This is one of my pet peeves.

Some person gets up there and bares their soul, pouring everything they have into a performance that they practised weeks for; using skills they have dedicated years of their lives in mastering, and after the final triumphant crescendo are met with the sound of crickets and babies crying.

Oh.
Lovely.

The general feeling among the Brethren is that clapping is less reverent, less conducive to the Spirit, than respectful silence.

When someone gives a musical performance in church (or, as they keep calling it in my ward, a musical “number”–for some reason that bugs me) we don’t want the attention of the listeners to be focused on the virtuosity of the performer, but on the spiritual effect that the music may have. I associate clapping with praise for a performer’s skills, rather than praise for God. When I perform in Church, I don’t want people to go away thinking, “Darn that guy’s talented!” I want them to go away thinking, “I feel closer to my Father in Heaven because of the talks and the music I just heard.” We can all be humble enough to do that, can’t we?

It sounds so vaudevillian, doesn’t it?

As far as the spiritfullness of the occasion being marred by my clapping…

…the performer can thank the gods for her talents, and I’ll show my appreciation of the gods by thanking the performer.

By clapping.

;)

Am I right?

;)

Rick walks into the church.
Much gasping ensues.
‘Is that Rick? At church?’

Rick’s hand is nearly wrung off (from all the hand-shaking) and sacrament meeting starts 5 minutes late.

Performance goes great, Rick stands up to applaud, Rick is hit by wife in lower extremity – Rick immediately sits down.

Rick drives home with much lecturing from significant other.

Yup. That sounds about right.