NOM

Mormons are Christian, at least they identify themselves as such.

Mormons celebrate Christmas. They sing Christmas carols throughout December, have activities, have talks about the birth of Christ, and on the local level, make a somewhat big deal out of Christmas. On the last Sunday before Xmas, the talks are on the birth of Christ (or always were when I was LDS).

Easter / Pascha is the oldest Christian celebration and predates Christmas by at least a hundred years. It focuses on the very center of Christianity, the resurrection of Jesus Christ. I was told throughout my life that all things pointed to Christ, that his atonement was the center of our religion. Yet, there is little fanfare.

I never noticed it until I started working for other churches. The first time was doing Easter services for the Episcopal church. As the organist I was involved with Holy Week services and a Good Friday cantata. When Easter came, there were bells, the music, and a true celebration where people were genuinely excited. I was still LDS at the time, so I left on my bicycle after services (two of them) on a high and went to Sacrament meeting with my family. The topic of the day was gardening. The contrast was so stark that I realized that while Mormons do celebrate Christmas, they don't celebrate Easter. The resurrection is hardly mentioned in talks. Sometimes a general or stake conference would fall on the same date and nobody would even mention it.

Why do you think this is? Why celebrate Christmas and not Easter?

You have us stumped Document. Mormons do not celebrate Easter well like the rest of Christianity. Probably because general conference gets in the way.

To be honest, I'm stumped, too.

I've known for a while that they don't. We've pointed it out here many times (on the old forums). But I've never really stopped to think, "why".

I think a part of it is what 2bizE said, general conference gets in the way a percentage of the time.

Ordinarily I'd say that because the date isn't fixed, it varies wildly from year to year, that it's not as easy to focus on as Christmas which is always on the same day of the year... but other churches have it figured out.

I grew up in other churches. Save the die-hards, Christmas and Easter were pretty much the only time most people showed up for church. Churches put on big productions because it was like the rough equivalent of running a commercial during the Super Bowl. It was a time family came together.

Compare that with the LDS church. There's the expectation that everyone be of the die-hard variety. If you aren't die-hard and coming to church each and every week then you aren't really a part of the community. Fatigue sets in and every Sunday starts to look like every other Sunday. The most someone might do is go back to their parents ward for one Sunday.

Nibbler, that could very well be the point.

Our average attendance at my church is about 180 a week (60 at the early service, 120 at the 10:15 service). We get on average 440 (meaning full capacity) every year on Easter. Christmas Eve we get about 360.

nibbler wrote: ↑Wed Apr 12, 2017 6:27 am I grew up in other churches. Save the die-hards, Christmas and Easter were pretty much the only time most people showed up for church. Churches put on big productions because it was like the rough equivalent of running a commercial during the Super Bowl. It was a time family came together.

Compare that with the LDS church. There's the expectation that everyone be of the die-hard variety. If you aren't die-hard and coming to church each and every week then you aren't really a part of the community. Fatigue sets in and every Sunday starts to look like every other Sunday. The most someone might do is go back to their parents ward for one Sunday.

I'd say this is probably the reason right here.

Mormons are expected to attend church every week. Christmas and Easter are just another boring 3-hour-block.

When you really look at it, and compare the services to many other churches, mormons don't do either Christmas or Easter well. Sure they sing a few Christmas Carols here and there, and maybe the lame ward Christmas party, but like everything else in mormonism it really is the same old correlated pablum.

Postum Sunday
Family Home Evening Monday
Ruby Tuesday
Afternoon Golf Wednesday
Monson Thursday
Thank God it's Friday
Super Saturday
Easter Sunday


On the menu at the Lion House and Cougareat for Passover

Bitter Herbs Ice Cream and Saltines

In the ward I live in the ward choir has traditionally done two programs- Christmas and Easter

I have noticed this lack of Easter observance too in recent years. Now that I have a significant number of friends in other churches, I hear how busy they are during Holy Week. One friend said they have children waving palms on Palm Sunday. I said, we don't have pageantry in our church. I can't even convince my dh to play that organ hymn The Palms, on Palm Sunday, not that anyone would recognize it anyway. Yet, since some general conference talk we now have to say the Atonement OF JESUS CHRIST instead of just The Atonement (in case we are confused about which atonement. huh?)

I recall before sacrament meetings were a recital of recent conference talks we did have choir cantatas and special programs on both Easter and Christmas. Yes, in my lifetime, but I am old. I'm not sure if it is a lack of interest in planning something special, an effort to not look too mainsteam Christian, or correlation that is the reason.

When I was in the RSPy I lobbied to have a special Christmas lesson one year rather than the Teachings of the Prophets as scheduled for that week. But we were shut down because we mustn't get off schedule with the rest of the stake/church.

My 2 cents

I wrote up a long response about how other churches are like the LDS church in that the activity rates of every-day-Sunday were the same. So the comparison to Mormons getting sick and tired of church every Sunday was a little over the top for me. Then as I wrote out my post, I realized that you are correct in this.

Mormons are obligated to attend on Sundays, Christians are encouraged to attend. If you skip a few Sundays in a non-LDS Christian church, then no biggie. If you stop attending for a period of time in the LDS church, there is a punishment, the removal of callings and temple recommends.

If I HAVE to go to church, I start to resent it. There isn't such a thing as a "mental" day when it comes to Mormon services. Do you strive to attend all your meetings? Well, no, I took three weeks off this year from church to just sleep in and recharge my batteries. That isn't an option.

