The 2nd Person In Church

The only time I don't mind hearing the second person personal in church settings is when it's something like, "hey, you look great today" or, "I really enjoyed your talk" or even, "I love you." Unless it's some kind of compliment or expression of admiration or appreciation, I really just hate the use of the second person narrative in the church setting.

This probably comes just from my own personal distaste for people telling me what to do. And I'm not even the rebellious type. For the most part, I take council, advice, or suggestions seriously. However, like most people, I also don't really like being corrected. At least not initially. Maybe I'm not just humble enough, but if a person tells me that I can't do this or that, my gut reaction is to automatically do whatever this or that I'm not supposed to be doing. I have at least matured enough to the point where I will at least consider what it is that I'm being told about, but it is my natural man that unfailingly reacts first.

My hatred for the second person narrative peaks when I hear it in testimony meeting, and is mostly confined to hearing it in talks or in classes. Comments such as, "I hope you all are grateful for the blessings you have" or "you guys should be doing more missionary work because people out there really need the gospel," instantly derail me from whatever message it is that I'm supposed to be getting from the person. Instead I get annoyed at the implication by the person that I'm not grateful enough, or I'm not expending enough missionary energy, or whatever the case may be. The tone of the message just feels so different when the person speaks with the inclusive we pronoun rather than the condescending you.

So can you all be a little more mindful of when you're doing it over the pulpit, or in your classes. First of all, the the testimony meeting is for bearing testimonies, not for giving lectures. Secondly, there are some people out there who might be totally distracted from your delivery if you use too much of the second person in your speech patterns.