LDS Only - What would have been the right thing to do?

Close to thirty years ago, I was called to be the Sunday organist for a branch within my ward boundaries that was made up of residence of a nursing home. This was not a nice retirement community or even assisted living housing. It was a nursing home, complete with all the sounds and smells you might expect. Well, we had people wheeled in to the meeting room in hospital beds. Others came in wheelchairs, still others in walkers, and the few who were well enough simply walked in. I'd say there were maybe 30 people to an average Sacrament Meeting.

One of the residents was a young girl by the name of Holly, probably in her early 20's. Looking at her, you couldn't help but notice that she really stuck out. She was about 40 years or more younger than anyone else in the home, and seemed to have no physical disabilities. It was hard to say about her mental state. She seemed reasonably normal to me, but I'd been told that the reason she was there in the first place was that her parents apparently didn't want her and that because he brain was so fried on heavy-duty drugs, she'd become a ward of the state.

Holly had been born on Christmas and so the branch president -- a man who seemed to be hating every minute of his calling, and to be really uncomfortable around all of the residents, called on Holly to say the opening prayer one Sunday morning in Sacrament Meeting. It was, of all days, Christmas. She started out fairly normally, "Our Father in Heaven. We're gathered here today to worship our Savior on his birthday." But then, about that far into the prayer, she started going off about all kinds of weird things, and saying things like, "We know, oh God, that our brother, Lucifer is truly our Savior, and that He is to be exalted on His throne at the last days. We are assembled here to honor him, to worship him and to devote our lives to his service." Well, this went on and on and one for what seemed like close to five minutes. I opened my eyes and started glancing around the room to see the reactions on some of the people's faces. Amazingly, most of them were just sitting there like nothing was wrong. I kept wondering how long the branch president was going to put up with it, but he never did step in and stop her. Eventually, she finished her prayer to our God Lucifer. The branch president stook up and said, "Thank you, Holly. We will now hear from our first speaker..." Neither he nor any of the residents seemed to be particularly disturbed by what had just gone on, but I've already wondered how this should have been handled. Do you all think the branch president did the right thing? Or should he have stepped in immediately and said, "Thank you, Holly, but I think you'd better let someone else take over from here."

Anyway, what do you think he should have done?

*bump*

LDS posters, I really would like to hear your input on this.

Uhhh... If her brain really was fried and she was mentally unstable I would think he did the right thing. Stopping her may have caused a scene. But if she was mentally stable enough to know exactly what she was doing I think they should have stopped her.

Apex said:

Uhhh... If her brain really was fried and she was mentally unstable I would think he did the right thing. Stopping her may have caused a scene. But if she was mentally stable enough to know exactly what she was doing I think they should have stopped her.

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It seems to me that she shouldn't have even been in a nursing home. She should have been in the psychiatric ward of a hospital. I just kept thinking about all of the active members of the Church who were there that day, who wanted to go to church on Christmas and who had expected a nice Christmas program. A lot of them had a lot of physical disabilities but would probably have been about as shocked as I was. I thought it was SOOOO offensive, and I just kept thinking, "Will someone please stop her! Haul her away in a straightjacket if necessary, but get her out of this room." These people hadn't done anything to deserve this. I'm sorry she's gone and fried her brain, but these people deserve a nice program, and not one that starts out with a prayer to Satan.

Seems to the branch president should have known better than to choose her.

I don't care what would have happened, had that been me in charge of the meeting I would have shut her up asap.

I have been in a meeting where a mentally unstable person started screeming (in japanese so i didn't quite understand it all) and the branch prez. tried to calm him down (which he did) but let him stay and he started screeming again. It is quite a strange experience to have a disruptive sacrament meeting. I am guessing that the Branch prez in that old folks home was more shocked and stunned to really know what to do and hoped it would be over the next second to not get up and make a bigger scene. I think he should have stopped it IMHO but maybe he will the next time something similar happens. It may have been the right decision as sometimes mentally unstable people often become more calm when they feel they are heard, and this was her way of expressing deep rooted troubles. Maybe this was the only way she knew how to get the help she needed and felt people were not giving her the attention she needed - she was abandoned by her family which can be horribly traumatic, and to have the ward "family" (possibly ) ingoring her could bring out past problems.... of course im just speculating as I dont know any of the situations, just wanted to give some thoughts.

