Just a typical Mormon Sacrament Meeting (Living by Faith)

Today was a great day at church, and the thought came to me to share it.  Perhaps someone someday will find this and be interested to know what a Mormon service is like, or maybe I'm just writing so that I can remember it someday, but here it goes:

We actually made it a few minutes early for once! We sat a few pews from the back row, and because of the school holiday there weren't many people there.  We opened by singing all three verses of 'Come, Rejoice' (click here to read and hear the hymn) which is a somewhat uncommon hymn. After an opening prayer from someone in the congregation (our Bishop has a tradition of asking whoever is there when he walks in to pray - it's a wonder anyone comes early!) were some short announcements - all priesthood holders in the stake (local area) are invited to a special priesthood meeting next week at 7 a.m. and this Friday is a stake couples/relationship seminar given by a prominent local couples counselor- "Everything else you can read in the program."  We then prepared for the Sacrament (communion) by singing 'O Lord of Hosts' (click here to heard and hear the hymn), another uncommon hymn, and the Sacrament was blessed and passed by the Aaronic Priesthood.
Now it was time for the speakers - this week, three young women in their early 20's.  The first was a sister from our ward who just returned this week from her 18 month mission service in Des Moines, Iowa.  Her talk was beautiful as she told stories of living by faith on her mission. She emphasized the importance of praying that God will mold our hearts so that our desires will be His desires, and to live having faith that following Him we will have the greatest chance at happiness and influencing others.  One quote I particularly liked from her was "We have to go through the 'I don't know why I'm doing this' phase before we see the miracle!"  Listening to hear talk, I felt a confirming witness in my heart of the same thing - sometimes I wonder why I'm being a mom, teaching my kids, etc when it is so hard and seems nothing good is coming from it, but I was reminded how right it felt when I made that decision, and have faith that someday I'll see the good.
The next speaker was a new missionary, here for only 10 days, a young girl from South Carolina.  She spoke about her conversion to the church only two years ago.  She was raised Baptist and as a teenager felt unsatisfied in her mother's church, so she began attending a Christian church with a friend and was baptized there.  Only a few months later she once again felt unfulfilled and gave up on religion for a time. In college she was paired with a Mormon roommate, who for months invited her to church and activities until one time she was bored and decided to come.  She met new friends she liked and continued to go to church and activities with her friend.  She went for almost 6 months before realizing how fulfilled and happy she felt, and decided it was something that she would like to pursue.  Some things that touched me were her discussion of faith and whether it is a verb or a noun - "faith is something you seek" and "desire is an action of faith".
We then had a family from the congregation sing a song, called "The Miracle". I had never heard it before, but it was very powerful. The whole family was crying to the point that they almost had to stop singing, and I'm sure there were few dry eyes in the audience.  It spoke of the miracles of Jesus, and how his biggest miracle is "the miracle that rescued me". You can see it sung in another Mormon service on this YouTube video or see the official video from the writer.
Our final speaker was a more seasoned missionary, scheduled to go home to Hawaii just after Christmas.  She got up and said that she had not originally planned to speak about living by faith, but that after coming to church realized what she had written was not what she should talk about. She then began to also tell stories of living by faith, especially in those that she has seen on her mission.  She spoke of a man who converted to the church and attended for two years, but could not get baptized because his wife said "You are Catholic, stop pretending to be Mormon."  She eventually said that if he wanted to be baptized he would have to leave, so he did. He moved from the Philippines to Utah, intending to start a new life as a Mormon.  His parents sent him an email saying they disowned him. His wife sent him divorce papers.  Finally his brother came here and took him to visit Catholic priests to convince him not to become a Mormon, and all the priests said that they were too busy to speak with him - even after he'd explained the situation. That's a lot of odds against him, and while it is heartbreaking that he had to leave his family to do so, I admire this man's courage in doing whatever it took to do what he felt God wanted him to do.
We then closed by singing 'Let us all Press On' (read and listen here) which is a more commonly used hymn, then had a closing prayer offered by some other poor soul who had arrived early and been caught by the Bishop.

