Worship services of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: Difference between revisions

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

All people, regardless of belief or standing in the church, are permitted to attend weekly meetings. The [[sacrament (LDS Church)|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.<ref>[https://www.comeuntochrist.org/worship-with-us "Visit a Church Near You"], ''[[ComeUntoChrist.org]]'', Retrieved on 22 March 2020.</ref>

=== Three-hour Blockblock ===

In some congregations, the "block" schedule of meetings may have been held in reverse order of the table shown, withwherein thesacrament Sacramentmeetings servicewould conductedbe held at the end of thethat block, withafter the other sections precedingtwo itmeetings.

=== Two-hour Blockblock ===

{| class="wikitable"

[[Sunday School (LDS Church)|Sunday School]] classes are separated into adult and youth courses. Historically, adult Sunday School courses have been grouped by topic, with new members and visitors having the option to attend an introductory class. In congregations with a diverse membership, special language classes might be organized in which the approved courses are taught in a variety of languages. When necessary, wireless headphones are made available, so the discussion can be translated into other languages.<ref>The equipment is configured so that they can transmit and receive on various frequencies so that the discussion in a single meeting can be translated into multiple languages.</ref>

TheHistorically, mostother commonoptional adult Sunday School coursecourses iswere Gospelheld Doctrineat various times, whichincluding meetsduring eachthe weeksecond and consistshour of athe teacherSunday presentingmeeting gospelblock, messagesdepending drawn fromon the scriptures,specific withneeds participationof fromeach class memberscongregation. AnThe most common of these was an optional adult course is called [[Gospel Principles]], designed for new members and those of other faiths who are interested in learning more about the church (often referred to as "investigators"). Historically, other optional adult Sunday School courses were held at various times, including during the second hour of the Sunday meeting block, depending on the specific needs of each congregation. TheseOther courses included topics such as Marriage and Family Relations and Temple Preparation.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/manual/2018?lang=eng|title=Instructions for Curriculum 2018|website=ChurchofJesusChrist.org|access-date=2018-10-15}}</ref> Since January 2019, the optional Sunday School classes are no longer taught during the meeting block. Each ward bishop will determine how other optional courses, including those before or after baptism, will be taught outside of the two-hour block.

Men and boys 12 and older 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 attend [[Elder (Latter Day Saints)|Elder]]s [[Quorum (Latter Day Saints)|Quorum]]. Boys are divided into priesthood quorums: [[Deacon (Latter Day Saints)|Deacons]] (ages 12–13), [[Teacher (Latter Day Saints)|Teachers]] (ages 14–15), and [[Priest (Latter Day Saints)|Priests]] (ages 16–18) Quorums. Classes may be combined if class sizes are small.

Adult women attend [[Relief Society]], and girls who are 12 to 17 attend [[Young Women (organization)|Young Women]]. Occasionally, the Relief Society and Young Women meet together briefly at the beginning of the session for a prayer, hymn, and announcements and then separate into classes, as the men and boys do. The Young Women are divided into multiple classes, but typically ages 12–13, ages 14–15, and ages 16–17 classes.

Children younger than 12 attend [[Primary (LDS Church)|Primary]]. Through the end of 2018, Primary consisted of two time blocks of 50 and 60 minutes. Beginning in January 2019, Primary now consists of a single 50-minute block.<ref>Stack, Peggy Fletcher. [https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2018/10/06/about-new-mormon-sunday/ "About the new Mormon Sunday meeting schedule"], ''[[The Salt Lake Tribune]]'', 6 October 2018. Retrieved on 22 March 2020.</ref> Primary is generally divided into two 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 children born in the same calendar year. Usually, half of the Primary, such as Senior Primary, meet in separate classes, while the other half, Junior Primary, meet together in sharing and singing time, and at the end of each block, the two are reversed. Since January 2019, the 50-minute block for Primary includes singing time and instruction, with sharing time discontinued. Individual congregations will have the option of having the entire Primary meet together for the instruction and singing time.[[File:Igreja SUD uruguaiana rs.jpg|thumb|right|Meetinghouse in Uruguaiana, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil]]

Since January 2019, each ward will hold a teacher council meeting quarterly during the 50-minute class time.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/bc/content/ldsorg/general-conference/16435_000_FAQ.pdf?lang=eng|title=A New Balance between Gospel Instruction in the Home and in the Church|last=|first=|date=October 6, 2018|website=|access-date=October 15, 2018}}</ref> A ward will typically hold teacher council meeting for Relief Society, Young Women and priesthood teachers on a first or a third Sunday and for Sunday School teachers on a second or a fourth Sunday. Primary teachers may attend teacher council meeting on any Sunday as determined by the ward Primary presidency.

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 [[missionary (LDS Church)|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 and so they are not meetinghouses or houses of public worship.<ref>{{ cite web |title= Of Chapels and Temples: Explaining Mormon Worship Services |url=https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/commentary/of-chapels-and-temples-explaining-mormon-worship-services |work= Newsroom |publisher= LDS Church |date= 15 November 2007 |accessdateaccess-date= 27 January 2010 }}</ref> 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 [[ordinance (Latter Day Saints)|ordinances]] on behalf of themselves and their deceased ancestors, and (2) temples are considered to be a house of holiness where members can go to commune with God and receive [[revelation (Latter Day Saints)#Personal revelation|personal revelation]].<ref>{{cite journal |last= Benson |first= Ezra Taft |authorlinkauthor-link= Ezra Taft Benson |title= What I Hope You Will Teach Your Children about the Temple |url= https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1985/08/what-i-hope-you-will-teach-your-children-about-the-temple?lang=eng |journal= Ensign |publisher= LDS Church |date=August 1985 }}</ref>

* [https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/what-to-expect-at-church-services Thethe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints] What to Expect at Church Services

[[Category:Worship services of Thethe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints| ]]