We have a responsibility as members to do the same thing today. Revelation comes to us many times as we’ve prepared our hearts and mind for the revelation. This means praying for the speakers who will speak in church, praying for our hearts to be open to the Spirit, praying for discernment and humility, reading scriptures during sacrement and relfecting on the grace and mercy of Jesus, reading scriptures during the week preparing to take the sacrament, living our lives in humility each day, being true Saints for Jesus.

If we’re doing these things then I’m confident we’ll have a “born-again” experience every Sunday regardless of who’s speaking.

I’d like to add a few others.

First is that you are quite right in guessing that the “revelation” aspect of Mormon worship has shifted to the Temple. The Temple experience is heavy on ritual and symbolism- things that emphasize personal revelation from God to increase our understanding, and is not at all like the down to earth, reasoned and logic driven explanations in Sunday school or sacrament meeting talks. I’ve known some members who have trouble with this shift when they first attend the Temple.

I find it interesting that ritual which is seen as a way to attract members in a lot of other sects, is considered the meat in Mormonism, advanced learning if you will.

The other aspect I think many are forgetting is Fast and Testimony meeting.

Now Fast and Testimony can be rather erratic as to what you get, but there are often instances of spiritual revelation that I find occur during Fast and Testimony. It often loses the more refined and orderly version of Mormonism that we tend to prefer as our public face. The importance of this meeting is under emphasized by Mormons when talking with members of other religious sects, mainly because it feels more private to us. I would say that if I had to choose one Sunday of the month to attend I would pick Fast and Testimony over just about any other, certainly over High Councilmen week.

It’s a difficult balancing act, as I’ve seen the negative AND positive effects of both unbroken peace AND out-of-control fire.

Replace “respectful” with “wailing” and “number” with “solo” and I’m behind you 100%. Is there a rule against strobe lights and flash pots in Church, too?

I have been a member for 31 years. I have been through many sacrament meetings and I have always been spiritually fed either by the Spirit testifying to me of the Atonement or calling me to repentance through a prompting. I have only fallen asleep once in sacrament and this was due to a long week, but I have always been given messages that I needed at this time. The gifts of the Spirit are tongues,prophecy,
healing, and testimony so I think that is what the sacrament is for-testimony and promptings as well as taking the sacrament. I think part of the reason glossalia became lessen was that the emphasis that the Spirit comes in a still small voice and will not make you do anything out of the ordinary-fall on the floor, scream, or shake.
The Spirit will speak peace and calmness to you. I have been to other sacrament meetings of other Churches and felt repulsed by the noise,the music, or the guitar in the meetings. I have also seen the gift of healing through the priesthood as well as the gift of prophecy. I have seen my non-member come to a sacrament meeting and come out crying, because the Spirit touch them the first time.

God bles you.

John Lee

Ain’t that right, Ray.

Thank you so much for your wonderful explanation. It gives me a MUCH better understanding of the ethos behind LDS worship.

Recently a friend of a friend attended LDS Sacrament Meeting for the first time. We asked her what she thought. She responded honestly: “It was pretty boring.” I think if you first administered a truth serum, many if not most Latter-day Saints would readily agree that Sacrament Meeting is usually boring, if not for the entire time, then at least for one or more of the talks. So why do we still go?

1. We like that we get to hear from other members of the congregation, regular Joe’s like us, rather than hearing from the same preacher of set of preachers over and over again. We can relate to the speakers better if they’re unpaid “amateurs” like us. The fact that sometimes our fellow members are dull or boring at times is, I think, recognized as an expected downside to what is otherwise a wonderful lay ministry system. And we especially appreciate the occasional opportunity to give sermons ourselves, which is usually a very rewarding experience, and we hope that others will cut us slack if we’re a bit dull in our presentations, as we hopefully do for them when they’re dull.

2. I think most Mormons have relatively low expectations of Sacrament meeting, so they’re not as likely to be disappointed with dull or boring LDS services as, perhaps, someone who is a student of theology. I think most Mormons take a very pragmatic view of religion. And they recognize that, because of mankind’s forgetful nature, we need to be reminded constantly of the “basics”. So I think many if not most Mormons come to Sacrament meeting expecting to simply be reminded of a few basic, important principles of daily living: be kind, be honest, think of the less fortunate, etc. I don’t think they expect to come and hear or experience anything new or ground-breaking; I think they expect the opposite; simple reminders of the basics. It seems to me that most Mormons don’t have their heads in the clouds; their feet are planted firmly on the ground. Having a ground-level conversation bores to tears those of us with our heads in the clouds, but I’ve come to realize those of us with our heads in the clouds are in the minority, so who am I to try to impose my expectations on a group of people who just don’t share those expectations?