A Mormon visits Calvary Chapel

A few weeks ago we went on a little weekend trip to a town a few hours from here.  On Saturday, we noticed a sign advertising the local Calvary Chapel’s annual Church in the Park was to be the following day only a few blocks from our hotel, and decided that it could be a fun part of our vacation. (Not to mention there was to be free lunch, which was a pretty motivating factor.)

Now I have to confess, although I've listed to hundreds (thousands?) of Christian sermons, and watched a great many Christian worship services on video, I have never attended a worship service (aside from Catholic Mass) that wasn't a Mormon service.  I did, however, go to my friend's Christian youth group regularly in High School, so that combined with what I've watched/listened to gave me an idea of what to expect, and I was excited for this new experience.  I know a bit about the Calvary Chapel in my town, and occasionally listen to their radio station and shop at their thrift store.  They always seem to be so excited to serve and befriend others, which is something I really admire.  The Calvary Chapel that I visited seemed to be much the same – very welcoming and friendly in a way that is generally not too pushy (I say generally, because there was one usher who was a little over-excited about pushing free Bibles onto people).  That is something I really admire.  It takes guts to extend yourself out to complete strangers when you don’t know how they’re going to respond. I’m much too timid to do that kind of thing!

The service started with over a half hour of contemporary Christian worship music.  I expected the music, I did not expect it to go on so long.  I do sometimes listen to contemporary Christian music on the radio and there are a few songs I really like, but I do not enjoy it in a worship setting, at all.  I prefer calm, contemplative, reverent worship - not a cheerleader for God but a deep, sincere, and personal thank you to God.  But knowing that Calvary Chapel did contemporary music I didn't plan on any quiet, contemplative worship today.  While having a couple songs at the beginning of service is a great idea to be sure that even latecomers get to hear the sermon, (Mormons, take note!) a half hour was just too long. The problem with contemporary Christian is that nearly every song sounds the same - same chord patterns, similar lyrics - even my friend who plays in his church's worship band agrees.  It got boring. Before the music was over, my mom (who usually listens to boring repetitive pop music) said "Is this just a concert? I can't take it anymore" and asked my kids if they wanted to go play on the playground. 

Eventually someone gave some announcements, and I shuffled through the bulletin that was handed out. (I would normally call it a program, but it didn’t really outline the day’s service.)  It involved much more paper than I’m used to, but much of that was due to the lyrics to all the songs being printed.  It was also much more colorful and professional looking than what I’m used to. There were very colorful, professional looking flyers for an upcoming broadcast and a men’s conference, which in my church would probably have been printed up in plain black and white.  Such a small thing but I had mixed feelings about it (yes, it looks really nice, but it also is an extra cost to design and print – something a church running on donations might want to forgo.)  The ‘Statement of Faith’ on the back will have to be discussed at another time.  Before the announcements were over, my dad and brother had wandered over to the playground as well.

A few minutes after the sermon started, I was bored and confused, but was willing to keep listening expecting it to get better. My husband was not.  He muttered something like "wow this guy's not even worth the free lunch" and left me alone to listen while he watched the kids on the playground.  Having seen the rest of my group walk away, pushy Bible guy moved closer and kept his eye on me.  I’ve gotta be honest that I found it a bit sexist that he offered a free Bible to my dad, my brother, and my husband, but not me or my mom.  But pushy Bible guy is what us scientifically minded people call an ‘aberration’, so I am not factoring him into my opinion of the church.  I was honestly trying to follow along, but the pastor seemed to go on tangent after tangent until I had no clue what his point was.  I’m sure he’s a great guy, and he must be a good preacher given the size of his congregation, but today was not his best work.

In only the 20 minutes that I listened, he had managed to fit every stereotype of mainstream Christian preachers that I had expected –

-Talking about how wonderful the Bible is and mentioning that we are really digging deep into the scriptures when he only preaches out of a couple verses in Mark, Corinthians, and Romans.

