Anywhere you go in the world, if you attend a sacrament meeting of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints it will follow the same format. Sacrament meetings are held on Sundays and is where they renew the promises they made at baptism. The dress at a sacrament meeting is formal to show respect. Men usually wear a suit and tie and women usually wear a nice dress, or a blouse and skirt. If you have ever seen the way LDS missionaries dress, model your attire after them and you will fit right in. When you get to the meetinghouse, the sacrament meeting is held in the chapel. You can sit anywhere you would like as long as it is not on the stand behind the pulpit.
Everyone from the littlest baby to the elderly participates in sacrament meeting so don’t be surprised if you hear some crying and a lot of movement during the meeting. A member of the bishopric will start the meeting by welcoming everyone and then giving announcements. This is followed by an opening hymn. Most of the time members stay seated while singing. It will be announced or the music director will let everyone know if they should stand. Following the opening hymn a prayer is given, during which members stay seated, bow their heads, close their eyes, and fold their arms. During the meeting the only time those in the congregation say anything out loud is when they say amen. This occurs after prayers and talks.
After the prayer, ward business is conducted. This is where new callings are given, babies are blessed, and confirmation occur. When a person is given a new calling the members are asked to sustain them. This is something that visitors need not participate in. After ward business, the sacrament hymn is sung. This hymn is to help members get into the proper mood for partaking the sacrament. After the hymn a blessing is given on the sacrament and then it is passed to the members. Visitors may also take the sacrament. This is the most sacred and important part of the meeting, so while the sacrament is being passed is not a good time to get up, or leave the meeting for any reason.
Following the sacrament, talks are given. This part of the meeting is usually the longest part. Members of the congregation are asked to speak about certain topics and each persons talk can be anywhere from five minutes to twenty minutes. Occasionally there will be a rest hymn between talks. When the talks are done, a closing hymn will be sung, followed by a prayer. When the prayer is done the meeting is over and people begin leaving the chapel.
