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I do think it’s important not to become the electronics police, just like we don’t want others to become the paper police. This is one of those areas where “to each his own” is a good philosophy to live by. I also think it’s important to do our part not to give electronics a bad name. I have noticed a guy in my ward playing some kind of ‘gem’ or ‘mine’ or something game during both Sunday School and Priesthood. I do find it distracting. Not because I think HE is missing anything… I don’t really care… but I do think it is incredibly inconsiderate to whoever is at the front of the room, boring or not. Also, just to add some thoughts on the propriety of using electronics for scripture reference… I believe that there are tradeoffs; advantages and disadvantages of both forms of media. People who like one or the other are just giving weight to the benefits that work for them and minimizing the shortcomings that don’t affect them. From that standpoint, everyone is right. It’s very cumbersome to carry around a bible, a triple, and a priesthood manual while also managing a small army of children; I know this from experience. Quick access to info is a wonderful part of our information (or digital) age. But, I also can see that context is often lost. To me, and this is my opinion alone, I feel that the scriptures too easily become a disembodied voice if all I do is look at little snippets here and there. Taking scriptures “out of context” has been a problem from way, way back. But I do think it is especially easy to do this in the electronics age.
Let me point out a related issue. Back in the 70’s my dad got a digital watch. The thing was expensive (by our standards). It could tell you the time with bright red LEDs. Nowadays, lots of people have digital watches. That’s fine. There is no distinction between analog and digital clocks for people who already have a concept of time, but when teaching kids, digital clocks are a problem. So, sure, a kid can quickly learn to “tell time” with a digital clock; much faster than on an analog counterpart. It’s 7:43. Done. Now the kid can tell time. Except, all they are doing is reading numbers on a display. If taught this way, they have no concept of what 7:43 means. How close is it to 7? How long will it take to get to 8? What the heck is “a quarter to 8”? Are digital clocks wrong? No. Are analog clocks right? No. But there are situations where one has the advantage over the other. Personally, I wear an analog watch, and not because it has any advantage; I wear it because I think it’s more stylish.
Another corollary: there was a time in the not-so-distant past when people who worked at a cash register knew basic math. Not so, anymore. It’s funny now. I’ve had to tell more than one “cashier” what the result would be if they can’t get the register to give them the answer. I recently had to do this when one cashier turned to her supervisor, who then grabbed a calculator. The change was like 40 cents. I had already done it in my head two minutes earlier. If you want to really throw someone for a loop, give them extra change, expecting to trade to larger denominations. Like if the bill is 6.17, give them a 10, a 1, two dimes and two pennies. They won’t be able to figure it out. I’ve, no kidding, had them tell me that the 10 is sufficient, apparently expecting to give me back a caseload of bills and coins equaling, well, whatever the machine says is the change. And how many times have you seen the person at the register slowly working up to 83 cents. A quarter… OK, that’s 25. Another quater… 50. Yeah, one more quater, that’s 75. Now a dime, no wait, a nickle, that’s, uh, 80, and… got it… three pennies. Whew. Technology in this domain has provided an assurance of accuracy, which itself is indispensably important, but has removed flexibility and independent competence.
With all this in mind, I find it best simply to say that given the situation and the individual, there are pros and cons for each form of media, and that there is no universal ‘right’ way.
On Own Now wrote:Now the kid can tell time. Except, all they are doing is reading numbers on a display.
Every ward I’ve visited only has a cheap analog clock hanging on the wall at audience left, so if they want to know how much longer F&T meeting is going to last, they have to figure it out from that.
Personally, I prefer an analog watch with a second hand as a “coin toss” generator; mentally divide up the circle into segments, then look at the watch and go with the segment the second hand is in. Not my method for investment decisions, but when I’m having trouble deciding between pumpkin pie or peach cobbler, it speeds up choosing which one I’ll have first.
I agree with you OON. I generally do prefer electronic scriptures now day if for no other reason than they are easy to carry around. That is not the only reason, but it’s a good reason in my book. I have an NRSV Bible app on my phone and sometimes that is the version I read from. Just an interesting side note from the meeting. There were several questions asked of the SP and there was quite a bit of input on a variety of subjects. The SP summed up almost all of them with “teach them correct principles….” The major exception was this issue, where he suggested it be a ward council topic. I do see it as a teach correct principles area.
And I realized I have neglected to note the topic of the meeting: improving SM worship.
Quote:improving SM worship
The thing I think electronics has done is make our boredom obvious. Previously people would hide behind reading their lessons or Ensign, playing with their kids stuff, doodling on the program, or daydreaming.
Taking away electronics won’t fix it. Better meetings will do that.
* Let people bring in visual objects.
*Assign topics not conference talks.
* Christ centered worship, including songs.
* Music improvement
* Rest hymns where we stand up and stretch our legs/lungs, etc.
* Happy stories – not down trodden ones
* Happy greetings – not stone faced, solemnity. Church should be happy.
mom3 wrote:Quote:improving SM worship
The thing I think electronics has done is make our boredom obvious. Previously people would hide behind reading their lessons or Ensign, playing with their kids stuff, doodling on the program, or daydreaming.
Taking away electronics won’t fix it. Better meetings will do that.
* Let people bring in visual objects.
*Assign topics not conference talks.
* Christ centered worship, including songs.
* Music improvement
* Rest hymns where we stand up and stretch our legs/lungs, etc.
* Happy stories – not down trodden ones
* Happy greetings – not stone faced, solemnity. Church should be happy.
Some of those things did come up in the meeting, Mom, but the idea that people might be bored never came out. It did come out that sometimes the meetings were not very “Spiritual” and the SP agreed. He went as far as to say that if a talk was not centered and focused on Christ it should not be given in SM. He did also point out that the handbook is still the handbook despite the recent change in ward councils offering input into planning SM. Props and videos are still out. I get that and get how some people could take those things way too far and do far more damage than good.mom3 wrote:*Assign topics not conference talks.
mom3 wrote:The thing I think electronics has done is make our boredom obvious.
I have been traveling (tired of being on airplanes) and mom beat me to the statement. I remember as a kid playing tic-tac-toe through most of SM – in fact even as a teenager. I think I would do it now except my wife forbids it.mom3 wrote:Taking away electronics won’t fix it. Better meetings will do that.
+1:thumbup:
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