Worship services of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Worship services of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) include weekly services, held in meetinghouses on Sundays (or another day when local custom or law prohibits Sunday worship), in geographically-based religious units (called wards or branches). Once per month, this weekly service is a fast and testimony meeting. Twice each year, the LDS Church holds a worldwide general conference. LDS Church adherents also worship in temples, which are open only to members in good standing.

Weekly services

Latter-day Saint meetinghouse in West Valley City, Utah, USA

In the LDS Church, congregations for Sunday services are grouped geographically, with larger (~150 to ~400 people) groups known as wards, and smaller (2 through ~150 people) ones known as branches. These congregations gather in meetinghouses, also referred to as "chapels" or "stake centers", on property typically owned by the church. In some cases, rental property may be used as a meetinghouse. Although the building may sometimes be referred to as a "chapel", the room used as a chapel for religious services is actually only one component of the standard meetinghouse.^[1]

All people, regardless of belief or standing in the church, are permitted to attend weekly meetings.^[2] The sacrament (similar to communion, the Lord's supper, or the eucharist in other churches) is offered weekly. Latter-day Saints also come together in meetinghouses for various activities throughout the week (except Mondays, which are reserved for Family Home Evening). The church maintains a meetinghouse locator to help members and visitors find meetinghouses and meeting times in their area.^[3]

While there is no formal dress requirement for Sunday meetings, women usually attend wearing skirts or dresses, while men wear suits or dress shirts and ties.^[4]

Weekly services consist of a three-hour block of time divided into three segments.^[5]

In some congregations, this "block" schedule of meetings may be held in reverse order of the table shown, with the Sacrament service conducted at the end of the block, with the other sections preceding it.

Sacrament meeting

The main Sunday service is sacrament meeting, slightly more than an hour in length, which is attended by the combined congregation. The foremost purpose of sacrament meeting is the blessing and passing of the sacrament—consecrated bread and water in remembrance of the body and blood of Christ—to the congregation. After the sacrament, the service usually consists of two or three lay sermons, called "talks", prepared and delivered by members of the congregation. Hymns, accompanied by piano or organ, are sung throughout the service as a form of worship through music. Once a month, usually on the first Sunday, instead of prepared talks, members are invited to bear their testimonies about gospel principles. These testimonies are generally impromptu statements of personal faith. This meeting is called fast and testimony meeting.

Meetinghouse on Exhibition Road, London, England

Sunday School

Sunday School classes are grouped by age, with new members and visitors sometimes attending introductory classes. The most common adult Sunday School class is Gospel Doctrine, which meets each week and consists of a teacher presenting gospel messages drawn from the scriptures, with participation from class members. Another adult class is called the Gospel Principles class, designed for new members and those of other faiths who are interested in learning more about the church (often referred to as "investigators"). In congregations with a diverse membership, special language classes might be organized, where classes are taught in a variety of languages; other times, wireless headphones are made available and the discussion can be translated into these other languages.^[6] Additional adult classes are held at various times, depending on the specific needs of each congregation. These classes include topics such as Marriage and Family Relations, Family History, Teacher Preparation, and Temple Preparation. Youth Sunday School classes are for those aged 12 to 18 and may be divided or combined by ages, depending on local needs, such as the number of youth. In 2013, the church instituted a new youth curriculum with uniform doctrinal themes, which allows leaders and teachers to adapt classes to the needs of youth.^[7]

Priesthood meetings

Men and boys age 12 and up attend priesthood classes. Although all men and boys meet together briefly at the beginning of the session for a prayer, hymn, and announcements, they then separate into classes. The men separate by priesthood office to attend Elders Quorum or High Priests Group, the latter usually being older men and/or those who have held leadership positions in the church. Youth are likewise divided into priesthood quorums: Deacons (ages 12–13), Teachers (ages 14–15), and Priests (ages 16–18) Quorums. Classes may be combined if class sizes are small.

Relief Society and Young Women meetings

Adult women attend Relief Society, and girls ages 12 to 17 attend Young Women. Occasionally, the Relief Society and Young Women meet together briefly at the beginning of the session for a prayer, hymn, and announcements, then separate into classes, as the men do. The Young Women are divided into Beehive (ages 12–13), Mia Maid (ages 14–15), and Laurel (ages 16–17) classes.

