Mormon Beliefs: Mormon Worship

The Bible instructs us to worship God. Mormons, a nickname for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, build for themselves a life that includes worship in many different forms.

The week begins with worship in a chapel on Sunday. Chapels are open to the general public and should not be confused with temples. Temples are closed on Sunday and are open only to worthy members of the Church. However, anyone is welcome to worship with Mormons in their chapels.

The meetinghouse is very simple in design and decoration. When you enter, you will probably find yourself in a foyer decorated with a few pictures of Jesus Christ and some chairs. If you are visiting for the first time, look for adults wearing name tags. These are missionaries and they will be happy to explain to you what will happen during the meeting and sit with you to help you know what to do. Off the foyer will be the chapel where the worship service is held.

The chapel is very simple. There are no pictures and no decorations, other than flowers on occasion. Pews fill the main part of the chapel and a raised area seats the leaders, speakers, and musical people. The piano and organ are also there.

The meetings last 3 hours and there are three parts, known as blocks, to the day. The most important of these is Sacrament Meeting, which is the basic worship service. This meeting is conducted by a member of the bishopric. A bishop is similar to a pastor, but serves without pay. He has two counselors who assist him and they are known as the bishopric. They sit on the stand at the front of the chapel. They are always men and sit together. The one in the center is the bishop.

One of these three conducts the meeting, which begins with a hymn, a prayer, and announcements. Since all work is done by the members without pay, there are many positions and people change positions often. These are announced and sustained in the opening of the meeting. To sustain means to commit to support the person in his or her position and is done by raising the right hand.

Following this another hymn is sung and then the Sacrament is prepared and passed to the congregation. Teenage boys carry out these duties, with boys twelve and older passing the Sacrament to the members and boys sixteen and older blessing it, which means to pray over it. Prior to the meeting, boys fourteen and older prepare the bread and water. (Mormons use water instead of wine.) The Sacrament is taken in remembrance of the blood and body of the Savior Jesus Christ, who atoned for our sins and died for us, rising after three days from the dead. As it is passed, members reflect quietly on the Savior and privately renew the promises made at baptism.

There is no collection taken at Mormon meetings. Those who are members and wish to tithe place their money in an envelope prior to the meeting and hand it to a member of the bishopric prior to the meeting. Visitors are not expected to donate.

The bishop does not give the sermon each week. Instead, members of the congregation take turns giving brief sermons, known as talks. In most meetings, there are one or two teenage speakers and two adult speakers. Teens speak for five minutes and adults for ten to twenty minutes. Both men and women may offer the prayers and give the talks.

The speakers are assigned topics and each speaker talks on the same theme. When they are finished, there is a closing song and closing prayer.

One thing that may surprise you is that the entire family attends this service, even babies and small children. Although parents do work on helping children learn reverence, the meetings can get noisy, since most congregations have many children who talk, play, cry, or need to be taken out of the room. Mormons believe it is important for worship to be a family experience.

After the Sacrament Meeting, people divide into classes. Children 18 months to three years of age go to a nursery class. This is an actual class, and although the children have time to play with toys, they also have a lesson, a singing time, and an art project related to the lesson.

Children ages 3-11 go to Primary, where they attend classes with children their own age and a larger meeting with children of various ages. During the larger meeting, called Sharing Time, they learn one aspect of a year-long theme and have a singing time. Near the end of the year, they present the Sacrament Meeting to share what they’ve learned. In their smaller classes, they study the scriptures. Nursery and three-year-olds study from all the books of Mormon scripture, focusing on stories and values. 4-8 year olds study from two manuals, rotating each year. One covers the Bible, and one covers the Book of Mormon and church history. The older children have a four year rotation, two of which are about the Bible. They follow the same schedule as their teenage siblings and their parents, so the families can talk about the scriptures they study at home.

Teenagers attend Sunday School first, using the same four year rotation as the older children. Then boys attend a priesthood class. (All male members of the church who are worthy can hold the priesthood starting at age twelve.) Girls attend Young Women’s class.

Adults attend Sunday School together and then, like the teenagers divide by gender. Men attend Priesthood meeting and women attend Relief Society. During these last meeting, members learn how to apply the gospel to their everyday lives.

Sunday worship is only one part of a Mormon’s weekly worship. Families also worship at home, with daily personal, couple, and family prayer, as well as personal, couple, and family scripture study. Prayer is an important way to worship God, as it allows us to communicate with Him and gives Him an opportunity to communicate with us.

Once a week, Mormon families have Family Home Evening. Usually held on Monday evenings, the family gathers together without outsiders to study the gospel. Since most families rotate the responsibilities, even young children develop important skills in planning meetings, teaching lessons (sometimes with help from a parent), leading music and conducting meetings. This allows parents to share their values with their children and to strengthen the family bond. The meetings usually end with games or other fun activities and a special treat.

During the school year, teenagers attend a special class, held before school in most areas, in which they study a book of scripture in-depth. The class is more detailed than the Sunday School class. This program is called seminary. Two years of each four are devoted to the Bible, one to the Book of Mormon, and one to church history.

College students attend a similar class called Institute of Religion. These classes are taught at a college level and are both spiritual and intellectually challenging. They are very similar to seminary classes for Protestant religion majors.

Adult Mormons also worship in the temple, most attending about once a month. In the Mormon temple, they learn about Jesus Christ and commit to follow Him in every aspect of their lives.

The Mormons do not practice their religion just a few hours on Sunday morning. They are expected to live a life that is worshipful all week long and to honor the name of the Savior, which they take on them at baptism, every moment of their lives.