This just in from the Deseret News: “Church changes meeting schedule for Easter and Christmas holidays.” The Church “will continue a recent practice of holding only sacrament meeting on Easter Sunday and the Sunday closest to Christmas.” So, one-hour church is here, twice a year. Now we just need to add a few more holidays to the list: Thanksgiving. Columbus Day (hey, he’s in the Book of Mormon). The Fourth of July. A few more: Pioneer Day. Mother’s Day (and of course Father’s Day and Grandparents Day). Opening day of hunting season. Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter Solstices. First day of Daylight Savings. Super Bowl Sunday. The Sunday closest to the birthday of every single LDS President. Donald Trump’s birthday (remember, Mike Lee thinks Trump is Captain Moroni). Mike Pence’s birthday (he saved the Constitution, which the D&C declares as inspired). Elder Uchtdorf’s birthday (by popular demand).
Let’s add some details so this is a serious proposal. Have Primary every week — during Sacrament meeting (think how reverent that meeting will now become). Once a month, have a late-afternoon set of second-hour meetings along with a potluck dinner in the gym. Casual dress. Have Relief Society, Priesthood, and Sunday School all offered at once. Let adults choose where they want to attend. Every teacher will up their lesson game if they want people to keep coming rather than going to one of the other meetings.
What do you think about the new one-hour meeting on Easter and Christmas? What do you think about an expanded one-hour program?
Wheat & Tares 
Thumbs up for the one-hour meeting Ideas – we could extend the DJT birthday celebration worldwide by just renaming it Benevolent Dictators Day.
Why not go even further to improve the quality of one-hour meetings? Like get rid of F&T meetings (I know, tough to give up travelmonies and the incessant look at me remarks), give speakers relevant topics and ample notice. Limit GA quotes to one per quarter. Plan quality musical numbers that are tied to the meeting theme.
Who knows, perhaps there would be more people in the pews with fewer heads bowed looking at their phones.
I’m pretty sure that on average Wheat and Tares readers attend less than an hour of church currently. But as one who does attend, this is a crappy idea. I attend to worship. I attend to serve.
Personally, my attendance isn’t going to be affected one way or the other by one-hour Sundays. There are so many other considerations in when and how I participate.
But there are some relevant considerations in a broader context, including:
1. (At least in the circles I run in) regular calls for more of a liturgical calendar, where we really do recognize Easter and Christmas and add a few more feast days.
2. Clarifying that “attend your meetings” in the temple recommend question means Sacrament Meeting (only). I suspect (but don’t really know) that’s one of the common interpretations, but there surely are “every meeting every time” respondents.
3. Total revamp of programs for the youth. I can get my head around Primary in several configurations. I don’t know how to do the youth programs (don’t look to me for answers!!) but I would start there and build out the meeting schedule from the youth program. Not the other way around.
I give the Church credit for this decision because at least it didn’t claim this was the Lord’s will or that this decision was made as part of the “revelatory process”. Nope. This was an organizational decision made by the leaders of the organization for very practical reasons. Hint: so were other recent decisions
I’m torn on this. Old Man is right that it affects me zero. I do think that for these two big religious holidays it’s kind of obviously the right decision, and these should be choral music heavy Sundays, not talks on tithing assigned to randos, as occasionally has been the norm in the past. The issue is that less isn’t always more. Sometimes less is just less. The problem is that second hour meetings, activities, cultural events, and linger longer potlucks are the things that build community, and honestly, a lot of parents relish that Primary takes away their parenting burden for 1-2 hours a week, but also invests others in the community in their kids. There’s something gratifying as a parent about other adults thinking your kids are as great as you think they are, and wanting to help with their care. The problems with second hour church is that they’ve been correlated to death, and the further to the right the church has become, the less rich the discussion has become. The people who are left are on the whole less thoughtful and curious, or else that’s just geographic differences (although I’ve heard it from friends all over the country). The lazy learners are the ones left, and being in a book club with them is not appealing.
It’s possible that this is a problem that’s broader than the LDS church. Maybe all religions are just winnowing down to the least interesting people in society. Who knows?
