Why We Need Church: We’re a Hot Mess (Inspired by Leanne Morgan)

 Leanne Morgan jokes that she and her family are a “mess,”  and honestly, same. We can relate! In this week’s mini episode, Candice and Clare laugh about Sunday chaos, talk about why church matters, and share a favorite quote from President Dallin H. Oaks. 

Sisters with Latter-Day Voices website

President Dallin H. Oaks quote

Leanne Morgan quote

Transcript

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 This podcast episode may contain brief quotes from external sources, used in a positive and respectful manner for discussion, education, and commentary. These references fall under fair use as they are not used for commercial gain, do not replace the original works, and are presented with proper context and attribution.

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Transcript

Clare: Welcome to Sisters: Latter-Day Voices. I'm Clare.
Candice: And I'm Candice, and bear with me for this mini episode. This one was inspired by a quote from Leanne Morgan. Do you know who Leanne Morgan is?
Clare: So I saw that this is what you would be talking about, and I didn’t—
Candice: Uh huh.
Clare: —know who she was, so I googled—
Candice: Okay.
Clare: —her, and I’m like, oh, maybe she’s a country singer. Oh, she’s a comedian. And I watched—
Candice: Who else?
Clare: I have seen her before! I just didn’t know who that was. And she is hilarious.
Candice: She’s so funny. I hadn’t watched her stand-up, but then she was in a movie with Reese Witherspoon, and she was so funny in it as—
Clare: Oh—
Candice: —like—
Clare: —is she an—
Candice: —actress?
Clare: —sister?
Candice: No, not really. Well, she is now, I think, but she just started out in stand-up and then played—
Clare: Oh.
Candice: —Reese Witherspoon’s—
Clare: Okay.
Candice: —older sister. And this is off-topic, but she was a character who would complain about things that aren’t really problems. Like, “Oh, I just had my fountain redone. Oh, it was exhausting.”
Clare: Yes! That’s how she talks. I love it.
Candice: Yeah, she has a very thick southern accent. And so I watched her recent special, and she’s just so funny. She’s fifty-nine, but she talks a lot about raising kids and her husband, and it’s just so funny.
Clare: And—
Candice: —in her special—I won’t do the accent, even though I want to read it in the accent because she has such a thick accent, but I feel like—
Clare: You should try it.
Candice: Maybe that would be offensive.
Clare: It’s a country accent. There’s nothing offensive.
Candice: Okay. She always refers to her husband as Chuck Morgan. She always calls him by his full name. She’s like, “Chuck Morgan and I were both raised in church.” Should I not do the accent? I don’t know.
Clare: I love the accent.
Candice: Okay, okay. “And I wanted to raise my children in church, and he did too. And I’m not saying that to y’all to say I raised my children in church. I’m saying that to y’all because we were so dysfunctional. We are so messed up and dysfunctional that I don’t know what would have happened to us if we had not had the Lord. I mean it.”
Clare: Oh my gosh.
Candice: That’s my man, Chuck Morgan.
Clare: That was spot on! Okay, since we just did our last podcast and recorded it, that is a hidden talent of yours. You’re so good at accents.
Candice: Okay, but it’s so useless. I feel like a lot of my little talents are just not useful at all. Like, what can I do with this?
Clare: You could do that. That was perfect.
Candice: Anything! Oh, anyway—she went on, she was just talking about how they get ready for church and how they’re late for church. And it was so funny and so relatable, but also just what she’s saying—like she said, Satan didn’t want them to go to church, so he would come to their house and mess things up, like stir things up on a Sunday morning. And it’s funny because I think there’s a misconception—well, first of all, it’s relatable because I think we’ve all been there, especially if you’re a mom with young kids. Even if you don’t have young kids, just getting ready for church is a mess sometimes. But she had to make that caveat of, “I’m not saying this to be preachy, but this is why we need church—because we are messed up and we need it.” And I think—
Clare: Mhm.
Candice: —there’s a misconception that some people have about people who go to church. Like, think Angela on The Office.
 Clare: Yeah.
 Candice: Like, definitely in Hollywood and sometimes in real life too, there’s a stigma about religious people—that they’re self-righteous and looking down on other people. And I think, in my life, that’s not true. I can’t think of a single person who I’m close to or know well who fits that Hollywood character archetype description of a pious, judgmental person. The people who I’m close to who are deeply religious—both in our church and my friends that I grew up with who belong to other churches—are really nice, nonjudgmental people.
 Clare: Mhm.
