Every member of the church knows how hard it is to get up in the mornings when your mom comes in and says it's time for church. Especially when it's seven thirty in the morning. As if that's not hard enough, now you are on your own and no mother is telling you to go to bed because you have early church in the morning. This is the tragic story of new college students. As responsible as every entering freshman aspires to be, let's be honest the "no bedtime" concept is a big deal. This early church causes students to just sleep in and not get credit for even going to another ward. This jeopardizes their enrollment in BYU. If they do manage to roll out of bed, the majority of students will just sleep through the three hour block. These people receive no extra spiritual benefit than those who just slept in but still receive credit for being there. Lastly if a student does manage to get there, and by some great miracle does manage to stay awake, they generally will feel disappointed with the experience due to the lack of participation from others. I don't think that freshman students should be required to attend only their specified ward in order to receive credit for the weeks attendance.
It doesn’t matter which ward you attend, the church is the same everywhere. If you go to a three hour meeting with the right intentions you will get something out of it no matter where you are. I believe that it is frustrating for students who attend missionary farewells or go home for the weekend to not receive credit for attending their church meetings. I understand that students are supposed to attend their ward because they must serve in callings sometimes, however if attending other wards isn’t a habit I don’t see the harm.
After reviewing the comments on my first attempt I changed my topic slightly. Instead of writing about how students shouldn't have 9:00 church I wrote about how they should still get credit for going to church even if they don't go to their own ward. I'm still in the beginning of my process so I don't really have any specific questions yet. There are some things that I know I need to work on so it's still a work in progress. But actually I did try to use some pathos in the opening trying to strike a chord with those who are tired in the mornings. Just wondering if that was effective.
7 comments:
I like your slight change of topic because it is more realistic than saying we just shouldn't have 9:00 church. I also agree with you; as long as it doesn't become a habit it should be allowed. One thing you might want to clarify is how often one can go to another ward before it becomes a habit.
I guess it depends on how we define "habit". Yes the church is the same everywhere, but I think a big part of college wards is becoming familiar with those in your ward so that you have another "family" while you are at college. I would watch out for this counter argument.
We don't go to church to "receive credit" as you say but to be spiritually uplifted and renew our covenants. We go to our assigned ward because we are under the guidance of the Bishop of that specific ward--he receives revelation for us (be it council or callings) that a Bishop in another ward will NOT receive. Don't assume everyone has a hard time living on their own and can't get up for church either, it makes it appear that everyone has this problem, which is of course false.
I agree a lot more with your current topic. I've found that the BYU wards make it hard to get personal attention. When I lived in BYU-approved housing I would stay with my brother in Ogden on the weekends so I could see my fiancee those days. I tried to meet with my bishop to explain the situation, but gave up after he cancelled 3 appointments. The whole semester my home teachers and ward leaders/members were very rude to me because they had no idea why I wasn't attending their ward - and they wouldn't listen.
Each chuch service is the same and it should not matter as long as you are able to fulfill your calling. The strength of a ward does however depend on the strength of its members, and if you are to attend a certain ward sometimes it is for purposes that you are unaware of.
What are your other arguments? I like the fact that you are going against what a lot of people think (myself included), but I hope your argument is convincing enough to persuade even the toughest of critics. Keep that in mind as you write.
I think you have a good argument, but I agree with others when they say to make sure your ideas are solid enough that they can't be torn apart by counter arguments. Be sure to use lots of logos, ethos, and pathos.
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