It’s an odd message being sent, sort of the reverse of the rest of christianity. Religious devotion is important to the tune of 2 hours on normal Sundays. But on religious holidays, only one hour is sufficient. Of course it shouldn’t be about the quantity of time, but more about doing special things with that time. But that’s not what happens, a few choral numbers notwithstanding.
Angela,
I know how you are feeling because I too imagine people at church don’t think and so on like you said. However, when I do speak up there’s always a few people that come to me later and thank me. I think there are a lot more interesting thinkers that come to church than you know about. It’s just that many of us are quiet about it.
Old Man,
Your judgement of commenters is noted and is very inaccurate, at least in my case. I will automatically assume you don’t know what you are talking about in the future.
De Novo,
I have mixed feelings about your ideas. My husband will go to church but not F&T meeting, so that suggestion might be beneficial. I personally get tired of hearing about how everything is “true”. But it is an opportunity for people to speak up without being controlled by the bishop (at least initially…he can always ask you to sit down). I loved bearing a more complex testimony for many years and I don’t mind hearing from ward members even when I disagree.
I agree that I would like more musical numbers and less GA quotes and conference talks.
Christian Kimball,
I like all your suggestions.
The one-hour stuff is not about worshipping or not worshipping–it’s about staffing. Telling people to forego visits to family so that they can teach their Sunday school class is contrary to the spirit of both holidays. Trying to find subs for all of the people who are out of town does not facilitate worship–only chaos. One could make a similar argument for Thanksgiving, but not much else.
One hour or two hours at church isn’t going to change who we are the other hours of the week. What we hear on Sunday and do on Monday are two very different things for many of us. I think I’d rather concentrate on getting my Sunday and Monday selves more unified.
Well, personally, I probably shouldn’t comment because I attend zero hour Mormon church, but worship my creator in nature whenever possible.
But I agree with Angela that meetings are what build community, but church meetings have become so worthless that they are not really even worship, or community building, or uplifting, let alone entertaining or fun. So, personally, unless the church can make meetings worth something, anything, then they might as well cancel the whole of it.
How about we try to make the sacrament meeting talks uplifting, educational, spiritual, individual, anything except regurgitated conference talks that were boring pablum to begin with. Then let’s make Relief Society a program that meets the women’s actual needs instead of being a men’s program for women. I stopped caring how male church leaders want women to serve the church. I need more of how to follow Christ as a woman, how to juggle work, parenting and church, how to feel God loves me when the church treats me as second class. Well, the men can worry about how to make priesthood worthwhile. But Sunday school needs more real gospel teaching and less going over the same old same old. There is good Biblical analysis, better translations, more in depth study that could all improve on the current boredom.
Let’s get primary and Relief Society off of Sunday so some of the non sabbath activities and FUN are possible again. It is like the church realized that teenagers need fun, and peer involvement and activities, but nobody else does?????
But then let’s make all meeting except Sacrament meeting optional. This way teachers have to make t worthwhile or nobody comes. Even ward correlation and bishopric meetings are optional and anybody who feels they are worthless just doesn’t have to show up. Poof, all meetings should improve in quality.
And let’s have potluck linger longer after Sacrament meetings.
Oh, we don’t have room in the buildings? Then go back to every ward has its own building. The church is rich enough that if it wanted to improve, it could figure out how to manage it. But as long as top church leaders don’t give a blank about the quality of the total church program, why should members?
Bravo Anna. What a beautiful vision of church building community you share. Hopefully our leaders do care more than you are feeling and seeing. I always try to have hope
Don’t forget Groundhog Day!
70% of my Sunday mornings are spent at dirt church (trail running or mountain biking) and the other 30% are spent hanging with friends or reading a book. The only real input I have is that I’m 100% happier with my new arrangement.
Thanks for the comments, everyone.
