Attending other churches or religious meetings - cougarguard.com — unofficial BYU Cougars / LDS sports, football, basketball forum and message board

Sleeping in EQ · 01-31-2007, 05:08 PM

So what churches or religious meetings have you attended other than your own (that is, if you have one)?

Please share your experiences.

non sequitur · 01-31-2007, 05:27 PM

I travel to Sacramento regularly, and there is a cigar lounge near my hotel. Every Tuesday night a local pastor leads a religious discussion there from 8:30 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.. It's affectionately called "God Night". There are usually around 20 guys there, smoking cigars, drinking, and discussing the Bible. I've been there 3 or 4 times (they all know I was raised mormon, but don't hold it against me), and it is by far the most enjoyable time I have ever had at church.

The people there are from different denominations, different levels of faith, and no one judges anyone else. It's just a lot of guys getting together to talk about religion. The discussions are based loosely on a book called "Systematic Theology", by Wayne Grudem. The last time I went, we talked about cannonization. We could have used SIEQ or CHC in the discussion. Maybe if you guys are ever in Sacramento on a Tuesday night, I can hook you up.

Archaea · 01-31-2007, 05:28 PM

It would take a lot of time.

I've been to Catholic Mass in Germany, and Lutheran sacrament in Germany, Catholic baptisms, Jewish weddings, Presbyterian functions, Evangelical stuff, Buddhist functions, Buddhist shrines, and other stuff.

il Padrino Ute · 01-31-2007, 05:30 PM

I went to midnight Mass at Christmas twice while on my mission. The first time was to see what it was about - to get the feel as to what the competition was about, as it were. I'm not sure what it's like in this country, but in Italy, rather, at the cathedral in Palermo, there was a lot of pomp and circumstance during this mass. The one thing that impressed me most about it was that the archbishop of Palermo let the parishioners know that just showing up for mass on Christmas and Easter wasn't enough. He said they not only needed to go to mass at least once a week, but that they needed to live life as a Roman Catholic 7 days a week. Spot on, if you ask me, as it's no different than any other religion in that regard.

The 2nd time I went was with my comp and an investigator. This investigator was a fantastic individual who was a 7-day-a-week Catholic who told us when he approached us at our street board that he was searching for something that he felt his life was missing. We gave him the dissussions and invited him to a sacrament meeting which was the one that our mission president was speaking. This investigator, Alfredo, said that he believed he had found what was missing, but wanted us to go with him to the midnight mass that was coming up later that week, just to be sure. We did and afterward, he told us that he knew that he needed to join the LDS Church because, in his words "your church meeting was so much simpler than mass, but it was in your meeting that I felt the spirit of the Lord for the first time in my life."

Before I get off track too much and hijack the thread into missionary baptism stories, I'll stop; but I'll say that that day I was convinced that it isn't the story of how the LDS church came to be that converts people, but the Spirit that does it.

jay santos · 01-31-2007, 05:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sleeping in EQ

So what churches or religious meetings have you attended other than your own (that is, if you have one)?

Please share your experiences.

Living in Utah County, I don't get the chance much. I've thought of popping into one of the local Christian churches but never get around to it.

On my mission to Korea, we attended other churches fairly often. Big huge Catholic church with 3,000+ in attendance. Professional style choir. Very impressive but very somber and didn't move me. Went to a Christian church complete with rock band with electric guitar and drums. That was different. Went to a Christian church that had the audience standing up speaking/shouting in tongues and convulsing. That made me feel weird and we left.

One of the most strongest connections I've made with the spirit over the last few years came when I stopped in at an afternoon Catholic mass on a business trip in NYC. About ten people, most of them regulars. The priest related a story that seemed like it was designed by God for me at that particular moment. The whole experience was very moving.

I am very pro-other demoniations and believe there are many faithful people of all varieties and much LDS can learn from others.

Archaea · 01-31-2007, 05:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jay santos

Living in Utah County, I don't get the chance much. I've thought of popping into one of the local Christian churches but never get around to it.

On my mission to Korea, we attended other churches fairly often. Big huge Catholic church with 3,000+ in attendance. Professional style choir. Very impressive but very somber and didn't move me. Went to a Christian church complete with rock band with electric guitar and drums. That was different. Went to a Christian church that had the audience standing up speaking/shouting in tongues and convulsing. That made me feel weird and we left.