-saying negative things about specific religious groups (in this case, Buddhists, Muslims and Hindus)

-Backed up his opinions with something nonbelievers can’t connect to. (In this case, the Bible is amazing because it is old.  It is true because it says it is.)

-Talked down to his audience, treated everyone like they were children or skeptics (by spouting random useless facts and explaining even the simplest concepts like we had never heard of them)

-Had “Jesus Saves” as the theme of his talk and “because the Bible says so” as his evidence. 

After I’d had enough, I waited for pushy Bible guy to stop standing behind me to go help someone find Romans and joined my family at the playground. We could hear bits and pieces from there, and it seemed every sentence was so stereotypical that my husband and I were constantly giving each other ‘the look’.  The rolling eyes “I can’t believe he’s really that clichéd” look. (Here, I have to say that the idea of church in the park was great, and it allowed us to casually walk away when we felt like it rather than feel trapped.)

On the way out, we passed the youth group on the far end of the park.  We walked slowly, hoping to catch a snippet of their sermon. What I heard was a story I’ve heard over and over from Christians who preach an absolutely no works salvation – the ‘death bed conversion’ story.  What about someone who accepts Jesus and dies a couple minutes later? They don’t have time for works! That means they can’t be saved!!  This just shows ignorance and an unwillingness to listen to someone else’s beliefs.  No Christian who believes works are necessary salvation would say that this person is not saved.  God knows this man had no time to be baptized, no time to serve God in this life, but God knows his heart!  If he would have done those things, had he the opportunity, God will reward him accordingly.  God is merciful, He is understanding, He is loving, He is all-powerful.  Salvation doesn’t come after completing a checklist of works, salvation comes from God while our works prove our hearts.  Please, please, stop accusing me (and millions of others) of not being Biblical on this point.  Hearing that story was like the final smack-in-the-face blow of everything stereotypical and clichéd, everything I dislike about mainstream Christianity was there. Although I came excited for a new experience, I left extremely disappointed, having lost much of my fascination with all things “Christian” and gained much appreciation for my faith.

Overall, the feeling I had was not what I expected.  Usually at church, while I might feel bored at times, I feel peace, openness, and love. I feel edified and filled. I feel bigger – empowered and renewed.  I honestly leave church feeling closer to God – every single time! Even if I spent most of it in the hall with a whining baby!  At this Calvary Chapel service, I expected to feel some of that, perhaps in a different way, but still feel the Spirit of God as I have listening to many Christian sermons on the radio.  I didn’t. Before the sermon even started I felt like there was a block in my heart. I felt confused, belittled, frustrated, and even a little offended.  The only word I can come up with to describe the feeling I had there is gray. Just blank.

After leaving early, we drove a couple blocks to the local Mormon Temple.  I know it sounds cliché but the second I walked onto the temple grounds I felt peace wash over me. The negative feelings I had from the park vanished and I felt comforted that God’s truth is bigger than the garbage I had just heard.  I felt reassured, comfortable, and so joyful that I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. I felt so grateful for the knowledge and faith that I have.

I'm really sorry.  I went excited, I went hoping my expectations of predictable and boring would be wrong, and part of me thought that just maybe this would be an eye-opening spirit-filled experience.  It wasn't. It completely changed my view of mainstream Christianity, and not for the better.  It confirmed all the stereotypes and preconceived notions that I had, and I left feeling sorry for the people that were buying into that garbage.  I really truly hope that once my interest in mainstream Christianity returns I will be able to find the good in it, but for now I feel disillusioned and have no positive feelings toward it.

Attending a Temple Dedication (Ogden Utah Temple)

On each of our meetinghouses, we proudly display the words "Visitors Welcome".
That's true, usually.

