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SALT LAKE CITY – Saying that "the time has come to have a church centered on one's home," leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will reduce Sunday worship to its members three hours to two in a major organizational change announced Saturday morning the first session of the International General Conference of the Faith.
"As Latter-day Saints, we are used to thinking of" the church "as what happens in our meeting rooms, supported by what is going on here. an adjustment to this model, "said church president Russell M. Nelson, said.
"The time has come to have a church centered on the house, supported by what is happening in our branch, ward and stake buildings."
The weekly sacrament meeting will be increased from 70 minutes to 60 minutes starting in January 2019. The second hour of religious service will also change. Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, following President Nelson's remarks, announced the removal of the traditional third hour of religious service.
"The long-standing goal of the church is to help all members increase their trust in our Lord Jesus Christ and in His atonement, help them to contract and keep their covenants with them. God and strengthen and seal their families, "Nelson said.
The changes are designed to achieve this goal and will include a new "integrated program" to strengthen families and individuals through home study and targeted church worship. Since 1980, church Sunday services include weekly Sunday school classes and a third hour separate instruction for men and women.
From now on, the second and last hour of the new schedule will vary from week to week, with Sunday School Sunday School classes, priesthood quorum meetings and Society meetings. Relief and Young Women on the second and fourth Sundays. When there is a fifth Sunday of the month, instruction will be under the direction of the bishop or branch president of each congregation, church leaders said.
Teaching for young children in the primary program will take place each week during the second hour of worship services.
LDS.org has published a "preview" of the new church program.
President Nelson said that adjustment was divinely inspired and necessary in a complex world.
"The adversary is intensifying his attacks on faith and families at an exponential rate," he said. "To survive spiritually, we need counter-strategies and proactive plans, and as a result, we now want to put in place organizational adjustments that will further strengthen our members and their families."
Brother Cook echoed this concern.
"The conditions of the world are increasingly demanding increased individual conversion and strengthening of faith in Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ and His atonement," he said.
President Nelson and Brother Cook were the opening speakers of the morning session, the first of three, the first day of the 188th biannual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Saints of the Last Days, often called Mormon Church.
Brother Cook said that the church was successfully testing the new program in congregations around the world. A pilot program has been held in Brazil and others have been reported in Iowa and Tooele.
Leaders also envisioned a study that revealed that individual scripture study and prayer helped most to help young Latter-day Saints feel the influence of the Holy Spirit, said Brother Cook.
"Our goal is to balance the church and the home experience in a way that will greatly increase faith, spirituality and deepen conversion into Heavenly Father and Lord Jesus Christ." , did he declare.
"As leaders have sought revelation, the advice they have received in recent years is to strengthen the sacrament meeting, to honor the Sabbath, and to encourage and help parents and individuals to make their homes a source of healing. spiritual strength and increased faith – a place of joy and happiness. "
The church had been preparing for the announcement for some time.
"For many years," said President Nelson, "church leaders are working on an integrated program aimed at strengthening families and individuals through a home-centered plan supported by the government." church, to learn the doctrine, to strengthen the faith and to promote greater personal worship.The last years devoted to the Sabbath – to make it a delight and a personal sign to God of our love for him – will be supplemented by the adjustments which we will now introduce. "
The new Sunday schedule gives families more time to host a home evening and study the gospel at home. The family activity evening can still be held on Mondays.
Learning the gospel at home will be strengthened by a harmonized curriculum that includes "Come, Follow Me" for the home – organized on a weekly schedule – adult classes, Aaronic Priesthood, Young Women, and Primary. The manual for the house, "Come, follow me – for individuals and families" will be provided to each member at home.
The new plan will begin in January to give the church time to distribute the handbook and allow local leaders to modify the meeting room hours. One of the goals is to have more neighborhoods start earlier in the day.
Brother Cook said that leaders should think about how to focus on spiritual priorities before the administrative functions in condensed Sunday meetings.
When considering this change, he also stated that church leaders were aware that the current three-hour service block could be difficult for older members, parents with young children, children in the Primary, new converts and others.
Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles confirmed the statement of President Nelson and Brother Cook, saying that the First Presidency Council and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles unanimously approved this change.
Brother Rasband also insisted on following the path of the Lord.
He encouraged the conference participants to put aside material influences and to "love what the Lord loves."
He said that love can overcome all fears: "When we are temporary in our commitments to the Lord, when we deviate from his path leading to eternal life, when we question or doubt our meaning in his divine purpose, when we allow fear to pave the way. " brings to all his companions – discouragement, anger, frustration, disappointment, the Spirit leaves us and we are without Lord. "
The conference began a day after the church changed the name of the Mormon tabernacle choir to "The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square".
President Nelson became the 17th president and prophet of the religion in January. Saturday's announcement took place six weeks after he announced in a brief statement that the church would abandon the nicknames "Mormon" and "LDS".
Another historic change will take place tonight. For the first time, the women's session will be held at 6 pm on the main weekend of the conference. For 53 years, the priesthood session held that place.
A year ago, the church announced that it would cut the conference from six to five sessions and would equalize priesthood and women's sessions.
The priesthood session is now held on the Saturday evening of the spring conference, and the women's session, traditionally held a week before the conference, is held on the Saturday evening of the conference in the fall.
In April, Latter-day Saints supported President Nelson at a solemn assembly at the beginning of the conference, then watched him change the face of church leadership, calling the first one. American-Asian apostle, Elder Gerrit W. Gong, and the first American Apostle Ulisses Soares.
He also announced the restructuring of the priesthood colleges of Melchizedek in the 30,500 congregations of the world, he changed teaching and visited the ministry and announced the creation of seven new temples, the first of which was for the first time. India, Russia and Nicaragua.
Jeffrey R. Holland called the conference a dazzling revelation. Many Latter-day Saints were waiting for a similar conference of announcements and changes this weekend.
Read President Nelson's full profile here.
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