3.10.2008

Annoyed

Please join me in a little (righteous) indignation. My parents serve in a BYU ward (this is a position of service in my church) and were asked to pass on a bit of lecturing to the BYU students they work with. This lecture apparently came down from the Prove Temple Presidency (a temple, in my religion, is a very sacred place of worship). Apparently the Provo Temple workers are having a bit of difficulty convincing BYU students that cell phones have no place in the temple. The temple is willing to allow cell phones in the locker rooms (where one can lock up personal and valuable items such as a purse that not needed during one's time in the temple) but would appreciate that they were turned off so that the feelings of reverence and worship are not interrupted even there. The problem is that so many individuals who leave their cell phones in the locker rooms do not turn them off that the locker room sometimes ends up sounding like a telephone exchange center.

Okay, so this far into my mom's retelling of the lecture I was merely annoyed. I mean as far as I am concerned cell phones don't belong in the temple period! But at the very least they should be turned off the entire time you are in the temple. Right? So now is when the righteous indignation will start to kick in. Apparently, Provo temple goers don't merely have problems leaving their cell phones in the locker rooms. They are taking them into endowment sessions (a portion of temple worship)! The lecture cited an increasing problem with cell phones ringing during the endowment sessions and in the celestial room--can you imagine anything less celestial than a cell phone going off--particularly with some of the ring tones that people have these days? And it gets worse! Recently the cell phone of a young lady in the celestial went off, she answered it, and carried on a conversation! Can you imagine?

At this point I was nearly boiling over in my (righteous) indignation and then my mom gave me one last piece of information that caused it to boil over completely. The lecture was given (by my mother) in Relief Society (a women's organization in my church--the same lecture was given Elder's Quorum, a men's organization in my church) and these girls (young 18-19-year-old freshman girls) who are supposed to be this great rising generation didn't understand what the problem was with a cell phone going off in the temple and someone answering it. Really I suppose that by the time we got this far in the retelling my indignation was nearly gone out of complete frustration and replaced by utter disappointment. Instead of indignation I was left to wonder how on earth they had gotten so far in their religious training without any sort of proper understanding of the terms reverent, sacred, holy, etc. I think that perhaps this stands as a bit of a lesson to those of us who have any kind of contact at all with children of all ages (which pretty much means everyone of us) that as technology continues to invade every aspect of our lives we need to spell out the definitions to terms like reverence and sacred as well as what it means to act in a reverent and sacred manner and not merely assume that our youth will understand that it is not necessary to have a cell phone permanently attached to our hands.

I think starting next week I will have to start telling my nursery kids that cell phones are evil--they'll believe me and it will for the most part be true! ;)

7 comments:

Denise said...

Wow, that is sad and disappointing. I am in Young Woman's and have a hard time getting them to stop text messaging during church and activities. They know where I stand on them and will hide them, they have the keys memorized! I wish the parents would step in and not allow them to bring them to church!! I hope my girls would never think to bring a cell phone to the temple. Josh and I leave them in the car. Wow, I guess we need to help the youth understand that technology is great but there is a time and a place for it, not the temple! Or church in my opinion. Am I being too hard on the girls or do you feel the same as I do?

Good luck Mom!

Courtney said...

I feel absolutely the same way! Mom says she has a real problem with the girls texting in Relief Society as well. I really can't figure out what is wrong with some parents!--Easy for me to say since I'm not one.

I wonder if something like this should be a sacrament meeting theme with the Bishop laying down a bit of the law (or a Conference theme since it is a wide, wide problem). Maybe your worst youths could be asked to give talks about why it isn't appropriate to use a cell phone (whether calling or texting) during church meetings. I am convinced, though, that it needs to be spelled out and not just simply a talk on good things to do during church hoping that they will clue in that cell phones aren't on the good list. Do the girl's parents know there is a problem? Sorry for the long comment--guess I'm still steamed.

Natalie said...

truly unbelievable. Is it time for the second coming yet?

Courtney said...

Natalie--I sent an email about the aquarium trip. Did you get it?

MBC said...

!?!?!?!?

What phone call could you possibly be expecting that would be more important than what you were already engaged in while attending the temple?

I hate the sense of entitlement that cell phones give people--the idea that they deserve to use their phones whenever it's convenient, even when it inconveniences others. Grrr.

Kimberly said...

I am in shock! I can't believe that someone would bring their cell phone into a session. You have to knowingly bring it. There is no accident there. Wow.

Courtney said...

MBC--I know! I really actually hate cell phones--not only the sense of entitlement it gives the owner but also the feeling that others have that they should be able to get a hold of me when ever it suits them. Sometimes I am not available and whether that is by choice or not it is my business not yours! Sorry, I really don't care for cell phones.

Kimberly--I know! It has to be on purpose!