Flip to another church, many people take a few weeks off here and there, but they still attend about 90% of the time. Heck, my employment contract allows five Sundays off a year, and those can be for any reason (so long as a I have a substitute). When our last organist retired, she took a break from church for three months. It wasn't because she disliked church, she had just been on the bench pretty much every week for 30 years and wanted a break. She wasn't traveling. After three months, she's back and recharged. She's active and volunteers in the community. Nobody blinked.

You just don't do that.

But, from what I'm reading here, it seems to be on a ward by ward basis. So some wards do Easter while some wards (like the ones I have been in) completely ignore it and pretend it doesn't exist.

Amazing !!! Just got a very nice Easter message from the first presidency of Community of Christ on my e-mail . I of course went back and checked on LDS .org and no such video message about Easter at all !! Very Very Sad ........... Easter is one of the most important if not thee most important events in all Christianity .... and of course we the LDs church does little with it. Saddddddddddd

This little article pretty much sums up this topic

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithpromo ... nd-easter/

Right on , that does sum it up !!

Would it be fair to say that we Mormons feel a spiritual void because of this lack of celebration?

moksha wrote: ↑Thu Apr 13, 2017 4:19 pm Would it be fair to say that we Mormons feel a spiritual void because of this lack of celebration?

Yes. You know on Seinfeld when Georges dad created Festivus? For the rest of us.
Perhaps we could create a celebration for NOMs called Neaster?

Look at the big holidays we get at church--2 of the biggest are THE American holidays, Christmas and the 4th of July. The santa semana and Easter has very much remained an old world celebration and a minor holiday in our culture and is treated as such by the very US centric church.

There isn't such a thing as a "mental" day when it comes to Mormon services

So much this. Do other churches have people who insist on attending church while on vacation? Considering the franchisee-type organization of the church I always found it a little weird that Mormons would go to such enormous effort to find a ward while traveling. A big mac is a big mac no matter where you are.

As far as Easter I wonder how much of it has to do with it being the weirdest and "worst" holiday? I never know exactly when it is and it always seems to sneak up me. Unlike other holidays, it doesn't seem to have developed any secular importance or influence. I don't know a single person who reminisces fondly about Easter as a young person. Even Halloween seems to resonate more with people.

Of course for a church to basically ignore it is weird. But Mormonism seems far more influenced by the world than they would like to admit. Trunk or treats and ward Halloween parties are all the rage but in my area I can't think of so much as a ward egg hunt...

Rebel wrote: ↑Thu Apr 13, 2017 3:45 pm Amazing !!! Just got a very nice Easter message from the first presidency of Community of Christ on my e-mail . I of course went back and checked on LDS .org and no such video message about Easter at all !! Very Very Sad ........... Easter is one of the most important if not thee most important events in all Christianity .... and of course we the LDs church does little with it. Saddddddddddd

On the main LDS.org page, they put an easter video "Prince of Peace". The same project they been running a couple weeks.

The first presidency issued and Easter Message http://www.deseretnews.com/article/8656 ... ssage.html
(sorry, it only came up on a DesNews search)

I don't know the lack of support for Easter compared to Xmas. The 1stPres Xmas devotional is a big production almost a month in advance of the actual holiday. Easter is a short message a few days before the event and a 2 minute video.
Note, the video is lame. Very little tied to the atonement/resurrection. Funny note, it specifically mentions "he turned water into wine" but obviously don't drink that wine he just miraculously made for you.

I think this just falls into false traditions of forefathers. All other Christian sects focus on Easter so we won't. You would think this is their time to shine - Quoting from D&C all the time, "That he lives, for we saw him".
I think this i why they don't think focus on Easter too much. Don't pay attention to resurrected Jesus from 2k years ago. Pay attention to resurrected Jesus from 180 years ago.

LaMachina wrote: ↑Fri Apr 14, 2017 1:49 pm

There isn't such a thing as a "mental" day when it comes to Mormon services

So much this. Do other churches have people who insist on attending church while on vacation? Considering the franchisee-type organization of the church I always found it a little weird that Mormons would go to such enormous effort to find a ward while traveling. A big mac is a big mac no matter where you are.

As far as Easter I wonder how much of it has to do with it being the weirdest and "worst" holiday? I never know exactly when it is and it always seems to sneak up me. Unlike other holidays, it doesn't seem to have developed any secular importance or influence. I don't know a single person who reminisces fondly about Easter as a young person. Even Halloween seems to resonate more with people.

Of course for a church to basically ignore it is weird. But Mormonism seems far more influenced by the world than they would like to admit. Trunk or treats and ward Halloween parties are all the rage but in my area I can't think of so much as a ward egg hunt...

Two thoughts come to mind. First. I used to live outside of mormonville. A nondenominational church had a really good Easter celebration on Saturday with a message I actually enjoyed listening to. This was even in my TBM days. They had a wonderful Easter egg hunt for the kids with more than 10,000 eggs. The kids loved it.
Second. Easter conflicts with conference, which is way more important, right? I wonder if the church looks at the cost of celebrating Easter. How many millions does it cost to have the general conference? Does the church look at Easter like we just did a big production and it cost $5 million, we can't afford to have another production until October.

Easter conflicts with conference, which is way more important, right?

Agreed, that appears to be the mindset. I find this even a little more strange as General conference seems to be the perfect time to incorporate some Easter themed pageantry and messages. Instead we get the most boring *insert nerd interest*-Con ever and hear lame messages about Staying in Boats.

I believe this film shows a mormon attending one of these Easter pageants and you can see how it freaks him out a little.
Attending Easter Pageant