Sundays are a nice break during the session. Though I like being stopped by constituents to discuss issues in the store or at a restaurant, I used to bristle that every other conversation at church is on some issue the legislature is facing. I thought there should be one place I could just relax.
My wife, Sara, finally suggested that maybe it had less to do with me and politics than it had to do with my friends and neighbors just wanting to be friendly and talk about something I was doing. She was right, of course. Now, we talk about politics, family, business, even the gospel, and we long for the day we again can talk about BYU sports.
This Sunday was stake conference. Sara, as stake primary president, spoke on preparing our children. She had thoroughly prepared her talk, going so far as to give her talk during the week to an empty chapel (something my state-champion-orator wife hadn’t done since she was 6). Her nervousness increased several fold when, minutes before the meeting began, President Gordon B. Hinckley entered the chapel to preside over the meeting. What an extraordinary man! Sara did great, and it was wonderful to have President Hinckley there and to worship with him.
After the meeting I enjoyed talking about education funding with a neighbor.
Sounds like your getting a taste of what Nibley had to endure–though, I hope you’re not getting phone calls at midnight…
I think your wife’s words were wise. So often people say things that seem insensitive and out of line, but more often than not I think most people are just making an effort to find something to talk about or a way to convey their good will.
..And why can’t you talk about BYU sports?
(#3) I can’t talk about the big Sunday-chatter BYU sporting events (football and basketball), because there’s not much good to talk about.
(#2) My wife is wise to have helped me realize that my fellow ward members care less about the political issue (at least in that setting) than they care about fellowshipping me. This seems to be a bigger issue when our young adults hit mission/marriage age. Meaning well, members ask a lot of questions about “So, when are you going to . . .?!” It’s often received as, “What’s the matter with you?” It’s tough at times to realize that these are people who love them, simply saying (maybe awkwardly) that they love them and wish them well.
Yikes, Bro. Urquhart. If you start making allowances for your neighbors, seeing things from their point of view, etc., pretty soon you’ll develop Charity and then you’ll have nothing in common with the rest of us.
A. Greenwood, it’s an uphill climb, but I’m trying.
#4….Geez, I wonder if PFS realized it was strongly in their interest to keep Ben Olson from transferring to UCLA?
I’ve often wondered if our ward’s Gospel Doctrine teacher (a local city councilman — and as far as I know, the only member of our ward with anything approaching a recognizable name in our community) gets annoyed with people who constantly bring up the city’s issues during the lesson. It reminds me of the brief period where Ohio State’s starting quarterback was a member of the university’s singles’ ward — he used to be surrounded by people talking football at him between classes.
I have to say, though, that it’s posts like this that make me feel “out” in the “bloggernacle” and even just the church in general. President Hinckley came to Ohio when when I was 18 — it was an event we spent months preparing for — to announce the Columbus temple. It was like “wow, an actual prophet is in Ohio;” a once-in-a-lifetime type thing. I used to feel really happy that I’d been within 2000 feet of him.
The idea of a member of the First Presidency showing up to preside over a random stake conference is so foreign to me that I can’t even imagine it happening. It’d be like running into President Bush at the grocery store or something.
I go to a small liberal arts school in Virginia. Some LDS businessmen bought the school a few years ago and recreated it to serve the LDS community(we have an honor code, etc.). When I say small I mean 500 students total, which would not be bad if we all did not attend church together too. I’m in a bishopric with the registrar and as much as I love guy he gets irritated when I as him about stuff at the school while at church. I do not know what else to talk to him about. His whole life consists of his family, the school, and church. I know his family already, and there is only so many times one can say “That Word of Wisdom eh? Pretty awesome!” before it gets annoying. Seriously, what do you want them to talk to you about? My registrar friend has made it pretty clear he does not want to talk about school issues at church so I try to find other things. I guess it just seems silly. Would you be annoyed if a constituent wanted to talk to you about the gospel on a Wednesday?