One of the most strongest connections I've made with the spirit over the last few years came when I stopped in at an afternoon Catholic mass on a business trip in NYC. About ten people, most of them regulars. The priest related a story that seemed like it was designed by God for me at that particular moment. The whole experience was very moving.

I am very pro-other demoniations and believe there are many faithful people of all varieties and much LDS can learn from others.

I know I"m supposed to be ecunmenical, but right now, most visits to various denominations are boring. However, I say that most visits to my own are boring except for when I take the time to listen to see if the Spirit is around.

Well, there was one interesting "religious" observance. In 1970 II was on my one and only visit to Fiji, just as it was becoming independent. As you know, there are several cultures dominating Fiji, the indigenous culture and the Indian culture. Well, one of cultures as a rite of passage have their boys go into a trance, and they puncture the skin without bleeding. They danced around is large, sharp objects protruding from them. IT was weird, but fascinating. And then they pulled them out to show it did them no harm. I would have bled like the fatted pig.

marsupial · 01-31-2007, 06:17 PM

I went to a rock 'n roll sermon at Hope Presbyterian in Memphis. (My friend's husband was the drummer in the congregational band.) It was awesome. The preacher taught in jeans and Birkenstocks and started out his sermon talking about a Saturday Night Live sketch he watched the evening before. They had free coffee/hot cocoa and donuts and a sound proof parent rooms. They certainly know how to attract congregants. I was ready to convert.

My father was raised Episcopalian so I have been to some of their services with extended family... Their services are as boring as Sacrament meeting except it's harder to sneak a snooze in there with all the standing up, sitting down and reciting prayers that they do.

marsupial · 01-31-2007, 06:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jay santos

I am very pro-other demoniations and believe there are many faithful people of all varieties and much LDS can learn from others.

Definitely. Mormons certainly don't corner the market on righteousness. We have as much to learn as we have to teach.

Sleeping in EQ · 01-31-2007, 06:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by non sequitur

I travel to Sacramento regularly, and there is a cigar lounge near my hotel. Every Tuesday night a local pastor leads a religious discussion there from 8:30 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.. It's affectionately called "God Night". There are usually around 20 guys there, smoking cigars, drinking, and discussing the Bible. I've been there 3 or 4 times (they all know I was raised mormon, but don't hold it against me), and it is by far the most enjoyable time I have ever had at church.

The people there are from different denominations, different levels of faith, and no one judges anyone else. It's just a lot of guys getting together to talk about religion. The discussions are based loosely on a book called "Systematic Theology", by Wayne Grudem. The last time I went, we talked about cannonization. We could have used SIEQ or CHC in the discussion. Maybe if you guys are ever in Sacramento on a Tuesday night, I can hook you up.

I love these little bible studies. When a good mix of people is participating and there's sincere intent they can be very rewarding. There's an "all denominations welcome" one that meets on my campus on Thursday evenings and I've had some great discussions there.

MikeWaters · 01-31-2007, 06:40 PM

I've been to a Presbyterian church in Houston, where almost every car was Lexus or better.

It had a very rich, corporate professional feel. Very different from my own religious experience. The sermon was just fine (how hard is it to put together a decent sermon, if that's your job???).

After my mission, I thought I would attend a JW meeting. Just for kicks. But I'm afraid they would write down my licence plate number and harrass me.

Ive been to Latin mass.

01-31-2007, 05:08 PM	#1
Sleeping in EQ Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: The People's Republic of Monsanto Posts: 3,085	Attending other churches or religious meetings So what churches or religious meetings have you attended other than your own (that is, if you have one)? Please share your experiences. __________________ "Do not despise the words of prophets, but test everything; hold fast to what is good; " 1 Thess. 5:21 (NRSV) We all trust our own unorthodoxies.

