I guess I forgot to mention that I took a shower last night and hung my clothes up in the human bathroom in order to reduce the wrinkles in them. Wrinkles in Arkansas aren’t really so much of a big deal because the humidity does the ironing for you. 🙃
But I took a shower, used my underwear as my washcloth, as usual, while traveling in order to clean both me and my clothes at the same time. 😅
So in the morning, I was able to just wake up, throw on my clothes, and head out to church with Jared.
It had been a long time since I had been to church. And I didn’t have any church clothes, so it was just a pair of jeans and a polo shirt, the same shirt that I had purchased to wear to my friend’s wedding dinner the week before.
I thought it was kind of funny that for my first Sunday back, It was a primary program. For those of you who aren’t aware, the first meeting for members of the Church of Jesus Christ latter-day saints is all together, as families, in a big congregation hall, and there is no paid clergy at the local level, so it’s just the members of that particular congregation that each one another. During that first meeting, there’s usually a few speakers and some announcements and some hymns and all that jazz, and of course the most important part of the meeting being the administration of the sacrament (in latter-day-saint [Mormon] culture, it’s generally done with bread and water as opposed to bread and wine).
A few times a year, there’s a primary program. The primary is the name given to the group of children ages 11 and under. They have their own classes by age and what not, but together they are called the primary.
Anyway, so it was a primary program for the sacrament meeting (the first big meeting), which meant that all the children of the primary went up to the front, many with speaking parts, sharing testimonies or experiences or beliefs or whatever, and then several songs that they sang is a whole group.
Church moved from a 3-hour, three-meeting structure to a 2-hour, two-meeting structure a couple of years ago, I think? I want to say that the purpose was to give families more time at home together. I don’t remember for sure.
Anyway, we chatted with some people after the first meeting who came up to us. Obviously, not dressed in regular Sunday clothes, I was clearly sticking out quite a bit. 🙃
The second meeting was splitting off with the men in their various classes, and the women in their various classes. The third meeting that used to be now alternates with the second meeting, every other Sunday, or something like that. So when week it’ll be Sunday school with everyone together by age group after the first big meeting, and then the next week it’ll be everyone together by age group, but also separated by sex.
Anyway, so I was in what It’s called priesthood. And when I was an active member, I was considered an elder. So I was in the elder’s quorum for the second hour.
It was interesting to be back. As always interesting to be a visitor somewhere else, but it’s very similar, generally, wherever you are in the world.
I was a bit amused that in addition to lots of good things top, there was also a decent amount of speculation and things being taught as doctrine that… weren’t. 😆
But that’s pretty normal when you have a bunch of imperfect people who understand the gospel in perfectly trying to teach things that they have testimonies and experiences of, but don’t understand fully themselves because, well, there’s a whole lot to know, and life is a process. Learning comes little by little. So you do the best you can with what you have, and you are patient with those who may not have the understanding that you do, and do you hope that they are patient with you when their understanding might be greater than yours.
After church, I stayed to chat with a gentleman who was sitting in front of me, while my brother chatted with the teacher of the class. We probably stayed for maybe 10 or 15 minutes, and then we headed home and ate lunch.
I do miss gospel things. I’m still hesitant and afraid because I’m very quick to doubt and fear, but I do miss and love pondering the principles and doctrines of the gospel.
After lunch, my brother and I headed up Provo Canyon back to Slide Canyon. I had never taken him up there before, so it was fun to show him one of my little getaways. It’s so close to the valley and the hustle and bustle, and it comes right off of the main highway up the Canyon from Provo to Heber, but with the running of the water, and Ben’s and turns in the canyon, he no longer are able to hear the rush of cars, and you just feel away from all the hustle and bustle and stress of everything.
We hung out for a little while up the canyon, enjoying the scenery, the sound of the water, and the beauty of the waterfall that we have hiked to. We chatted for a little bit, and we took some pictures both on the way up, while we were at the waterfall, and on the way down.
The avalanche that came through made it a little harder of a hike than it used to be, but in some ways that means there are likely going to be many fewer people up the canyon. So it maintains its more out of the way feeling, even though it’s so close to civilization.
After heading down, we drove back to Jared’s house, where we met up with my mom and transferred everything from the Civic that I had been driving for the last week or so back to ET. Once we were all loaded up, my mom and I began our trip west toward California.
The drive was really good heading west. My mom and I spent a couple hours, or so, talking about prayer, and the purpose of prayer, and what prayer really looks like when you are taking into account the true nature of God and the purpose and meaning of life and everything.
Great conversation. 😊
We stopped for the night in winnemucca at a truck stop and called it a night.
Lift the world.
~ stephen
Lift the World 