It probably won’t surprise most of you that I’m not 100% serious on proposing one-hour church every Sunday. I’m not even 50% serious in that proposal.
yourfoodallergy, that’s a great point I hadn’t thought of. Many denominations add services for Easter and Christmas, but here we are cutting down services on these holidays. Interesting choice, but strangely in line with the family first emphasis of the Church.
lastlemming, another great point. It’s hard to run second hour, especially Primary, if half the teachers leave town to visit family. Bravo for a pragmatic administrative decision that makes life easier for everyone.
Several have commented how regular (if not weekly) Linger Longers would be a good thing, community-wise. It sure does seem like the community-feeling index of the average LDS ward is in decline.
You guys should be Buddhists. Buddhists can just go to the temple whenever they want, and stay as long as they feel like.
“Mike Lee thinks Trump is Captain Moroni”
I’m almost sure I’ve heard him called something similar to that.
Full disclosure: I attend Anna’s church =)
Two hour church really is a misnomer. I could have muscled through two hour church if I needed to. But then you add ward council, and stake trainings, and youth firesides (nothing is more fun than spending your Sunday evening driving your teen 20 minutes one way to a 50 minute meeting and sitting in your car because driving home and back again makes no sense), and ward choir because your family is the only one willing to admit they play the piano, and it really consumes your entire day. Then add weekday seminary. It was just too much for something I didn’t find valuable. Some members call me selfish; oh well.
If something further needs to go, it’s what happens in sacrament meeting after we take the sacrament. I’d rather sit through class than any more high council talks or F&T meetings. YMMV.
lws329,
My guesstimate of the average church attendance of T&S readers was not intended as a judgment of anyone. The reality is that a good many already attend one-hour church or no church at all. And I doubt any suggested change will move the needle much… Except maybe fresh pie?
Old Man, your response to lws329 was kind, respectful. I think that if she hadn’t gotten defensive by taking your first sentence personally, it is likely that she may have agreed with your reasons FOR attending church.
I’m sure we can all find ways to agreeably disagree, and not put down those with whom we disagree.
Leveling,
Oh.. I really liked Old Man’s response (and yours) but I suppose you can’t tell who likes on your comments…
I own it. I do take things personally. I deal with it by asking about it. Then the other person has the opportunity to straighten me up, as Old Man skillfully did. If I had stayed quiet and resented him, I never would have heard his next response. Thanks for the great discussion
@Old Man – Adding fresh pie to church is 100% the correct answer here.
I find that shortened church meetings are more of a symptom of the decline in church community than the cause of it. They’ve hollowed out the youth programs. The new Come Follow Me manuals are the spiritual equivalent of fast food french fries – they’re predictable and seem delicious at first, but never quite leave you feeling satisfied or nourished.
People are starving for that sense of community, but in many ways we’ve forgotten how to build it. People will attend three hours of church if there’s something worth coming for (like pie).
I’m 100% for 1 hour if General Conference falls on that Sunday
I really like the idea of an extended Sacrament meeting on Christmas and Easter with hopefully lots of good and participatory music. Those days are often special family celebrations so it helps not to have to prepare lessons etc. Since it’s a worldwide church it wouldn’t be appropriate for other holidays. It was possibly about 15 years ago or more when we were visiting a family member’s ward on Easter Sunday – it was also the high council visit week and there was no Easter talk or music – someone dropped the ball there.
Why we’re at it – can someone tell me why there has to be 10 hours of talks on GC weekend? I suppose the answer is so they can get talks from all the 15 GAs, cycle through assorted 70 and the few token women 😩
Yes. Conference is too long. It needs to be shorter and as many women as men speak, if they are going to continue saying women are equal to men. Even if the men are to “preside” either in the firm way it’s often actually done or the benevolent way Soares recommended, there’s nothing about having the priesthood or presiding that means men should talk all the time while women must speak little, in conference, or any other place. Really, there’s nothing to justify it but patriarchal tradition. Let go please. We will survive the change. It has to happen if we want to keep our youth.
I agree with 1 hour church and I think GC should only be 1 day. It is mind boggling to try to pay attention and remember everything that is said in 2 days of talks. GC should be to receive guidance from our prophet.