01-31-2007, 05:27 PM	#2
non sequitur Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 1,964	I travel to Sacramento regularly, and there is a cigar lounge near my hotel. Every Tuesday night a local pastor leads a religious discussion there from 8:30 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.. It's affectionately called "God Night". There are usually around 20 guys there, smoking cigars, drinking, and discussing the Bible. I've been there 3 or 4 times (they all know I was raised mormon, but don't hold it against me), and it is by far the most enjoyable time I have ever had at church. The people there are from different denominations, different levels of faith, and no one judges anyone else. It's just a lot of guys getting together to talk about religion. The discussions are based loosely on a book called "Systematic Theology", by Wayne Grudem. The last time I went, we talked about cannonization. We could have used SIEQ or CHC in the discussion. Maybe if you guys are ever in Sacramento on a Tuesday night, I can hook you up. __________________ ...You've been under attack for days, there's a soldier down, he's wounded, gangrene's setting in, 'Who's used all the penicillin?' 'Oh, Mark Paxson sir, he's got knob rot off of some tart.'" - Gareth Keenan

01-31-2007, 05:28 PM	#3
Archaea Assistant to the Regional Manager Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: The Orgasmatron Posts: 24,338	It would take a lot of time. I've been to Catholic Mass in Germany, and Lutheran sacrament in Germany, Catholic baptisms, Jewish weddings, Presbyterian functions, Evangelical stuff, Buddhist functions, Buddhist shrines, and other stuff. __________________ Ἓν οἶδα ὅτι οὐδὲν οἶδα

01-31-2007, 05:30 PM	#4
il Padrino Ute Board Pinhead Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: In the basement of my house, Murray, Utah. Posts: 15,941	I went to midnight Mass at Christmas twice while on my mission. The first time was to see what it was about - to get the feel as to what the competition was about, as it were. I'm not sure what it's like in this country, but in Italy, rather, at the cathedral in Palermo, there was a lot of pomp and circumstance during this mass. The one thing that impressed me most about it was that the archbishop of Palermo let the parishioners know that just showing up for mass on Christmas and Easter wasn't enough. He said they not only needed to go to mass at least once a week, but that they needed to live life as a Roman Catholic 7 days a week. Spot on, if you ask me, as it's no different than any other religion in that regard. The 2nd time I went was with my comp and an investigator. This investigator was a fantastic individual who was a 7-day-a-week Catholic who told us when he approached us at our street board that he was searching for something that he felt his life was missing. We gave him the dissussions and invited him to a sacrament meeting which was the one that our mission president was speaking. This investigator, Alfredo, said that he believed he had found what was missing, but wanted us to go with him to the midnight mass that was coming up later that week, just to be sure. We did and afterward, he told us that he knew that he needed to join the LDS Church because, in his words "your church meeting was so much simpler than mass, but it was in your meeting that I felt the spirit of the Lord for the first time in my life." Before I get off track too much and hijack the thread into missionary baptism stories, I'll stop; but I'll say that that day I was convinced that it isn't the story of how the LDS church came to be that converts people, but the Spirit that does it. __________________ "The beauty of baseball is not having to explain it." - Chuck Shriver "This is now the joke that stupid people laugh at." - Christopher Hitchens on IQ jokes about GWB.

01-31-2007, 06:17 PM	#7
marsupial Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: M-I-S-S-I-S-S-I-P-P-I... Isn't it so fun to spell? Posts: 1,701	I went to a rock 'n roll sermon at Hope Presbyterian in Memphis. (My friend's husband was the drummer in the congregational band.) It was awesome. The preacher taught in jeans and Birkenstocks and started out his sermon talking about a Saturday Night Live sketch he watched the evening before. They had free coffee/hot cocoa and donuts and a sound proof parent rooms. They certainly know how to attract congregants. I was ready to convert. My father was raised Episcopalian so I have been to some of their services with extended family... Their services are as boring as Sacrament meeting except it's harder to sneak a snooze in there with all the standing up, sitting down and reciting prayers that they do. __________________ "Mormon men are inherently sexy..." -Archaea

01-31-2007, 06:40 PM	#10
MikeWaters Demiurge Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 36,365	I've been to a Presbyterian church in Houston, where almost every car was Lexus or better. It had a very rich, corporate professional feel. Very different from my own religious experience. The sermon was just fine (how hard is it to put together a decent sermon, if that's your job???). After my mission, I thought I would attend a JW meeting. Just for kicks. But I'm afraid they would write down my licence plate number and harrass me. Ive been to Latin mass.