The only occasion in which it isn't true, to my knowledge, is in the case of Temple dedications.
The dedication of a Temple is an exciting event, and nearly every Mormon who is even remotely connected to the Temple being dedicated wants to be involved.  Not only is it a chance to celebrate another building dedicated to the work of the Lord, it is a chance to hear wisdom and counsel from local and international Church leaders.
With the wonders of modern technology, this is possible!

A Temple dedication service is much like a regular worship service - there are several sermons, hymns, and prayers.  All the furniture in the Temple is cleared out and replaced with hundreds of folding chairs, so that as many people as possible can fit inside the temple. But obviously it can't fit everyone, and not everyone could travel the distance required to get there even if there were space.  So now, dedication services are broadcast to Stake Centers (to be defined in a future post) in the area.  This way, nearly anyone who wants to participate can have the opportunity.
When a Temple dedication is broadcast (through an encrypted satellite or internet transmission), the stake centers receiving that transmission become extensions or satellite locations of the Temple, and thus are treated as Temples.  Only those who are baptized and have a current Temple Recommend are allowed to enter the church building - no babies, no young children, no unbaptized visitors, none who are unworthy to attend the Temple.

Today was the re-dedication of the Ogden Utah Temple.  All regular congregational worship services in Utah and parts of Wyoming were cancelled today and replaced by the live broadcast of the Temple dedication.  So, no visitors allowed. We could have replaced our usual welcoming sign with a "Visitors *not* Welcome (just for today)" sign.

What happens? Why is it so super secret?  As we always say with Temples, it isn't secret, it's sacred.  In this case, it's just the fact that the building becomes dedicated as holy edifice.  Simple as that.  I will tell you right now everything that happens:
1. A couple hymns sung by a local choir.
2. An opening prayer offered by a local leader.
3. Sermons delivered by the Temple Matron and Matron's Assistants, Temple Presidency, Seventies, General Auxiliary Officers (in this case the presidents of the Relief Society, Young Women, and Primary), and Apostles.  In this case we had two female and four male speakers.  The only thing you might find interesting is that the speakers wear all-white from their wrists to their ankles, which we almost always wear in the temple (a future post on this).  The topic focus is on the importance of the Temple.
4. The Hosanna Shout. (this is something that is quite sacred to us, and which is a tradition at the dedication of every Temple - ancient and modern.  If you'd like to learn more about it and see an actual hosanna shout, the only public video and description I'm aware of is available HERE. The dedication of the Conference Center in Salt Lake City in October 2000.  The actual Hosanna Shout is the last 50 seconds of the video, and an excellent introduction is given in the video or in the text transcription if you scroll down.)
5. Singing The Spirit of God
6. Closing prayer offered by a local leader.

And so, visitors - you are welcome, just not today.

Visiting a Temple Open House (Ogden Utah Temple)

I recently got to visit the open house tour for the Ogden Utah Temple.  The Ogden temple was originally built in the 1970's, but underwent extensive renovation and thus had an open house prior to being re-dedicated.  This has been done with several of the older, more dated temples in recent years.  I think it has been a great idea because it allows those who have lived near a temple for many years to finally see it.  Although I have participated in many temple open house events before, I tried to view this one from the perspective of a first time visitor so that I could know what to write about.

Visitors to the Ogden Utah Temple open house

First, let me clear up a few things:
1.) reservations are free and are recommended, but not required.  If you come without one, you will not be turned away, but you may have to wait a bit longer.
2.) you can come as you are.  Many church members wear nice clothes out of respect for the temple, but most visitors come in jeans and T-shirts.  Wear whatever you like!
3.) Everyone is welcome. Bring your kids, it's okay if they get a little whiny (mine did. the kids behind me did too!). Also, the temple is handicap accessible, and there will most likely be a volunteer translator for any major languages in your area, or you can request another language when you make a reservation.

