What to Expect at Church

You’re Invited

You don’t need to be a member. You don’t need to know anything about the Church. You don’t need to bring anything or prepare anything. You just need to show up.

Every Sunday, in meetinghouses all over the world, the doors are open to anyone who wants to walk through them. You will not be turned away. You will not be quizzed. You will not be put on the spot. You are welcome exactly as you are — with your questions, your doubts, your curiosity, or your simple desire to feel something peaceful.

What to Wear

There’s no official dress code. Most members dress in what you might call “Sunday best” — slacks and a collared shirt for men, a dress or skirt for women. But that’s a tradition, not a rule.

Jeans are fine. A polo shirt is fine. Come in whatever makes you comfortable. No one will judge you for what you’re wearing. The people there care far more about the fact that you came than about what you came in.

What Happens on Sunday

The main meeting is called Sacrament Meeting, and it lasts about 70 minutes. This is the meeting that everyone attends together — families, individuals, visitors, everyone. Here’s what you can expect:

• Opening and closing hymns— the congregation sings together. A hymnbook or screen will have the words, so you can follow along or simply listen.
• Opening and closing prayers— offered by regular members of the congregation, not clergy. Someone from the congregation is asked ahead of time to offer a prayer on behalf of everyone.
• The Sacrament— bread and water are blessed and passed to the congregation. This is a quiet, reflective moment to remember Jesus Christ. You can participate, or you can simply pass the tray along. There is absolutely no pressure either way.
• Talks by members— there is no paid pastor who delivers a sermon every week. Instead, regular members of the congregation — your neighbors, a teenager, a grandmother — are invited to speak and share their testimonies and insights on a gospel topic. It’s personal, heartfelt, and sometimes beautifully imperfect.

After Sacrament Meeting, there are additional classes you’re welcome to attend:

• Sunday School— scripture study classes for adults and youth
• Relief Society— a meeting for women
• Elders Quorum— a meeting for men
• Primary— classes for children ages 3–11
• Youth classes— for teenagers ages 12–17

You are welcome to stay for as much or as little as you’d like. Some visitors attend only Sacrament Meeting their first time. That is perfectly fine.

There’s No Collection Plate

No offering plate will be passed during the meeting. No basket. No envelope. No one will ask you for money. Ever. You will never be asked to give a dollar to walk through the door or sit in a pew.

Members of the Church contribute tithes and offerings privately and voluntarily. As a visitor, this has nothing to do with you. Come, sit, and worship without any financial expectation whatsoever.

What About My Kids?

Bring them. Children are welcome in Sacrament Meeting, and you will hear plenty of other children there too — cooing, wiggling, occasionally making a break for the aisle. It’s part of the experience, and no one minds.

After Sacrament Meeting, there is a nursery for toddlers (ages 18 months to 3 years) and Primary classesfor children ages 3–11. The classes include songs, scripture stories, and activities. Your children will be well cared for by volunteers who genuinely love working with kids.

Will Someone Pressure Me?

No. People will be friendly — probably very friendly. Someone will likely introduce themselves and ask if you’d like to sit with them. You may be offered a hymnbook or a program. After the meeting, someone may say, “We’d love to see you again.”

But no one will pressure you to join. No one will ask you to make a commitment. No one will corner you with questions about your beliefs or try to sign you up for anything. You are free to come, to observe, to feel the spirit of the meeting, and to leave whenever you’re ready. That’s it.

What’s Different from Other Churches?

If you’ve attended other Christian churches before, you’ll notice a few things that are different:

• No paid clergy— the bishop and all local leaders serve voluntarily while working regular jobs during the week. They receive no salary, no housing allowance, no compensation of any kind.
• No crosses displayed— Latter-day Saints focus on the livingChrist, not the instrument of His death. You won’t see crosses on the building or in the chapel.
• Bread and water— the Sacrament uses bread and water rather than bread and wine.
• Quiet and reverent— the meetings are calm and reflective, not high-energy worship services. There is no band, no stage lighting, no performance. The focus is on worship, not entertainment.
• Personal testimonies— you’ll hear members bear their “testimony” — personal statements of belief spoken from the heart. These are unscripted, sincere, and often deeply moving.

Finding a Meetinghouse

Finding a congregation near you is easy. Just visit the Church’s meetinghouse locator, type in your address, and you’ll see the nearest meetinghouse along with Sunday meeting times. Congregations are organized geographically, so the one closest to your home is your local ward or branch.

Find a meetinghouse near you

We mean it. You don’t have to have all the answers. You don’t have to be sure about anything. You just have to be willing to walk through the door. Everything else will take care of itself.