People
visiting a Mormon Church service are always surprised to find a very different
structure to the meetings.
Jenny, one non-LDS blogger wrote about her
experience:
“After communion, there were
three ‘talks’ that definitely weren’t sermons. And two of them were given by
WOMEN. Soooooo weird for me to see women up at the podium, addressing the
congregation at a Sunday worship service sacrament meeting. That does not happen
in the URC. Not even a little bit.” (Quote from LDSsmile.com).
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| Photo from: linkedin.com |
Not only was Jenny most surprised that members of the
congregation were the ones speaking, she was also stunned that women were
invited to speak. This tradition of “Mormon Oratory” may be odd to those
unfamiliar with it, particularly when we reflect upon Oxford Dictionary’s given
synonyms for oratory: eloquence,
grandiloquence, skilled speech-making.
Most would probably not define these talks by those same
words. There comes a unique culture with Mormon Oratory. It is believed that
these talks are to be given with the help of God through the Holy Spirit. This
is reflected in the tradition of ending each talk with the words, “In the name
of Jesus Christ, Amen.” This is an essential characteristic of Mormon
Oratory. The idea is that the subject of the talks given is what the congregation
needs to hear. It is hoped that the Savior ratifies what is said and would have
said those same things if He were there.
What does this focus do for the speaker and listener? As we
believe these meetings are inspired by God, a powerful connection comes between
speaker, listener… and God. This must be the context in which we direct our focus
so that God is able to touch us in our hearts and minds.
That is when spiritual
inspiration flows to the listener.
I would often bring my non-member friends to church with me when I was in high school and they always thought it was so weird to not have a priest be up there and preach at them. One time one of my friends asked where the donuts and rock climbing wall was because he was getting bored. I had never laughed so hard in my life. I agree with you that our meetings are so different than other churches because we often go off of what we feel like we should say. It makes each sacrament meeting so much more wonderful because there is always something said that is needed for someone in that room!
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