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So when you take an institute of religion class are you supposed to intellectually stimulated, spiritually enlightened, or both?Additionally, if I don’t seem to be happy with the class, is that my fault, the class fault, or the teacher? I would not complain about the class to anyone, because that seems so childish. Also, initially, I always pursue education (inside/outside) of the church to get enriched or enlightened both intellectually and spiritually no matter what the subject is. Aren’t we dualistic beings made of both spiritual and physical matter? Actually I am not too impressed with my class at the moment. People either seem to be too irreverent when they speak of sacred things, or I am just more mature than the standard 18-25 year old audience. I feel like I get more out of my personal scripture study and honest pursuit of the gospel than a class can provide. I guess I’m too serious about my pursuit of knowledge. Once, when I was a ward mission leader in southern California, I took a new convert to an institute class at a Jr. College. It was the Jesus and the Gospels class. My friend was a father of 1 child and divorced. I met him at the college and he did enjoy the teacher who did present the gospel well (very informative), however he did comment on the disorderly nature of the peanut gallery in the back of the class. This was an evening class that was probably close to 100 students who were there more for the social atmosphere of the institute. I remember apologizing to my friend and new convert that these were young college students younger than 26 (his age), who were probably there more for the social atmosphere. That was the last time we attended institute together. I think we would have gone again if the student’s were more reverent. I guess the institute program is mainly for young people to mingle, and not necessarily for spiritual stimulation.
jamison wrote:So
when you take an institute of religion class are you supposed to intellectually stimulated, spiritually enlightened, or both?…if I don’t seem to be happy with the class, is that my fault, the class fault, or the teacher?…I am not too impressed with my class at the moment. People either seem to be too irreverent when they speak of sacred things, or I am just more mature than the standard 18-25 year old audience. I feel like
I get more out of my personal scripture study and honest pursuit of the gospel than a class can provide. I guess I’m too serious about my pursuit of knowledge…I guess the institute program is mainly for young people to mingle, and not necessarily for spiritual stimulation. I tried to take a few Institute classes shortly after returning from my mission but quickly gave up on that idea. They mostly reminded me of singles wards and I felt like I wasn’t really learning much and that I could easily find a better use for the overall time required. After I became completely inactive Institute started to sound about as fun as a trip to the dentist without any nitrous oxide to help ease the pain. For Church education and regular Sunday meetings I think they should definitely focus more on attracting interest and trying to make it a positive experience rather than just using it mostly as time to indoctrinate a captive audience with over-correlated lessons as if there is no limit to what people should be expected to endure. What they used to be able to get away with 15-20 years ago without any major problems is just not going to work all that well anymore because there are so many more easily accessible alternatives to distract and really compete for people’s attention nowadays.
I never did the Institute thing, so it’s hard to really comment. I would say: eat where you find nourishment (spiritually). Institute always seemed like a really optional thing, and also seemed more like a singles social thing to do. Agree with BJ. Find spiritual salve wherever you can. That is going to often be on your own. Institute classes, though intending to further educate, are often so watered down that they barely resonate above seminary level. What they end up providing, more than anything else, is social opportunities.
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