Last times I attended.... (years ago)

Passing the sac:

a) Deacons MUST walk around w Left hand folded behind their backs... I saw this first in the M.West... has it spread?

b) after Priests finishing covering the Sac table... Standing up... they'd sit down Immediately before they 'left to go sit with families' (had to WAIT to be TOLD, of course!)

Pilots call this a 'Touch & Go'....

I always thought these things Nothing Short of Ridiculous!

any other contenders?

And don't forget the highest ranking penisholder gets served first. Rank has it's privileges.

Also ,, the prayer- if you don't say it exact you do it over.
saw a 3x prayer do over a few weeks ago. God wont approve if you left out "the"

sad

The temple ceremonies seem really strange and silly after you awake from the Mormon slumber.

I never saw either of those as a member for over 30 years.

In fact, the first time I moved to a ward where, at the end of the sacrament passing, I saw deacons NOT sit down and wait to get permission to return to sit with their families, I thought, "Oh no, they'll get in trouble for not waiting for the bishop to dismiss them!"

It turned out to be the way things were done in that ward.

Perhaps it hinges on local custom.

As a deac we were told we had to pass the sacrament with our right hand only. Apparently God doesn't approve of the left hand. White shirt and tie is the "Unifrom of the Priesthood." Priamry programs were among the most brutal Sunday's of the year. It always became such a spectacle. One year they had several members dress the part of old shepherds and stand up at various points and read passages from the NT. Some looked like shepherds, some looked like they were wearing curtains. Basically every F/T meeting was a train wreck. No bishop I had from age 1-25 had the guts to tell any set of particularly obnoxious repeat story tellers to stop hogging the pulpit month after month telling stories that didnt pertain to church, Jesus, or anything in particular. And then the KIDS! Nothing ever seemed quite as creepy to me as the parents whispering into their kids ears what to say. As a misshie I would always get awkward when that happened and investigators were present. Luckily I'll never have to stomach that with my own kids. While my niece and nephews sit through testimony meeting my kids and I will be out spending time together where we actually enjoy being together.

Over the years, the ritual (of every ward and branch doing the same GD thing has spread)--white shirts, right hand, left hands behind back (some wards do not do this), and so forth.

The way the Mormon church does the sacrament seems less special (sacred is the word for some) than in other churches, especially Catholic, Lutheran, etc.--we do not see 12 year olds passing the Sacrament and all of the babies crying and all of the other distractions. It just seems better in other churches.

Of course, on Fast Day, the testimonies become so painful to listen to. It is usually the same people every month that have almost spiritually or physically died since last Fast Meeting and then by the end of the month they have been blessed with a miracle and have been healed. The funny thing is, the same thing happened last month and the month before. I used to listen to this and laugh to myself, this is crazy.

We used to get lectures, from one bishop, on how we were to talk 'properly' when we pronounced the blessings on the bread and water.
Apparently god prefers 'RP' (received pronounciation - Imagine 'stephen Fry's' accent) and doesnt like any dropped haitches or glottal stops.