Meetinghouse in Uruguaiana, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Primary

Children younger than 12 attend Primary, which spans the two time blocks described above. Primary is generally divided into two large groups: Senior Primary (ages 8–11) and Junior Primary (ages 4–7); young children from 18 months to 3 years of age may attend a nursery class. Primary classes generally consist of all the children who were born in the same year. Usually one half of the Primary, such as Senior Primary, meets in separate classes while the other half, Junior Primary, meet together in sharing and singing time, and at the end of the hour, the two are reversed. In smaller congregations, the entire Primary meets together for sharing and singing time.

Fast and testimony meeting

The fast and testimony meeting is a monthly sacrament meeting held on a stake's Fast Sunday, which is typically the first Sunday of each month. Those members who feel prompted go to the podium and share (or "bear") their testimony with the other members of their congregation. Members may choose to fast on this weekend for two meals and donate the money they would have spent for those meals to the church as fast offerings, which are used to operate the church's welfare program. As with all other donations, these are privately paid through donation slips or on the Internet. A ward or a family can fast in unity for a purpose, such as for an ill member or other personal or family needs.

LDS meetinghouse in Jonesboro, Arkansas, USA

The church definition of a testimony is "a spiritual witness given by the Holy Ghost. The foundation of a testimony is the knowledge that Heavenly Father lives and loves His children; that Jesus Christ lives, that He is the Son of God, and that He carried out the infinite Atonement; that Joseph Smith is the prophet of God who was called to restore the gospel; that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Savior's true Church on the earth; and that the Church is led by a living prophet today. With this foundation, a testimony grows to include all principles of the gospel."^[8] Individuals bearing testimony are directed by the feelings of their heart or by the Holy Ghost as to what to share. Members are expected to be brief so that others may have the opportunity.

General conference

LDS Conference Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA

Twice a year, the church holds General Conference, in which the church's president and other leaders speak. These talks, given in several sessions over several days, are carried worldwide by radio, television, satellite, and Internet broadcasts. They are translated into over 80 languages and are later made available on DVD (complete with translations), on lds.org,^[9] and in printed church publications such as the Ensign and Liahona. Attendees come from around the world.

Conference talks address doctrinal topics drawn from scriptures and personal experiences, messages of faith and hope, church history, and information on the church as it expands throughout the world.

Throughout the 20th century, conference was held in the Salt Lake Tabernacle. With a maximum capacity of about 8,000 per session, the Tabernacle consistently filled to capacity, leaving thousands of attendees listening on loudspeakers outside or via broadcast in adjacent buildings. In 2000, the LDS Church dedicated a new 21,000-seat Conference Center, which became the home of General Conference.

Conference satellite broadcasts may be watched live in thousands of chapels worldwide. The public is invited to attend or watch General Conference either through these broadcasts, on the Internet, in the Conference Center, or other areas at Temple Square. Conference is also broadcast nationally and internationally on many satellite or cable providers through BYU TV, and on local networks in some areas.

Worship in temples

Fukuoka Japan Temple

In the LDS Church, a temple is a building dedicated to be a "House of the Lord", and they are considered by church members to be the most sacred structures on earth. Upon completion, temples are usually open to the public for a short period of time during an "open house." During the open house, the church conducts tours of the temple with missionaries and members from the local area serving as tour guides, and all rooms of the temple are open to the public. After a temple is dedicated only members in good standing are permitted entrance; thus they are not meetinghouses or houses of public worship.^[10] Most LDS temples are identified by a gold-colored Angel Moroni statue adorning the top of the tallest spire.

Temples have a different purpose from meetinghouses. In the LDS Church today, temples serve two main purposes: (1) temples are locations in which Latter-day Saints holding a temple recommend can perform ordinances on behalf of themselves and their deceased ancestors; (2) temples are considered to be a house of holiness where members can go to commune with God and receive personal revelation.^[11]

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Meetinghouses of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

• June Conference
• Mormon music
• Service of worship

References

External links

• Find a Meetinghouse, a searchable map of locations and meeting times from the LDS Church.
• "Worship Service", model LDS sacrament meetings broadcast on BYUtv.
• What to Expect at Church Services, resources from the LDS Church about Sunday meetings, tailored for news media.