve only experienced the once nevertheless.
I did hear of a Bishop elsewhere in the stake who cancelled meetings at the church building and instructed members to attend other wards that week, on health and safety grounds – carpet fitters who hadn’t yet finished had left their knives lying around.
While I was blessing the sacrament for the first time, some kid found the pepper spray in his mom’s purse. The smell was so strong that they cancelled church after everyone ran out coughing.
had a lady in our ward say she was going to kill us all because are souls were laughing at her.
turns out she was schizophrenic and off her meds. was interesting to see.
Back in high school there was a group of Calvary Baptists who showed up during fast and testimony meeting, took their turn and revoked the bad spirits from our midst and called us to repentance.
In one ward the Ward Clerk was speaking on Scout Sunday had all of the Eagle scouts stand up and said, “These are the Elite among us.”
While not really notable while at ricks college one year we met in the ballroom with a disco ball and the next year a nursing classroom with those replica skeletons hanging around.
My friends in Indiana had church called off for several weeks due to spider infestations (wolf or hobo or something like that). It took several tries for the pest control to work, so they had at least a month off church.
Another friend in rural pennsylvania had a woman in her ward bring a pet goat to church every week. She’d often bring the goat into the primary room at random times.
We had a Ukrainian Convert, who will kneel in the pew prior to the start of Sacrament meeting.
Someone told me about a family in their ward that used to set up a picnic in the back of the cultural and have lunch during Sacrament meeting.
We’ve called off Church after Sacrament Meeting because our well was not operating and we had no water. In fact, once was Ward Conference. We had a few called off because of weather.
Kristine A: What in blazes is “Scout Sunday”?
Scout Sunday
noun A Latter-day Saint worship meeting devoted to the adoration of the Boy Scouts of America. Adult scout leaders and boy scouts are encouraged to wear scout uniforms in place of Sunday best. All of the messages delivered in the meeting relate to scouting.
Observance of this meeting is thankfully in decline.
Thankfully it is, although that happened only three or four years ago, and the bishop got more complaints about that sacrament meeting than anything else in his tenure.
The same ward clerk sent a ward email out to everyone ripping the local university’s ticketing department for not giving BYU fans preference in buying group tickets when the basketball team came through. That was fun, too.
For the record, the current Scouting supplement to the Church Handbook, (May 2012 Revision):
8.11 Scouting Month
“February has traditionally been designated
Scouting Month in the United States. Leaders of
Scouting units chartered by the Church may plan
and carry out approved activities during the week
to recognize this tradition. However, in keeping
with the purposes of Sabbath observance, boys
and leaders do not wear their uniforms to regular
Sunday meetings or while administering and
passing the sacrament.”
It was a very hot summer day in St George UT. A young man returned from his mission was giving a talk in our sacrament meeting, you could tell he was very nervous. It seemed like everyone was asleep or lethargic from the heat in our building, but my mom was very aptly paying attention. Out of nowhere my mom shoots up in her seat and yells “GRAB HIM! GRAB HIM!” the young man had locked his knees, combined with the heat, it made him pass out. My mom was able to get the first counselors attention to catch him before he hit the ground, but not before hitting his head on the podium.
This story came full circle recently when my mother was the midwife for that young mans sister in law, apparently he still hasn’t lived it down.
I thought February was both Domestic Violence Awareness month and Black History month. No, apparently it’s Scouting month.
Possibly your wearer of ear-defenders is hyper-sensitive to sound. This can be a problem for those on the autistic spectrum. My son had a period a school when he was younger where he wore ear defenders for sound sensitivity issues. My husband uses ear defenders with higher specifications than those mandated by health & safety when in noisy environments at work, and also when in the same room as my daughter and/or I practising trumpet.
I did think of that. Being a PhD student in Psych, I’ve thought a lot about this particular person and his psychological welfare, including the possibility of autism. That is not the case with this person…
Had a client who had schizophrenia report that in her ward’s last testimony meeting, the spirit told her to bear her testimony “in a pure fashion, soul to soul, no barriers.” So, when she arrived at the pulpit, she began a normal, typical testimony, then so there would be no barriers, she took off all her clothes.
She angrily reported that the members of the bishopric escorted her off the stand.
The price we all pay sharing the planet with people who are neurotranmitterly-different.
The bishop was sermonizing that he didn’t want the accordion doors of the chapel opened for overflow. In the middle of his speech, someone from the lobby came in and began opening the accordion doors, obviously oblivious.
The bishop tried several times to get his attention with, “Excuse me. EXCUSE me.” When this poor guy finally turned around and looked up, all eyes were on him.
The bishop repeated the gist of his sermon to this guy, who countered that it was standing room only out in the lobby. The bishop said they should have come sit up in the choir seats, but he reluctantly conceded that he could open the doors…”but next time ASK me.” Awkward.
True story. Strange people where I live. Small town.
A few years ago we had a state highway patrol officer in my ward (not a nice person either). He always came to church in uniform.
One Sunday an investigator family came to church with a member family. They sat together in the chapel. Halfway through Sacrament meeting the officer leaves. After Sacrament I was one of the first ones to leave because I had a class. As the doors open, on both sides of the chapel, we are faced with guns leveled at us. Some people start to scream. Chaos ensues. The ward member officer makes his way into the chapel and arrests the investigator father, in the chapel, in front of his children. Outside the whole building is surrounded by police with guns drawn.
The investigator father had an outstanding warrant for his arrest, and the member officer recognized him. The offense? DUI’s.
Many years ago sitting in Sacrament meeting I heard the speaker talking about The Creation / evolution debate , and instead of saying ‘organism’, the word “orgasm ” slipped out of his seedy mouth ! ( I was probably the only one in the congregation who was actually aware of an excessively sordid double life this man was leading . ) I looked around to see if anyone noticed the speakers slip of the tongue , and everyone appeared straight faced ( or laced ) except up on the stand , the Bishop had his face in his hands , and his shoulders were convulsing with quiet laughter, and the speaker continued without any apparent awareness of his hilarious blunder . For the rest of the meeting , the Bishop and I did our best to avoid catching each other’s eye for fear of breaking out in fits of uncontrollable laughter . Needless to say , it later gave me an opportunity to theorise with the Bishop as to why such a blunder might occur to such a man.