How do Mormons worship?

There are two things being asked by this question. The first is the spiritual, and the second is the physical or where we go and what we do.

Spiritual-what we worship and why

The word worship means love or devotion to deity. In another sense, it means to imitate or emulate. In the LDS church, we believe the words of the Savior in Matthew 5:48 where he said, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in Heaven is perfect.”

We know that in this life none of us can attain perfection, yet that is our goal, to so worship God that we overcome the natural man, and become men and women of Christ. Speaking of Christ, Paul taught in Hebrews 5:8, “though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered.” Christ never sinned, but he moved from grace to grace, increasing his capacity to infinite levels where he could perform His final atoning sacrifice for all mankind.

In another book of scripture that we use in the LDS church called the Doctrine and Covenants, we have a revelation which Joseph Smith received that expanded on the writings of John the Baptist (John 1:19) recorded in John 1 of the New Testament which John the disciple recorded. Here is the segment from the Doctrine and Covenants.

Doctrine and Covenants 93

11 And I, John, bear record that I beheld his glory, as the glory of the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth, even the Spirit of truth, which came and dwelt in the flesh, and dwelt among us.
12 And I, John, saw that he received not of the fulness at the first, but received grace for grace;
13 And he received not of the fulness at first, but continued from grace to grace, until he received a fulness;
14 And thus he was called the Son of God, because he received not of the fulness at the first.
15 And I, John, bear record, and lo, the heavens were opened, and the Holy Ghost descended upon him in the form of a dove, and sat upon him, and there came a voice out of heaven saying: This is my beloved Son.
16 And I, John, bear record that he received a fulness of the glory of the Father;
17 And he received all power, both in heaven and on earth, and the glory of the Father was with him, for he dwelt in him.
18 And it shall come to pass, that if you are faithful you shall receive the fulness of the record of John.
19 I give unto you these sayings that you may understand and know how to worship, and know what you worship, that you may come unto the Father in my name, and in due time receive of his fulness.
20 For if you keep my commandments you shall receive of his fulness, and be glorified in me as I am in the Father; therefore, I say unto you, you shall receive grace for grace.

So how do Mormons worship? By obeying God’s commandments and overcoming our weaknesses by the grace of God. By so doing and living, we become perfected in God through his grace, understanding who He is by having become like him (1 John 3:2).

Physical-where we go and what we do

Members of the LDS church attend Sunday meetings for a 3 hour block each week. There are 3 segments to this event.

There is a sacrament meeting which all members attend and partake of the sacrament in remembrance of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ’s atonement for us. During this meeting we also hear a few talks/sermons by youth and adults speaking on a topic that has been assigned to them by the Bishopric (the local congregation leaders consisting of a Bishop and 2 counselors).

The remaining couple hours are broken up as follows:

Children 1.5-3 attend nursery where they have simple lessons about the gospel mixed with a lot of play time and typically a snack.

Children 3-12 attend primary classes where there is a singing/sharing time and then a classroom time for their age group.

Youth 12-18 attend Sunday School with their same-age peers, both young women and men, for an hour. Then they split up into groups age 12-13, 14-15, and 16-17 where the young men and women are separate from each other.

Adults attend Sunday School and then also split up by gender to attend Relief Society for the sisters, and Priesthood for the men.

During the month, all members are to be visited by other members. Adult men are asked to be home teachers and in pairs, visit a couple families of the congregation and share a gospel message and ensure their needs are being met. Adult sisters are called visiting teachers and visit the women in the congregation in similar fashion.

Members are expected to pay 10% tithing to the church, as well as fast once a month and donate at least what would have been spent on food for that 24 hour period, to the church for the caring of the poor.

Members also hold callings within the church. To do so they must be full tithe payers and they are not paid for any of this service. The LDS church is a lay ministry.

Understanding how Mormons worship

Feel free to attend a local LDS service, a free visit from the missionaries, or get a free Book of Mormon by following the links above on the right. The best way to find out how Mormons worship is to try it out and see what it’s like.