The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints recently changed Sunday church service from three hours to two. And no one was happier about it than I was.
OK, possibly parents of young children. And Primary presidencies. And teenagers. All right, let’s face it: This change made a lot of people happy. But anybody who knows me knows I have been preaching the virtues of two-hour church for over a decade now. So naturally I felt the change was inspired (although a little long in coming).
But there are always unintended consequences. Attached to the announcement of shortened church was also the announcement that the Gospel Essentials class — a class taught at the same time as the traditional adult Sunday school class but directed at new members and those thinking about joining the church — had been eliminated.