The Hall Class

I once heard about a special meeting held for ordinance workers in the Provo Temple. The President of the Church was there to address them, and when he became aware that some hadn't shown up for the meeting, he made this statement: “When you are where you ought to be, you will hear what the Lord wants you to hear.”

The purpose of our Sunday meetings is that we “hear what the Lord wants us to hear”—not so that we can simply look at each other at the end of the three hours and proclaim, "A good time was had by all.”

As Sunday School president, I've noted that Handbook 2 contains this statement: “All Church members ages 12 and older are members of Sunday School.” After searching the entire Handbook I was unable to find any footnote after that statement that says
". . . unless of course you are in one of the following categories:

1. "Members who prefer to hang out with friends in the chapel, the hall, or the library, or who're conducting more 'important' Church business.

2. "Young Women leaders who are convinced that they need 40 minutes to 'prepare their room' but spend most of that time visiting."

When I think about those who do not attend Sunday School I can't help wondering how many of them are the same ones who long to feel more “spiritual,” who pray every day for greater spiritual guidance, who long to find solutions to challenges they've been struggling with week after week (year after year?) --all of whom feeling that the heavens are sealed and the Lord has "forgotten" them. Are these the same ones who anguish over addictions they wish they could overcome but never seem to find the necessary willpower? Are these the fathers and mothers who continually agonize over how to get along better with their children? The husbands and wives who cannot seem to resolve their differences?

And then I wonder: How many times has the Lord heard the prayers and longings of His children and said, “I will provide the answers, solutions, uplift, and encouragement they seek by inspiring their Sunday School instructors to make a special comment, read a particular quote, tell a story, or bear testimony in such a way that they receive the answers they seek. But there's a catch: The members must be in class. If they will only be where they ought to be, they will hear and feel the answers they’ve been seeking.”

Just wondering.