New Members

I love Sacrament Meeting. I leave it each week feeling renewed and ready to go. No matter how bad the previous week was, I feel I can go home and do a great job with the life I’ve been given. I’ve always considered it the start of my work week, a starting-over day. As a new member, it took a great deal of experimenting to figure out how to make sure I got the most out of my meetings.

Preparation for this experience begins before I leave the house, however. In fact, it starts the day before. Children often sing in their meetings a song that tells them that Saturday is special because it’s the day to get ready for Sunday. They learn that they should do as much preparation for Sunday as possible on Saturday—cleaning, laying out and preparing clothing, and finishing up anything else that could be a distraction to the worshipful purpose of Sunday.

When the chores are done and the meals for Sunday are planned ahead, and perhaps at least partially prepared, I come to church with far fewer distractions on my mind. I don’t find myself wondering what we’ll eat when we get home if I have dinner in the slow cooker waiting for us. It’s easier to bring the spirit of church home with me if things are reasonably tidy and under control.

Study ahead for the classes you will attend and finish any work for your callings before you go to bed.

Keep Sunday mornings simple. Skip the big breakfast unless it is something you can prepare ahead. Have church bags packed, clothing set out and children scheduled, so they know what to do and when. If you find yourself consistently late, get everyone up a little earlier, testing until you can arrive on time without rushing. Try to find time to pray and read scriptures before you leave.

Setting the mood in the house can also help everyone to arrive with the spirit intact. I find it helpful to be the first one up, so I can have time to prepare my own spirit before trying to guide everyone else to a spiritual beginning. Putting on quiet, spiritual music can remind family members it’s a reverent day and set the tone.

Keep the drive to church peaceful. It’s not the time to scold or lecture, although, of course, gentle reminders about appropriate behavior are appropriate. Instead, choose a gospel topic to discuss as you go to church or play spiritual music.

Once at church, go to your seat early and listen to the prelude music. Read scriptures, contemplate the gospel or study the words of a hymn while you wait for the meeting to begin. By the time the service starts, you will be ready to feel the spirit.

Worshipping God is more than just going to church every Sunday. As you begin to build your new LDS life, you’ll want to begin to put more time into your life for true worship.

Attending church is certainly part of the worship process. However, it requires more than mere attendance. While attending, we need to keep our hearts and minds focused on the speakers and lessons, and maintain a feeling of reverence inside of us, regardless of what is happening around us.

In addition to worshipping in our meetings, we can also worship in our homes and personal lives. If we prepare carefully before praying, and take the time to think about what we want to discuss with our Father in Heaven, if our prayers are unrushed and thoughtful, our prayers become worship, not merely a ritual.

Our personal scripture study is also worship. If we hurry through them with an eye on the schedule, then scripture reading is merely a routine. If, however, we read carefully, taking time to ponder, our scripture reading becomes worship. We can take the time to apply what we read to our own lives, and also to reflect on the blessings our Heavenly Father has given us. Nearly every chapter of scripture contains reminders of His presence in our lives.

Each time we teach another person the gospel, we are worshipping our Father in Heaven. When we share what we know of Him, we’re showing Him how special He is to us, and how much we understand what He’s given us. After all, when we have something in our lives we treasure, we always want to share it with others we care about.

True worship is putting God first in our lives, remembering who He is, and why we love Him. It’s treating the life He gave us with respect, and making the best possible use of the time He’s given us. This means that service is a form of worship. We’re serving His children, with an attitude of joy, not burden, and this is a powerful way to worship Him.

All day long, we can keep thoughts of Him in our minds and a feeling of reverence in our hearts. We can be cheerful about our responsibilities, our service, and even our trials, understanding that they are all part of the plan to help us return home to our Heavenly Father again.

Worship isn’t just about Sundays. It’s all day, every day.

When I first began trying to live the gospel as a new convert, I found the commandment to keep the Sabbath Day holy a real challenge. I wasn’t really sure what was appropriate. All I could think of to do was to read scriptures, and as much as I loved doing that, I didn’t want to do it all day.

Since then, I’ve learned there are many ways to keep the Sabbath Day holy. I found it helpful, in the early days, to keep a list I could refer to. This kept me from wandering into an inappropriate activity simply because I couldn’t think of anything else to do. I also try to plan my Sabbath ahead to avoid temptation.

Sundays are ideal for more in-depth scripture study. Instead of just reading, consider keeping a scripture journal and recording what you’ve read for the week—not just the content, but your thoughts. It’s also a good time to prepare for the next week’s church classes by studying the assignments.

I often spend Sundays writing talks, even when I’m not giving one. I pick a topic, research it, and write a Sacrament Meeting talk on the subject. I find this helps me find out how well I understand the topic and to focus my thoughts on it. When I’m asked to speak in church, I go first to my files to see if I already have something on that topic.

The Sabbath is the perfect time to build meaningful relationships with your family through quiet conversation. It’s hard to find the time to talk during a hectic week, but a quiet Sabbath afternoon can provide the time to discuss family issues, hold a family council, or just talk. You can also use the time to visit those who are sick or alone, and to write letters to family, friends, and those who just need a cheerful reminder that someone is thinking of them.

President Spencer W. Kimball, a past president of the Church, said, “The Sabbath is a holy day in which to do worthy and holy things. Abstinence from work and recreation is important but insufficient. The Sabbath calls for constructive thoughts and acts, and if one merely lounges about doing nothing on the Sabbath, he is breaking it. To observe it, one will be on his knees in prayer, preparing lessons, studying the gospel, meditating, visiting the ill and distressed, sleeping, reading wholesome material, and attending all the meetings of that day to which he is expected. To fail to do these proper things is a transgression on the omission side.” (The Miracle of Forgiveness, Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1969, pp. 96–97.)