From reliable sources, a letter is circulating about a test program in some areas to shorten the 3 hour block of meetings to 2 hours. Sacrament meeting 50 minutes Sunday School 30 minutes RS/PH 30 minutes.

Rumors among Utah Mormons is that this thing could go worldwide. There's no timetable for when this could happen.

One rumor involves some buildings housing 4 wards. Apparently, they are reluctant to build expensive new buildings in Utah areas with high growth (big expansions of suburbs and big housing projects that attract young LDS families). With a 2 hour block of meetings, one big building could handle 4 wards.

Has the LDS church overextended by building too many expensive temples. It's hardly a secret that many temples sit vacant for much of the time.

Is the LDS church looking for ways to avoid expensive buildings because the future cash flow is declining?

Could the 2 hour meeting plan be part of existential necessity? Maybe the leaders think a shortened meeting schedule could reduce the big inactivity rate amongst teenagers and young people in their 20s. Certainly the leaders have noticed that vast numbers of members are bored out of their minds during some or all of the 3 hour block meetings.

One of my elderly relatives said he falls asleep in Sacrament Meeting "nearly every time." Obviously bored to tears.

I won't believe it until I see ghawd's own survey results!!

What's the point if they require every member to serve on a committee that meets before and after church?

This rumor (unsubstantiated?) has been going around for a while.

I'll bet your average TBM is so sick of getting their hopes up that they've stop paying attention.

I’ve been hearing this rumor for years. I’m sure it is a dream for many tbms but in my opinion the three hour block is a key piece of their control over members by utilizing the B.I.T.E. model.

OK, I'll bite--WHAT is the B.I.T.E. model?

So many of the Mormon topics are now taboo ("I don't know that we teach that.") that there isn't anything left to talk about in the lessons. Just read the Ensign, and be done with it.

Absolutely, they don't want any time for members to socialize.

B Behavior Control
I Information Control
T Thought Control
E Emotional Control

Outside the Morridor, very few ward houses would have 4 wards close enough to use the building. I don't see that as the major reason for cutting the block, more of a nice side effect.

Temples are cash cows, even if lightly used. If there is a temple nearby, the number of T.R.s increase substantially, which increases tithing. Plus the buildings are essentially billboards that say "Mormons are here and they are successful. Check them out." Even if it doesn't cause any baptisms, it rallies the Mo troops.

It's about reducing boredom (and people skipping one or more of the meetings because of it), pure and simple, IMHO

Plus I'll believe it when I see it.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/09/2017 04:26PM by Brother Of Jerry.

I still attend church for family reasons, and in 2018 our building will have 4 wards attending, starting at 8, 10, 12, and 2 (but each will still havea 3 hour meeting ). There's been a ton of new housing built in stake next to us, so they had to shuffle things around. We'll see how that goes...

Before the block meetings were spread out.

Sunday school included passing the sacrament, announcements, short talk ,then head for class. Jr sunday school was same. But was for kids under 12.

I think it lasted 90 minutes. It seemed to me to go fast.

We rarely attended sacrament meeting as Dad said we did that in sunday school.

They could do the same thing but with priesthood mtg and relief society instead of sunday school. No real reasons for two classes.

4 wards in a building.
Image how smelly the building will be for ward #4?
Image what time Wards 3 and 4 start?
Even it it was a two block, it will be chaos in the halls.
This is about money. I hope the tithe payers are happy.

This happened about 5 years ago so perhaps not relevant to the current rumors.
While another ward house was under construction and four wards were meeting in the same building, the stake president approved shortening each ward block to 2 1/2 hours. That meant shorter classes and made the classes almost bearable (almost).
That lasted a few weeks until the "area authority" got wind of it and each ward was back on the three hour block with a chastened stake president. Correlation, correlation, correlation.

Hell if they'd just ALLOW THE MORMONS TO SOCIALIZE they might just allow nature to take its course.

M@t

It is a much simpler real estate problem than a 3 hour block in Utah and non rural Zions Curtain areas...parking. Not enough parking for the 4 wards to effectively move vehicles in and out. The days of walking to Church are numbered with an aging east side population and suburb sprawl in the south Jordan type Daybrake areas. It is an asset allocation issue.

I think everyone in TSCC would be happier with 2 hour blocks and would work better, though I am not in the church and a no-mo. I think your thoughts as to why this could happen seems on point. Church membership is declining and so is tithing. People are leaving from left to right. My convert friend mentioned from a sister in her ward that the church bought this YMCA building near the sister's home. Now that I think of it, I wonder if that project will ever happen to convert the old YMCA building into a church...

This sucks! It only gives guys 30 minutes to run and grab a donut before priesthood meeting.

I've heard nothing about this from my TBM dad or our home teachers...it must that time of the year again!!!

I have seen this rumour for years too, and always discounted it. But now I wonder. With the changes being made to the Melchizedek Priesthood and Relief Society meetings, it does seem as if they could shorten those meetings without too much difficulty (in fact, they might want to do so in order to avoid, for example, the first Sunday council meetings turning into a lot of dead airtime when no one is willing to give forth their inspiration on what the quorum/Relief Society should be doing). Sunday School could also be shortened. But who knows. Again, this is a rumour that has floated around for years and never happens.

This rumor has been going on for maybe 5 years.

Doubt it. More brain washing can be accomplished in 3 hours.