Eat Elders of Israel

Twice a year, local restaurants experience something that must be unique to the Utah area. At the stroke of 8pm, restaurant owners and employees brace themselves for something akin to that of black Friday at the Walmart. The mad rush they gear up for is dressed up in white collared shirts and neck ties, and they are hungry, very hungry. Without fail on these Saturday nights at the beginning of April and October, young men and their fathers and grandfathers, uncles, and cousins, and their next door neighbors emerge from churches having watched the Priesthood Session of the General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Mormons. The 2 hour session begins at 6pm and is non-stop listening to church leaders and men's choirs via satellite in a dimly lit chapel. Growing up, this was one of the most difficult things to ask of a 12-15 year old boy. It seemed so long, it was so hard to sit still, it was, in the words of a young teenager, 'plain boring'. For so many youth, the recompense had nothing to do with any gem of wisdom or morsel of knowledge offered by the Lord's chosen leaders, but it was all about where dinner was taking place immediately following the session. It is common to see some skip out of the session during the last speaker's last few sentences just to be able to beat the mad rush. I always wanted the person offering the benediction to say something like, "Bless those that stayed till the end of this session with peace and safety as they make their way to their next destination. Bless the food they'll partake of as well at whichever greasy spoon they choose to dine at." My father and I didn't participate in this tradition while I was growing up, but now I enjoy swinging by a fast food joint after taking my dad home from the session just so I can witness the madness. I talked to the cashier at the Crown Burger last year about it. There I stood in my white shirt and tie and I asked, "What is going on here? Why all the people all the sudden in ties?". She reacted as if I was the 10th person that evening to use that same line. Not impressed. I asked her about how they gear up for what apparently is the busiest night of the year for them. "Everybody works. No one can take off tonight because it is so busy."
This year, it was announced that this semi-annual Priesthood Session will be available to view on television or the Internet. This means of course that you can listen to the session from the comfort of your home in your pajamas or sweats or whatever you like to wear on a Saturday evening. The first thing I thought of when I heard this announced was, "Cool, that is really convenient to be able to... WAIT! what will we do about going out to eat afterward?" Going out to eat didn't seem necessary all of the sudden if I was watching this in my home by myself. Besides, I wouldn't have gathered together with all the brethren in my area to watch. We'll see what is to become of this tradition come Saturday night after the next session. My guess is that many will take advantage to enjoy it the same way they have for years. I think I fit this category. New traditions are surely to come to pass as well within homes around the valley; I'm picturing a delicious spread that rivals a super bowl party with everyone sitting down to eat through the entire session and going for seconds during the rest hymn.

POST SCRIPT
I participated once again in going out to eat after the Priesthood Session. I ate way to much of the burger and onion rings before me. I've decided that if this tradition lives on, it'll be at a different restaurant.