After having been recently called to the bishopric, I will be conducting and planning sacrament meeting during November. There are only two weeks that need to be filled, and one is Thanksgiving weekend with a natural topic of gratitude. I need other ideas. I just am not inspired yet with good themes without re-hashing the same old topics. In my ward culture I am a bit more of a non-conformist, but in my family I am the "by the book" guy. I could probably get away with something unusual. Any ideas are welcome.
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70% of the world is covered by water, for the rest there's Eric Weddle. -
I would focus on porn. That seems to be a real problem in the church.Get confident, stupid
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Never make the theme Joseph Smith. We had that once and a whole investigAtor family was attending. They never came back.'I'm sure they thought we worshipped him after the congregation stood and sang "praise to the man""Discipleship is not a spectator sport. We cannot expect to experience the blessing of faith by standing inactive on the sidelines any more than we can experience the benefits of health by sitting on a sofa watching sporting events on television and giving advice to the athletes. And yet for some, “spectator discipleship” is a preferred if not primary way of worshipping." -Pres. UchtdorfComment
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This is a great topic. I struggle with finding topics as well. People don't seem to follow the assigned topic anyway.Comment
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Temple NamesOriginally posted by utahby5 View Post"Be a philosopher. A man can compromise to gain a point. It has become apparent that a man can, within limits, follow his inclinations within the arms of the Church if he does so discreetly." - The Walking Drum
"And here’s what life comes down to—not how many years you live, but how many of those years are filled with bullshit that doesn’t amount to anything to satisfy the requirements of some dickhead you’ll never get the pleasure of punching in the face." – Adam CarollaComment
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This is one of my pet peeves. Shocking, I know.
Every year our ward rolls out the themes for the next year and they appear to have good balance. For example.
Sabbath Day
Tithing
Faith
Pioneers
Atonement
Following the Prophet
Priesthood
etc.
I absolutely hate that anyone would think it's a good idea to roll out 16 talks in a row on tithing or sabbath day.
Every talk every Sunday should be Jesus Christ themed.Comment
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Grace
Charity"Be a philosopher. A man can compromise to gain a point. It has become apparent that a man can, within limits, follow his inclinations within the arms of the Church if he does so discreetly." - The Walking Drum
"And here’s what life comes down to—not how many years you live, but how many of those years are filled with bullshit that doesn’t amount to anything to satisfy the requirements of some dickhead you’ll never get the pleasure of punching in the face." – Adam CarollaComment
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Focus on something trivial but make it into a really big deal....give a fiery speech about the importance of treating hymn books properly or the sacred nature of our building facilities. Make an impassioned plea that we not take Girls' Camp lightly or invite everyone to feel comfortable borrowing chairs and tables from the cultural hall.
Everyone leaves the meeting feeling good about themselves and thankful that they are already on the right path. Win Win.Fitter. Happier. More Productive.
sigpicComment
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I agree. Many members of my ward don't even mention Jesus Christ in their testimonies. I would just go with the atonement, but I would want it treated well and frankly the talent pool may be slim.Originally posted by jay santos View Post70% of the world is covered by water, for the rest there's Eric Weddle.Comment
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I just gave a rousing talk on "Gifts of the Spirit." There's a lot of good info there, that often gets overlooked.Comment
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I agree with this, but those who would argue against it (i.e. seemingly everyone in a position of authority) would say that if all we do is "talk of Christ, rejoice in Christ, [and] preach of Christ . . . that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins" then people might get bored with the lack of variety. We wouldn't want that to happen now, would we?Originally posted by jay santos View PostDio perdona tante cose per un’opera di misericordia
God forgives many things for an act of mercyAlessandro Manzoni
Knock it off. This board has enough problems without a dose of middle-age lechery.
pelagiusComment
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Joseph Smith was the insturment the Lord used to restore the gospel. Without Joseph Smith we would have no religion. If Joseph Smith did not go to the grove or seal the testimony with his blood any protestant church would do for that family.Originally posted by Eddie Jones View Post
We have something other churches don't. Living Prophets. That we have a prophet and revelation is reason to get people here. Protestants and Catholics can teach on Honesty and Ethics just as well. First Missionary discussion talked about Joseph Smith. If an investigator does not hear about Joseph Smith or he did not restore the church find out who did. If it is not that important why should anyone come to church at all?Comment
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I always think we could talk more about the teachings of Christ. I agree with others that would could talk about him more, but I feel like a lot of times when we do it is the atonement. That is fine, but I love to hear the "stories of Jesus." And I'm talking about the New Testament. The last talk I gave in sacrament meeting was on the parable of the Good Samaritan. I broke it down piece by piece and it was a good 25 minute talk. It was well received and I loved preparing it.
What better thing could we do than teach people what Jesus himself actually taught people? That is my suggestion to you.Comment
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It may seem a bit hackneyed, but last Sunday we did one on hymns, which we do every 2-3 years. Mrs. PAC spoke superbly for 10-15 minutes about the effect of music on the mind and spirit, and mentioned examples from her life of how hymns had helped her. Then four or five other members gave short (3 minutes or so) talks about a specific hymn and why it was their favorite or had particular meaning. Following each speaker the congregation sang the highlighted hymn. Interestingly, the congregation sang with increasing brio as the meeting progressed. As several observed afterward, it was more fun singing than sleeping through talks.Comment
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We did that once a year, for about 5 years, and the new Stake President chopped blocked that meeting as the hands came off his head. I enjoyed the meeting, especially the gusto version of "Battle Hymn of the Republic."Originally posted by PaloAltoCougar View PostComment
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