Anyone who is willing to participate and comfortable doing so is encouraged to help me with my Bloggernacle Experiment this Sunday, March 6th. For the background on this experiment read Part I, including the comments.
Participants will keep note of how many testimonies in their testimony meeting this Sunday mention the Savior, Joseph Smith, and the Book of Mormon either directly or obliquely.
In a recent comment on the Ten Commandments of Speaking of Church, Jim told us about an experiment he once performed with Sacrament Meeting Talks:
For about 1 year, I kept a record of the talks in Sacrament Meeting. I organized each talk into one of three categories – A ) talks that explicitly mentioned the Savior, B ) talks that included some indirect reference to the Savior, and C ) talks that did not mention the Savior at all (except for the obligatory “in the name of…” at the end).
I don’t remember the final numbers, but proportionally, the talks for each category (A:B:C) fell out something like 1:5:4 – and that included monthly testimonies by Bishopric members, ward conference, high councilors, etc.
I never shared my survey with anyone at the time – it was only for my own amusement, since I wasn’t getting much else out of the talks at the time).
Still, I think the results show at least one reason why I wasn’t getting much out of the talks.
Jim’s post gave me an idea. I’d like to repeat and extend Jim’s experiment, but this time, harness the power of the bloggernacle to do it.
There is something wrong with mission stories. At least, that is what you might be led to believe by the way we avoid them and the way we apologize for sharing them. For instance, look at how Ben Huff introduced a mission story that he was posting. He started off with “Can y’all stomach a mission story right now?”
I’ve known Ben for a long time and I always enjoy his posts and comments. I hope he doesn’t mind my using his post as an example. Why did Ben feel obligated to preface his mission experience in this way? Is there some kind of unwritten law of Mormondom that says that, for the most part, mission experiences are undesirable?
To let everyone know, Hugh Nibley just passed away today. We’ve elected not to discuss the book of his daughter on this blog. Still, I must say that having the book come out the same week that the family will be dealing the funeral is a horrible burden to bear. I can’t imagine what that must be like for the family. Our hearts and prayers go out to the family. Having to spend ones last days going through this is something I wouldn’t wish on anyone. I can only be thankful that Hugh Nibley is now in a place where his heart can be open and see things as they are.
Perhaps a few of you have noticed a constant trend among some people. It appears often in comments in Sunday School or other lessons. It’s the idea that not only is the world not getting better, it is actually getting worse and worse. Am I the only one this bothers?