Times They are a Changin'

Since President Nelson became the prophet in January of 2018, the church has gone through a number of significant changes. Doctrine has remained the same, but some things about how the church is administered and run have definitely changed. I'm sure that these changes have been in the works for a long time, but perhaps it was important to wait until now to announce them. President Monson was very frail at the end, and did not have the strength to speak very long. President Nelson, on the other hand, is still full of life and energy. Having the Prophet announce and explain big changes is important for many members, so I think the timing was significant and a testimony that Heavenly Father has a plan for His church, and His timing is important.

Over the last year so many things have been adjusted to better meet the needs of the members:

• The Elders Quorum organization has been revamped to include High Priests
• It was announced that the youth program will change in 2020
• The church will no longer participate in Boy Scouts starting in 2020
• Mission calls went digital 
• There has been an emphasis on using the correct name of the church instead of LDS or Mormon
• Home and Visiting Teaching have been replaced with Ministering 
• They announced a new hymnbook and children's hymnbook that members can contribute to
• The Mormon tabernacle choir changed its name to Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square
• The Church Pageants have been changed or cancelled
• Church went from 3 hours to 2 hours
• A new home-centered, church-supported gospel program called "Come Follow Me" was implemented
• Youth now move to YM/YW at the beginning of the year they turn 12 and can attend the temple and receive the priesthood then

The feeling that I get from all these announcements and changes is that Heavenly Father is preparing His people to welcome the Savior at the Second Coming. These last days are only going to get harder as the world continues to deteriorate into sin. He needs Saints who are valiant in their testimonies and who have come close to the Savior by following His example. When they changed the missionary age a few years ago, they called it "Raising the Bar." These new changes feel very much like the bar is again being raised. I feel so much responsibility as a parent to teach and prepare my children to be valiant and to have testimonies. 

I have a firm testimony of the Prophet and believe that His authority and revelations come from God himself. That doesn't mean, however, that all these changes have come easily. I understand many of the reasons behind the changes, but I have still struggled a little with how to implement them. I just wanted to mention a few of my thoughts over the last year. 

For me, the biggest of these changes was the move to 2 hour church and the new Come Follow Me program that was announced in October 2018 conference. I had been hearing rumors about this possibility before conference, but I didn't really think that it would happen. 

[Side story: During the Saturday morning session of conference, my whole family was here for a visit. We were out working in our neighbor's yard trying to help her take out a quarter acre of weeds behind her house. She originally asked Christian if he would like to do it to earn money. She offered him $100. To a 12 year old, that kind of money was unheard of, and he accepted. It soon became apparent that there was no way on earth that he would be able to do it by himself. We asked my family to help, and they were so kind to work with us on the project. We turned the radio up loud while we were working so that we could hear conference. When they announced 2-hour church, we were all in shock. We stood out there amongst the weeds, with our mouths open wide, gaping at each other. My initial reaction was actually one of excitement. 3 hours was a long time for the kids to sit and focus, and I thought it would be awesome. We continued to work hard as we listened to the radio and learned more about the new program. It was an enormous project that was worth way more than $100, but together we got it done. I hope that it taught Christian the value of hard work, and taught him that he can do hard things!] 

As I pondered the change to two hour church, I gradually became more and more distraught about the time change. I began to worry for my Primary children who didn't have the gospel in their homes. How would they get the teachings they needed when their parents weren't going to do it? I began to feel an enormous weight of responsibility on my own shoulders to make sure my children were prepared and got enough of the gospel, as well. I worried that many families and individuals would get left behind because of the changes.

When January came and the new changes took effect, I continued to struggle. My calling, as a member of the Primary Presidency, drastically changed. I loved teaching Sharing Time, and with the new shortened schedule, I found myself just sitting in the back as the kids sang songs and then rushed off to their classes. I no longer had a chance to teach them the gospel every week, and that hurt a little. Sometimes I substituted in classes and saw that teachers could barely squeeze a little lesson in before they had to move on to the next thing. I definitely worried about how much of the gospel the kids were missing out on. It emphasized the need to teach the most important things in clear and concise ways.

Despite all my concerns for "other" families, I admit that I have also struggled with Come Follow Me. At the beginning, I had big plans. I bought lots of materials and had lofty goals to make sure that there was a meaningful activity every day. And then life got in the way. As much as I tried, there were days that we overslept and didn't have time to do it before school. There were days when the kids were completely uncooperative and didn't want to focus or sit still. There were weeks when I didn't prepare enough and didn't have activities ready to go. In fact, it all became very overwhelming, and we kind of gave up. We still tried to read and discuss things a couple times a week, but it definitely did not meet the picture in my head. We are trying to revamp our expectations and come up with a new schedule that works for our family. It has been humbling to try and fail, and then find the motivation to try again.

We are still struggling to find a happy medium where we study the gospel as a family, but it does not create a major burden on me or a situation where the kids are annoyed and angry every time. I want them to love being together and discussing important spiritual things. I am thankful that I have a testimony of the Prophet, and I know that He will never lead us astray. That gives me a rock to fall back on when I question and struggle and fail. 

I have also struggled a bit with the Ministering program. To many people, it has been just an excuse to not visit any more. Since the changes, I have not been visited by a home teacher or visiting teacher. It has been over a year. I feel the lack in my life and wish that our kids had the chance to see ministering more. And I admit that it has been harder for me to go out and minister. My companion doesn't really have time to do visits, and my sisters don't seem that thrilled with them either. I clearly see the purpose of the Ministering program and know at its core it is a call to do more and be better, but I think a lot of people are missing that idea.

I don't mention all these things to complain. Instead, I want to make sure that my kids know that I am not perfect and struggle with things too. I want them to know that I may not understand all the reasons behind all these changes and may not be super successful at implementing them. But I do want them to know that I believe these changes are good and right. I know them to be true, and I will keep working to do better and be better.

I'm sure there are plenty more changes in store for us, and we need to keep up. As President Nelson said, "If you think the Church has been fully restored, you're just seeing the beginning. Wait till next year, and then the next year. Eat your vitamin pills. Get some rest. It's going to be exciting."

President Nelson motivates me to keep trying. I know that these programs will be amazing for the progression of the Church. They are important. They are divinely inspired. And we will keep trying until we get it right.