we are a meeting attending people

Never in my life have I ever walked out of a meeting that was better than the one we had today. Never in my life have I left a meeting in such a good mood.
Never in my life have I completely fallen in love with a group of people in a meeting.
Never in my life have I ever thought "man that was fun" after a meeting.
Never in my life have I enjoyed meetings.

Living as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints, we are often faced with meeting upon meeting for our various organizations; Young Womens meetings (girls 12-18), BYC ("Bishop Youth Council" who are presidents over youth organizations ages 12-18), YCL Girls Camp meetings (5th and 6th year girls who are "youth camp leaders" and in charge of camp), Family History Consultant Meetings (family history consultants help people learn about family history work), and Seminary Council Meetings (a group of youth who help plan seminary activities and invite people to take seminary.)

And those are only the meetings that I personally have participated in.

And I'm only 17 years old.

So we are a meeting attending people. Yet, nobody enjoys meetings. So why do we keep having them?

Because in a church with 15,082,028 members, things need to be discussed, things need to be planned, and meetings need to be held.

I have the opportunity to hold a calling to participate and serve on a seminary council.

As a council we help plan activities, invite others to participate, and ultimately strive to help bring others to Christ.

I've been in a lot of meetings, but for some reason the seminary council meetings are some of the best and most fun meetings I have ever been in. As I left our meeting this morning I began to ponder what sets these meetings apart from other meetings I've been in, and what can I myself help do to make other meetings more enjoyable to sit through.

So here is what I have come up with.

#1 Everyone wants to be there.
Attitude is everything. If you decide that it is going to be boring before hand than it will be, but if you decide that it is the place to be than it will be. Keep a positive attitude no matter what and you will find that you will have a better time.

#2 Participate
Nothing can happen until you open your mouth. Don't be afraid to work your ideas into the conversation. Your opinions matter and things are much more fun to plan when you are helping with the planning.

#3 Share testimony
So far in seminary council I have been able to hear the testimonies of every single person on the council because everyone has been given a chance to give a spiritual thought or lesson. Sharing your testimonies and sharing spiritual thoughts helps bring people together as friends. By sharing testimonies you can bring the people in the meeting closer as a group, and a close knit group is much more likely to get things done.

#4 Listen and qualify
Let everyone have an opportunity to talk. And if you hear something you like then let everyone know. There is no better feeling than sharing your idea with the group and having someone respond by saying "I love that you just said that...." By qualifying and lifting up other people you make it easier for people to share.

#5 Don't forget to laugh
Keep the spiritual moments reverent, but when it comes to discussing activities and whatnot don't forget that a little laugh here and there can make all the difference. Marjorie Pay Hinckley once said that “The only way to get through life is to laugh your way through it. You either have to laugh or cry. I prefer to laugh. Crying gives me a headache.” Well I think this same quote can apply to meetings. "The only way to get through a meeting is to laugh your way through it. You either have to laugh or cry. I prefer to laugh. Crying gives me a headache."


 
So there you have it. Ways to make your meetings more exciting. Let me know how your meetings go!



feel my sunlight



p.s.On a totally unrelated note: have I mentioned that I New York for EFY on SATURDAY?!?!?! I'm more than excited and I can not even handle it. It took a lot of work, and I had to give up my chance to compete at National Championships, but let me just say that I cannot handle my excitement for it.

p.s.s. Enjoy this video of a cute old man dancing. This is the kind of mood I am in right now.