Katzpur said:

*bump*

LDS posters, I really would like to hear your input on this.

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Just barely saw this.

My father worked in a nursing home for years, as part of his duties assigned to him by LDS social services. He would go to various nursing homes after working at LDS social services all day. it really took it's toll on him. He was always numb from that plus working with Lifeflight's trauma unit, trying to counsel and calm down hysterical family members of victims of horrible auto or other accidents, which was in addition to his full time job with LDS social services. He basically had three different jobs, all wofking with mentally unstable people. He was a wreck when we did see him. He just barely retired and I've never really seen him smile like he smiles now. He is finished and the elation on his face is not something I've seen in him before.

You get numb to stuff like you've described in your opening post, which actually made me laugh a bit, but I was also speechless, I had never heard of anything like that happening before, but then my father never spoke of his crazy experiences that he must have gone through. He did quit the Lifeflight trauma unit because my mother said it was just too much for him, after a while.

I used to deliver pizzas occasionaly to many Salt Lake nursing/rest homes, it was not a pretty site. Such a horrible way to end your life, in a rest home.

Drug up anyone with legal or illegal drugs and they are going to be subject to all the opposing powers of this life, simply because when you are drugged up you cannot be in control of your spirit and so the devil and his angels have full control over that person, while in a drug induced state.

Her actions seemed normal, from what I've seen of drugged up individuals.

One lady in church that was obviously on some sort of heavy medication started saying some pretty wacked out stuff in church, then she got up and walked out. She was very unstable and would go in and out of consciousness, while still being conscious, if you know what I mean. She was there and then she was not there, someone or something had taken over her mind and body, this happened a few times at church.

I also worked with another individual who would "trip out" and check out of his body, literally, he would start saying stuff not of this world, it was not understandable, I could not understand what he was saying, it was weird. He quickly checked back into his body and would become embarassed and say do you think I'm weird. Apparently he was conscious of what had happened. He spoke of being above his body and could see what was happening but seemed almost powerless to stop it. Satan had taken over his life to a certain degree.

Jesus Christ is in control and can chase away Satan and his demons, all we have to do is ask. Satan and his angels hate the name of Jesus Christ, so all we have to do is say his name.

I was once in a chat room and a guy flipped out and started cursing and acting wacked out. This went on for quite a while than I told him to shut up and that didn't work so I say why not and typed in the name of Jesus Christ several times in the chat room and he shut up after a short while and came back after he had sobered up.

It really works if you work it.

Anyway thanks for making me laugh, I mean no disrespect, it was just so way out there, that I could not imagine it happening, but then again, I remembered a few personal experiences but nothing quite as harsh as what you described in your opening post.

Satan is powerful but not as powerful as Jesus Christ.

Should a Bishop make a scene and yank a person like that from the podium ??? What would Christ do ??? He would at least pray for her deliverance from the demons that obviously were possessing her at that time. Most just ignore stuff like that and hope it can be medicated away, that never works but only makes things worse.

Mormon Defender said:

LUCIFER?!?!?!?!??!They dare call her a mormon?If godmade her that retarded, she should go to hell with lucifer!

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Defender, I can see that you and I are going to be butting heads a lot. Please tell me you're not saying that retarded people are going to Hell, because that's sure what it sounds like you're saying. That is not only offensive, it's false doctrine. Furthermore, the woman in question was not "retarded" at all and I never implied that she was. I'm kind of starting to wonder about you, though.

I think the Branch president should of gotten up and told her to close and then he himself should of given the opening prayer. With something like that i would say that ether the brach president is being thought a lesson or he was told to do and not do certain things or he is just lazy and doesn't care. I know working with people that have mental handy caps in the past that leaders are normally more talerent of this kind of thing.

I remember a down sendrem kid would say all sorts of swear word and profanities after a few week or even months in church he was became calm because of how patent the ward and leaders were in showing love. It was the things that he was thought by those around them. hope this helps a bit Katzpur!