Form Letters and Prayers

Mike Hosey, Elder

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I hate form letters.

I know they are necessary for those who need to get information out to a large number of different acquaintances.  But whenever I get one from any close friend, I cringe -- well, only if I haven't heard from him in a while.

They are so impersonal. There's nothing like getting a cookie cutter newsletter disguised as personal correspondence. I think to myself, "my close friend has lumped me in with the masses! He is not sharing his intellect, or unguarded and real emotions with me.  I haven't heard from in him in months.  I guess I must be one of his 250 closest friends."  

I know. I'm flawed.

But I do love real letters - the kind where a friend has taken the time to handwrite one; the kind where he has chosen his words carefully, and catered his approach to our common experiences; the kind where he shares how he feels about a subject, an event, or the news of the day.

Those kinds of letters are a treasure, and are often better than a phone call. Whenever I receive one, I stop what I am doing and read it. By reading a letter like that, I am able to look into the mind of my friend. I can know a bit about his soul and his heart and how things are really going with him. When he has taken the time and the labor required to produce such a letter, his communication takes on special meaning.

We've lost the art of letters. Now everything is immediate. We don't employ the kind of introspection, sharing and just plain old thinking that communication through letters requires.

And I wonder, are our prayers like form letters? Do we send God superficial prayer notes about what's going on in our lives? Or do we carefully craft prayers that are personal, and reflect our true spirits, thoughts, emotions, plans and needs? Do they have real sharing, real introspection, and just plain old thinking? If they don't, perhaps a handwritten letter to God is in order.