The worship service of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) includes weekly services, held in meeting buildings on Sunday (or any other day when local custom or law prohibits worship on Sundays ), geographically - religious units based (called wards or branch ). Once a month, this weekly service is a quick meeting and testimony. Twice each year, the LDS Church organizes general conferences worldwide. LDS Church worshipers also worship in temples, which are open only to well-reputed members.
Video Worship services of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Weekly service
In the LDS church, congregations for Sunday worship are grouped geographically, with larger groups (about 150 to 400 people) known as wards, and smaller (2 to about 150 people) known as branches. Sessions are gathered in meeting buildings, also called "chapels" or "stake centers," on properties traditionally owned by churches. In some cases, rental properties can be used as a meeting hall. Although the building is sometimes referred to as a "chapel", the room used as a chapel for religious service is actually just one component of a standard meetinghouse.
Everyone, regardless of belief or standing in the church, is allowed to attend weekly meetings. The sacrament (similar to communion, the Lord's supper, or the eucharist in other churches) is offered every week. Latter-day Saints also come together in the meeting hall for various activities throughout the week (except Mondays, provided for Family Home Evening). The Church maintains a meetinghouse seeker to help members and visitors find meeting and meeting times in their area.
Although there is no official dressing requirement for Sunday meetings, women usually attend wearing skirts or dresses, and men wear suits or shirts and ties.
The weekly service consists of three hour blocks divided into three segments.
In some congregations, a meeting schedule of "blocks" may be held in reverse order from the indicated table, with the Sacrament service performed at the end of the block, with other parts preceding it.
Sacrament meeting
The Sunday service is a sacrament meeting, a little over an hour long, attended by a joint trial. The primary purpose of the sacrament meeting is the blessing and graduation of the sacraments, bread and water that are sanctified in order to commemorate the body and blood of Christ, to the congregation. After the sacrament, worship usually consists of two or three lay sermons, called "talks," prepared and delivered by members of the congregation. Praise songs, accompanied by a 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 the prepared talk, the members are invited to give their testimony of gospel principles. Testimony is generally a spontaneous statement of personal faith. This meeting is called a quick meeting and testimony.
Sunday School
The Sunday School classes are grouped by age, with new members and visitors occasionally attending the introductory classes. The most common adult Sunday School class is the Gospel Doctrine, which meets weekly and consists of a teacher who presents gospel messages taken from the scriptures, with the participation of class members. Another class of adults is called a class of Gospel Principles, designed for new members and people of other faiths who are interested in learning more about the church (often referred to as "sympathizers"). In congregations with diverse membership, special language classes can be held where classes are taught in different languages; at other times, wireless headphones are available and discussion can be translated into other languages. Additional adult classes are held at various times, depending on the specific needs of each session. These classes include topics such as Marriage and Family Relationships, Family History, Teacher Preparation, and Preparation of the Temple. Youth Sunday School classes are for those aged 12 to 18 and can be shared or aggregated by age, depending on local needs, such as the number of youth. In 2013, the church instituted a new youth curriculum with a uniform doctrinal theme, allowing leaders and teachers to adapt classes to the needs of youth.
Priesthood meeting
Men and boys 12 and older attend priesthood classes. Although all men and boys meet briefly at the beginning of the session for prayer, hymns, and announcements, they split up into class. People who are separated by priesthood office to attend the Elders Quorum or the High Priest's Group, the latter usually become older men and/or those who have held leadership positions in the church. Boys are also divided into priesthood quorums: deacons (ages 12-13), teachers (ages 14-15), and priests (ages 16-18) quorums. Classes can be combined if the class size is small.
Women's Relief Society and Young Women Association
Adult women attend Relief Society, and girls aged 12 to 17 attend Young Women. Sometimes, the Relief Society and Young Women meet briefly at the beginning of the session for prayer, hymns, and announcements and then split into the classroom, just like the men do. Young Women are divided into Beehive classes (ages 12-13), Mia Maid (ages 14-15), and Laurel (ages 16-17).