On to what to expect:
1.) When you arrive you'll be put with a group of people in a waiting area.  Here a volunteer will give a short introduction of temples and play a short (maybe 15 minute) film about temples.
2.) If it's busy, you'll be free to walk through the temple at your own pace, with signs explaining the purpose for each room.  If it's not busy, you may be lead through by an actual tour guide who will explain each room.
3.) After the tour, there will be a reception area where you can learn more about the basic doctrines of the church and the purpose of temples.  There will be missionaries or volunteers available to answer any questions you might have. (Really, ask anything!)
4.) Plan about an hour for the introduction video, tour, and reception area afterward.
5.) You won't be able to take photo or video inside the temple, but photographs outside the temple are encouraged.

Some commonly asked questions:
Q: What are the white shoe covers for?
A: These actually have no religious significance.  They're just to keep the floors clean since there are so many people walking through!

Q: Is there anything special about the water in the baptismal font?
A: Nope! It's just regular old water.  We don't use 'holy water' or anything like that.

Q: The tour left out many hallways and rooms, what are you hiding?
A: Honestly, nothing. Every open house I have been to showed all of the most sacred and most important rooms, as well as the locker rooms, waiting areas, offices, etc.  The places that were skipped were: storage rooms, duplicate rooms (Ogden has 6 identical ordinance rooms, but the tour showed one. It has 8 nearly identical sealing rooms, but the tour showed three.), the laundry room, the cafeteria, and maintenance closets.  So what is hiding down those mysterious hallways that are not part of the tour? Probably a broom closet, or something you've already seen.

Q: What is changed in the week between the open house and the dedication?
A: All the furniture is removed, the temple is deep cleaned, and then folding chairs are brought in to fill nearly every room so that as many people can fit inside the temple for the dedication as possible.  After the dedication the furniture will be put back just as it looked during the open house.

Q: If I fill out the comment card at the end, will I be contacted by missionaries?
A: Yes, if you provide contact information. You are welcome to write your comments without leaving your contact information.

Q: Do the people hosting the tour have any special standing in the church?
A: Not usually.  Members of local congregations sign up to take different shifts during the open house, so most if not all of the people you'll see are just average Mormons who were willing to help out.  Missionaries will be there too, identified by the black name tags.

Displays about the temple (modern and ancient temples) and some visitors asking questions to a missionary in the reception area.

Comment cards and take-home cards (with a photo and website) in the reception area

display about the temple (the purpose of each room in the temple) in the reception area

Visiting a Mormon Church: What to wear?

So, what should you wear if you visit a Mormon Church?

Well, technically, you can wear whatever you want. You aren't going to be turned away.

Most people like to have some guidelines so that they don't stick out, though. Unlike many Christian churches today that have adopted a 'come as you are' casual worship culture, most Mormons wear 'Sunday Best' (think business attire), even children. How you dress for worship often reflects your respect for God and your attitude toward faith.

Men:
Most men wear slacks with a white shirt and tie. Suits and sport coats or blazers are also common. You will see men wearing colored or even patterned button-down shirts with or without ties, but white is the standard. If you wear a hat, please remove it when entering the chapel.

Women:
Most women wear dresses or skirts that reach at least to the knee and tops that cover the shoulders.  Dress pants are rarely seen, but acceptable.  Dress styles range from more casual knit skirts and t-shirts to structured business-like suits and blouses.

Children:
Young children don't typically dress as formally as their parents. For boys, colored or patterned button-down shirts or polo shirts are quite common, but you will also see boys wearing suits or white shirts and ties. Teenage boys usually dress like the adult men.  Girls usually wear dresses or skirts like the women.

Examples of typical 'Sunday Best':

What if I'm attending an activity, not a worship service?
'Sunday Best' is only worn for Sunday worship services. If you were invited to attend a congregation activity, community event, youth group, or other non-worship activity, you can wear whatever you want. Most Mormons wear jeans and t-shirts to non-Sunday activities held at the church, unless a special type of dress might be needed (i.e. dances or sports)

*All photos in this post courtesy of the LDS Church (https://www.lds.org/media-library/images/)