 Candice: Ironically, I think the reason that they have more compassion and forgiveness is because of their faith and belief in God. Because when you’re sincerely trying to come closer to God, a result of that is being more compassionate. And that does not mean that a religious person is claiming perfection just because they go to church and are seeking to come closer to God.
 Clare: Mhm.
 Candice: But I liked Leanne’s quote because I felt a similar sentiment along those lines. Like, I don’t know who I would be if I wasn’t raised going to church every Sunday. Have you ever thought about that? Like, who would I be if I didn’t have religion? I would be a mess, because I’m already—
 Clare: I would be a mess.
 Candice: A mess! I feel like I would be much more of a mess if I didn’t have church to help keep it together.
 Clare: I think we just need those reminders all the time.
 Candice: Yeah.
 Clare: Because it’s so easy to just let it go and think, “Oh, everything’s fine,” and then realize, oh—it’s not fine. Like, it actually helps so much.
 Candice: It just gives you a better perspective. But I think a lot of times, come Saturday, I’m exhausted. It’s been a busy week, and I don’t realize how much I need a Sunday until I go to church and come home and have a day of rest. Which, to be honest, Sundays aren’t always restful, but it’s a different kind of busy—and it’s a break from our everyday lives. Sometimes I think, I don’t know how people do it—how do they go, go, go every day and not have a Sunday recharge?
 Clare: I used to think, oh, this is so obnoxious—why do we have to do this? And I do think maybe more culturally back then, even though we’re not ancient, it’s different for every young family. But it is so restful. And whatever it is you do on Sunday—you can still go on a bike ride or do whatever you want with your family—but I do feel like it’s that nice reset, like, ah okay, I was able to go to church again, renew my covenants, think more about Jesus, and why you’re here.
 Candice: Yeah. And I like Leanne just being honest about getting ready for church with kids, because sometimes it’s so hectic. Honestly, sometimes we are a mess. My family before church—we’re running around, I’m shouting at people to get their shoes on, asking if they brushed their teeth, scrambling to get in the car. And we have nine o’clock church, which I don’t understand why it’s so difficult, because I mean, we go to school a lot earlier than that. So why is it hard to get to church at nine o’clock? I don’t know, but sometimes it’s honestly not a great start. I’ll be like, “Okay, kids, get your butts in the car—it’s time to go be spiritual.” But even on those days, by the time church is over, we feel better. Anytime you’re trying to focus on coming closer to God, it’s going to help you. It’s going to have an effect on you.
 Clare: Well, we’re a hot mess during church on Sunday. The Activity Day girls—so Callie’s in that category—went up to sing a song, and a couple of the girls had solos, but Callie didn’t. But she wanted to take the microphone, and at first she was trying to talk into it—
 Candice: Oh no.
 Clare: —and then, of course, they sang their song, and then Callie was super mad at the congregation for not clapping for her—
 Candice: Oh my goodness.
 Clare: —and bullying people into clapping.
 Candice: And just in case people haven’t listened to our other episodes, Callie has Down syndrome, so it’s a little bit different.
 Clare: And then you know how you walk up a couple stairs and there’s a guardrail? She wanted to jump over it.
 Candice: Oh my goodness.
 Clare: So I was running up—I got her.
 Candice: Oh.
 Clare: So sometimes—
 Candice: It’s all good.
 Clare: We’re—
 Candice: It’s all good.
 Clare: —a hot mess during church.
 Candice: Oh, that happens too. You know that happens too.
 Clare: Oh, it makes it funny.
 Candice: It makes it exciting for everyone. It’s all good.
 Clare: It does. It actually is entertaining. So it’s all good.
 Candice: That’s funny. So basically, my spiritual thought for today is that I relate to Leanne Morgan when she says she takes her family to church because they all need it. I’m a mess, and I need it.
 Clare: So true. Preach, sister.
 Candice: And I have a quote from the prophet Dallin H. Oaks. This was from his October 2021 conference talk, and it’s Why We Need Church. He says, when he says “churches,” he’s including synagogues, mosques, and other religious organizations. Quote:

“Attendance and activity in a church help us become better people and better influences on the lives of others. In church we are taught how to apply religious principles. We learn from one another. A persuasive example is more powerful than a sermon. We are strengthened by associating with others of like minds. In church attendance and participation, our hearts are, as the Bible says, knit together in love.”
 End quote.
 So, go to church. It’s good for you—and we hope you know that God loves you.
 Clare: Bye