Outside of the religious realm, Sunday is simply the last day of the weekend. For many, Sunday is a day to watch football and recover from Saturday. For the majority of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Sunday is a day of worship, a day of fellowship, and a day of church attendance. But what if you can’t be at the church building every Sunday? Does your Sabbath absence qualify you as a semi-Mormon, or does it say something about your commitment to your faith?
As the lone Mormon in my high school, I often felt like an outsider. It didn’t help that I attended dance lessons while my friends played hockey, and while I raved about my STAR WARS figurines, my peers bragged about their latest pellet gun or go-kart. I grew up feeling that I needed to distance myself from those who were not members of my church. Until my mission, I was seemingly searching for the group of Mormons who were as perfect as I perceived myself to be, but I could never find them.
Fast forward to today, and I find myself in my early 30s, with 2 kids, a dog, and a wonderful wife. I have changed my search for the group of perfect Mormons. I have a job that does not happen during regular business hours, and I work 12-hour shifts on alternating days. My schedule limits the time that I can spend attending church meetings. When I first started my job, I felt confident that my self-righteous attitude and mindset could carry me through the weeks when I was not attending my church meetings. I still felt that I was better than those around me and that I could rise above everything. I was wrong in so many ways.
In the past 5 years at my current job, I have had to find ways to strengthen my faith that were foreign to me. What follows are several philosophies that have helped me keep on the proverbial ‘straight and narrow’:
- Connect with people of different faiths. You might not share a religion, but you share more values than you may realize.
- Create habits that strengthen your faith. I like listening to podcasts and Ensign articles on my phone. Meditation and pondering can help invite the Spirit at a busy workplace.
- Be kind. Be kind to others around you. They may not want to work on Sunday either, and being kind is never the wrong answer.
- Stay connected with your ward/quorum/friends. Whether it is by email, Facebook or text message, connect with people in your local ward or elsewhere that can bring a light to your day and keep the Spirit bright within you.
- Talk you your local bishop for suggestions. There is a good chance that your bishop has been through a similar situation. After some pondering over my inquiries, my bishop allowed my home teachers to bring the sacrament to my house if I miss sacrament meeting for over a month. Your bishop is here to help.
These activities and habits have helped me keep my testimony and faith strong, especially when my church attendance is not regular. Some suggestions may work for you, some may not. As a youth, I thought that everyone needed to go down the same path to get to the Celestial Kingdom. In a perfect world, with perfect people, that might be true. Unfortunately, we live in a corrupt world and we are all imperfect people trying to get back to a perfect Heavenly Father. He is merciful and will help us along as we make the effort to draw close to Him, be it through podcast, kind conversation, meditation, or prayer. He will lift us as we allow Him to.
~Tyler Harper
Hailing from Alberta, Canada, Tyler is as red and white (pale, really) as the Canadian flag. Tyler loves his tan American wife, Terrah. Movies; trivia; movie trivia; and hockey are Tyler’s “cups of (herbal) tea”. He holds the Harper household record for the most STAR WARS-to-hockey segues in one conversation. Tyler currently serves as a home teacher, nursery leader, and MC of various ward functions. His 6-year-old and 3-year-old sons think it’s funny when Tyler falls asleep in the basement. That’s when they steal his iPhone.
Featured Image by David Blackwell