3. I like your suggestion about quiet time for prayer and meditation. We view the Sacrament as being that portion of the meeting when we’re to do just that. It doesn’t end up being too quiet because we’re struggling to keep our kids sitting still, and being that we’re a fertile folk, there are always a dozen or so babies to break, yea pierce, the silence. That said, I think we would improve the worshipfulness of our services by putting all the announcements and ward business at the end of the meeting, after the prayer even. Also, I’d like a little 1-2 min. devotional on the Sacrament before the Sacrament is administered, just to get us all in the right frame of mind. I find that going from announcing car washes and bake sales to taking the Sacrament within just a 4 min period to be an abrupt transition.

I’ll tell you, though, I feel pretty darn lucky to be in my ward. I’d say people deliver what I’d consider “boring” talks 50% of the time, “good” talks 40% of the time, and great/exceptional talks 10% of the time. That means each week I can expect at least one or two good or great talks. And when a talk gets boring, I just break open my New Testament and read until a good talk comes up.

I love this quote. It reminds me of John 3:8-12 about those with a testimony of Christ, “The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be? Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness. If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?”

“Apparently the Holy Spirit is capable of reaching people without asking for my opinion.”

David, I don’t know if a Niblet (the Bloggernacle’s version of Hollywood hubris) for Best Comment has been given to someone who is not LDS, but that line should be considered. It is priceless.

Perhaps this shows how prepared, written material can still give rise to a variety of responses due to the context of those hearing or reading the presentation. If it be recognized that the Spirit is at work in the hearer’s context, as well as the speaker’s, then perhaps the two fold process of communication (speaker AND hearer) can achieve greater attention in further discussions.

And this is what I am trying to achieve with this post (more of which I believe will follow at some later date): I, as a visitor at a Sacrament meeting, saw, felt, and heard things that raised questions for me, especially against the backdrop of what I have read about Mormon History. But it is only as I hear how Saints themselves experience this central activity that I can more fully appreciate what is being done and why. I further hope that in the process of answering that question, the normal contributors and responders to this site will have the opportunity to explore their own experiences more consciously and articulately, thereby deepening their own appreciation of what they do every Sunday morning.

Two quick side notes: many (not all) churches in the Campbell Stone Tradition also celebrate communion early on in the worship service. Interestingly, I am told that many churches in this Tradition that switched to communion at the end of worship did so in order to discourage the practice of people taking the sacrament and then ditching the sermon.

Second, “Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God” by Jonathan Edwards is widely considered to be one of the most powerfully moving sermons in all of American Church History, touching off the Great Awakening. What is not so widely known is that this sermon was read by Edwards in a decidedly unemotional way. I mention this as someone who rarely writes out even notes for his sermons, finds emotionless deliveries boring, and who has no liking for the message which the Rev. Mr. Edwards espoused in that famous sermon. Apparently the Holy Spirit is capable of reaching people without asking for my opinion.

Maybe Temples mean more to a denomination when you only have one of them and worshiping there may be a once in a lifetime experience! I still remember being offered the opportunity as a young boy to climb the rickety stairs to the bell tower of the Temple by the guide and to look out over the surrounding countryside the way members of the founding generation did as they guarded the walls during the construction period. As I went back to the first floor and heard the story of the events during the Dedication, and stood on the second floor in the School of the Prophets, it was easy to catch the passion they expressed in what they felt was a God-driven mission to establish Zion.

I hope you find in your worship deep testimonies of your own callings and Christ’s love for you.

Ah, yes, “they” Don’t ask who they are because they wouldn’t like it. I guess I can see it for a counselor in the RS General Presidency, but not for a FP member or Q12. You really think president Monson’s talks are approved? By whom?

That should be President Kimball, pre-vocal surgery.

“To put it another way, I think one could learn a lot in a sacrament meeting but I doubt one would be likely to “dream dreams” or “see visions” as Acts 2 describes.”

The things I hear in sacrament meeting and the other meetings are what I ponder during the week – which is the time I feel I receive much of my personal revelation, not just on Sunday.

Sheri Dew spoke to our stake and told us that she had to do numerous re-writes on her conference talk a couple of years ago because it was not what they wanted.

Then there was the infamous Ronald Poelman talk in Oct of 1984 re: the Gospel and the Church that was re-written after it was given in conference. The version in the Ensign had major differences from the version given in conference and the talk was actually re-taped for distribution with the other talks.