Christianity Worksheet 11-13-2023
docx
School
Salt Lake Community College *
*We aren’t endorsed by this school
Course
2300
Subject
Religion
Date
Dec 6, 2023
Type
docx
Pages
4
Uploaded by EarlDangerDinosaur27
Alexis Pauole
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
In-person attendance
11/12/2023
The church service I chose to attend was a meeting held by the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-Day Saints, it was held on Sunday at 10:30 in the morning. This was a unique service to
attend as it was a Polynesian Ward. In this Christian religion, the members or followers of the
Church are split into what are called wards. You are assigned a specific ward, depending on the
area you live in. The church I attended was remarkably close to my house, but it was specific to
Polynesians. The outside of the building was simple. There was a white steeple at the top of the
building and a plaque on one of the walls outside that had the name of the religious organization.
The building was composed of red bricks and looked ordinary. Once inside, there was a large
foyer and double doors that entered a gathering room called the Chapel. There was a long
hallway that created a circle around the chapel. The chapel is where most meetings are held. This
meeting is called Sacrament Meeting. The inside of the chapel was also very ordinary compared
to other religious services I have attended throughout this class. In other religions like Buddhism
and Hinduism, there are statues to represent their Gods but, in the chapel, there was nothing even
remotely similar. There were long benches where everyone sat and a pulpit at the front of the
room on stage. There was an organ and a piano on the stage as well. What stood out to me were
the flowers all around the room. Beautiful tropical flowers were lining the isles and around the
pulpit. I have attended other meetings of this faith and there are not normally that many or that
type of flower. These flowers were specific to the Polynesians.
At the start of the meeting, there was a group of men that sat up at the front and a couple
of young boys that sat off to the side also on the stage. One of the men stood and began
conducting the meeting. We sang a song in what I believe was Samoan and that was followed by
group prayer in the same language. After the prayer, the man who I later learned was the bishop
of the ward, stood and gave some announcements, these were in English. As the man finished
speaking, we sang another song. The young boys on the stage sat in front of a table draped in a
white cloth. Following the song, these boys stood up, kneeling, and began to pray. After the
prayer was said he rose and began handing trays of bread to other boys that had gathered in front
of them. The group of boys spread out and passed the bread to every member of the service. This
part of the service was silent. There was a very peaceful feeling that I experienced during this
part of the meeting. This ritual was then repeated but the boys passed out water instead of bread
this time. This ritual was called the Sacrament, and it is the most important part of their meeting
which is why it is called Sacrament Meeting. The rest of the meeting was filled with a primary
program. The children of the ward are called primary kids. They stood on stage, sang songs, and
gave little talks in between. This was a cool experience that was vastly different from the other
religious services I have attended during this class.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is a religion that is extremely popular in
Utah. Some argue that this religion is not Christian because it slightly differs from other
Christian religions. However, the main idea of the Christian religion focuses on the birth, life,
and death of Jesus Christ. After attending this service, this Church is Christian because it focuses
on those things. Different Christian religions emphasize various aspects of Jesus' life. Some
Christian religions emphasize the birth of Christ while others emphasize his death and
crucifixion. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints emphasizes the life of Christ. The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints study the Book of Mormon as well as the Holy
Bible. While other Christian religions study the Holy Bible as their text. The key difference
between This Church and other Christian religions is how they see God, Jesus, and the Holy
Spirit. Most Christian religions view these three as one personage. The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-Day Saints views each of these as individual personages. Even though this Church has a
couple of differences from other Christian religions, this religion still falls under the category of
Christian.
As I asked and talked to members of the service, I was able to find out a lot of what they
believe. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints believes that the Heavenly Father or
God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost are three separate people that form the
Godhead. Members believe that Heavenly Father sent Jesus Christ to create the earth. Jesus
Christ was sent down to Earth to be the world's savior and redeemer. They believe that Jesus
Christ was perfect and led a life on this earth to create an example for us. When Jesus was
baptized in the river Jordan, he did so to create an example for us not because he needed to be
clean from sins. They believe that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love them and know them
personally. The participant's ordinances and covenants are also called promises with God. The
first was a baptism at the age of 8. Once baptized you convent or promise to keep certain things,
one being that you will always remember him. In return, he promises to give you the gift of the
Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost is there to guide you and help you make good decisions. You renew
these convents with God every Sunday during The Sacrament which is why this ritual of
partaking in the bread and water is such an important part of the services on Sunday.
Other
Ordinces are participated in when you are older. These other ordinances are also done inside the
Temple instead of in the Church meeting houses. Until you are old enough and are considered
Your preview ends here
Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version
- Access to all documents
- Unlimited textbook solutions
- 24/7 expert homework help
worthy to enter the temple you cannot go in. When I asked a member of the ward What the
importance of Temples where she responded by saying, “The temples of this faith are thought to
be the Holiest places on Earth and where we as members can go to be the closest with Heavenly
Father and Jesus Christ.” I learned that only members of the Church can go inside the temple
once it has been dedicated. However, before the temple dedication, anyone can participate in the
temple open house and get a tour of inside the temple.
After attending this meeting, I walked away with a lot of knowledge about this religion
that I did not have before. I learned a lot about this specific religion as well as Christian religions
as a whole.