- The new Sunday meeting schedule of the Church of Jesus Christ takes effect Sunday, Sept. 6.
- Videos and resources are available to help members prepare.
- Church leaders say Christ-centered worship and daily discipleship are essential for spiritual growth through the changes.
- Teachers and learners are invited to make a shift in the first five minutes of every class. Leaders say the shift will change lives and learning.
Starting this Sunday, Sept. 6, Latter-day Saints around the globe will officially begin implementing the new Sunday meeting schedule announced by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints earlier this year.
The schedule changes, announced March 30, were made with the goal of supporting members “in their efforts to be lifelong disciples of Jesus Christ” and strengthening gospel learning in homes and congregations worldwide, according to a church press release.
In the past several months, the church has rolled out videos and resources — including an implementation guide — to help members prepare for, apply and embrace the changes.
In these videos and other content, Church of Jesus Christ leaders have counseled members and answered questions about the adjustments. Here are five principles gathered from their teachings to help members foster personal spiritual growth and fellowship in their congregations.
1. Anchor focus on Jesus Christ
Sunday worship, particularly during sacrament meeting, is an opportunity to reflect, repent and rejoice in Christ’s redeeming power, Elder David A. Bednar and Elder Patrick Kearon of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said in a recent video.
Sunday worship “is not about attending meetings,” Elder Bednar said. It is “about spiritual renewal and growth.”
Sacrament meetings throughout the church will remain up to 60 minutes long with the new schedule changes and should enable participants to focus on Jesus Christ.
“Let us practice and experience this until it is wonderful and beautiful,” Elder Kearon said. “Let the singing be transformed. … (And) let us pray and remember our Savior Jesus Christ.”
“I thrill at the thought of us feeling the love of God and of Jesus Christ every Sabbath day,” Elder Kearon continued. “I thrill at the thought of us focusing more deliberately, more keenly on our Savior Jesus Christ.”
2. Strive for home-centered gospel learning and daily discipleship
Every member of the Church of Jesus Christ has “an individual responsibility to study and learn the doctrine of Christ, and then strive to apply it in their lives,” Elder Bednar said.
“We cannot expect the church as an institution to provide to us everything that we need to know,” he explained.
The new Sunday schedule changes support this pattern of home-centered, church-supported gospel learning by inviting members to learn and apply gospel truths at home and then attend church to discuss their learnings with others.
“As we study the scriptures at home and talk about what we’re learning at church, the gospel becomes more personal and part of everyday life,” Sunday School General President Paul V. Johnson said in a separate video.
“When learning begins in the home and is strengthened at church, it blesses individuals, families and entire wards and branches,” he said.
Young Women General President Emily Belle Freeman and Young Men General President Timothy L. Farnes similarly discussed the importance of daily study and discipleship in a recent episode of the Church News podcast.
“It’s not just about learning; it’s about living as lifelong disciples of Jesus Christ,” President Farnes said. “Lifelong discipleship begins with daily discipleship.”
3. Dive into doctrine within the first 5 minutes
Teachers and learners will receive the “greatest impact” from each class by diving into the doctrine and scriptures within the first five minutes of class, Elder David P. Homer of the church’s Priesthood and Family Department said in an episode of the Church News podcast.
The shortened class times will require members to find different times and ways to check in with each other, he said. They will also require members to remain focused on Jesus Christ and his teachings during class.
Class will “be less about me being able to demonstrate my mastery of the information” and will require “a deliberate effort to immediately get into what the scriptures or what the conference talks are teaching us so that we have the opportunity to discuss our experience with those things,” Elder Homer said.
President Freeman promised in her episode that as teachers and learners dive straight into the doctrine, they will invite the Holy Ghost to be part of their discussions.
“Over time, I think we will realize that relationships will deepen in our classes and in our quorums, and testimonies will strengthen, because what becomes the priority of those 25 minutes is Jesus Christ and his gospel and his words,” she said. “I think we’re going to see lives change because of that.”
4. Come prepared to counsel and testify of Jesus Christ
Through daily study, learners should come prepared to counsel together in their Sunday classes. Teachers should serve as discussion guides, giving learners opportunities to testify of Jesus Christ and what they are learning.
“In this new format, we will no longer counsel at the beginning of class, but we should continue to counsel together about how the principles in the general conference message apply to our lived experiences, our challenges and opportunities,” Relief Society General President Camille N. Johnson said in a recent video.
In the same video, Elder Arnulfo Valenzuela of the church’s Presidency of the Seventy said, “We are not simply filling time. … We are gathering as covenant disciples of Jesus Christ to discuss real needs and to minister with genuine compassion.
“Rather than one person speaking for 25 minutes, we create space for many voices, guided by the Spirit.”
5. Remember that ‘change is the essence of the gospel’
Elder Bednar, who recalls once attending Primary on Wednesdays and adjusting to different schedule changes over the years, said in a video that the recent adjustments are part of addressing the needs of a global church.
“Change is the essence of the gospel,” he said. “Repentance is change. Learning is change.”
The new schedule changes are “an opportunity for us to continue to improve and grow in how we use the time on the Sabbath day when we gather as Latter-day Saints,” he said.
“I promise that as we use our time as individuals and families to study and learn the gospel, and when we gather together on the Sabbath day, the doctrine of Christ will distill upon our souls as the dews from heaven, and we will have enduring joy.”