We're a territorial species and it was very apparent to me that there was a pecking order in where you sat in SM. My parents staked out the second row from the front to showcase their 9 children. I, on the other hand, sat as close to the back of the over flow area as I could with my small family. Realized in some wards I had to arrive late in order to be allowed to sit there. Eventually I made the foyer my choice of seating and towards the end my choice was walking around the chapel or sitting in the car listening to music.
Oh, and don't sit in someones preferred spots in you know what's good for ya.

I always thought it was funny to sit in different rows and watch people freak out because their usual spot was taken.

I preferred the rocking chairs in the mothers lounge.

Same. My family sat in different spots every week.

my family always sat in the middle back half of the chapel. I would always try to get them to sit on the sides so I could sleep during the meeting. I'm surprised they let me get away with that actually! lol (this being when I was young of course)

I remember the less active members always sat in the back on the folding chairs so they could come and go more easily without being noticed if they didn't want to stay for the entire meeting. When I became a teenager I would go to the bathroom and just hang out in the empty stalls until it was time to go home.

I def remember the more "righteous" families always tried to sit up front and center with their billions of kids.

Hanging out in empty stalls... Me too! :D
I'd smuggle a book in my scriptures, take out the bible because they usually used the BoM. Or paper to draw on.
I'm old enough that this was back in the days of car phones and no truly mobile phones yet, but I can imagine using a smartphone to pass the time nowadays. :D

Oh yeah, where'd we sit? Front and center. I think this was my dad's way of campaigning for the bishopric. I do remember sitting off to the side about half the way back when we were younger, probably as a convenience to take us kids out in the hall if needed.

Very front row. Last year I attended, I had early morning seminary, a boyfriend I'd sneak out to see at night, and I could NOT keep my eyes open. Nodding off on my mom's shoulder probably did his chances of climbing the mormon ladder no good. LOL!

Now he's second counselor to the bish. :P



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/06/2012 01:17PM by WinksWinks.

As soon as I was old enough to pass the sacrament I used that as an excuse to sit in the back, away from my family after I was done. My family sat about 1/3 of the way back from the front, always in the middle because of size(11 kids).

Back

I had less than year-old twins when we first moved to this ward, but I developed restless legs with my pregnancy and sitting on the chairs was torture. I did get up and leave a lot because of the twins--and my ex always knew if I left the chapel, I'd walk home with whichever child I had.

When I had been inactive and my ex had left me--I used to get there late for SM and sit in the foyer and leave before it got over so nobody saw me. I was trying to figure out what I still believed and wanted to be left alone (no callings--I still got several callings which I turned down).

and staring me out on the front row would be far too obvious.

I stopped sitting in the middle for that reason, rejected the back for the same reason. Being so close was psychologically good for me, being from a part-member family with a refusenik hubby and kids had a tendency to bring the wrong kind of attention.

Also, when the final part of the meeting was over I had clear exit without waiting for part-filled rows to empty. We didn't have pews, just plastic sweaty moulded chairs clicked together in a row.

Briggy

Near the edge of the second row, middle section.

Always towards the back, aisle seat, near the door.

My jackass TBM DH always has us sit second row from the front! >:-( I prefer being further back in the middle. When we are made to go to stake conference, he likes to get there super early to get the comfortable seats, as close up as he can get. Yeesh!

Mother, being the Organist, we usually sat side/front back a few rows, my neck is still kinked!

Growing up, always about 5 or 6 rows back right in the center of the chapel.

After my mission, it was always either in the foyer or the very back row of the overflow area. Usually the foyer though.

Always on the back row.

Growing up my family always sat about 5 rows back on the left side. As a single mom I tried sitting as far in back as possible.

But its so true how some families have "their" bench! And yes, they freak if someone else takes it. Haha.

Always on the stand (organist for a million years). WAY fun to watch people interact, sleep, be bored, quietly fight, and elbow each other for the right to go out in the hall. :)

I was a convert as a YA, so always sat in the YA area of the chapel.... one of the 2 back rows.

It actually took me a long tome to realise that these were the seats with least visible/easiest access to the exit

The front center row was unofficially reserved for the "SM tards" which was usually our family. I don't think we ever arrived on time so we always strolled in at least 5 minutes late with everybody staring at us as we sat front and center. I shudder just thinking about it.

I'm the crazy mom who paraded my kids and husband through the chapel to the front row. Late. Every week.

sigh. ;o)

I have a weak immune system. I aways sat on the very back row so I would be one of the first to touch the sacrament tray. I assumed the handles probably were pretty gross, but at least every sick person in the room hadn't sneezed and coughed on the bread and water by the time It got to me. If I thought one of the boys preparing the sacrament had a cold I wouldn't take sacrament that week. I thought it was funny that people were judging me for that. They had no idea what the real deal was. My methods must work. I haven't had a cold or flu for 11 years.

It makes me shudder to think how germy that tray is.

Mostly towards the back, with an aisle seat, that is if we actually made it on time, otherwise it was the foyer. The "overflow" area at the local chapel was relatively small, just a few rows of chairs linked together behind the benches. There was a sliding divider that was opened on Sunday morning, and closed after the last ward finished their sacrament meeting. This was because the gym was a separate building across a walkway from the chapel.

The organ bench or close to it.

Here:
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s291/bobdafrogg/Uploads/chapelseat.png

Haha after my TBM mom moved away, my sister and I only went to church for a few more months (not really sure why...I guess we thought it was just the right thing to do and our nevermo dad volunteered to drive us to the town over for church) so we were the total outcast 13/14 yr olds who just sat in the waiting room because we hated church and nobody liked us lol

Then I'd usually be at the sacrament table. If I wasn't needed, I'd sit wherever my friends were -- usually on the side, toward the back.

Second row from front on right side. Wouldn't want to miss anything that was said and, of course we wanted to be a good example to all the other families with a lot of children. OMG, how could we have been so crazy. I haven't thought about how miserable I made all our kids sitting in there. Can't believe they don't hate me for the crazy bitch I was all those years.

Always back pew. We moved like gypsies, never had old friends, always on the run because Daddy was fired or humiliated in the previous town--sometimes both. Back pew by the door, that was us.

As far from the pulpit as I can get

We sat in about a third of the way back, taking up one whole pew on the side (two side pews, one long middle pew).

When I stopped going DW and kids began to sit in the back on the folding chairs.

How weird is that?

Very true about the tribal nature, and kudos to those who sat at different places just to mess with people. It always amazes me whether it be the lunchroom in middle school, college classrooms without assigned seating, or a place like church how people find a seat and not only get comfortable there, but get angry if that area is taken by someone else.