Brigham Young University - Banyan Yearbook (Provo, UT)

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LDS Church Meetings To anyone who walks around the college town of Provo, especially around the campus, there is no doubt in his mind that Sunday is a very different day. The students are dressed up, and they are usually hurrying to a meeting somewhere. There is simply an entirely distinctive feeling about the hours crammed between the frolics of Saturday night and the pressure of Monday morning. Sunday starts out with Priesthood Meeting for the guys and Relief Society for the girls. Though Relief Society is normally held during the week in the wards of the Church, the leaders have realized that students rarely have free hours in the middle of their weeks, so the women meet conveniently during Priesthood Meeting. Though these two organizations are conducted much as they are in any average ward, the lessons are purposely flavored with the college student touch. This is probably a result of the fact that the teachers are usually students. Where Mom might be learning about ways to grow closer to her teen-age children, her BYU daughter will probably be discussing ways to form stronger bonds with roommates. The student ward is the unit to which af! students can belong. lt is student-run, student-oriented, and student-supported. The Sunday meetings seem to set the general foundation for the entire structure of the student week. Sacrament Meeting is really something dis- tinctive in a student ward. Freshly returned missionaries, and the cosmopolitan atmos- phere at BYU, lend themselves to interest- ing talks. And, because the students are being addressed by their peers, or someone directly connected to BYU itself, the words spoken are generally more relevant to the audience being addressed, than in any other ward situations in the Church.

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MIA-Mutual Improvement The Mutual Improvement Association is many things to many people. Realizing that the gospel must be taught in ways other than classes of doctrine, early leaders established the MIA to provide balance in the lives of the Saints. The gospel of jesus Christ is the formula for living together, and progressing together, spiritually, emotionally, and socially. Sunday meetings seek to satisfy the first two-MIA seeks to satisfy them all. With Tuesday night set aside as Mutual Night, ward members can show up at their pre-appointed places expecting nearly any- thing. They may find themselves listening to a prominant sociologist speak about the problems encountered in the first few months of marriage, or they could end up on a pair of roller skates. Nearly all social activities of the ward are planned through the MIA. The observation of holidays lin- cluding, but not limited to, National Pickle Weekj is carefully coordinated with MIA I9 activities. Leaders strive to find original and interesting ideas for parties and celebra- tions. Halloween could provide anything from traditional spook alleys and apple- bobbing, to hayrides up Provo Canyon. Thanksgiving could find ward members doing anything from eating full-course dinners to turkey carolingf' Probably the major project of the entire year is the ward roadshow. Written and directed by ward members, the cast con- sists of those in the ward who are dedicated enough to attend rehearsal. In spite of the nightmares of most drama directors, the show usually goes on. Lead by students, as are all organizations in campus wards, the MIA strives to bring unity and friendship to the ward by coordi- nating social and spiritual activities, provid- ing balance and enjoyment to those in- volved.