The Talk

 

   The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has no paid clergy.  The men who lead the wards (congregations) are not trained ministers. Their role regarding the Sunday worship service, called Sacrament meeting, is to plan and lead the meeting. They may share some spiritual thoughts at the beginning or end of the service. They do not give a sermon or homily. 

   A Sacrament meeting may have two or three speakers and these are drawn from the ward or from leadership in another church unit like missionary work or the Temple. This presents an interesting opportunity to members. Unlike other Christian denominations an ordinary member can be asked to speak at a Sacrament meeting.

   This was something that really excited me when I first joined the church. All my life I'd been listening to sermons and homilies by clergy. Now I had a chance to hear from ordinary people who had only their experience and personal research along with personal revelation to guide them in their remarks. Not only that there was also a chance that I might be asked to speak.

   I've come to realize that most members dread being asked to speak. I can understand. A quick Google search told me that 75% of people have a fear of public speaking. Even though most people in my ward are  very supportive of all speakers, it can still be rather daunting.

  The first time I was asked to speak in Sacrament meeting, I was not an actual member. The Bishop (similar to pastor in other denominations) knew I was reading Doctrine and Covenants, which is one of the four books of scripture in the Restored church. He was interested in knowing what I thought about what I was reading and felt the ward might be interested in my comments. It was a positive first experience which lead to other positive experiences with giving talks in church.

   One thing I liked to do was watch church leaders, especially the few women leaders who speak. I was looking for examples and ideas for improvement. One speaker who had a great impact on me was the late Chieko Okazaki. Many of the talks she gave in General Conference featured a prop of some type. There are two that I remember most. One was in a talk called Baskets and Bottles. She had brought a basket of fresh fruit and a bottle of preserved fruit.  The basket was used in warmer climates where fruit was picked fresh to be consumed. The bottle was used in colder climates where fruit needed to be picked and preserved for the winter. Her point was that even those these containers were different both were appropriate for their contents.

   The other talk was called Strength in the Savior. In this talk she used two quilts. One was a patterned quilt. The pieces were organized, laid out and sewn together in certain pattern. She pointed out that you can look at one part of the pattern and predict what the rest of the quilt will look like. The second quilt was a crazy quilt. The pieces were different shapes and sizes randomly sewed together with no set pattern. She said both quilts were good quilts and well made. Both quilts were warm and cozy. Her point was that there is no one right way to make a quilt provided the pieces were firmly stitched together and there is no one right way to be a woman in the church, provided we keep basic principles.

  Due to this example, a few of the talks I gave featured props because I felt that they would make my message easier to remember.

  Tomorrow  I'm going to give a talk on service. This isn't the kind of talk that will allow a prop. I am going to do something I've never done before. I'm going to talk about a personal experience that I haven't shared with many. I'm also going to challenge people to act something that is also new for me.  

  I am almost ready. I have the index cards I write my outline on filled out and ready. I put bookmarks in my Bible so I can find the passages I want to read easily. I just need to practice it a little more and then I will be ready to go. 

   I look forward to seeing what kind of reception this talk gets.