Guest Post...Q & A

My brother, Ryan, was a guest poster on May 4th, providing us with a very exciting list. From the last list, there arose many requests for more information. Here is The Rest of the Story for #11. [You know fast and testimony meeting has gone horribly wrong when the police show up and remove someone because of their testimony.]

As promised here is the full story of the lady getting removed from sacrament meeting.  

About 4 years ago we were having a normal Fast Sunday with sacrament meeting getting ready to start.  I noticed a sister who was less than active and usually had some issue with somebody in the ward walk in.  She had not actually been in the church for about a year so this was a bit odd.  To be fair and without breaking confidences she and I had a really rough history. For example, she got arrested for beating her grandson (this is public record) and I visited her in jail and might have said she looked good in orange.  (Refer to the post on May 4, 2011 item #10.) 

Back to Sacrament meeting. The first part of the service went as normal songs, prayers and passing of the sacrament.  I was conducting and right after I opened it up to testimonies and she rushed [more like power walked] to the front and was the first speaker.  She said something to the affect of I need to warn you about our bishopric; and then went on a 10 minute rampage of how we had done her wrong.  She covered everything from threatening us bodily harm to, being refused church welfare, me destroying her family and threatening to excommunicate her.   There was some obvious thought and premeditation in her actions and the timing was also not coincidental because she was moving to Portland later that week.  At some point of time she quit speaking to the congregation and started to speak to us by turning and looking at us but making sure to use the microphone.  She then closed in some fashion and power walked out of the chapel.  A couple of brothers followed her out.  (This is really the g-rated version of what happened.  Imagine the worst possible things you could say at this moment of time and you are pretty close to where she was.)

We all just sat there kind of dumb founded…this was not covered in any training the Stake had offered. There was no spirit in the room, people were crying, kids were asking parents what just happened…not a good place to be, at that specific moment in time.  I got up and said that we had just seen a great example of what we should never do sacrament meeting.  Some of the things she had said were true, however most of them were blatant falsehoods.  I then turned the time to my one counselor whom she did not attack personally.  He recommended that we start the meeting over with a new hymn and prayer, which we did. 

But, the fun did not stop there.  Once this sister was out in the foyer, she kept her tirade going.  One of the sisters with her children in the foyer was really upset and called the police.  During the 2nd opening prayer the RS President came and pulled me off of the stand and let me know what was going on.  I grabbed the brothers that followed her out and told them to keep tabs on this situation and asked them to help try to salvage as much of sacrament meeting as we could.  I was back on the stand when the police arrived.  This disruptive sister saw them pull up so she ran back into the chapel and tried to hide by sitting in the middle of the congregation.  The sheriff’s deputies very quietly came in and asked her to come with them.  The members in the foyer gave their report to an officer and he escorted her off of the property and said she could not come back without written permission. 

And now I have a story that tops every other Bishop when we get into the “you would not believe what happened in my ward last Sunday" mode of storytelling.  

Then to top things off, I mean the icing on the cake, she called me and wanted help moving later that week.  I personally did not go, but we did help her move out of the ward. 

Ryan

 And now you have, The Rest of the Story.

Note to Self: Fast and Testimony Meeting is NOT open mike...or is it?