Tonight I went to a stake dance for the first time ever. I don't quite know why. I thought I would possibly enjoy it to an extent. I didn't plan on staying the whole time but I at least planned on staying long enough to dance and play some games. (I ended up playing air hockey and ping pong most of the time until I left.)
Well, the only way I can describe what it was like is by likening it unto a piece of moldy bread.
Now imagine that this piece of bread is the cultural hall, the crust is the hallway, the individual spots of mold represent the individual groups and/or cliques that seemed to be everywhere you turned with their backs to you, the mold itself is the content of their conversation and dress (or lack thereof), and the flavor of the mold is the flavor of the music chosen.
Now imagine the whole piece of bread sparkling with flashing neon strobe lights that will nearly blind you if you look straight at them.
Also imagine that this slice of bread is electrified. If you bite into it, it will cause your ears and heart and in fact your whole body to throb. Imagine the piece of bread pulsing like a living heart. Put the whole piece of bread in a dark room.
Now understand that this piece of bread was dedicated to God. It therefore belongs to God. We gave God a whole piece of bread and and then turn around and not just permit this mold to grow but actually treated it with chemicals to create the mold. It we do this to show our love to God.
Now, imagine biting into this piece of bread.
Now realize that for the majority of our Utah Teenage Population this is a regular part of their diet. They actually like it.
And why do we plan and promote these things? As the young woman who offered the opening prayer for this activity said in the prayer- "We are grateful that we created this atmosphere where we can feel the spirit, and please bless us all with the strength we need to fight against the adversary and live up to our standards."
So we plan these things to feel the spirit and practice standing up for our standards in places where it is hard too? And which spirit may I ask are we creating an atmosphere for? The Spirit? or the spirit.
And this is the strength of the youth?
-CarsonKG
Oh my goodness....Thank you. I have been looking for a way to describe stake dances for such a long time, and I think that this is perfect. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteWow! What an amazing analogy! I might use that if you don't mind.
ReplyDeleteNow I know definitely that I don't EVER want to go to these!!! That's what I would call, learning from others experience!!! Thanks!!!
ReplyDeleteAmen, brotha!! Stake dances... yuck. :P
ReplyDeleteBut, I do have to say this: There is a very real, very important reason we have stake dances. I learned this while on stake youth council. While stake dances are horrid for us, for a lot of other LDS youth, they are a fun time and a great enviorment. The music is what they are used to, and the atmosphere is in fact BETTER than many other atmospheres they face in school, school dances, parties, etc. At least we know that at a stake dance (as long as they are done right) the music won't be immoral, if roudy, and that the kids won't be drinking, doing drugs, alchohol, or being immoral. While I hate stake dances, they do have their place.
The stake dances down here are actually enjoyable until you are 18 and everyone stops going. They have decent music, and the atmosphere is quite good, this analogy doesn't fit all. If you don't follow the rules, you are asked to leave. Mostly it's just a chance to see friends. They try to not play any music that is degrading in any way. The only down side was the boys are afraid to ask girls to dance during slower songs, so you have a lot of boys and girls sitting around the perimeter, but overall, it's pretty fun. I think it's sad that not all are as uplifting as they are down here. They are better than the school dances.
ReplyDeleteReally? Jeepers. I ought to come join one of your stake dances then. I love dances and I love dancing but My stake dances are not enjoyable in the least.
ReplyDelete