Fast and Testimony Meeting

Before I ramble on about today's Sunday service, I just wanted to say this...

I know that a lot of you, my friends, are not Mormon.  Or even particularly religious for that matter.

That's OK with me.

I am not trying to 'convert' any of you with my Sunday posts.

I am writing these posts for my children.  To let them know what is in my mind and my heart as I attend Sunday services.  To hopefully try to encourage them to want religion in their lives, too.

You, of course, are welcome to read, as well!  No matter what your religious affiliations, a good message is... well... GOOD, you know?

*****

On the first Sunday of every month, there are no assigned speakers or an assigned topic for the sermon.  Instead, after the Sacrament has been blessed and passed, congregation members are invited to come up to the pulpit and bear their testimonies.  A testimony in a court proceeding is your declaration or your witness, sworn under oath.  A religious testimony is somewhat similar.  It is your personal witness or declaration of the gospel.  Congregation members are asked to keep their testimonies centered on Christ (otherwise you sometimes get long rambling stories about random stuff).   There is no age restriction, anyone can bear testimony... although parents coming up and whispering stuff into a little child's ear so he/she can parrot it back in the microphone is discouraged.  Children who choose to bear testimony are supposed to be able to do it unassisted.

This once a month meeting is called 'Fast and Testimony Meeting'.  I've described the testimony part of it, but need to mention the fasting part of it.  Once a month, congregation members are asked to voluntarily fast for two meals.  It is not just a matter of going without food.  The fast is supposed to be focused... started with a prayer and a specific purpose chosen by the person doing the fasting.  Maybe they need help and guidance with a particular problem at work, or at home.  Sometimes the congregation will focus their fast together to center the prayers of everyone on behalf of a particular member's needs.

I am not always very good about fasting.  Most of the time I've eaten breakfast before I even realize it is the first Sunday of the month.  Oops.  However, I have found that a fast is an effective way to focus the mind on matters of the spirit.  I find answers to prayer more easily when I am fasting.

Anyways, some testimony meetings drag on with long breaks between congregation members getting up.  Other testimony meetings are just crammed with members all waiting to bear witness of Christ and the meeting runs over time to allow them to speak.  This Sunday was a moderate day.  Not too many long silent breaks, but we didn't go over, either.

The testimonies came from a broad spectrum of people.  There were elderly members bearing witness to the goodness of God through several generations of their families, expressing grief over missing a cherished spouse who had passed on, and their feelings of hope and joy that one day they will be reunited.  A couple of kids got up.  The first person to bear testimony was a 12 year old girl.  Her family is new to the congregation and she wanted to thank God for giving her new friends here in the congregation.  The other child was a boy who expressed his faith that his dad (who has been unemployed for several months, now) will find a job, soon.

The testimony that stood out the most for me, though, came from a young woman.  I call her 'young' because she is younger than me.  She probably falls in the 25-35 year old range.  She told about her frustrations at trying to get to church on Sundays, but finding it too difficult since her new nursing job had her working a 13 hour shift on Saturday nights.  She was to the point of quitting her job so that she could go to church, but she needed her job.  She prayed for an answer to her dilemma.  In the end, she was able to find the courage to go to her boss and ask about changing shifts.  That takes a lot of guts when you are the new employee.  Now she works the Friday night shift instead and is able to come to church.

That sort of hit me.  I don't have any schedule conflicts keeping me from church, but there are times when I just don't feel like going.  And, of course, my kids don't want to come to church more often than not.  Yet here is this woman who is willing to risk her job in order to come to church on Sunday.  I admire her for that.

So, all in all, it was a good meeting and I am glad I went!