Get Me to the Church on Time

I had this forwarded to me today by the Stake Relief Society President. It's a great article, and one we can all get a message from. Particularly the parts that I've highlighted in red. We have a great ward, but aside from getting to church on time, we do need to work on our reverence in the chapel....

Meridian Magazine Article By Janet Peterson

“I married a Mormon and have paid for it ever since,” television personality Larry King told a convention held in Utah. King has Jewish roots. “The Mormon and Jewish cultures are a lot in common and not a lot in common. All Mormons are late. . . . No Jew has ever been late.”

Perhaps Mormons are known worldwide for being late; my husband learned this German verse on his mission in the 1960s.

Fünf Minuten vor der Zeit
Ist Mormonen Pünktlichkeit.
Fünf Minuten nach der Zeit
Ist Mormonen Wirklichkeit.

Five minutes before the hour
Is Mormon punctuality.
Five minutes after the hour
Is Mormon reality.

Lateness to church meetings isn’t just a modern occurrence. When the Primary was first organized in 1878, leaders wanted children “to be taught obedience, faith in God, prayer, punctuality, and good manners.”2

Our daughter and her family at one time lived in a suburb of Dallas, Texas. Church was a 20- to 25-minute drive from their home. During one particular visit, which included a Sunday, we left with three young children in tow 45 minutes before their meeting block was to begin. I had been to church with my grandchildren before and knew the drive wasn’t that long. When I asked why we were going so early, Stephanie replied that the bishop had asked families to be seated 15 minutes before the hour to reverently prepare for sacrament meeting. I was amazed to see the chapel was filled by 12:45 p.m—and it was quiet. This ward of mostly young families had indeed responded to the bishop’s counsel.

I too learned that the time a meeting starts is not the time to arrive. The Church committee on which I serve meets on Tuesdays at 5:00 p.m. I soon found that walking into the room at 4:59 p.m. or right on the dot was not appropriate.

Whether meetings start at 9:00 a.m, 11:00 a.m. or 1:00 p.m. doesn’t matter to some Church members; no matter which schedule they are on, they arrive at the same time—late. Referring to the number of people who came into sacrament meeting late, one bishop in our stake quipped that “the second bus has arrived.”

Occasionally unforeseen circumstances do arise. When my husband, Larry, served as the bishop of a singles’ ward, we actually had to drive to church. The bishopric was there early, of course, for their usual meetings, and I, who had vowed to set a good example in punctuality, left home, I thought, in plenty of time. However, the main road to the chapel had been blocked off due to repairs. With the detour, I managed to walk in right on the hour, but the chapel was nearly empty. Our stake president, who was also seated on the stand, authorized the meeting to start late—probably the only time he ever did so. Other situations sometimes arise; children get sick, cars won’t start, a blizzard stops traffic. But being on time or being late is a more habit than it is situation.

I do know that getting children ready for church, especially on the earlier schedules, is a real challenge. When my husband was bishop of our home ward, we had six young children. I learned that our punctuality was in direct relation to preparation on Saturday.

There’s no excuse for me now, however. I only have myself to get ready and from our front door to our newer meetinghouse door is 120 yards. Yet sometimes my husband has to remind me that it’s time to go to church. Although my next-door neighbor lives a few yards closer than we do, everyone in our ward lives within walking distance. Outside of Utah, the distance to church for most members is rarely that short.

Elder Jay E. Jensen, of the Presidency of the Seventy, said in a general conference address, “Strive to be more punctual to meetings, sit quietly and listen to the prelude music, and experience reverence and revelation.”3

Alfred P. Doolittle, father of Eliza in My Fair Lady, might have been singing about getting married in the morning, but he had a message for all of us: “Get me to the church on time!”