Sacrament meeting is the weekly worship service held on Sunday in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints located in Salt Lake City, Utah is the largest attraction in the citys Temple Square. ...

Sacrament meetings are held in individual wards or branches in the chapel of the meetinghouse. The bishop or branch president of the ward or branch presides. Anyone is invited to attend, whether they are a member of the church or not. Sacrament meetings are not held during stake or district conferences, or during the semi-annual general conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a ward is the larger of two types of local congregations (the smaller being a branch). ... Bishop is an office of the priesthood in the Latter Day Saint or Mormon tradition. ... The calling of branch president is very similar to the calling of branch. ... General Conference ...

Attendees of sacrament meetings generally wear "Sunday formal" dress. Men wear suits and ties, and women wear modest dresses or skirts. Children are encouraged to attend, but when they become unruly, the parents generally escort them into the lobby.

Sacrament meetings usually proceed in this manner:

• First, the conducting officer (usually a member of the bishopric or branch presidency) welcomes the members to the meeting.
• An opening hymn is sung usually by the congregation. Following this is the invocation, or opening prayer, performed by an assigned member of the congregation.
• Following this, church business is conducted. This includes the announcement of assignments and callings, the call for consent on various issues and assignments, and performance of various ordinances, such as blessing newborn babies and conferring the Gift of the Holy Ghost to recently baptized members.
• Next, a sacrament hymn is sung by the congregation. After this, the priests of the Aaronic Priesthood bless the bread. The bread is distributed to the congregation by deacons. After this, the priests bless the water, which is distributed in like manner. The prayers used in the blessings are exact (See The Doctrine and Covenants, Covenant 20:75-79). The bread and water constitute the sacrament and are usually prepared before the meeting by one or more teachers. If sufficient number of Aaronic Priesthood holders are not available, Melchizedek Priesthood holders may prepare, bless, and pass the sacrament, as required.
• Following the administration of the sacrament, various sermons, or talks, are delivered by assigned members of the congregation, visiting officials such as Stake high council members or a member of the stake presidency. Often, a congregational rest hymn or special musical number is performed between talks. If it is Fast Sunday, instead of prepared talks, the congregation is asked to bear their testimonies as they feel inspired. (See Fast and testimony meeting.)

• The meeting closes with another hymn, sung usually by the congregation, and a benediction, or closing prayer.

A collection plate is not passed as part of sacrament meeting, or any other church service. The Church operates by lay ministry, and local leaders, teachers, and speakers are not compensated. Church members make contributions to the Church, including tithing, privately using small envelopes. Bishop is an office of the priesthood in the Latter Day Saint or Mormon tradition. ... The calling of branch president is very similar to the calling of branch. ... An invocation (from the Latin verb invocare to call on, invoke) is: A supplication. ... Maria Magdalene in prayer. ... In Mormonism, an ordinance is a religious ritual of special significance, often involving a covenant with God. ... The Gift of the Holy Ghost is a doctrine of the Latter Day Saint movement, including The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. ... Baptism in early Christian art. ... The office of priest is an office in the Aaronic Priesthood in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. ... The Aaronic Priesthood is the lesser of the two (or sometimes three) orders of priesthood recognized in Mormonism. ... The office of deacon in the Aaronic Priesthood in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the lowest office in the Aaronic Priesthood. ... In Mormonism, the Sacrament is the Lords Supper, in which participants eat bread and drink wine (or water, in the case of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints since the late 1800s). ... The office of teacher is an office within the Aaronic Priesthood in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. ... The Melchizedek Priesthood, to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is the authority and power to act in the name of God including the authority to perform ordinances and to preside over and direct the affairs of his Church and Kingdom. ... In Mormonism, a high council is one of several different governing bodies that have existed in the church hierarchy on many Latter Day Saint denominations. ... A stake is an administrative unit composed of multiple congregrations in sects of the Latter Day Saint movement. ... In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Fast Sunday is a Sunday (usually the first Sunday of every month) set aside for fasting. ... In law and in religion, testimony is a solemn attestation as to the truth of a matter. ... Fast and testimony meeting is the popular term for the Fast Sunday sacrament meeting of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints during which those members, who feel prompted, share (or bear) their testimony with the other members of their congregation or ward. ... A benediction is a short invocation for divine help, blessing and guidance, usually after a church worship service. ... A tithe (from Old English teogotha tenth) is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a voluntary contribution or as a tax or levy, usually to support a religious organization. ... An envelope is a packaging product, usually made of flat, planar material such as paper or cardboard, designed to contain a flat object such as a letter. ...

Sacrament meetings usually last about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Other church meetings that can follow or precede sacrament meeting include, for adults, Sunday School and Relief Society or Priesthood quorum meetings. There are also youth Sunday School classes, Young Women's and Young Men's classes, Primary and Nursery classes for children. The sum of these meetings constitute Sunday services and typically lasts three hours. Sunday school, Indians and whites. ... The Relief Society is the womens organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. ... A priesthood is a body of priests, shamans, or oracles who are thought to have special religious authority or function. ...

Significance of Sacrament meeting

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe that the ordinance of the sacrament allows them to renew all of their covenants, such as the covenants they have made in baptism or the priesthood or in the temple. They generally attend seeking to be forgiven for their shortcomings during the week and to begin anew with renewed conviction. The temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints located in Salt Lake City, Utah is the largest attraction in the citys Temple Square. ... In Mormonism, an ordinance is a religious ritual of special significance, often involving a covenant with God. ... In Mormonism, the Sacrament is the Lords Supper, in which participants eat bread and drink wine (or water, in the case of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints since the late 1800s). ... Covenant, in its most general sense, is a word for a solemn contract or similar undertaking. ... Baptism in early Christian art. ... In Mormonism, priesthood is considered to be the power and authority to act in the name of God, including the performance of sacred rites and ordinances, and the performance of miracles. ... The Salt Lake Temple is the most well-known Mormon Temple. ...

Members that are elderly or are unable to attend for the three hours of Sunday worship services generally attend only the sacrament meeting, as this is the most spiritual. Members that are unable to attend sacrament meeting due to health or other factors are brought the sacrament by the priests of the Aaronic Priesthood if they desire. The ordinance is performed in their home or hospital room. The Aaronic Priesthood is the lesser of the two (or sometimes three) orders of priesthood recognized in Mormonism. ... A physician visiting the sick in a hospital. ...

External link

• Description of Sunday services from Church's visitors site (mormon.org)