Follow The Profit

Since Hinckley's death, I've heard the song "Follow the Prophet" a few times. I was reminded of Primary, where (like currently) I felt strange while listening to (and then, singing) to it. The tune sounds somewhat sad, with an equally ominous tone to the lyrics.

Drakkar has a song by the same title that is, at least in my Outer Darkness opinion, better:
"Here I'm alone
Look through the window
Snow's falling down
Winter has come
Think to the times
When we were happy
Changes I want
Freedom again

Many years ago the Major said: "Since today you gotta call me king"
Our liberty he took away, with the promise of a golden dream
Soon the dream became a nightmare
Soon the rebels they began to die
No one seemed to have the power to
Get rid of the Major of the Lies

There's a story about a man who lives
In the forest of the ancient rites
I am going now to search for him, if he does exist I want his guide
Then I find him and he says to me:
"I've been waiting for a pure so long
I am giving you the magic ring that will bring you to another world

Follow the prophet to Never, Neverland
Where all the free men together they will stand
A dream of liberty and peace for everyone
Under the light of the sun

I am coming back now, to the real world
To the land of freedom, I will bring you all
It is time for you now, all you slaves and poor
Break the chains that would never let you fly away
If you got the courage, and your heart is pure
All the pain and the sorrow you can behind"

I couldn't find a video for that song (which to me is tongue-in-cheek) but did find an acoustic cover of Kingdom of Madness they did:

Smithmas

I've read it from other bloggers, and at least for me, it was True (if anything about The Church could be) that the lessons focused on Joseph, or lessons on the Chapel and Book of Mormon, instead of Jesus during the Christian celebration of the winter season.

By the time I got to Young Womans, I was rarely in class enough - let alone paying attention when I was - to analyze and comprehend anything they were attempting to indoctrinate me with. In Primary I do recall the lectures. They focused on the Smith story, even though they told us about 'Him' throughout the rest of the year.

At least in the Catholic church, they were half an hour at most and generally consisted of being given an interesting coloured lesson sheet, often including colouring sheets, and they had special Christmas stuff that consisted of more then a dinner with cold pastas and salads in the activity hall that seconds as a basketball court (and in some chapels, thirds as overflow for Sacrament)

Taking the Piss

Religious Refrain

Back when I went to church I generally listened to rock and classical (weird mix, I know) so the music played there bored me not only due to it's religious aspect but the monotonous harmonies.

Despite how many other bloggers describe remembering the church songs many years later, I had enough trouble recalling the words when I was sitting on the hard plastic Primary chair. Perhaps this was because I was daydreaming and counting down the hours and mintues to when church would end. Perhaps it was also that since third grade I only attended twice monthly, when visiting my Mormon parent.

In the Catholic chapel all of the songs had religious connotations, but I remember really liking a song that went like, "though the mountains may fall and the hills turn to dust, the love of the lord will stand, as a shelter to all who will call on his name, sing the praise and the glory of god" Even though at that point I was agnostic, leaning on the atheist side, I still looked forward to when this song was on the playlist.

I didn't like any songs sung in Sacrement, especially when I started attending the Catholic church, which while bland was energetic compared to the Mormon sermon. The Primary song that I enjoyed was "Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree", firstly because it was silly but secondly since it had nothing to do with religion, which the Mormon church showed me more then anything that it was something to be shunned.

This is the same hymn book used when I went to church. According to Deseret Books, it's been in circulation since the 80s

Introduction to Idiocy

My parents are Mormon and Catholic, which is uncommon as Mormons are steered to date and marry within the church since "a family that prays together stays together". My parents eventually dicorced, but it was not merely resulting from their religious differences.

I do not recall this, but my non-Mormon parent says they went to the Mormon meetinghouse. Obviously, the didn't stay for long. From the time I can remember, they went to the cathedral. I was jealous to attend, partly out of curiosity but also because the Catholic church seemed better:

• The service was only an hour. Mormon services are three hours long, but since most adults have voluenteer jobs to do it is longer then that.
  
• The Catholic building was beautuful whereas the Mormon chapel looked somewhat like a school, the biggest difference was that the floors were carpeted (bad idea, considering the number of small, messy children)

One of my earliest memories in church was being sad since I had to go to Sunbeams (the youngest age-geared Sunday School connected to Primary, which is for all children) The teacher used candy cigarettes - which are considered a sin, as outlined in the Word of Wisdom - to teach something, which I cannot remember. The first lesson I gained through the church was that their confusing rules were of little consequence.