This is a first for me, three posts in one day! But I just have to say something. Towards the end of Mom's life her favorite word became, "unbelievable". If she was in our Relief Society class today, she certainly would have uttered that word. Lisa and I certainly uttered it several times on our way home from church.
Whatever happened to people being reverent in church and being respectful in God's house? As a child and youth I was always taught to be reverent at church. I was taught that the church is God's house and we need to respect Him in His house. As a child that meant folding arms, bowing head, walking slowly, speaking quietly, wearing your Sunday best, showing basic respect.
Over the decades I've noticed casualness creeping into worship services in church. For a lot of people Sunday best has become casual; denim, flip-flops, etc. Church hallways are loud and boisterous with kids running around. Even the old ladies in Relief Society are not as reverent as they once were.
I've been in Relief Society for 34 years now. And I've been in the church for over half a century. And I've been to church every week for all those years. I've never before experienced what happened today.
Ironically, the Relief Society lesson was about finding rest from the world. The teacher asked a question – which I can't even remember what it was at this point – but a sister sitting in the back casually doing some kind of embroidery or cross-stitch raised her hand.
When called upon she proceeded to tell all of us that she doesn't like people and we creep her out. And she said she was sitting there listening to all of the comments being made and doesn't buy all of the BS. Except she used the entire profanity. In church! My heart leapt into my throat and I was shocked.
She then went on some rant for 10 minutes about how she homeschools her kids and detailed some experiment they did with the metamorphosis of monarch butterflies. I don't know what her point was. But I do know that she disrespected God in His own house and offended me and probably every other sister in the room.
If others weren't offended, they should have been. I don't get offended easily, but profanity – especially in God's house! – offends me. Not much shocks me anymore, but that did. I was not expecting to be accosted with profanity at church.
Ironically the lesson was about finding rest from the world when that sister brought the world into church. I go to church as a refuge from the world. Today, instead of refuge, I was bombarded with the world.
Today, I was going to make my first comment in Relief Society in 34 years but didn't get called on. Then, another sister said basically what I was going to say so I didn't feel the need to speak after that.
Mortality is becoming more and more surreal. Even in the church. I mean even most people who have gone apostate and no longer attend church or believe it's doctrines would have enough respect to not profane in church.
It's the last days. These are crazy times we are living in. Chaos and evil surround us. Now, we can't even seek refuge at church without being accosted with profanity. As Mom would say, "Unbelievable!".
Unbelievable indeed.
That's my two cents.
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