5 Instances October 3-9

My problem with posting excerpts--if I procrastinate about posting, I can't remember what I wrote on what day. Here's my best guesses for:

5 Instances Over 5 Days When I Did NOT Procrastinate!

Wednesday, October 3
The meetinghouse isn’t anything spectacular inside either. Although a few murals of Jesus flanked by adoring followers and lambs decorated the hallway walls, the walls of the chapel itself were bare, except for half a dozen opaque windows for natural lighting. The rows of pews face a stand in the front of the room that held the pulpit and an organ. That’s about it. Yawn. Grandpa and Dad were already seated on the left side of the chapel, about five rows back from the stand. Grandpa had saved seats for the whole clan, so I followed the Harmons over keeping my eyes on the floor to avoid making eye contact with anyone I might know from school. I slid into the pew next to my dad and slunk down in my seat. “Hi, Grandpa, Dad.”

Thursday, October 4
Mr. Johnson then made a bunch of announcements: sign-up had started for the stake basketball league; so-and-so’s baby had been blessed; a Relief Society Thanksgiving food drive for needy families; and on and on. Then the organist started the opening hymn. “Page 128,” Aunt Sarah whispered down the pew at me and I fumbled through the hymnal and then mouthed like I was singing along. When the hymn concluded, Mr. Johnson gestured to a woman near the front to come up to the stand. She folded her arms and bowed her head. Immediately, everyone around me did the same. Whoopee, it’s Prayer time! I wondered what would happen if I didn’t fold my arms, or if I looked up at the ceiling instead. But when I saw that even little Georgie folded his arms over his chest and had his head down, I gave in and followed his example.

Friday, October 5
“Teachers and Minute Maid? Do the teachers come in here to drink orange juice?” I asked.
Kacie giggled. “No, silly. The 14- and 15- year old boys are called Teachers, and the 14- and 15- year old girls are called Mia Maids.”
I looked her skeptically. “How can I be a teacher when I hardly know anything about the Book of Mormon?”
“It’s just a label, Sam. Before I was a Mia Maid, I was a Beehive for two years. Do I look anything like a beehive?”

Monday, October 8
Elder Reid’s story went on for a long time, a really long time. Most of its content was just filler to draw out the tale for as long as possible. Here’s the quick version: the two men are Jesus and Judas Iscariot. Judas grows jealous of Jesus’ power and is angered at how his friend squanders money. Judas gets so fed up with his friend that he decides to sell Jesus out to his enemies for 30 pieces of silver. After he’s committed this ultimate betrayal and Jesus is on the road to crucifixion, Judas feels guilty and tries to confess and return the money to a priest. The priest and his men tell Judas something like, “You dug this hole for yourself so you can dig yourself out.” And then Judas throws down the money, runs off, and hangs himself. Meanwhile, Jesus is nailed to the cross while his enemies ridicule him from below. He lifts up his eyes to heaven and says, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t realize what they are doing.” After he’s been up there for 12 hours, Jesus takes on himself all the sins of mankind and dies. The end.
I wisely did not wave my hand to ask Elder Reid what was his point in telling us this classic downer.

Tuesday, October 9
The class spent the next hour reading passages from the New Testament and discussing the necessity of repentance. “If you know in your hearts that the gospel is true, and you do not repent your sins, what will happen to you on Judgment Day?” Mrs. Reid scanned the room for a volunteer.
An unfamiliar girl raised her hand. “If you defy the Holy Ghost, you will be cast into the Outer Darkness to suffer and burn for eternity.”
“Like Judas,” Joey Peters added.
“Exactly,” Mrs. Reid said grimly. “Like Judas.”

And that's it for this edition of 5 instances!