Primary
Children younger than 12 go to Primary School, which covers the two time blocks described above. Primary is generally divided into two major groups: Senior Primer (age 8-11) and junior high (age 4-7); young people from 18 months to 3 years can attend a nursery class. Primary classes generally consist of all children born in the same year. Typically, half of Primaries, such as Primary Primary, meet in separate classes, and the other half, Primary Junior, meet together in sharing and time singing, and at the end of the hour both are reversed. In smaller sessions, the whole Primary meets together to share and sing.
Maps Worship services of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Quick meeting and testimonial
The fast and testimonial meeting is a monthly sacrament meeting held on a Quick Sunday peg, which is usually the first Sunday of each month. Members who feel compelled to go to the podium and share (or "bore") their testimony with other members of their congregation. Members can choose to fast for the weekend for two meals and donate the money they will spend on the meal to the church as a fast offering, used to run the church welfare program. Like all other donations, this is paid personally through a donation slip or on the Internet. The environment or family can fast in unity for a purpose, such as for sick members or other personal or family needs.
The church's definition of testimony is "the spiritual witness given by the Holy Spirit." The foundation of the 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 carries out an infinite Seeking, that Joseph Smith is the prophet of God called to restore the gospel, that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the true Savior of the earth, and that the Church is led by a living prophet today.With this foundation, the testimony grows to encompass all gospel principle. "Those who bear witness are guided by their feelings of heart or by the Holy Spirit of what to share. Members are expected to be short so that others can have a chance.
General Conference
Twice a year, the church holds a General Conference where church presidents and other leaders speak. The talks, given in several sessions over several days, are conducted worldwide by radio, television, satellite and Internet broadcasts. They are translated into more than 80 languages ââand then available on DVD (complete with translation), in lds.org, and in printed church publications such as Ensign and Liahona . Ladies and Gentlemen come from all over the world.
The conference talks discussed doctrinal topics taken from the scriptures and personal experiences, messages of faith and hope, church history, and information about the church, then extending across the world.
During the 20th century, the conference was held at the Salt Lake Tabernacle. With a maximum capacity of about 8,000 per session, the Tabernacle consistently fulfills the capacity, leaving thousands of participants listening to loudspeakers outside or via broadcasts in adjacent buildings. In 2000, the LDS Church presented a new 21,000-seat Conference Center, which houses the General Conference.
Conference satellite broadcasts can be watched live in thousands of chapels around the world. The public is invited to attend or watch the General Conference either via broadcast, on the Internet, at the Conference Center, or other areas in Temple Square. The conference is also broadcast nationally and internationally on many satellite or cable providers through BYU TV and local networks in several areas.
Worship at temple
At the LDS Church, a temple is a building dedicated to being "the House of God," and they are considered by church members to be the most sacred structures on earth. Once completed, the temple is usually opened to the public for a short period of time during the "open house." During the open house, the church toured the monastery with missionaries and members from the local area serving as tour guides, and all rooms in the temple are open to the public. After a dedicated temple, only well-qualified members are allowed in and so they are not the meeting hall or public house of worship. Most of the LDS temples are identified by the statue of the golden Angel of Moroni, adorning the highest spire of the tower.
The temple has a different purpose from the meeting hall. In the LDS Church today, the temple serves two main purposes: (1) the temple is the location where the Latter-day Saints make a recommendation of the temple to perform ordinances on behalf of themselves and their deceased ancestors, and (2) the temple is considered a house of holiness where members can go to communicate with God and receive personal revelation.
See also
- June Conference
- Mormon Music
- Worship service
References
External links
- Find the Meeting House, the map of the searched location, and the meeting time of the LDS Church.
- "Worship Service", the model of the LDS Sacrament meeting is broadcast on BYUtv.
- What to Expect in Church Services, resources of the LDS Church on Sunday meetings, tailored to news media.
Source of the article : Wikipedia