three hours of church

[Portia]

If you haven't gone to church pretty much at all for 2+ years, and you start going, I'm going to be honest, it can be legit boring. I don't really have the ability to feel deep, transcendental/spiritual/holy feelings in a huge group of my peers, so I go more for the whole "fellowship" aspect. I seriously don't know what to do. I checked out scriptures, but we never need to open to them (not exaggerating, it's just the truth). I feel like messing around on your phone is quiet but probably socially rude. Do people take notes? Pray? Check out hot guys? I always dreaded Sunday School even when I was super-active but I think I had gotten more out of R.S. and Sacrament.

[Portia]

I guess I should add that I do feel "spiritual" when we're singing, so if it was three hours of choir rehearsal, I would be very engaged and uplifted. So basically my musical theater rehearsals are my religion? LOL

[Yarjka]

By my estimation, half the congregation is usually playing on their phones/ipads/ereaders, so don't feel like you're alone if you go that route.

I usually listen intently and then try to discuss the topics afterward with people, but most of the time there's not a whole lot to say. Sometimes I draw pictures or take notes. Most of the time I make snide remarks to whomever is unfortunate enough to be sitting next to me.

You can always volunteer for a calling in nursery... that should fill two of the hours with nonstop activity.

[UffishThought]

I've taken to bringing old books and creating blackout poems lately. Maybe not the most reverent, but it keeps me from getting too bored, and I can still comment if I have something to say.

I also doodle a bit. I'm not good at it, but yes, sometimes church is boring city. Though I prefer Sunday School to RS, most days.

[mic0]

Unrelated, but hey Uffish, what are blackout poems?

[Genuine Article]

My sister makes poems using the clue words of crosswords, and I anagram hymns. Last night at stake conference I turned "Glorious Things of Thee are Spoken" into "Forget the goose! I rinse punk halos" and "The voice of God Again is Heard" became "Oh! can evade gators if I go hide!" It's fun and quiet and to the casual observer looks like you're thoughtfully studying the hymnbook.

[krebscout]

You can always volunteer for a calling in nursery... that should fill two of the hours with nonstop activity.

Or have babies. You'll long for the day when church was boring.

[Indefinite Integral]

I used to think church was boring, but less so now that I try to make it more personal. I try to always have a notebook with me and either take notes on what is being said, or go off on my own thoughts if I come up with something more relevant than what they're saying. It helps me keep my mind focused and less bored, but I don't have to be with the class if I think of something better.

[NerdGirl]

I completely feel the same way - group spiritual activities usually don't do much for me, but I do love music. I read scriptures or hymns on my iphone sometimes in church (and sometimes I study stuff for school with my electronic flash cards that I make). Tons of people in my ward have iphones/ipads/kindles that they bring their scriptures on so it doesn't look weird at all to be on your phone, but I'm sure it would in some wards. Sacrament meeting is usually okay, because there are some fairly interesting people in my ward, so even if I'm not getting much out of it spiritually there speakers are at least engaging. Plus there are babies, so that's fun. Sunday School is pretty bad sometimes. I try to not have a bad attitude about Sunday School, but I don't even know what else to say about that. RS is okay because there's usually a lot of singing. My ward is actually really big on music so we often are learning a new hymn in RS and we sing it a few times during music appreciation time.

[Imogen]

One of many reason I love the Catholic church: most masses are about an hour long and have lots of music. And I'm in choir, so I get to sing even more. It helps my focus a LOT (though I did have to get a missal on my phone because I was zoning out during the readings, which aren't even long.)

[NerdGirl]

One of many reason I love the Catholic church: most masses are about an hour long and have lots of music. And I'm in choir, so I get to sing even more. It helps my focus a LOT (though I did have to get a missal on my phone because I was zoning out during the readings, which aren't even long.)

I also love the Catholic church for that same reason. We always go to mass on Christmas eve. My mom is really good friends with the priest in my hometown town. There's a Catholic church down the street from where I live now that I check out from time to time because the music is wonderful.

[UffishThought]

Unrelated, but hey Uffish, what are blackout poems?

These. I've decided they are the best thing to do with penpals.

[bobtheenchantedone]

I feel the same way about music, Portia. Church would be a whole lot easier if it were filled with music. Singing hymns always makes me feel more spiritual/calm.

My struggle with church is slightly different, but I think the results are pretty much the same: I have trouble wanting to go, wanting to stay, and getting anything out of what I'm hearing. My entire family (aside from my father) either colors or draws during at least Sacrament Meeting. I stopped doing that when I started going to church with Marduk, but sometimes I go crazy not having anything to do, especially because I have developed the habit of always doing something with both my hands and my mind.

I usually handle it in several ways: hold on to Marduk, read scriptures (either verses related to the talk/lesson, or personal scriptures that help calm me), look through the hymnbook and memorize first verses (my goal is to know at least the first verse of every hymn), critique the talk/lesson (usually very beneficial, as I've run into a lot of teachings/comments that aren't true, but I have to be careful I don't turn antagonistic), and sometimes spend a good 5-10 minutes planning to make a comment.

And when Marduk leaves me alone in Relief Society, I sometimes get the notebook out and fall into my old habit of writing/drawing. Not too often, though, because our Relief Society is actually pretty good.

[Imogen]

One of many reason I love the Catholic church: most masses are about an hour long and have lots of music. And I'm in choir, so I get to sing even more. It helps my focus a LOT (though I did have to get a missal on my phone because I was zoning out during the readings, which aren't even long.)

I also love the Catholic church for that same reason. We always go to mass on Christmas eve. My mom is really good friends with the priest in my hometown town. There's a Catholic church down the street from where I live now that I check out from time to time because the music is wonderful.

Our midnight mass is usually around two hours, but it flies by. And it's even better being in the choir for midnight mass and getting to sing all the incredible music. We even sang "Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas" from Home Alone. Choir's over for the year though, so mass is gonna get tough.

[Genuine Article]

I have to have something to do with my hands, and I've heard of studies showing that doodling helps people pay attention (http://www.time.com/time/health/article ... 27,00.html). The music is actually my least favorite part about church. I don't care for singing, so the more hymns there are the more irritated I get.

[NerdGirl]

We even sang "Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas" from Home Alone.

That is awesome!!

[Cindy]

My singles ward has a ward choir Sunday School class. We practice for about half an hour, then have a really condensed lesson at the end. It's awesome. It breaks up the monotony of just sitting and listening to people talk, and I pay much better attention in my other meetings as a result.

[Katya]

My singles ward has a ward choir Sunday School class. We practice for about half an hour, then have a really condensed lesson at the end. It's awesome. It breaks up the monotony of just sitting and listening to people talk, and I pay much better attention in my other meetings as a result.

I would love that.

[NerdGirl]

My singles' ward in Halifax had a choir sunday school class for a while! That was awesome! Only there was no lesson at the end, just an hour of singing.

[Unit of Energy]

I amuse myself by writing letters to people- missionaries, old friends, future children, future spouse, anyone that strikes my fancy.
I am usually doing this on my phone, but I do prefer to do this by hand.