No desire to go to church? Advice?


Cedarite
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I'm having a really hard time having the desire to go to church. I know perfectly well that church is where I need to be, it's just that I don't care that I don't go. I do try to go every Sunday and I end up enjoying it and being glad I went, but by the time the next Sunday morning rolls around I'm back in the "I don't wanna go" mood again. It really bugs me and worries me that I think like this.

I'm trying to do what I can to make that desire come back, but it seems that it won't come back. Maybe I'm not doing enough. Does anyone have any advice on what I can do?

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Guest mormonmusic
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Sounds like you should consider:

1. Praying for desire.

2. Take the Nike approach and Just Do It. Just get on your Church clothes and go. YOu say it's OK when you get there, focus on that.

3. See if you can get a calling that means you have to be there on Sunday, like teaching a class or something.

I feel the same way, actually -- I don't really enjoy Church that much, but I force myself to go and when I'm there usually have some kind of positive experience.

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My advice would be the same as Mormonmusic.

When my wife and I joined the church we quickly found it a pain, we only went 1 in 4 at best. It was really hard to go and it seemed like we didn't get anything out of it. After forcing ourselves to go every week for several months we missed one due to illness and felt it was a pain to stay home and we didn't get anything out of it.

At times we had only gone because we were both teachers in Primary and had an obligation which can help. You can create your own "calling" if you don't have one. Stand at the main doors and open them for people coming into the building, from personal experience I can tell you it is uplifting even after people start to expect it. Or ask the Missionaries if you can help them sometimes etc.

Besides asking of the Lord try and view your situation as if you were helping someone else in this issue.

Why the lack of interest?

Is it from the influence of the outside world?

Feeling out of place in the Ward?

Lack of understanding of the Gospel?

Issues of depression?

Not attending Sunday School?

Not reading scriptures or praying?

Feeling like no one notices if you were there or not?

ETC.

I used to feel like an outsider in our new (10 years ago) Ward until a Bishop told me I was nuts because he would see me talking to members in the hall etc. It was only then that I stepped back and realized my feelings were clouded by my perception. Church become much more enjoyable after that.

Last comment, I just went through the same feelings of not wanting or carring if I attend, it lasted for several months, but lucky for me my wife and kids caused me to continue going. I can't tell you what has changed but bit by bit over time I felt the old desires and need to attend come back. Now I would hate to miss church again.

Like Mormonmusic said.............Just Do It!

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Mormonmusic, I love your suggestions, especially the Nike approach. I will definitely do what you suggested. Thank you!

Tubaloth, Your question as an answer to a question really made me think and I will use it to make church not just church. Thank you!

LDSVALLEY, thank you so much for input.

I love your suggestion of making a "calling", which I will try. I also liked looking at my issue from another point a view. I am in fact going through a few of things you listed. I will definitely be looking at how I can change to make my going to church a desire.

Again, thank you all so much!

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So if Heavenly Father Invited you over for a while on Sunday, would you go?

This is a good way to think about it. Every Sunday is an opportunity to remember Christ and feel the spirit. I think where people struggle sometimes though, like myself, is we get caught up in the "people" that attend. We dislike how some members are overbearing and pushy about this or that, how we should be doing this or that, etc etc. We see hypocrites among the congregation, who are at the liquor store Saturday and attending Church Sunday. We simply get too wrapped up in our own issues and just can't get ourselves to tune into what is being taught at Church. And in addition to all this, certainly boredom plays a huge role as well. These are things that have kept me from going.

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We see hypocrites among the congregation, who are at the liquor store Saturday and attending Church Sunday

Curious how you would know this in Utah since liquor stores are completely separate from any other store? :P

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Curious how you would know this in Utah since liquor stores are completely separate from any other store? :P

Pam, I want to laugh at this but I can't! Ugh. Curse that non-existent LAUGH button!

OK I guess I should have clarified better. Those are some examples of things that have kept me from attending church. I couldn't think of a better example of a hypocrite than one going to the liquor store and then headed to church Sunday. :P But for the record, I personally, have never seen an LDS member that I know entering, inside or leaving a liquor store. And it's been awhile since I've stepped foot in one myself. Hallelujah!

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I'm having a really hard time having the desire to go to church. I know perfectly well that church is where I need to be, it's just that I don't care that I don't go. I do try to go every Sunday and I end up enjoying it and being glad I went, but by the time the next Sunday morning rolls around I'm back in the "I don't wanna go" mood again. It really bugs me and worries me that I think like this.

I'm trying to do what I can to make that desire come back, but it seems that it won't come back. Maybe I'm not doing enough. Does anyone have any advice on what I can do?

Do you remember why you had a desire to go before? You said you enjoy being at church on Sunday. I know for exercise, it can be hard to want to get started if you haven't done any in awhile. If you go on a walk, it makes you feel better and you are glad you did it. The next day you usually want to go again. However, if you skip that and end up not going, your motivation and desire to go on a walk may vanish. So in order to keep this motivation, you need to keep with it. The more you exercise, the more you want to do it. Exercise makes you feel better. The fact that you said you enjoy yourself at Church on Sunday leads me to believe the more you end up going the more you may want to. The hard part is just getting started. Just keep to the thought that the more you go the more you will want to. So force yourself for that reason.

Now if you had said you didn't enjoy church but wanted motivation to go, then I would have no clue as to what you could do to change that. I know fishing is something I absolutely can not stand. No matter how many times I have gone, I still hate it just as much.

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@ Mute

I honestly don't remember ever wanting to go. It's been a couple of years since I've been really excited about going, but I do have some Sundays where I am happy to go. I'm also thinking that it's part of the growing up. It's harder to make myself go now that I'm in a singles ward because now, I've got to make sure that I make sure I go. I am definitely going to keep the make myself go attitude.

@rameumptom

Thank you for the advice :)

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Without making church attendance sound menial, try to make it a habit. I'm the same way. I'm spiritual. I like taking the sacrament. I like getting away from the world for a few hours. But, geeze, sometimes you just want to stay home. For me, it's not that I don't want to go to church, it's just that I would rather do something else. It's going to be good because my fiance is a stickler for going to church.

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