Looking for reasons not to attend Church this Sunday (or ever)? Consider the following possible excuses, with some comments concerning each.
1. I don’t know if the Church is true.
Why don’t you know, when it’s so easy to find out? Have you read the Book of Mormon? Did you pray about it? Have you complied with what the Church teaches you to do so you could see how it made you feel? Read and meditate about Moroni 10:3-5 and John 7:16-17.
2. The meetings are boring.
It’s quite possible. But if you were there giving a talk, greeting others, teaching a class, or at least participating actively in it, they could be a lot more interesting. Ask the Lord to help you learn and feel what he wants you to each Sunday. I promise valuable ideas and feelings will come, regardless of the quality of the talks and the classes.
3. I don’t like the members. There are a lot of hypocrites among them. And somebody offended me.
It’s true that there are a lot of imperfect members in the Church—in fact, they all are. The Church is more a hospital for the spiritually sick than a sanctuary for the perfected. But isn’t it great that those who are imperfect are in the Church, where they can get help! Unless you are only the second perfect person to have walked the earth, you can receive the same help in this “hospital.” And you can help the others, if you are willing to do so. How would it be if the doctors and nurses all said they didn’t want to go inside a hospital because there were too many sick people there? And you probably don’t stop going to the football stadium or your favorite restaurant just because sometimes there are hypocrites or other disagreeable people there!
4. I don’t know anybody, and I don’t have any friends there.
Of course you don’t know them if you haven’t been attending! But it is guaranteed that if you attend for two months in a row, introduce yourself to everyone and even stand at the door to welcome others as they arrive, you’ll soon have lots of friends.
5. I’m not keeping all the commandments, and I feel uncomfortable at church.
As we saw in point #3, the Church is for those who have not managed to keep all the commandments yet. No sick person says he feels too rotten to be in the hospital. In the Church we can get the support we need, and we can support others who have the same need. Maybe you aren’t keeping some commandment, such as tithing, because you believe you can’t. But put the Lord’s promise to the test and see if he doesn’t open the windows of heaven. He promises to pour out abundant blessings upon those who put him first. By the way, prophets have taught that the poor will never be able to rise above their poverty until they pay a full tithing.
6. I have to work Sundays.
Is it that you have to or is it what you want to do so you don’t have to go to church? Have you looked for work that doesn’t require you to work Sundays? Have you prayed about it? What would happen if you told your boss that you can no longer work on Sundays? Remember that “ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith.” (Ether 12:6.)
7. I don’t have time.
Everyone has the same 168 hours per week. The difference is in our priorities. We find time for the things that really matter to us. There is always time to breath. We take time to eat and sleep. Is church participation any less eternally important? God said, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” What are the gods that are in first place in our life?
8. I don’t have money for transportation to get to church.
Or is it that you have it but want to use it for other things? When the widow of Zaraphath give Elijah what she thought was all the food she had, God worked a miracle. Her containers of oil and flour were replenished every day. Has God forgotten how to perform such miracles for those who put Him in first place?
Is it really true that you don’t have gas money or taxi money and can’t bring yourself to walk to the home of another member who might give you a ride, or call him and ask him to pick you up? If so, someday you can explain it to the aged woman we met in Guatemala who walks 3 miles each way barefoot to attend church each Sunday. Then you can explain it to a young Guatemalan volunteer seminary teacher. He walked four hours and then rode standing up in the back of a truck for four more hours. But he got to a 6:00 a.m. faculty meeting on time.
9. I don’t have any clothes that are suitable for church.
Where is the scripture that says you have to wear a white shirt and tie or a dress to be welcome at church? Go in what you have. God isn’t nearly so concerned about what a person looks like on the outside as he is about what’s in his heart.
10. Sunday is my only free day, and I want to spend it with my family.
Hey, it’s great that you have the day free! There is nothing you can do for your family on Sunday that would be of greater value than to take them to church and set the example for them. If you go with your family, you won’t have to choose between them and the Church. And the Church offers you the possibility of having your family forever. Or do you want them only for a few years in this life?
11. I’m too tired to get up early.
Well, go to bed earlier. Keeping the Sabbath holy includes not staying up so late on Saturday that you can’t enjoy the meetings on Sunday. What if if your house were on fire or if they were giving away free Super Bowl tickets at 5:00 a.m.? Would you somehow be able to get up, in spite of having gone to bed late?
12. They don’t need me there.
That is simply not true. “And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary.” [Corinthians 12:21 – 22.]
13. They might ask me to say a prayer or give a talk or accept a calling.
We hope so! It is through participation that we come to love the Church and its members. But they won’t ask you to do anything which is too difficult for you. “The Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.” [1 Nephi 3:7.]
14. My life is going fine and I really don’t need what the Church has to offer me.
It is quite possible that you have enough of this world’s goods, but what of the life to come? And what of the spiritual blessings that bring more joy even in this life than anything that money can buy? Why don’t you try an experiment to see if you can’t be even happier? We promise it!
15. I’m seriously ill and can’t attend.
I think we’ve finally come to a valid reason for not attending. Sometimes we can’t attend because of medical reasons. But there is a great difference between the person who regrets not being able to attend church and the one who is glad to have an excuse not to have to attend. God has promised to judge us by the desires of our heart.
Unless point 15 describes you, or unless you can think of a better reason than the first 14, we’ll look for you on Sunday! And we promise that if you go with a good attitude, you’ll really enjoy it.
All of these are excellent points! I’ve enjoyed the wisdom from Brother Cazier since the days he was my Institute teacher at Ohlone Community College in Fremont, California.